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ADD/ADHD: Are drugs the only answer?

PwnX said:
They suffered.

People act like mental disorders didn't exist until medication and that they're either 'made up' by the drug companies or are products of today's environment or the 'evil toxins', but they've existed forever, it's just people afflicted with them were either thrown into asylums or self-medicated with cannabis, opium, alcohol, etc. The reason they appear to be more common now is because there's more awareness and knowledge about them and there's no risk of being locked up if you're found to have one.
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You bring up a good point, but I don't think everyone who had a mental disorder, whether small or big, had been thrown into an institution.

I think especially if you catch it early in life, there are ways and methods to cope with these imperfections which don't involve drugs or being labeled crazy. I'm not a doctor or anything, but it just doesn't seem the only solutions are drugs or institutions
 
I'm kinda baffled (and almost offended) by all the people claiming AD(H)D is merely a personality issue considering the evidence of clear differences in e.g delayed cortex development/function of ADHD vs non-ADHD brain-imaging results, including my own results after extensive testing

With comorbid dyslexia (diagnosed at 5yrs old), school wasn't a place i learned much aside from social skills.. I was simply passed grades because i had charm and teachers liked/felt bad for me. Then i was homeschooled after 5th grade. Studying anything made me tired and i'd forget it once i put the book down. Even so, i still tried and struggled in my misery...

Self-medicating to escape, to get out of bed in the morning, to function... I truly wish i'd had the meds and proper diet then (which i have now, at 27), because it's like night and day.. but now it's like i'm still growing up compared to everyone else my age - only now beginning to accomplish things on my own

It's ok if you don't understand someone elses' problems. What isn't ok is to dismiss the problem and claim that it doesn't even exist in the first place, with no evidence whatsoever to back it up

People who can't wrap their heads around the concept of amps having therapeutic value obviously know very little about learning disabilities and related neurochemistry. Even if e.g 3-4% of patients on amphetamine show marked improvement in all areas of functioning, that doesn't make AD(H)D non-existent. It could simply mean e.g that the population as a whole is over-medicated
 
Drugs seem to be the only answer, but I've improved thru keeping a heathy diet, exercising, and having others help me stick to a schedule and stay on track.
 
Yea i didn't realize how much i relied on sugar till i gave it up for a few weeks. The difference in my attention span was pretty significant. As a kid up to only a few years ago, i'd drink 3-6 sodas/soft drinks per day no problem. That was the only thing keeping me going, but eventually i had to give that up as my teeth were basically rotting (loss of enamel) and it'd just give me these awful migraines for hours after drinking one can... so can't do caffeine anymore as that's what causes them

The fact that everyone is affected by what they eat leads me to the conclusion that at least some AD(H)D patients are simply displaying the symptoms of a poor diet high in sugary/starchy foods

Another argument is that poor diet early in life may lead to/cause AD(H)D.. so it's hard to say and i do believe drugs should be treated as a last resort; after therapy and lifestyle changes have been tried

I can only judge my own experience w/ADD and say that i have a unique response to certain foods/drugs which seems to be the opposite of what others experience.... Hyperactivity from cannabis/alcohol/opiates is one that stands out in my mind; while amphetamines and especially cocaine have a tendency to make me inactive and lazy if i take more than needed

When i used to binge drink i'd stay up for days at a time on the booze
 
I asked my friend again and she said she started following diets more geared to autism, a well as patterns for routines, watching out for certain behaviours. My friend has had an easier time since starting that after only 3 weeks, I must admit her kiddie is certainly a lot better behaved, but better than that he is interacting more with everyone and more socially aware. maybe not much help, however, look at the characteristics. You will see so many similarities and you can see why my friend made a choice to try it. just another way of looking at it.
 
I took adderall for three years.. I think i damaged my heart and I have dark circles under my eyes. Sometimes my gums turned bluish purple. I just don't give a shit about anything anymore.

It also turned me into a fucking snappy bitch god damnit. fuck, holy shit. i hate my life and i turn on people in two seconds because i hate myself.
 
Anon123098 said:
I took adderall for three years.. I think i damaged my heart and I have dark circles under my eyes. Sometimes my gums turned bluish purple. I just don't give a shit about anything anymore.

It also turned me into a fucking snappy bitch god damnit. fuck, holy shit. i hate my life and i turn on people in two seconds because i hate myself.
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Did you take it as directed or did you abuse it? If the latter, then you have nobody but yourself to blame.
 
