Big pharma says, “Hell yes. Move on.”

“Does ADHD in fact exist? This week the BBC’s Panorama programme quite rightly exposed some very worrying private clinics.

In online consultations, staff had diagnosed a BBC reporter with ADHD — attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — despite an in-person, and far longer, assessment by an NHS psychiatrist concluding that he didn’t have the condition.

The clinics, while charging rather plump fees, seemed to have an extremely relaxed attitude towards diagnosing this increasingly common complaint.

It is a huge issue. ADHD was once mainly confined to children but is now spreading rapidly into the adult populations of the Western world.

The clinics, one of them working on behalf of the overloaded NHS, were also willing to prescribe powerful stimulant drugs on the basis of this.

Mainstream doctors drew up their skirts in horror. Very alarming stuff. But the whole programme was based on two assumptions.

The first was that ADHD exists at all, and the second was that there is some gold standard objective, testable diagnosis, against which these clinics can be judged.

I know this will get me into all kinds of trouble. The ADHD lobby is huge and powerful and turns with fury on its critics. It propels legions of people into lifelong prescriptions, as it officially cannot be cured, only ‘treated’. …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/12096593

It absolutely exists.

It absolutely is overdiagnosed.

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
It absolutely exists.

It absolutely is overdiagnosed.

Exactly this. I'm ADD and can you tell you there is a marked difference between a "normal" person and someone with ADD.

Yes, it exists.

They gave medication to one of my son's friends it made a huge difference in his life.

I have ADHD, I have struggled with it my whole life. Being in the military actually has helped due to the structure but I wish it were easier for me to have meds in the military.

Had it when I was a kid some 60 years ago. Dad's backhand to the side of my head seemed to have fixed it.

Yes, and it's no fun. I have a mild case, and my daughter has it for real.

quote:

Originally posted by pace40:
Had it when I was a kid some 60 years ago. Dad's backhand to the side of my head seemed to have fixed it.

That didn't take long.

Dr. Berg for the win.

I think it has always existed, but we used to say those people were just easily distracted. It wasn't a disorder, it was just a personality trait. I'm pretty sure I would have been diagnosed with ADD when I was younger, or even now. I was just a daydreamer and wouldn't be engaged mentally in things I wasn't as interested in.

Even now, as an adult, I have to constantly pause and think "What am I doing now? What should I be doing now? Oh, get back on task and finish what I should be working on now." I am laser focused on the things that are interesting to me and easily distracted with the mundane, but mostly necessary, day-to-day tasks that I'm not interested in.

I don't like diagnosing personality traits as disorders. It makes you think there's something wrong with you. Nope. You're perfectly normal. You have faults, just like everyone else.

My son is a lot like me and when he was in kindergarten they wanted to diagnose him as either ADD or autistic. I said they were wrong and that he just needed more attention and structure. So we spent years giving him more close attention and structure. Today, he's a smart, funny, 13 year old kid that everyone loves to be around, both kids his age and adults. He knows how to take care of himself and because of homeschooling, he's learning more and more how to think independently and solve problems.

I've noticed a huge improvement in his memory retention, drive and motivation this year. He was always behind the rest of the kids in class, but I think now he's ahead of most his age.

I don't like it when kids are diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, or autism. I believe that once that label is put on a kid or even a person, then you put limits on what you can do or limits on your expectations.

It is my opinion that your brain needs structure and exercise through discipline and routine to overcome these traits and I don't believe psychotropic medications are the answer. But that's my opinion.

But I do agree that some people's brains can be mis-wired enough that it falls outside of the normal realm of ADD/ADHD. We have a local young adult in our neighborhood who is obviously off and I don't know if it's a genetic disorder or if psychotropic medications made him that way over the years. I don't know his medical history and I don't want to.

There are a lot of layers to the topic, but that's my drive-by commentary.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
Dr. Berg for the win.

Yeah, but I swear he (and other "experts") would treat multiple GSWs with the ketogenic diet.

The DMAE recommendation was a new one on me though, will have to check that out further.

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
It absolutely exists.

It absolutely is overdiagnosed.

No question about it.

People who deny its existence simply never tried to raise a child cursed with it. Nothing works to "fix" it if the kid has it - no amount of discipline, work, attention, or medications. If I ever wrote a book about raising my son, I would title it, "Living with Tom Sawyer".

Aunt Polly had it easy.

I have 3 sons and a daughter. Two of my sons have it, and one does not. It's night and day difference as to how they're wired for tasks, homework, priorities, and even sports.

It's amazing and wonderful how different they all are, but simply from observing these boys I can say something is wired differently and causes, especially my middle son, great distress and inability to stay on task for certain things.

I can literally watch his focus (figuratively) slip through his fingers when we're working on math homework together.

50/50... Some kids legit have it. Others just never had their ass wore out!!

There's probably a name for the normal mob reaction that amplifies such trends. A "new" condition is identified with a new medicine and inevitably, the number of diagnosis exponentially increases.

We had a friend's son who was going to be held back a grade and won't be allowed to go back to school unless he was medicated.

They went home school instead and he soared academically and didn't need any medication.

It applies to any trends; I just don't know how it starts to snowball.

I'd never consider it a curse.

I have read of opinions and speculation that some of the greatest figures in history, especially military history, very likely had ADD, and most certainly would today, be diagnosed with ADHD.

As for the backhand comment...there is something to that. The "cure" for ADHD is discipline and acceptable coping mechanisms.

I believe someday people will look back on the solutions of today with disdain and horror. I already do.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
There's probably a name for the normal mob reaction that amplifies such trends. A "new" condition is identified with a new medicine and inevitably, the number of diagnosis exponentially increases.

We had a friend's son who was going to be held back a grade and won't be allowed to go back to school unless he was medicated.

They went home school instead and he soared academically and didn't need any medication.

It applies to any trends; I just don't know how it starts to snowball.

Yeah. I’ve noticed that “gluten intolerance” seems to be a popular malady in some groups of people nowadays. I doubt not that some actually have the malady, but I’m pretty sure that some that say they do, don’t.

It is a curse when it’s undiagnosed or untreated. I was diagnosed at 19. School was difficult and so was socializing.

Also, getting slapped in the head might straighten out unruly adolescence when it gets out of hand, but it will never make someone with ADHD focus.