ADD

“www.adultADD.com

I've kinda always thought that this whole ADD thing was bs.

How do you score? It said that my "symptoms" may be consistant with adult ADD. If that's the case, my guess is 97% of us "may" have it.

What drug is going to make millions now?”

“What if I don't have the patience to complete the questionnaire?

That's a bad sign, isn't it? <G>”

“What's this thread about again?”

“Just as I thought. That website is run by a pharmaceutical company that manufactures drugs for ADD. Just another scumbag marketing ploy.”

“Good old Eli Lilly... wanna buy some stock? <Grrrrrrrin!>”

“I used to work for a PR firm who's clients were all pharmaceutical companies. We used a common tactic once. By far, it was the most morally corrupt job I've ever had.”

“Hey, wanna go ride bikes?”

“Just tonight on the South Park "marathon" weekend, they showed the episode where, gosh darn it, ALL the kids had ADD and needed meds. Course Chef showed'em that things had gone too far when they all wanted to go see a Phil Collins concert... and that a slap upside the head usually solved the problem of inattention. LOL!”

“How about baseball? Anyone want to play catch?”

“zen stole my line...”

“I used to think it was BS but now I think it is real. I know too many people who see a night-and-day difference when they are on medication vs. when they are not.

Here is a much better site.”

“"Better things for better living— through chemistry."

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (c. 1960)”

“I'm still a kid at heart. So I don't pay attention to things for 18 and over. No doubt they are rated XXX.”

“I personally feel many of these new conditions they are discovering are bs. Want to sell more drugs? Start inventing new disorders. I’m not saying there aren’t people out there with this problem but I’m sure it’s not as big as the drug companies would lead us to believe. Let’s look at it this way; there is a Starbucks on every corner (hell, I saw them opening a Starbucks inside another Starbucks the other day!), many of us can’t even function without caffeine, soda pop sales are how much a year?, look at the chemicals and artificial sweetners we use in everything now. Is it any wonder we’re so messed up?”

“It's the neutering of today's male youth. No one (neither parents nor teachers) is taking responsibility to keep boyish rambunctiousness in check, so the kids are labelled and medicated instead.”

“"No one"?

I'm taking rather good care of my three sons, thank you.
I can't speak for others, though.

Ely Lilly?
Remember Dan Quayle?”

“Over the years I spent in Scouting I have delt with many boys who were labeled and medicated as ADD who were nothing more than typical boys with parents and teachers who were too tired (and in some cases too lazy) to deal with them.

Yes ADD does exist but out of all the kids I knew who were diagnosed (I'm talking almost two hundred here) only a handfull in my view actually needed meds.

Mutt is dead on IMHO.”

“True dat. I have watched many of my friends and brothers raising their kids now for years and the one thing I see with nearly ALL of them is they all use the same babysitter...the TV.

If you want to see something truly amazing, spend some time with Birch and sass’s family. I don’t know how they do it but their parenting skills are very different than most and it shows in Abby. Whenever I am around their family I am always paying very close attention to how they interact so that I can learn from them (just in case). And I aint’ just blowin’ smoke here.”

“I think a lot of this is due to no Dad being around to straiten the kid out.”

“I don’t know how they do it but their parenting skills are very different than most and it shows in Abby.

Is it the christian guilt/fear complex? Christian brainwashing would be my guess, anyway. My cousin has impeccably well behaved and well adjusted kids, and she's no religious nut. That's the kind of parenting skill to emulate.”

“Mutt makes a good point and then blows it with his rabid anti christian rant. ;-)”

“lol - did you expect anything less from me?”

““Is it the christian guilt/fear complex? Christian brainwashing would be my guess, anyway. My cousin has impeccably well behaved and well adjusted kids, and she's no religious nut. That's the kind of parenting skill to emulate."

From the time I have spent with them I would have to say, only in their actions. They teach her courtesy, calmness and patience the most. No brainwashing. No guilt. This is what I have observed and I wouldn’t want to go any deeper and would prefer to let them speak for themselves if they choose. This whole implication is a bit personal and uncomfortable for me.

Now my brother! Good gravy! He and his wife are more heavy handed in their childrearing and their religious views and practices. They have extenuating circumstances though so it’s not place to say how they are doing. I have one friend who goes whole hog on the fear thing. I once saw her questioning her daughter and when the daughter claimed innocents the mother said, “OK, but remember, G-d will find out your sin if you are lying.”. Kee-ripes!”

“Hmm....well I'll take your word for it, Nigal. But, if they teach their kid that real science is bad and Creation Science is good, then I'll stand by my initial judgement.”

“I have tried about three different drugs to help me. They did help me focus, but I hate the side effects. Appetite, withdraw in the evening, headaches. I think I am going to keep trying different drugs untill I find a happy medium.

With every person's chemistry different, you have to be your own doctor to the point. The doctor prescribing is going on statistics and good marketing by the drug companines. There are a lot of older drugs that are worth taking a look at. It is important to truley understand what the drug is suppose to do.”

“"Hmm....well I'll take your word for it, Nigal. But, if they teach their kid that real science is bad and Creation Science is good, then I'll stand by my initial judgement."

I can't speak for them but I imagine that's one of those things they would leave for her to figure out when she's older.”

“Good call on the side effects thing. Why is it all these drugs have the side effect of sexual dysfunction and diarrhea? Why would someone take a pill, especially for social disorders, that’s going to make you walk around with a boner and make you shlt your pants? Yeah, that’ll really make ya more comfortable in groups.”

“Its real. My wife has it. Was even stuck in some "dummy" classes in high school since there was much less known about diagnosing it or treating it 18 years ago - and her parents didn't know any better.

