i feel the same way. my sister wants to think my niece has ADD since she can't seem to focus on any chores. yet, she's perfectly fine when she watches an hour and half long movie of is playing video games.
i don't know how much fish oil affects ADD. i take it and can feel a difference. i made my parents take it and both reported sleeping a lot better.
According to my psychiatrist a lot ADHD patients don't suffer badly from withdrawl symptoms, since the meds will boost the deficient brain chemicals to normal levels. I can stop cold turkey and feel no ill affects after a month or two of regular use(although my doc still advises me to taper down), some docs will actually recommend some sort of cycle(two months on, one month off) so you don't build a tolerance. Everyone is different, so your mileage may vary. As for the decision to take meds or not, just weight he bad and the good. There are definite downsides to taking meds, but the upside is huge (assuming you find a med that works, not all adhd patients are treatable with meds). Just look at where you want to be and decide if you can get there with your current treatment, if not then think about taking the meds. BTW, i take a med called vyvanse, adderall had little affect on me, its one the newer meds and many patients have found it much better then adderall. It has a completely different release mechanism then all the stimulants, so its much smoother and harder to abuse. It also contains a lot less stimulant then the rest of the meds.
See, I have trouble even focusing on movies. A lot of times, if I see a movie for the second time, I feel like I'm watching half of it for the first time (even if I really liked it the first time). Also, I can't seem to focus on the phone. Even if it's someone I enjoy talking to, talking about something really interesting, my avalanche of thoughts (my therapist calls it "monkey mind") constantly makes my mind wander. I find myself saying "huh?" or "sorry could you repeat what you just said" quite a few times. I'm in the midst of finally quitting the wacky tobacky so I think that on top of fish oil and a general exercise of focus should really help. I'm really hopeful fish oil will give me a boost. Thanks for all the help.
Do you take a blood test to diagnose ADD/ADHD? I ask this because the symptoms of add/adhd seem so broad and could in fact be brought on by anyone's life/environment in general. This "disease" seems like a bunch of bologna made up by the pharmaceutical industry to sell more speed under a new name. I had a lot of those symptoms when I was a kid and I thank god my parents didn't put me on speed. How f'd up is that? I understand the college kids taking speed. That's a rite of passage. However, coffee works well and it's natural. Some people are born with the ability to soak up knowledge easier than others. I would be bummed if I couldn't make it through college without speed. You have to condition yourself to study just like running or working out. You can take speed or steroids but is that a viable long term option? I don't think so.
I take 20mg generic adderall, started taking them to stay competitive in my workfield. I hate coming down from them though, I usually get irritated and have to force myself not to take another one.
Try to look for the generic made by Sandoz, its a blue pill instead of orange (which is made by Barr), many patients found it to be much smoother with little or no comedown. I was able to get some at cotsco when I was on adderall.
