I took a mystery pill and it was awesome
April 23, 2021 2:09 PM   Subscribe

I already feel foolish for being so trusting with this "friend", but I'd still like to figure out what they gave me, if possible. It's a stimulant, it's in a blister pack, and there are no letters/numbers on the pill itself.

A couple years ago I was vising a friend I know through a festival. I had a long/late drive home, so he cut up a blister pack of pills and said "this is Adderall, it will help you stay awake for the drive".

I took one, got home safe, didn't think any more about it.

Fast forward 2 years: I've quit caffeine, had a major falling out with that friend, and am struggling mightily with executive function (including talking with my therapist about a possible ADHD diagnosis).

On a random weekend, I remember that "Adderall" take another pill from the pack, and have an amazingly productive/sociable day. It cuts through the isolating weight of depression, lets me feel energetic and even restless. I did chores, I made art, I socialized with people outside my core circle, and at the end of the day I wasn't cripplingly exhausted.

The next week I sought to get formally diagnosed with ADHD, got a prescription for Adderall, and while it has been useful, it's... different from the mystery pill, and has side effects that I'm not a huge fan of.

After a month on real Adderall, I finally took a closer look at the mystery pill and found that there are no pharmaceutical markings on it: just score lines on one side and a logo on the other side, which vaguely resembles this, except there are lines that extend out at right angles.

Was it... a garden variety caffeine pill? Some other kind of energy pill? I didn't feel jittery like I do after a cup of coffee. Anything else that it might be? Anything to be concerned about?
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (19 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
There are a few “what fuckin pill is this” flow charts out there.

Granted, this only works for legally produced pills.

If you still have one you can pick up drug purity testing kits fairly cheap and sacrifice one in the name of harm reduction (which hey we should all be doing with loose unmarked pills! Normalize this behavior if you enjoy taking unmarked pills!).

Can you ask your friend more specifics on what they were?
posted by furnace.heart at 2:18 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Pill Identifier Wizard
(Stimulant medication is made by different manufacturers, and comes in different colors, shapes, sizes, and strengths. You can contact the moderation team with more details or an imgur link to your actual pill and blister pack to update this question.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:18 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


(Note the OP mentions they have had a major falling-out with the friend)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 2:19 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Could you be prescribed a timed release version of adderall (longer lasting, less if an immediate ‘hit’) and have taken just the ordinary faster working version? I actually hate the timed release stimulants, they make me jitterier even though they’re supposed to do the opposite.
posted by Merricat Blackwood at 2:19 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]


It could easily have been a different ADHD med, but most likely was counterfeit. Common ingredients in counterfeit ADHD meds include tramadol, aceclofenac (?), and meth.
posted by feckless at 2:22 PM on April 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


From the description, I wouldn't be shocked if it were modafinil or similar. My general reaction to any (legally prescribed!) stimulant or even too many chocolate-covered espresso beans has been to climb the walls, but Provigil is a smooth ride. Any of these logos look right?
posted by praemunire at 2:23 PM on April 23, 2021 [4 favorites]


Common ingredients in counterfeit ADHD meds include tramadol, aceclofenac (?), and meth.

Of these, only meth is a stimulant. You'd probably know if you'd taken meth, but maybe not the first time.
posted by praemunire at 2:26 PM on April 23, 2021


there are testing services and kits available that can help identify the contents...from the examples here caffeine is the favorite ingredient for party drugs of unknown origins.
posted by th3ph17 at 2:48 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Clearly a stimulant pill, likely an amphetamine... the markings you describe don’t really sound like the kind of markings that are on prescription pills so it may have been “unofficially produced”.
posted by mekily at 2:52 PM on April 23, 2021


Adderall is still an amphetamine, so if you didn't get side effects from the pill, but you did from Adderall, I wouldn't think it was meth. I'm not a doctor though, and talking to someone with more qualifications might be a really good idea.
posted by fnerg at 2:59 PM on April 23, 2021


Adzenys is the first extended-release drug for ADHD that dissolves in the mouth [...] It’s also the first to come in a blister pack, not a pill bottle — making it exceptionally portable and convenient. -- STATNews, 2018

Neos Therapeutics was the original manufacturer, and the company has since merged with Aytu BioPharma... meaning, if you asked your doctor to try Adzenys XR-ODT, the med still might not look the same as the sketch secondhand blister pack. (Which may itself be counterfeit, or produced outside the US/North America.)

