Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010) • Hacker News Board

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#301

Post by nullsense » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 1:29 AM UTC

whimsicalism wrote: post #85

dx87 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the stigma against the medication, and the people who casually say "omg, I'm like, so ADD" really hurt the people who have actually been diagnosed with it. Depending on where you live, it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to see you for a diagnoses and subsequent prescription because they think that you're a college kid wanting to abuse it or sell it. I had to call 4-5 different offices until I fo…

From my perspective, the thing that has hurt the credibility around ADHD diagnoses is the pretty blatant use by affluent parents to get diagnoses so they can get test-time extensions for their kids. ADHD diagnosis is much more strongly correlated with affluence than many other mental illnesses. Eliminating the 504 accommodation would be beneficial in my view.

>ADHD diagnosis is much more strongly correlated with affluence than many other mental illnesses.

Source?

My understanding is it is the opposite way around. The lower down the socioeconomic totem pole you go the higher the rates of prevalence of ADHD.

Which would make sense given a) it runs in families and b) executive function disorders are correlated with negative life outcomes.

I can't imagine it makes you _more_ successful in life and thus more likely to be from an affluent family.

All the a-holes that abuse the drugs and the DX for any reason need to find another planet to live on IMO. It's so not cool.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#302

Post by nullsense » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 2:50 AM UTC

kinakomochidayo wrote: post #265

LocalH wrote: post #121

I’ve had more help with my ADHD symptoms from a series of DMT experiences, than I ever did from the mainstream treatment process. One single DMT experience (containing about an objective hour of intensely being dragged through time) greatly minimized my ADHD symptoms for at least six months . There is untapped potential in psychedelics for treatment of things like this. It’s a crime against humanity that we allowed n…

I agree with this. I also had significant success by permanently alleviating the major symptoms of ADHD (like bumping into walls, not cleaning room, not being able to pay bills on time) with 1 trip of LSD about 8 years ago. I don't even drink coffee, and I'm getting by with the occasional bouts of anxiety which I can deal with separately. I also occasionally do Ayahuasca for trauma/childhood healing work - which I su…

I think it's cos that community is a very wide range of people, some of which are very young. It's not like HN where we are all older and generally a crowd who really likes to tackle problems from an intellectual angle and try things out to get the data on them. That subreddit kinda has to stick to the lowest common denominator which is just following the standard advice.

Very interesting to hear of your experiences in this thread though. Maybe we need an r/ADHND for all us ADHDers on HN :P

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#303

Post by nullsense » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 2:56 AM UTC

blodkorv wrote: post #282

As an adult with ADD i cast doubts about the diagnosis. I have started to more and more think my diagosis is just a result of not being a high productive high intelligence individual. I more and more realise that my brain and personality is not the kind that is made for desk work. I find it boring and difficult. I have done other types of works that suits me better i beleive my life would be so much better if i just…

ADHD brains are actually different due to pervasive developmental delays.

It's not even really related to intelligence. ADHDers run the gamut from really stupid, to average, to really smart.

I'm reasonably intelligent, but boy do I struggle with the basics on a day to day basis. Understanding complex stuff is fairly fun and engaging for me, so I spend a bunch of time doing it. That's usually at the expense of being a good husband, father, friend or brother.

It doesn't seem to be what you think it is.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#304

Post by nullsense » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 3:01 AM UTC

scns wrote: post #261

friendlybus wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too much of this is religion dressed up. People paying for miraculous salvation. Martin Luther would have something to say here.

There is nothing miraculous about scanning the brain, and looking whats going wrong, it's a science based process.

Except mainstream science rejects the validity of SPECT scans as a diagnostic tool for ADHD.

fMRI is getting closer as time passes and the techniques improve but still agreed to not be good enough yet.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#305

Post by purpleplanet » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 5:14 AM UTC

medion wrote: post #185

Baeocystin wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I literally just got diagnosed with adult ADD a month ago. I'm 46! It... explains a lot of things, both for better and for worse. I never even realized I was developing coping skills vs. just developing normal skills, if that makes sense. I definitely have had the same types of problems as you describe. I've been on Ritalin for a few weeks now, and the difference is remarkable. If this is how normal people feel most…

I am nearly 40 and I have wondered for a long time whether I have adult ADD but have been afraid to go down the diagnostic path, because I'm scared I will lose one of the few true talents I have, which is hyperfocus (or the complete opposite, depending) - that said I think this quality is ruining relationships, so while I can hyperfocus on work or projects, my personal life is a mess. But, I don't know if this is ADD…

Hey! I'm 21 and was diagnosed at 11 or 12. I've learned a LOT about myself just in the past couple years by reading up on additional ADHD symptoms that aren't just school-related (since the diagnoses really just focuses on how my disability impacts others, like teachers and parents). I have a 10mg Ritalin prescription that I was supposed to take twice a day in grade school, one in the morning and another at lunch. I've found that it lasts for about 5 hours. Recently, I started cutting them in half and only taking 5mg whenever I need to do work. Not sure if that sounds bad, but I don't have a problem with any of my symptoms when I'm not doing work I'm not passionate about (most homework). The point is, you don't have to always be on meds once you get them, and you can get a low enough dose to have control over it instead of being on it all day every day. Also, just like the other comments on here, I don't lose my hyperfocus at all when I'm on meds. It just helps me stay "on a roll" instead of wandering off to do other stuff or getting super spaced out. 10/10 would recommend getting diagnosed. Anything you can do to deepen your self understanding is going to be beneficial in the long run. I know I'm only 21, but please trust me on that last part, if nothing else. Best of luck:)

