A woman who began abusing ADHD medication in her teens as so-called “study drugs” has opened up about how the habit nearly cost her life. Mandi Masterpole, now 34, suffered a heart attack and two cardiac arrests at just 22 years old, a shocking result of years of Adderall and Ritalin misuse combined with unmanaged type 1 diabetes.
Mandi began using stimulant medications at age 17, initially experimenting with Adderall and Ritalin. Her reliance intensified during her college years while studying mortuary science. Juggling academic demands, a job at a daycare, and late-night socializing, she turned to drugs to stay awake and productive, according to UNILAD.
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“I remember my eyes lighting up, the colours seemed to be brighter. Everything seemed to be bright,” Mandi recalled. “I thought it was like heaven. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is amazing’. I realized work would go so much faster. I wouldn’t have to sleep, so I could use my nighttime hours to study, and then I could go to work.”
Colloquially referred to as “legal speed,” the ADHD medications gave her an energy boost, but at a heavy cost. At the height of her addiction, Mandi said she was snorting the pills up to four times a day and spending around $600 regularly to sustain the habit.
Her wake-up call came unexpectedly—she became pregnant at age 21. “I was at my worst probably right before I got pregnant,” she shared. “I would stop doing the drugs and I would take care of my kid.”
Determined to provide a healthy start for her baby, Mandi quit stimulants cold turkey during her pregnancy. Though she avoided drug-related complications during gestation, her years of substance misuse had already inflicted serious damage on her heart.
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During childbirth, she suffered acute chest pain and went into cardiac arrest twice. “Everything was just eating at my heart pretty much, and then when I went into labour, my heart just blew out,” she said. Doctors described her heart as “ridiculously weak,” and Mandi flatlined. “It just went dark. To think that there’s nothing is terrifying, so I just tell myself that I didn’t die for long enough.”
She was placed on life support for a week and underwent surgery to receive a mechanical heart pump. Later, she was also fitted with a pacemaker and defibrillator.
Now 34, Mandi is on the transplant list, uses a wheelchair for mobility, and has been advised against future pregnancies due to the strain on her heart. Speaking out to raise awareness, she warned, “I would tell people to steer clear of these drugs completely.”
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