ADHD a fake disorder, neurologist-turned-author says

WarminIndy
reply to post by redhorse

 

I have MS and my first neurologist thought it would be a good idea to prescribe for me Ritalin, Topamax and Nortryptolin. OK, I do not have epilepsy, the Topamax apparently helps people lose weight. But I do have tremors, that's why the Nortryptolin was prescribed, but the Ritalin was supposed to give me energy.

Well, the combination made me so high I thought I was dying. After that first dose of all three, I tossed them away. That's what happens though when you have an actual neurological condition, you become a guinea pig.

I am so sorry you had that experience. While I understand the necessity for "drug-cocktails" like that in many circumstances, and I understand that I do no have the training (by miles) to even begin to understand what was going on, I do know that they do no understand everything about the interactions of many drugs and get surprised often enough.

Sometimes it takes time to acclimate to drugs and it can be scary at first. It does sound like you may have not been that comfortable with that neurologist, and I hope you got a new one.

WarminIndy
My 6 year-old niece was diagnosed as Bipolar, I don't know how the doctor determined that, and gave my niece medication for it. ADHD must be real enough, but sometimes these conditions are overdiagnosed in our youth.

Determining bipolar disorder in a child that young is very difficult, and rare. I hope they don't have her on medication, but I can almost guarantee that they do. Bipolar is another one where it has largely interpretational criteria that defines it, and a few pills that "fix" it. I am skeptical of most bipolar diagnoses, especially in children and adolescents. In fact, I have been taught (so far) that it is veritably impossible to reliably diagnose bipolar disorder in anyone under 18. She is frankly more likely to have breast cancer at that age than to be bi-polar. I hope that they get another opinion. It is a diagnosis-de-jour that pays dividends, and puts kids on needless medication that can hinder proper emotional, and social development. They can't learn how to self regulate properly, and it hinders appropriate emotional responses to their environment. I am horrified frankly, to see a child that young with that diagnosis. If you can, please, please encourage her parents to get a second opinion.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


I have a nephew that I am more than willing to have you or this author spend a day with, and dare you to resist the urge to drag him to the nearest doctor to sedate him.

BTW, one quack doesn't dispute anything.

Toadmund
reply to post by Krazysh0t

 

Well, last year at the age of 43 I was finally diagnosed ADD.
I take Wellbutrin (bupropion) for it and it has helped me a fair bit.

If someone tells you ADHD/ADD does not exist, obviously they do not have it and do not know how it can negatively affect a persons life.
This author is full of it.

I don't have cancer, so therefor it must not exist.


that is the theme of this thread, right?

Krazysh0t
reply to post by the owlbear

 

Hey now, I said ADD not ADHD.

But I enjoy the randomness of my thoughts. I don't want to be medicated into some boring linear thought pattern like the rest of society. Most of our best inventors, geniuses, and artists probably could have been diagnosed with some sort of personality disorder. ADD and ADHD probably being chief among them. Medication destroys innovation in order to make you just like everyone else.

You mean people that destroyed themselves at a young age like Mozart or Van Gogh?

artnut

I do know from personal experience, that a high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate diet helps me focus as well as balancing my hormones. Sugar, especially, is a huge problem for me. I thought I read recently that the FDA just banned a certain yellow dye. I need to do more research, but if that is so, I won't lend any credibility to the FDA to vouch for food safety in the future.

We (my wife and I) have pretty much discarded any FDA credibility a long time ago. They, like most government agencies, don't have a true clue as to what they're meant to oversee.

As far as your diet, I notice that when I truly do go 100% paleo (which is basically what you're describing, with a focus on removing grains [and, by extension, gluten] and dairy), I and my son do much better with focus, and his "H" from ADHD that I lack (I'm just ADD) isn't necessarily a ton better, but his ability to control it increases dramatically.

nixie_nox

Krazysh0t
reply to post by the owlbear

 

Hey now, I said ADD not ADHD.

