Risks

Stimulants have side effects that can make an athlete play worse, such as:

• Lowered focus due to feeling nervous or angry.
• Trouble sleeping.
• Dehydration.
• Heatstroke, which happens when the body gets too hot and can't cool down.
• Addiction to stimulants, or needing higher doses to feel the effects.

Other side effects include:

• A feeling that the heart is beating fast, fluttering or pounding.
• A heartbeat that is too fast, too slow or out of rhythm.
• Weight loss.
• A type of shaking called tremors.
• High blood pressure.
• The sensation of seeing things that aren't there, called hallucination.
• Stroke.
• Heart attack or other problems with blood flow.