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ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

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Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#21

Post by corporate_shi11 »

vonseel wrote: post #11
corporate_shi11 wrote: post #3

I think there's an important distinction between hyperactive thought and hyperactive outward activity. Most people associate ADHD with the latter when it's really more about the former, as this essay describes well.

Eh, ability to restrain oneself (and keep those hyperactive thoughts internal) comes with age. I don’t think the impulsivity associated with ADHD in children disappears when those children become adults; they just learn to control the outward behaviors. I tend to interrupt people mid-discussion often; I’m guessing it’s related somehow.

That's a good point. I'm reflecting on my own experience as an adult but as a child I was definitely more active than most of my peers. As an adult I've put considerable effort and practice towards controlling myself in social situations.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#22

Post by munk-a »

FisDugthop wrote: post #10

Thanks for mentioning that not everybody responds well to Ritalin. I was medicated with it while in grade school, and it was not pleasant; the school nurse would check my mouth to make sure I took the pills each morning, because I would spit them out otherwise. To this day, I am not interested in taking medication for my mental health.

Ritalin in the 90's was pretty brutal for me too - when I was first put on it it was a big morning pill and I think two separate afternoon boosters - this meant that I was constantly cycling between overly sedate, level, and apathy - but I've found that switching over to a single XR pill has helped out, I think I've also benefited from being able to clump my active hours according to my own schedule so that I can be productive semi-reliably and sort of trail off in the evenings.

If you're able to get by without it then good on you - but I thought I'd mention that things have improved somewhat.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#23

Post by Mirioron »

timw4mail wrote: post #18
corporate_shi11 wrote: post #3

I think there's an important distinction between hyperactive thought and hyperactive outward activity. Most people associate ADHD with the latter when it's really more about the former, as this essay describes well.

Somewhat pedantic, but ADD and ADHD is a distinction. Both probably have the hyperactive thought, but ADHD is the hyperactive outward activity.

They're both labeled ADHD nowadays clinically. The ADD you're talking about is called ADHD-PI or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Primarily Inattentive.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#24

Post by pgt »

From years of amateur neurochemistry - As best as I can tell - ADD & ADHD are two sides of the same coin resulting from a dopaminergic deviation that serves the tribe but not the individual.

Most people think of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical," but in reality it is the "anticipation chemical." Dopamine says: "You got this. Almost there!" And it is up-regulated when an uncertain profit presents itself, implying that all you need is a little bit more focus and practice.

Too little dopamine and you get OCD and hoarding: the inability to decide. You can think of a hoarder's room full of stuff as decisions left unmade. When you can't decide, you open & close your car door 45 times until it sounds "just right".

And when you have too much dopamine, you do stuff with zero anxiety, but you don't stop to consider the best course of action because you pick the first, best path. Useful when running from a predator, but not when solving complex problems. Just look at people on cocaine to see how this pans out.

The best personal advice I have to handle the ups & downs of ADD/ADHD condition is to build supportive todo & reminder systems around the bipolar highs and lows. Exploit the manic highs and outsource as much rote work as you can. Find ways to help you remember and reward life-sustaining tasks during the lows.

I've been working on some software that helps me get the most out of life in this manner, which would also potentially help older, mentally-compromised patients. If this is something you are interested in, please do reach out.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#25

Post by timw4mail »

vslira wrote: post #2

About getting treatment: it's extremely irritating that some people judge using Ritalin is somehow morally wrong. Yes, I get that "lifestyle changes" could help, but I don't want to change my lifestyle. Imagine if there was a pill to reduce risk of cardiac arrest, with some increased risk of something relatively minor. Can you imagine the uproar if cardiologists denied prescribing the pill, instead forcing people to…

The medication is just as personal as other options in how effective they are.

As a diagnosed sufferer of ADHD, my experience is that Adderall works better than Ritalin, but the extended release stuff shortens my temper. If I'm still having a bad day, an energy drink can help.

On boredom: I can be bored, but lack the drive to do anything to make me less bored. When I'm having fun, it is difficult to switch to the next thing I need to do.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#26

Post by pgt »

omgwtfbyobbq wrote: post #16

For anyone diagnosed with ADHD, taking stimulants is associated with 8+x increase of being diagnosed with a basal ganglia and cerebellum disease later in life. I believe this is NOT causative, but is instead a correlation between other diseases associated with Dopamine production and ADHD. I take and have continued to take stimulants for ADHD. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0207-5 In my family's case, we…

Thanks for this! Any news on increasing the risk of Alzheimer's by taking dopaminergic drugs?

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#27

Post by [deleted] »

gnicholas wrote: post #6

For anyone with ADHD who finds this long article difficult to read, I'd suggest reading it with the BeeLine Reader browser extension (I'm the founder, and anyone who wants a free 1-month pass can email me via my profile). It makes walls of text and long articles in general easier to stick with, and is fairly popular in the ADHD community. This article works best in Clean Mode, which also reformats the text into a col…

[deleted]

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#28

Post by vonseel »

omgwtfbyobbq wrote: post #16

For anyone diagnosed with ADHD, taking stimulants is associated with 8+x increase of being diagnosed with a basal ganglia and cerebellum disease later in life. I believe this is NOT causative, but is instead a correlation between other diseases associated with Dopamine production and ADHD. I take and have continued to take stimulants for ADHD. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0207-5 In my family's case, we…

Thanks for this, I’m going to have to look into that research

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#29

Post by pgt »

gnicholas wrote: post #6

For anyone with ADHD who finds this long article difficult to read, I'd suggest reading it with the BeeLine Reader browser extension (I'm the founder, and anyone who wants a free 1-month pass can email me via my profile). It makes walls of text and long articles in general easier to stick with, and is fairly popular in the ADHD community. This article works best in Clean Mode, which also reformats the text into a col…

Thanks! I struggled to read this and kept skipping ahead. Will give Beeline a try :)

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#30

Post by NickM »

pgt wrote: post #24

From years of amateur neurochemistry - As best as I can tell - ADD & ADHD are two sides of the same coin resulting from a dopaminergic deviation that serves the tribe but not the individual. Most people think of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical," but in reality it is the "anticipation chemical." Dopamine says: "You got this. Almost there!" And it is up-regulated when an uncertain profit presents itself, implying th…

Do you have sources for any of these claims about dopamine? No offense intended, and I agree that the common interpretation of dopamine as the "pleasure chemical" is wrong and oversimplifying, but much of what you're saying sounds a bit "just so" to me.
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