tsdad

Don't feed the troll.

whatismouse

before i go to bed i put all my work in my backpack and get it organized so that i wont forget anything on those early mornings. last night i took stuff out of my backpack at 10:00, accomplished nothing and decided i would go to bed at 11. 1.5 hours later at 12:15 i finally stopped procrastinating putting the stuff in my bag so i could go to bed.

you know youve got problems when you sacrifice 90 minutes of sleep because you cant focus for 30 seconds to organize your backpack.

Nixxi

Even if it was just laziness, if there's a cure for it or atleast a psychological impact (Placebo) then why not medicate?

WindSlicer

Side-effects?

The knowledge that you need medicine to control yourself has to be psychologically draining. It would for me, at least.

stewie314

And yet, for me, it is a whole heck of a lot more psychologically draining to suffer from the symptoms of ADD than to try to completely go it on my own.

emeraldkity4

anytime there is a realization that your body needs help to function, you have a transition before acceptance.
Whether it is something short lived like a broken arm, or whether you have a managable disease like diabetes or asthma or a progressive disease like ALS.
But IMO acceptance is necessary before you can move on & get on with your life. Yes with ADHD as with other things, there are things you can do to make it better, without medication. Hiring a coach to help you impose some external structure can be a help as can getting regular exercise especially aerobic.
BUt medication is available, and effective. You might as well be the optimum best person you can be- by using medication for ADHD, you may find you can get much more out of those external structures like a coach and exercise

The David

I'd say the problem is less with over-diagnosing, and more with over-medicating.

But I'll leave it at that, rather than feed the troll.

seashoresideshow

Some kids diagnosed with AD(HD) have valid, psychological disorders. But many of them are wrongly diagnosed and medicated as a kind of excuse for their poor performance. School psychologists are the worst about this. So yes and no.

Jman2306

Because there is no cure for ADD. The medication is for TREATMENT meaning you spend your whole life taking pills and the problem never gets fixed. And haven't you listened to drug commercials before? For example: Here are the side effects for Ritalin.

Reduced appetite
Rebound
Headache
Jittery feeling
Gastrointestinal upset
Sleep difficulty
Irritability
Depression
Anxiety
Blood glucose changes
Increased blood pressure
Tics and stereotyped (repetitive) movements
Psychosis or paranoia
Seizures
Sudden Death

To me, that doesn't justify any reason for taking Ritalin or other drugs. Some of the side effects are worse than having ADD.

I think I'd take ADD over having headaches, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, depression, anxiety, and seizures....sudden death doesn't sound too fun either.

Aodh

I guess you don't realize that those don't always happen. You get an undesired side effect, switch drugs. I know that my mother said adderal messed with me in strange ways(I took it when i was like, 11), so i didn't take that for that long. The add pills i am on right now deffinately help, but sometimes it leaves me feeling tired.(I think its the pills doing that)

mkm56

Aodh, if u don't mind, what do u take now? My son is on Adderall. I don't know if these are side effects of his medication or stress due to college, but he has had alot of problems with anxiety and feelings of frustrations since being in college (also when he started med)

Jman2306

Adderall:

* nervousness
* restlessness
* difficulty falling or staying asleep
* mood swings
* agitation
* dizziness
* tiredness
* weakness
* shaking hands that you cannot control
* headache
* changes in sex drive or ability
* dry mouth
* stomach pain
* upset stomach
* vomiting
* diarrhea
* constipation
* loss of appetite
* weight loss
* bad taste in mouth
* fast or pounding heartbeat
* motor tics or verbal tics
* sore throat, fever, chills, or other signs of infection
* psychosis (loss of contact with reality)
* hives


Also, keep in mind that as you take drugs, your body gets accustomed to them until they have no effect on you anymore.

Aodh

I am on wellbutrin right now, here is a good page i just found where different people say different things (works for some, not for others, some it is only good in combinations with others):
http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/How_well_do...trin_treat_ADD

shrubber

I agree w/ citation x... So many people are blaming their minor lack of attention to ADD. Everyone gets bored from time to time listening to lectures in class or something, but so many people label it as ADD when they haven't truly been diagnosed with it. It's used so often, most of the time jokingly. How many times have you heard someone say, "That kid is soooo ADD" or "My teacher is so boring; I think I have ADD" ??

whatismouse

whats wrong with that? clearly there are some people who have the ability to learn and absorb an overwhelming majority of the time while others do not fare so well from time to time. if we can scientificaly find some physiological difference between these people and potentially even treat it to put them on level ground...how is that bad?