Add. . .adhd

What do you guys think about this? Is it something doctors and/or pharmaceutical companies made up to make some money? Or do you think it's a real issue? I personally think it was a pretty smart idea for them to do this. A good way for parents to control their children without looking like monsters. I think ADD/ADHD are just fancy terms to label people who get distracted easily and what not.

 

The same could be said of many 'conditions'/ classes of pharmaceuticals.

It's Real...... just too damn Real.
I'm certain many diagnoses are incorrect - false positives.
Are they Honest mistakes or otherwise?

 

Arguably the most contested subject in the realm of psychology. I think yes, there is such a thing as ADD, but it's overdiagnosed because the definition of what it is (in the DSM) is far too loose, and it's a subjective "disorder". Just because little Timmy has an IQ of 150, is bored to death in school, and causes distractions out of frustration does not mean he's ADD, imo. However, Timmy's best friend who has an IQ of 100 and can't pay attention long enough to connect the next dot without forgetting what it's connected to... he does, especially if he suffered lead poisoning as a toddler (the original definition of ADD).

On a side note, this is why I don't like psychiatrists. I really wish they could only write a prescription with a referral from a psychologist. A doctor would face jail time for prescribing me oxycontin because it makes me feel tingly and I like it (not to mention I get a shit ton of stuff done on some opiates), yet there's no penalty for a psychiatrist who writes a script for speed so that little Timmy can get his grade point average from a 3.5 to a 4.0 (I know psych's who do this for that one reason alone). It's wrong.

My question: if there's no such thing as ADD, doesn't that mean there's no such thing as Indigo Children?

 

Alright fulmah, I will retract what I said. Maybe it really does exist, but is overdiagnosed, like you said. I don't know why I wasn't thinking more logically before I started this thread!

 

People do suffer from the conditions, but more then that number are diagnosed.

 

i think its real to an extent but there is a a such thing as ADHD/ODD for sure... BEWARE!! My step sister has ADHD and she was put in a school with children who had severe problems ... social workers workers psychologists etc ... and she turned out tremendously normal. She never wanted to come home.

 

I dunno in public school they need kids that'll sit down and stfu and thats were the drugs come in.

 

My oldest daughter was diagnosed as "hyperactive" when she started school. Shes 37 now. Still battles the problem, now called AA DD.
I remember being called to school when she was grade 1 , I looked in the class through the little window in the door, The teacher was reading to the class, all the kids were sitting and listening, except my daughter. She was running around the room like the Tasmanian Devil from the cartoons.
She battled this "disorder" through her life. With negative results of self medicating.
She has now found a medication that works for her. Shes in a long term relationship, a good job and a stable home.

 

I have adhd and finally got meds for it and feel a million times better. My mom refused to put me on meds as a child and I wish she did. Since I've been on the right dose of meds I've cancelled and cut-up my credit cards, have quit a job I hate because I now have the self-confidence to pursue my dream, am in a very stable relationship and we have never fought and I stopped binge drinking and using pills that aren't perscribed to me.
I've also lost 7 pounds since they upped my adhd meds.
I am s grateful that I found a doctor to actually take the time to make sure the dosage and all is right. I was telling Andy just last night that I feel almost guilty at how easy my life is and how clear my head is now and that I am not having to work as hard as I have in the past to keep myself in check.
So as a semi-succesful and educated person who has worked with kids with adhd and hve it myself I can say it is def not a 'made-up disorder', but is just as serious as a disability like aspergers

 

Nope, its just smart kids that get to little stimulation. They are often bright.

 

I was diagnosed at age 6 or so. I was given Ritalin. I was told I was better by teachers and they continued to medicate me. I didn't feel any different. I just lost my apatite from the amphetamine.

I agree; ADHD, ADD or whatever name you give it does exist. It is just mysterious in the way that Autism is. What causes both I think is unknown.

 

add is now on the low end of the autism spectrum

 

Ive got it and Ive never taken drugs for it.

I was bored out of my fucking mind at school , uni and working for other people.
Society tends to want to regiment people and hates ADD people.

The best way of treating it is for ADD people to network together and exchange ideas.
Some real clever bastards - Einstein , Da Vinci etc *had to be* ADD people.
To call them "disorder " or deficit people is moronic.

Sometimes I wonder about drugs but I think thats because sometimes I dont use my type of neural wiring properly.Alot of drug people are just slowed down IMO

 

I agree. My best friend also has adhd and I suspect most who are very close to me who I get along with def have it as well.

 

It's not a disorder but
society conditions people
to think that it is so that they
aren't "different" and don't rebel.

Why do you suppose it's so common?
Because it's NATURAL.

I'm probably an ADD-induced lunatic
in most people's eyes but I've never
taken a drug for it.

 

I have ADD and I hate it. I KNOW that it is real. I know a lot of people that "wish" they had it so they can have an "excuse" for not doing school work and such things. If they had it then they would know it's not an excuse. I don't let it become an excuse; it's something I have and I must deal with it. The reason many people think it's not real is because they usually don't notice it by just being with a person. It's not like Downs Syndrome where you can tell that there is something different abou the person. If you or someone you know has ADD or ADHD never let it trun into an excuse.

 

I don't know to some extent. I take adderall and let me tell you I felt alive when I first took it, liek I could and can function in society.

 

ADD is definitely real. Some people think that it is on the autism spectrum. I know people who are overstimulated in busy environments, and although they can focus very powerfully when in the right situation and when the interest level is there, it is very difficult for them to hear people talking in a noisy bar. In fact, I probably have it, and that's the case with me. I will be having drinks with friends in a bar, and everyone is having a great time, and I can't hear a damn thing because I can't filter out the background noise. I realize this isn't the defining symptom of ADD, but the point remains that focus/attention is an extremely important part of the brain, and I do believe that different people are equipped with different systems of focus. Just like some people have perfect pitch and some can't carry a tune, some people have strange points of focus and others have no problem. I do, however, think it is WAY overdiagnosed. You can tell very quickly when someone actually has ADD. Unless, of course, he/she is drugged out of his mind.

Edit: I see that people already brought up the point about autism. Definitely an interesting comparison, and having some close experience with autism, I definitely see the resemblance between ADD and autism/asperger's.

 

My son has ADHD. At first I was like you. I didn't want to believe it. I thought that it was just a way to label high spirited children. I have since changed my tune.


Because of the ADHD he has a lack of impulse control. He tries to control himself but he can't, no matter how hard he tries. He litterally has no control. He once came up to me and said, "Mommy, tell my brain to stop making me do these things!"

He's on medication now. There is a HUGE difference in his behavior. He now has the ability to think before he acts. Oh he still gets into trouble. But then again he's a 6 yr old boy. He's supposed to get into trouble. But at least he has the ability now to make a choice in what he does. Not think it then do it without any ability to stop himself like before.

 

I have AD/HD and was diagnosed when I was a little kid. I know for a fact that it is a real disorder, though would have to agree that it is over diagnosed at times. When I am off my meds, it is almost impossible for me to focus no matter how hard I try.