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#306

Post by purpleplanet » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 5:15 AM UTC

treeman79 wrote: post #217

medion wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am nearly 40 and I have wondered for a long time whether I have adult ADD but have been afraid to go down the diagnostic path, because I'm scared I will lose one of the few true talents I have, which is hyperfocus (or the complete opposite, depending) - that said I think this quality is ruining relationships, so while I can hyperfocus on work or projects, my personal life is a mess. But, I don't know if this is ADD…

Didn’t lose hyper focus. More that I gained “longer” focus.

THIS!!! it just helps keep me "on a roll" instead of spacing out

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#307

Post by purpleplanet » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 5:21 AM UTC

nullsense wrote: post #260

dylan604 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>mundane task That's why we invented shell scripts and cron! On a serious note, what type of tasks would you consider mundane that you attribute to your ADHD to cause you to not want to do them that any non-ADHD person would also not have procrastination problems? Are these specific to work like filling out time sheets or other TPS reports? Home tasks like laundry/dishes/trash? All of the above? As a non-ADHD person,…

>As a non-ADHD person, I hate all of the above tasks and only do them because it's part of adulting. The difference being my wife breaks down in tears every 3 months because she woke up to dishes in the sink _again_ and wasn't able to use her coffee cup because, though I meant to do them and said I would, I wound up not doing them. That was the first 5 years of my marriage. Repeat for laundry. Repeat for trash. For w…

^^^^yes. it's different than procrastination. it's MORE than procrastination. if part of my is scared of a certain task (because stress is biologically the same as fear), it's sometimes like my brain wont't "let" me do it. even if i try, I'll sit there thinking about it torturing myself instead of getting it over-with. it truly is crippling at times. I know it sounds dramatic to non_ADHD and neurotypical people, but if you are committed to making an equitable space, you have to trust and believe that the disabled person is telling you the truth.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#308

Post by Auracle » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 5:27 AM UTC

to11mtm wrote: post #296

Auracle wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a bad concussion when I was 12 that ended up tanking my testosterone levels (and god knows what else). I was extremely tired all the time. I didn’t get it properly diagnosed for nearly 15 years, and in that time I turned down going to Ivy League schools and a bunch of other opportunities. I have to admit going on HN can be a bit of a bummer as I always thought I was destined for the lives a lot of people have h…

> I had a bad concussion when I was 12 that ended up tanking my testosterone levels (and god knows what else). Interesting you mention that. I had a Bicycle->Car accident when I was 8 and I've always been told that's when a number of my behaviors started to change (and I became the black sheep of the family I am now.) I didn't get diagonsed with ADD until I was almost 30, but oddly enough my current care doctor also…

Brain trauma is scary stuff. Back when it happened to me (the year 2000) the doctors weren’t at all concerned with the concussion. I broke my arm pretty severely and my back also hurt, and that’s all they cared about.

I’m guessing that’d be different now, though I don’t know what extra care they could give. At the very least I think my parents would have thought to tie my sudden energy and worse grades to what happened.

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#309

Post by winter_blue » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 6:26 AM UTC

shajznnckfke wrote: post #158

winter_blue wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You know what's totally nuts? Taking Amphetamine daily for years in reasonable doses essentially has no long term negative effects. In that way, similar to coffee. Wow, that is truly amazing. I'm glad to learn about that. I notice a slight depression if I stop taking my ADHD meds for a few days (perhaps up to a week), but after that I'm back to my old (ADHD-driven) self. So in a sense, it's not addictive at all. Th…

> One side effect of Adderall though is ED, and it's pretty bad. I guess it depends on the person, but for me, the ED was quite bad. The ED does go away after getting off of it. The drugs for that are very easy to get these days - you can get a prescription online by taking a survey and the pills will be mailed to you without ever talking to a human.

Well, the drugs for ED (e.g. Sildenafil) are quite bad / not really good for your health.

It's probably a lot better in the long-run to use exercise as a cure for ADHD.

(Instead of slamming your system with drugs upon drugs. With one drug taken to mitigate another's side effects, etc.)

Re: Adults with ADHD show decreased function in brain dopamine reward pathway (2010)

#310

Post by friendlybus » Mon, Oct 05, 2020, 10:15 AM UTC

scns wrote: post #261

friendlybus wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too much of this is religion dressed up. People paying for miraculous salvation. Martin Luther would have something to say here.

There is nothing miraculous about scanning the brain, and looking whats going wrong, it's a science based process.

I looked at it and did the questionnaire he supplies.

The scientific criticism is valid, there's no direct link between his scans and the outcomes. He uses the science as a correlation for everyday self help stuff and catholic salvation.

It's not coincedence he talks about believing in miracles and jokes about wanting to become a catholic priest as a child. He grew up seriously into the church.

People are essentially paying for salvation and at a steep price, this is exactly why the protestant churches got started. Look closer!