They told her don't bother with college. She said F-U, figured out how to deal with it on her own and ended up doing pretty good in college. Since I'm around her all the time I can say for sure that she is pretty smart and got the raw deal back in high school.

We see the early signs in one of our two children, too.”

“One of my brothers has it. It's limited his ability to do anything that requires planning or forethought, simply because he can't concentrate for a long enough time. He didn't even finish high school, but the day he took his GED, he scored the highest score of those testing that day.”

“Holy cow Nige, that's an incredible compliment! Thank you.

Mutt, I'm not even going to go there with you. You don't know us, you just think you do.

Our daughter is pretty high energy and very distracable. I have a feeling we'll be asked to have her tested if not medicated in school. I think we'll probably avoid that if possible.”

“Sassafras - my wife is a preschool teacher and so is the first person in the school system to see and recommend testing. Helps that she knows from personal experience what to look for. Every kid that is confirmed and put on one drug or another shows a dramatic improvement in scholastic ability, and as a result, attitude. Give it a try at least.”

“ADD and social disorders are not new, we are just more aware of them due to medical and social acceptance of these illnesses as real diseases. Along with plenty of advertising of the drugs to treat them. The way I see it, it's great that there are drugs out there to help so that people don't have to suffer.

I don't see how anyone who is not a doctor or spends a few hours a week with a kid can make the judgement that the kid doesn't need meds and that the parents are simply lazy.”

“I agree with techntrek.
I know a kid who had constant problems and was uncontrollable. He was not treated until he was permanently kicked out of regular school. He's improved greatly since he started meds and I think he would say his life is better.”

“Techntrek, I have no doubt that some kids really benefit from drugs. But I also know that there's a difference between add and being an energitic kid. If a kid responds to different ways to direct their energy positively, and drugs can be avoided, I personally feel that's the best way. I wouldn't hesitate to have Abby tested if it's recommended but I'll also get a second and maybe even a third opinion before I put her on drugs. I don't even like to take antibiotics if I can help it and I surely don't want my little girl on ridalin for the rest of her life if it can be avoided in any way.”

“Sass, LyndyS posted once about her daughter and changes she made to her diet after doctors recommended drugs. She had good results.”

“I remember that Twigeater. If ever it comes time to make any changes I'll have to ask her what she found out and where.”

“Sassafras - she most likely wouldn't be on drugs the rest of her life. Only a small percentage of childhood ADDers continue to have a problem in adulthood.

ADD drugs are more like drugs for high cholesterol than antibiotics. Yes, you take too many antibiotics and eventually you get strains of buggies that don't respond to it (hospitals are seeing this more and more lately). Certainly use of antibiotics should be "last option" and never long-term.

I have high cholesterol, and started taking drugs for it about 5 years ago (I was around 27 I think). I'll take those drugs for the rest of my life. I don't get any side effects. The ADD drugs are like that - they treat a long-term condition that is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. They almost never have side effects, and if you get one you try another brand until you find one that works. Once on them they provide a much better quality of life. And you don't need to keep your kid on them 24/7. My kids take them before they leave for school and they wear off by the time they get home.”

“That should read "Many kids take them..." My kid isn't on them yet (4 is too young), but we are keeping that option open if it comes to that.”

“Sass, that is exactly the right approach.

There are actually two related but distinct issues. One is hyperactivity, the other is attention deficit. They are jointly referred to as ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Before putting any child on meds, there are many approaches that can be taken to try to address the issues, whatever they may be.

Drugs are used as a crutch sometimes, no doubt, by either parents or schools. This is especially true when the issue is the hyperactivity.

To some of the rest of the posters here, I need to say this:

I thought I knew a lot about marriage until I got married.

I thought I knew a lot about raising children until I had my own.

I am a lot less judgemental now, when I see other parents having issues with their children, than I was some years ago.

Knowing people who have children, and/or observing children in one setting or another, is just not the same as being a parent 24/7/52.”

“Can someone summarize this thread for me?”

“how true Fritz...”

“ynami²...it's too complex, let's just go get drunk.”

“lol Y2!”

“I spend more time with these kids and am deeper in their lives than you think.

If you had met the sets of parents I termed as lazy you would agree with me. It was amazing and quite depressing.”

“A bottle of dexedrine in everyone's school bag!

Imagine what we could accomplish!”

“HPM, I have great respect for the work you have done with children through scouting. I have no doubt that you have interacted with parents who have used ADD as an excuse for essentially sedating their children and that is very, very sad.

Still, I think perhaps you are painting with too broad a brush when you say that only a handful out of 200 kids who were taking medication actually needed it.

Things are tough enough for parents of ADD kids without the judgement that comes mostly from people who don't know what they are talking about. Statements like yours are not seen, by those who would judge, as being anecdotal and imprecise...rather, they are seen as evidence that ADD is a farce.

Peace.”

“right again, Fritz...”

“Too broad a brush? Most likely correct but I don't say that lightly. I was there to help re-enforce the parents efforts and as such the parents know it and confide in me a great deal of privledged information so there wasn't a disconnect between home and Scouts. A very common topic is ADD and as a matter of necessity I had to get informed on the topic. I don't normally pull opinions out of thin air.

In the last twenty years I've seen an explosion of ADD diagnosis and I can't help but to question it and view it with distrust. I have a fundamental aversion to altering someones brain chemistry unless they are unable to function or pose a danger to themselves or others.

In that same vein the increase concerns me and makes me wonder what is the root cause of the increase.

Excitable kids need more to do and inattentive kids need more personal attention but frequently we as a society turn to medications prematurely for a variety of reasons.

ADD isn't a farce, I never said it was although I can see where one would draw that conclusion from my opinion, but I do believe it is overdiagnosed.”

“i was going to finish reading this thread but o look a birdie!”

“now what was i.....i wanna cookie”