But I enjoy the randomness of my thoughts. I don't want to be medicated into some boring linear thought pattern like the rest of society. Most of our best inventors, geniuses, and artists probably could have been diagnosed with some sort of personality disorder. ADD and ADHD probably being chief among them. Medication destroys innovation in order to make you just like everyone else.

You mean people that destroyed themselves at a young age like Mozart or Van Gogh?

What's your point with this sentence? That we should sacrifice good art so that someone doesn't destroy themselves due to mental instability? One thing about these artists, they all understood that true art is beyond them. They used their mental differences (whether they knew it or not) to produce some of the greatest works of art ever.

I've spent many nights wishing that I had pursued music more throughly then I did when I was younger. Not because I want the money that famous artists have, but I want to contribute to the art, sanity be damned. If you do not understand this concept then you do not understand what it takes to produce REAL art, not that marketed crap we see on television, but stuff that lasts through the generations and is appreciated by all.

To fix the mental difficulties of famous artists, destroys their ability to think differently and produce great and inspiring works of art. Without the difficulties, these people just become another unknown person in the annals of history. You wouldn't know Mozart's name if he didn't write all that music he did.

It's all another ruse to put people on prescription drugs - especially kids.

macman
reply to post by yamammasamonkey

 

What if ADD/ADHD is a side affect of Govt attempting to control society and the ADD/ADHD are the fringe people. Like what happened in the movie Serenity?

With all of the things the Govt puts into water, companies put into food, maybe they are putting things in the environment to calm the people in masses and there are the groups of people that don't react normally.

BINGO!!

reply to post by Mr Mask

You should become a support worker and work with young people and people with learning disabilities... It may open your mind to the closed world in which you live.

Yp's that have adhd and struggle to deal with their lives have the ability to act before thinking... We all know the dangers of this, the diffrence between you and adhd is that you would normally walk away once you see trouble, they tend to jump head first it to trouble and then live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.

reply to post by bigbiy666


Learning difficulties are certainly a reality. Referring back to the article which talks of French mental healthcare ... they still have an "ADHD" equivalent, and it is diagnosed, but 1/18th the rate as in the US. They don't default to it.

At the very least, it's way, way, way over-diagnosed in the states. It seems the majority of the cases are more related to having exceptional abilities that just aren't wanted within the current system. I mean, if someone simply is disabled, period, that's a different story.

Just sayin', usually people who are "ADHD" simply have hyperactivation in some brain regions, with hypoactivation within other brain regions. Just as they are, man. Nothing to be done with that, really. Work on the areas of their brain where they are a little messed, else focus on where they excel. If there's no exceptional skills to someone labeled "ADHD", then ... yea try something.

I'm not against meds in all cases, just most. When all other avenues have been exhausted, why not try it out?

... but I still think it's ridiculous to have these blanket labels for a constellation of symptoms which may exist alongside exceptional abilities.

Maybe not being able to pay attention to something you don't find interesting is normal behavior. I cant pay attention to a class I find boring, but I can read ATS for hours.

"Medicine" could still help you pay attention even if you don't really have what some would consider a disorder or disease. It's kinda like, if you thought sleep was making you not be able to do something because you're sleeping or sleepy, then you smoke some meth. Yes it will help you with your sleep problem, but was it really a problem to begin with?

when someone mentions ADD/ADHD I'm always reminded of the south park episode when some doctor finds a revolutionary new treatment. His treatment is smacking a kid and yelling at him to "Sit down and study!". He does it to a couple of the kids and the rest just fall in like, lol. Do you think this problem of kids acting an ass in class happened back in our great grand parents day when some teacher would just smack you? Probably not.

ADHD might be fake, but adderall certainly isn't. Thankfully.

reply to post by mezzanine224


Screw Adderall. I loved amphetamines, but they really did a number on my brain. I was on low doses of it for 10 years when it finally stopped working. I'm assuming because there was no dopamine available for it to jack up. I finally just stopped taking it a few months ago and my motivation levels have been horrible. I have no motivation to do anything. I finally received a product I had been waiting 3 months to get, and haven't even put it togethet yet (probably take 5 min). I'm just not interested in anything.

