Do you have an opinion?
There are many controversies and myths about ADD or ADHD; I’ve addressed many of them many times. So I’d like to collect your viewpoints and opinions on any of them. Here are the main ones; let me know if I’ve left some out. Please comment.
1. Does it exist?
2. Is it overdiagnosed?
3. Should it be treated with medication? dangers of medications?
4. What is the cause? (If you really want to know, check out the French site, everyone there is absolutely certain what causes it. (warning, once you open it they don’t let you unsubscribe; oo la la, those French!)
5. Is it diet and additives? What about gluten?
6. Do alternatives work?
doug
if you have ADD or ADHD, you probably haven’t done your Christmas shopping yet; you may not have even thought about it. So, is there someone you know who could benefit from an ADD ADHD book? clik and clik
the French site clik the comments are much more interesting than the article, and they never stop
melanie on ADD, ADHD, sleep disorders and comorbidities clik
Dr. katerina on incidence clik
Dr. McNeal on diet
did you know that vapor trails are the cause of all our problems? is this even a vapor trail?
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SEE THE COMMENTS BELOW
Heres some other thoughts on caffeine, vitamins, other supplements clik great post from Mike clik
- Comment by Margaret 15 minutes ago
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Doug, you know I always have opinions!
1) ADHD definitely exists!
2) I do not believe it is over diagnosed. I think there is a “pure” ADHD, but that it is also part of many other diagnoses (autism, bipolar, PTSD), and this make it confusing to the public. I also think that it is more well known,so more people seek treatment for their children. Finally, I think that the change in family lifestyles, and schooling procedures, has made it more difficult for the more mild ADHD ‘ers to cope, so we are seeing more of them.
3) Yes, it should be treated, but meds are ONLY PART of the treatment. Not treating leads to so many avoidable heartaches for so many children. Are we treating them so they can “fit in” to school, etc? Well, frankly, in some cases, yes. However, not being able to “fit in”, at least somewhat, leads to rather gigantic failures. ADHD’ers are the minority – the world is not going to change for us!!
4) What is the cause? I will go with the current theory of not enough dopamine. Why is there not enough dopamine? Not a clue. I am interested, however, in the effects of early trauma on the developing brain – there seem to be an awful lot of people out there with ADHD and PTSD. Yes, I know correlation does not imply causation, but I think that it is interesting.
5) Is it diet? Well, garbage in gets you garbage out. Some people are extremely sensitive to food additives, and others are not. For some, it may be an exacerbating factor, but I do not believe it is the cause.
6) Alternatives may help, but I do not think they work completely for most people. For example, I take Omega 3, and encourage my patients to do the same. I really do think it helps. Am I going to replace my Vyvanse with it? NO!!!! Melatonin can help with the sleep issues, essential oils can help with the sleep and anxiety issues. CBT and other therapies can help with strategies. So, they work for various “parts” but do not, in my experience, work for everything. And remember – alternative therapies are also medications, and should be treated with respect. The difference between medication and poison often lies mainly in the dose!
Comment by doug puryear on December 6, 2013 at 1:55am- Delete Comment
mike – thanks, thats a great post on the myths. The truth will set us free.
Comment by Mike Gingerich on December 5, 2013 at 8:51pm- Delete Comment
Oh yes, I definitely have opinions on all those issues. I’m a retired mental health professional with 41 years experience, 20 specializing in ADHD;also an ADHD adult! Actually, I just wrote several relevant posts on my blog – Addboy’s Opinions
ADDadultstrategies 
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We humans do or say things because we get something out of it , either consciously or unconsciously. In the case of ADHD, it is unconscious behavior. Have you noticed that your ADHD behavior usually causes you stress, fear or anxiety. ADHD is not a Disorder. It is a neurotransmitter problem in the sensory areas of the brain. Stress, fear and anxiety causes a increase of dopamine in the brain. Your autonomic nervous system is in control of your emotions and is in the process of increasing sensory dopamine levels. The brain is always trying to maintain what is called homeostasis(normal levels of everything) in your body. There is a very good reason why all of this is happening. Why there is low dopamine levels in the brain is the “rest of the story”. I call it ADHD: The Mirror Image Hypothesis. There is no “empirical evidence”
for ADHD because it is not a Disease or Disorder.
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chet – doesn’t dopamine makes sense for the sense of drive and pressure as well as the anxiety?
thank you for commenting
doug
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Doug, We humans are usually depressed over something that has already happened. We become anxious over something that has not happened yet. If a person feels pressure to get something done, but does not seem to have the drive (Motivation) to get started, its probably an Executive Function problem. Planning and Motivation to complete a task takes place in the pre frontal cortex of the brain. Those diagnosed with ADHD have low dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex, so without a plan and a method to carry it out, it would be difficult to start anything.
So in answer to your question, if lack of drive or a feeling of pressure to do something, causes anxiety and eventually fear, then it would fit in with the autonomic nervous systems playbook to increase dopamine levels.
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chet – that makes sense. i like the idea bout things done and things undone.
thanks for your comments
dogu
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Thank you so much for stopping by at my blog and for liking one of my posts ”having good attitude”. May you be bless in the name of Jesus Christ.
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osaro
thank you!
doug
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Hah. Ah.
It is real, and it’s both under – and over diagnosed. I’ve encountered quite a few borderline personalities who ‘prefer’ to have ADHD, and people diagnosed with ADHD too soon after quitting substance abuse. In children, early trauma can mimick ADHD. But it’s complicated!! At the same time, there still are ‘true’ ADHD people out there, struggling because they never got any help.
I don’t believe meds should always be needed; lighter cases may benefit more from skill training. I’m on meds, it’s not all that great but I do massively benefit.
IMHO ADHD is a neurobiological problem, but can be influenced by a variety of factors. I believe it is possible to allow the ADHD brain to develop in an improving way, but we don’t know enough yet. The French may have a partial point.
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busy-
it is indeed complicated!
thank you for sharing your opinions.
best wishes
doug
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