Send an email asking them which drug they recommend. Then go see a lawyer with the printout.
Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
51–60 of 63 posts
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#52I definitely don't think this is legal (disclaimer though: I am not a lawyer), unless your manager is also a MD, but even then, I don't think it's legal unless he's acting in that capacity. If, as you note, you are no longer working there, I wouldn't worry yourself too much about it unless you think that you do have focus issues. If that's the case, I would try correcting the problem in non-medical ways first. There'…
Get serious. It may not be tactful or appropriate, but I'd be very surprised if suggesting to a subordinate that they go get checked out for ADHD was illegal.
Would it be illegal if his manager told him to go get a Tamiflu prescription as well?
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489818/#__sec7...
I don't see anything that backs up the claim you made in that paper. The closest thing I see: "Stimulant drugs do improve the ability (even without ADHD) to focus and pay attention. One function, which is reliably improved by stimulant medications, is sustained attention, or vigilance. Stimulants improve sustained, focused attention, but “selective attention” and “distractibility” may be worsened, possibly because of…
fair enough -- i was basing it on my memory of a documentary I saw once -- i looked up the documentary but could not find a list of the studies it cited, so I Googled for studies on the question
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#54I definitely don't think this is legal (disclaimer though: I am not a lawyer), unless your manager is also a MD, but even then, I don't think it's legal unless he's acting in that capacity. If, as you note, you are no longer working there, I wouldn't worry yourself too much about it unless you think that you do have focus issues. If that's the case, I would try correcting the problem in non-medical ways first. There'…
Get serious. It may not be tactful or appropriate, but I'd be very surprised if suggesting to a subordinate that they go get checked out for ADHD was illegal. Would it be illegal if his manager told him to go get a Tamiflu prescription as well?
Yeah, or would it be illegal to tell him to go to a doctor to get vision checked and corrected? People give medical advice to each other all the time. It is up to you whether or not you follow through, but even then, to get prescription you do need to visit a doctor. Why would telling people to visit a doctor to get X and Y prescribed illegal? Is it actually illegal? If he were to tell him to obtain Ritalin illegally, then I can see how that would be illegal, but from what I gathered he did not do that.
I am not a doctor. I told a stranger (who is now my friend) to visit a psychiatrist because I suspected he has ADHD. His psychiatrist diagnosed him with that, and he got a prescription for a stimulant. His life has changed tremendously for the better. It turned his life around. I gave him other medical advice (because I learnt a lot of medicine) about a variety of things that has improved his quality of life. I have no regrets.
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#55I had a similar situation with a punch bowl of no-doze at a data center startup.
No job is worth your health, I think glass door is a good outlet for this type of information.
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#56That stuff is highly addictive. Honest to god, if he suggested it, most likely he takes it too. Get out of there, his expectations are based around people abusing speed, which means he basically expects some unhealthy output. Remember kids, all drugs work, until they don’t. You can always take more I guess.
There are millions of people who take those medications as prescribed without addiction or dependence. If you are going off label then you have a problem, but in many cases these medications can make the difference between a successful life and a disastrous one.
You do develop tolerance and physical dependence even at therapeutic doses. You will experience withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt cessation because of it.
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#57Noise cancelling headphones playing Ambient Sleeping Pill helps me focus.
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#58You can assume the worst and think your manager just wants you to work harder and longer while hopped up on amphetemines, or you can take it as not-particulary friendly advice to get yourself diagnosed for attention issues. The best part of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and starting medication was my ability to sit quietly with my then 3 year old son and play blocks for longer than 10 minute stretches. Previo…
Seems like a boundary issue to have a boss pushing meds. In fact, it could be illegal (IANAL).
Meds can help if there's a real issue, but there's almost always side-effects. Growing up, my parents were anti-medication and anti-psychology. It turns out I had untreated depression, Asperger's and ADD-I only diagnosed as an adult. Atomoxetine really helps me because I can't tolerate amphetamine stimulants or caffeine. I tried Adderal, Ritalin and Provigil, and they all made my anxiety and blood pressure much worse.
Also, I'm currently cross-titrating to my 14th anti-depressant. (The last one, mirtazapine, worked for 9 years at the expense of 25% weight gain.) Ketamine, LSD and invasive/ECT treatments are just about my last choices if this new one doesn't work. And the 12th one I tried gave me terrible vertical and horizontal nystagmus and whole-body, sporadic myoclonus. (Beware of extrapyramidal-causing and anticholinergic medications!)
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#59Absolutely not okay. ADHD medication should only be taken if one has ADHD. Which can only be determined by a medical specialist. And even if you do have ADHD, you don't have to take meds. ADHD meds are often misused as drugs, so suggesting this is basically asking you to take drugs. Not okay.
If a manager has a hunch that one of their employees has an unknown medical condition they might tell them about it. If their relationship is good enough.
If, on the other hand, they notice a performance issue, they can talk about that and potential ways to fix this. Which would include a quiter workplace, more interesting tasks or an inquiry of underlying issues.
I have ADHD and would have been happy if I had been diagnosed earlier. But I became a Machine Learning engineer without diagnosis. And while meds are nice, they surely were not the end of my problems. I am glad you don't work there anymore, because the real problem there was this manager.
Re: Ask HN: My manager suggested me to start taking Ritalin
#60This reminds me of when owners of a company told me to just give paracetamol to my 1yr old and leave at the nursery and come to work.