There is a lot of misinformation in this thread. ADHD (ADD does not exist as a term anymore) has two types, inattentive and hyperactive. Individuals manifest it in multiple ways and it at times can seem like it is on the spectrum of normal behavior in a younger child. Yes, ADHD is often misdiagnosed and people are unnecessarily medicated. In addition, plenty of college/high school kids abuse ADHD medications either to get high (physiologically not too different from cocaine and even closer to methamphetamine). Neither of these bits of information change the fact that clinically significant ADHD does exist and can be a source of extreme stress on parents and their kids or adults who likewise have the condition. Many people do indeed "outgrow" ADHD that they had in their youth without the aid of medication, this most likely occurs to changes in the brain that continue to happen up until about age 26. A small subset of individuals with ADHD in childhood will go on to have ADHD as adults and there are many adults who are suffering unbeknownst to them because there is a misconception that this is a disease of children and adolescents. There is not a blood test to diagnose ADHD but there is considerable work being put into understanding the genetics and molecular underpinnings of the condition. It is not a fabricated disease by pharmaceutical companies; just talk to the parent of a child with true ADHD. ADHD is best diagnosed by a child psychiatrist (if the patient is a child) who has experience in dealing with ADHD. A primary care physician or inexperienced psychiatrist may be more inclined to unnecessarily medicate a child as beneficial effects are usually seen and the parents are happier. Not all children need medication and yes, at times it is difficult to distinguish between poor parenting and ADHD. With that, many diseases are an interaction of gene and environment and these kids usually have underlying genetic predisposition to ADHD. Furthermore, what frustrates parents and teachers alike is that the children will have NO problem focusing on a videogame or other game for extended periods of time. The diagnosis of ADHD is achieved based on a collection of behaviors noted both at school and at home, read the DSM IV criteria if you are interested in this. While I agree that this is not the most scientific way of doing things, it is the best option that we currently have in diagnosing this disorder. To those of you who say that dietary modifications will alleviate ADHD, that might be true in your case and if that works for you then go right ahead. There are absolutely no clinical trials or data to suggest that the use of fish oil is therapeutic for clinically significant ADHD. That being said, if you or someone you know takes fish oil and feels better, thats great and good for preventing future cardiac disease but it should not be given to a child for the purpose of treating ADHD. There is a lot more that can be said about ADHD and so much of what has been said in this thread is completely false and sheds no light as to what ADHD actually entails. There are indeed lazy people in this world who just don't want to do homework and they do not all have ADHD. That being said, do yourself a favor and talk to the parent of a child with properly diagnosed ADHD and see what kind of a difference proper medication makes in both their life and the life of their child.
Same here. It's worse when I can't do that with my wife, mom, or kids... makes me feel bad, but I try my best to "shut" everything else off and just look down at an empty space and think that they're IMPORTANT while talking to me, so I focus more. The best way to fix that is to close my eyes and turning off the TV, looking away, pressing "off" on the monitor, etc. Try that?
Thx I'll def look into it bc my doctor gave me xanax to combat the adderall. I use to xanax when I was younger bc of anxiety attacks but I don't want to take them if I don't need them.
well yeah, if I'm watching TV while on the phone then I'll definitely be distracted. i'm talking like, laying on my bed staring at the ceiling. I still cannot keep my mind on the conversation at hand. it's not nearly as bad when I'm talking to someone in person, but it's still there. it sucks because people think I don't care about them. it's why i have phone phobia.
Just make sure your psychiatrist isn't on this list: http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/top_earners
Disgusting. I was at the doc the other day for allergies and saw more reps go in than patients. This stuff needs serious reforms.
Just want to chime in here, in that my son who is 7, takes FocalinXR 10mg. The doctor supposedly said that my son had such a mild case of adhd that she recommended not taking the medication. And to just adjust his diet and sleeping habits. Well that didn't work and it was affecting his grades. The teacher recommended that he repeat the grade .. Well we went back to the doctor and she prescribed the Focalin medicine. And let me tell you guys our son did a 180 overnight. In the first week he actually read a book from front to back.. Me and my wife just couldn't believe it. And then the teacher wanted to have a conference with us because they thought our son was ill (he was not acting goofy, monkey-like in class). We informed her he has been taking medications and was just pleased with his behavior and study habits.. Needless to say at the end of the school year the teacher said it was ok for my son to go the 2nd grade. My son is taking some HBU reading program and the teacher wanted to see me and my wife after his 1st visit. We were like damn he's acting up again. But the fact was is that she wanted him to be bumped up to the next reading level because it was to easy for him.. All I can say is that the ADHD drug did wonders for my son and we just can't believe the changes he has made.
walgreens generic 10mg / 20mg XR > CVS generic the CVS version gave me horrible headaches as well... so I paid for the brand name until I realized that the walgreens generic didn't give me the headaches/worked exactly like the name brand. do you take 20mg XR once or twice a day? I was told I should take it twice a day but I am not a big girl (125/130 lbs) and I thought it was a bit much....