The main thing is that the ADHD medication prescribed to you has too many side effects (as it's the wrong type/dose/whatever for you), so please talk with your doctor. If you experiment with caffeine tablets, be aware that caffeine supplements can have additional ingredients which may be contraindicated for you personally: example of a blister-pack caffeine product more complicated than a cup of coffee, with caffeine, B12, yohimbe extract, DMAE, white willow bark extract, etc. Don't mix caffeine supplements with your stimulant medication if experimenting.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:02 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


It could be ecstasy mixed with something else.... Some friends reported mostly feeling nice and active afte trying some mystery pills.

Maybe ephedrine/caffeine type mix? (or maybe just ephedrine?)

Just mixing the amphetamine type upper with no serious crash and the logo...
posted by chasles at 3:38 PM on April 23, 2021


It seems pretty unlikely to me that illegal drugs like meth or ecstasy would come packaged in a blister pack. I think it is likely something like Primatene or some other ephedrine pill. (Possibly something that came across the border if you’re in the US, ephedrine is harder to find here now.) I also have ADHD and have found Ritalin and Dexidrine are better than Adderall XR.
posted by catatethebird at 3:46 PM on April 23, 2021 [5 favorites]


I think it's probably Adderall in a different format or a generic version, which would not have standardized markings.
posted by theora55 at 3:50 PM on April 23, 2021


I think it'll be hard to figure out what this pill was without taking a picture and posting it somewhere—if "what's this random pill" is not already a subreddit I am truly disappointed in Reddit—but one thing I'll say assuming it is Adderall is that dosage can really change the way a stimulant feels to you. Eminently possible to get side-effects but not effect-effects at lower doses, or side effects that overwhelm the effects at higher doses, or an instant-release pill that doesn't work as well for you as an extended-release one, etc.

Also, the forum wisdom about stimulants—and take this for what little forum wisdom/bro science is worth—is that Dexedrine (vs Adderall) and Focalin (vs. Ritalin) provide the stimulation without some of the side effects of their sister drugs, because they include just the "right-handed" part of the drug that is supposed to cause most of the mental stimulation and less of the physical/"speedy" high that can be uncomfortable. So maybe it was Dexedrine? And even if it wasn't, maybe ask your doctor about trying Dexedrine (or Vyvanse, an extended-release formulation that's similar.)
posted by Polycarp at 4:07 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]


If you're willing to pay $100, you could anonymously mail one to drugsdata.org to get it lab-tested.
posted by introcosm at 6:01 PM on April 23, 2021 [3 favorites]


I have ADHD, live in the USA, and I have tried various prescription stimulants throughout the years. None have ever come in a blister pack.

I'm thinking that it was either something OTC, something illicit, or a supplement.

(As an aside, it also took me a loooooong time for me to find the right ADHD med that worked for me; that turned out to be Dexedrine. So, don't be discouraged if the first couple of meds you try aren't the best for your particular ADHD.)
posted by spinifex23 at 6:22 PM on April 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Modafinil is popular in some festival circles and might match.
posted by foxtongue at 8:22 PM on April 23, 2021


I have ADHD and do not live in the US and my medication comes in a blister pack, FWIW.

Agreed with everyone that you're not going to be able to figure this out from AskMe, especially not without posting a picture. And that if your medication isn't working great for you, it's possible that a different ADHD medication would, so talk to your doctor. There are several different ones, plus differences between dosage and whether it's slow-release or not, all of which could have an effect.
posted by forza at 7:39 PM on April 24, 2021


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