Mark my words, you love it now, but it won't work forever. When it stops working, you're going to wish you never took it and took better care of your brain.

edit: Of course I could also mention some of the positives of being off it, like not being such a heartless monster. Anger and irritability issues are almost non-existent now. My blood pressure was always 130-150 while on it, it was 108 last I checked. To be fair, long term effects may be different if you get 7+ hours of sleep every night, and supplement with tyrosine (I think..whatever is converted to dopamine).

reply to post by Toadmund


Agreed.

I should show them videos of my brother on and off his medication to make them understand.

TheToastmanCometh
reply to post by Toadmund

 

Agreed.

I should show them videos of my brother on and off his medication to make them understand.

I absolutely think there are people who have extremely high energy levels, can't focus, and can't really control themselves. I knew a kid who was legit ADHD, he was something else lol. The real problem here, is that ANY kid can say 'I can't focus in school' and get prescribed amphetamines which turn them into an angry monster.

There is absolutely an issue with doctors over-prescribing these drugs, just like they over-prescribed antibiotics. They knew there would be negative consequences, but all they care about is making a buck.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


I disagree on the matter. ADHD is a disorder, although it is too often diagnosed way too easily. There might lie a conspiracy, a financial one, in the overdiagnosing of this, but ADHD itself is definitely not a fake disorder. I have seen people with actual ADHD and understand how tough this can be, whatever the age of the person. The topic was probably chosen like that not to spread the truth, but to sell more. Controversy sells.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


I was speaking of street drugs but this study addresses alcohol and nicotine too..

In the most comprehensive research ever on this topic, UCLA psychologists found that children with ADHD who take medications such as Ritalin and Adderall are at no greater risk of using alcohol, marijuana, nicotine or coc aine later in life than kids with ADHD who don’t take these medications. The researchers looked at 15 long-term studies, including data from three studies not yet published. The studies followed more than 2,500 children with ADHD from childhood into their teen and young adult years.

psychcentral

It's is a bogus disease! It's called being a normal hyperactive child. 90% of us were once the same. They don't need any stinking drugs, just patience and a good park to run around in. Recovering from the medicines they are given is a whole nother thing. To get them back to normal after precription meds, they need to have their nervous system balanced back to it's original state. Homeopathic can do wonders in briniging them back to health. I know two people personally who have given their "ADHD" 5 year old kids this natural remedy, and they no longer need the heavy meds!

ADHD Homeopathic Remedy

reply to post by Toadmund


lol. Adhd is just a krutch for a person with a greater attention span that needs to be doing more things at once to satisfy their needs than an average person. You thinking you have adhd because you can't focus how to do something boring doesn't make you different than anyone else. Being "Adhd" just means you're a human with a faster/higher/more evolved consciousness. Try meditating. I was supposedly adhd. I took uppers, downers, I was prescribed everything to help me "cope" with everyone else and regular society. The # they put me on almost got me fired from my job, screwed my sleeping pattern way out of alignment, and killed my appetite, as well as make me lose an insane amount of weight. I started meditating. Eventually threw away all of my medication and never looked back. Even threw out smoking.

How is it that you can say you have a problem, when I have your same issue, and see it as a blessing and reason of higher perspective? Don't let the world dumb you down. You've got a higher purpose. Hold your existence to a higher plane, those meds won't do anything good for you.

Namaste.

reply to post by Cabin


lol, actual adhd? Real life adhd? Like the kind that existed before doctors? I feel like if we were to record a caveman in our primitive state adhd would be pretty hard to actually see. Sorry for the sarcasm. I just can't fathom the reason to claim a label that so negatively affects your life. Makes you wonder how normal you'd be if the "diagnose" was never created. Would you still feel different if no one had ever created adhd?