Which drugs? Why do stimulants have to be the only answer?
Yea, the one time I tried amphetamine I did feel like "this is how I'm supposed to feel"... but do to a past drug charge when I tried to get it they gave me a time release ritalin instead of adderal or whatever. That ritalin just made me feel jittery and dirty and anxious... and I already had horrible public anxiety... so I never took it.

I like others think diet, exercise, proper scheduling, "strength" building activities, and perhaps some supplemental vitamins, minerals, and aminos is definitely a better alternative than "take this pill and report back to me in a week or two". That's the lazy way.

I feel like a broken record mentioning this one material called phosphatidylserine, but it shows a lot of promise for benefitting people with a variety of disorders, ADD/ADHD spectrum included. It definitely helped my ability to easily stay focused. It's also naturally found in your body, and there have been studies with it around ADD/ADHD, where those suffering have low levels of "serine", which this helps to replenish.
 
ADD and ADHD are not real. Big Pharma created these to sell "pharmaceutical speed" to little children.

What causes kids to run around like mad and have no concentration is poor diet rich in sugar, colours, preservatives and white flour.

Most parents are lazy to cook/make healthy food so they would rather feed their kids Fruit Loops for breakfast, a donut and Coke for lunch then get them McDonalds for dinner.
Then it's so easy and convenient to pop down to the local doctor and get a script for Ritalin.

Fat and lazy parents, have fat and lazy children. It's a vicious circle.

ADD and ADHD was unheard of and was never a problem over 60 years ago.
 
^ Don't be so quick to judge--What about the people who have had brain scans done that show legitimate deformities in their brain that causes ADD/ADHD?

I have a friend who eats relatively healthy diet (no McDonalds, soda, highly processed foods, so on and so forth) and still suffers from debilitating ADHD when she doesn't take medication.
 
ADD and ADHD was unheard of and was never a problem over 60 years ago.
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The diagnosis didn't exist, that doesn't mean the problems didn't exist.

Stop being offensive towards parents and patients to get your point through. And when you make outrageous claims back them up with some proof.

I have a very good diet and still have adhd, since taking meds I've done really well.
 
Simply_Live said:
For most people, symptoms of ADD/ ADHD start in the mind.

As per dictionary,
Attention Deficit Disorder: a condition, usually in children, marked by inattentiveness, dreaminess, and passivity
ADHD: a condition, usually in children, characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.

However, I have heard these two disorders explained in a way that mentions the spread attention of the mind. The attention is there, it's just focusing on one thing ONLY that is troublesome. Training and diligence can help many through the ordeals of multi-faceted attention.
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this.
 
no.

when my brother was diagnosed with add in his forties and found out that it can run in the fam, it made sense of many of the struggles i've had to face and still do. he's medicated, i'm not.

i didn't pursue any meds when i read that a structured routine helps, which is something that i had discovered on my own before i ever realised that i may have any condition.
 
Something to remember about any behavioral condition is that the whole concept of it actually being a condition is dependent on whether or not the person is successfully living life. Unless it is seriously holding the person back, it is a facet of their personality that should not be medicated away. When it comes to ADHD, the medications are pretty intense on the body and so this conservative approach is extremely necessary.

Also, parents need to discipline their damn kids better and understand that kids are hyper naturally instead of just giving them meds. Look at a puppy compared to an adult dog. Same concept of children having more energy applies in dogs and humans.
 
^ truth.

If a parent's way of dealing with their kid is to stick them in front of a TV for 19 hours a day and never encourages them to spend time doing anything that teaches them focus early on (such as reading), is it shocking that their attention-span roughly correlates to the time between commercial breaks? This isn't to say that's ALL this is, but I think it is one cultural element at play here.

I'm biased because I'm fortunate to have a rather long attention-span so I don't have firsthand experience but I can't help but wonder how much constantly being taken to libraries and having TV time limited during my early years impacted that.

Excellent point, peg about how disruptive the condition is to their life being key - in the DSM-IV-TR most of the disorders require 'clinically significant impairment' as a result of the condition.

Lastly, as a huge fan of the work of David Keirsey, I find his views on the subject fascinating. For anyone who has taken the Keirsey Temperament Sorter or Myers Briggs Type Indicator (they assign you one of sixteen personality types all listed as 4 letters such as INFP, ESTJ, etc) you may have some familiarity with this.

Keirsey views what is considered ADD/ADHD to be less an actual mental illness and more the product of people with the artisan temperament (xSxP) who lack structure and discipline - here is a piece explaining the artisan temperament that shows how it can closely mirror what is considered AD(H)D and some links to Keirsey's writing on the subject.
 
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