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FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

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Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your physician diagnoses a 3 year old child with ADHD, find a new physician.

I approached the parent comment with immediate scepticism. I couldn't believe that a therapist would give such a diagnosis for a child of 2-3 years of age. I looked a bit into it: > According to the 2010-2011 National Survey of Children’s Health, approximately 194,000 preschoolers (2-5 years of age) had a current ADHD diagnosis. Some children outgrow the symptoms, but others may not. Research shows that 3-year-olds w…

Wow! That’s absolutely bananas. I mean, I don’t want to tell physicians or medical researchers how to do their jobs. So, I have to defer to them. But the SNR is so high at that age it seems crazy to make that diagnosis.

I was diagnosed with 'off the charts' ADHD. Looking back, my parents say they can now connect the dots back to preschool (so, 3-4 years old). But at the time, neither my parents nor my teachers could differentiate my behavior from that of my peers. My doctor didn’t even bring it up until high school. That’s all anecdotal, of course. But the three most important parties (parents, teachers, doctor) missing an apparently obvious disorder makes me question diagnosing 2-3 year olds.

Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#292
Side question -- was ADHD always prevalent in Homo Sapiens?

If not, what could probably cause it (diet, chemicals, modern social environment -- for both parents and patients).

If yes, what is evolutionary benefits of that (e.g. developing narrow specializations, that are helpful for a group/clan/tribe)?

Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#293
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a real shit show is what it is. If you compare those side effects the ACTUAL side effects of stimulants in kids and adults with ADHD (for instance, it reduces drug dependency, addiction, hyperactivity in ADHD folks while having the opposite effect on those who do not have ADHD), it’s clear this should be unethical to prescribe for anyone stimulants would be effective on. The only reason it even really comes up i…

Please don't try to guess treatment outcomes based on binding affinities. > it’s clear this should be unethical to prescribe for anyone stimulants would be effective on. This is wrong in so many ways. Again, please don't try to guess outcomes based on binding affinities. For what it's worth, some of the non-stimulant ADHD medications such as Guanfacine are strikingly effective for ADHD when titrated properly, some ti…

I wasn’t guessing outcomes based on binding affinities, I was going off the data they posted in the article AND multiple large controlled studies on stimulants in ADHD populations.

For instance - stimulants in ADHD populations do not cause suicidal ideation. Which is nice. This drug does for a non trivial number of folks who get it.

Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#294
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you overlap Elon Musks behavior (or a number of quite famous musicians) with ADHD diagnosis charts, you’re going to have a fun time. Like most things, we celebrate the high functioning folks and denigrate those who aren’t. Kids are also expected to fall in line and be easy to manage, and those that aren’t get medicated.

> If you overlap Elon Musks behavior (or a number of quite famous musicians) with ADHD diagnosis charts, you’re going to have a fun time. That's cocaine. You're thinking of cocaine.

Interestingly enough, many people can easily mistake untreated ADHD (or not adequately controlled) with cocaine and stimulant use, especially hyperactive type. Cocaine and stimulant use in people without ADHD obviously causes that issue (cocaine use), along with some other problems (euphoria, lack of empathy, megalomania, sleep problems).

It’s quite striking when you see it happen with someone you know (all while wondering if they’re high on cocaine or something), then they get treated and are able to calm down and focus - and still can be hyperactive if pushed that way environmentally - but are functional, calmer, have more empathy, are able to talk and be more social, etc. All while getting large doses of Adderall or the like that would make your average non-ADHD’er impossible to be around.

Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#295

Seems that lots of people only think ADHD people have a hard time paying attention. If it was that simple I would be so happy. Here are just a few of the things I struggle with. - Will power. People with ADHD struggle sooooo much with will power. It’s a constant struggle with everything in life and really wears you down. - Constantly putting on a fake front pretending you don’t have ADHD. - Rejection sensitivity - Fe…

- Life being an eternal struggle due to slipping into drug/alcohol use and doing those very intensely - Being unable to maintain good habits (e.g. gym) because it feels like you're nearly a completely different person at different points because your desires/wants change from day to day to hour to hour to minute to minute - Forgetting literally everything due to getting distracted - Not remembering important stuff so…

> - Difficulty in monogamous relationships (being distracted by other people very easily because they are stimulating/exciting)

This is interesting, I always thought that was just me. I've never been unfaithful, but I've always felt that "something different" appeals to me in relationships more than it does for other people. I've tried ethical non-monogamy once, and ended up in the same spot I'm usually in with my projects: trying to do too many at once, and end up half-assing or half-finishing them all.

> - Ooh yes one more Sunday pint. Oh wait, what's that, I fucked up Monday yet again and now I am fired again??

I feel that one too. Fortunately, my inability to sit still means I end up distracting myself with a bajillion things until I forget my head hurts. Never been fired for it, but it's a fine line to walk. The lack of impulse control also makes it difficult to avoid the situation (karaoke on a Tuesday night? Of course I'm in).

Fwiw, I find that my mind is looking for something to slow it down and let it cool off for a while more than it is for alcohol specifically. Marijuana doesn't really help me with that, but my shrink suggested L-Theanine (OTC, they should have it in the supplements section) and I've found that it ticks the box fairly well without the horrid side effects of booze.

> - People getting frustated as they don't keep up with how you dance between things

Ah yes, and then pair that with my frustration that I have to keep backtracking to explain how two things are linked in a way that I thought was obvious. I haven't found anything better to do there than forcing myself to ask for acknowledgement that the other person is still with me. I just pepper my conversations with "Does that make sense?" or "Right?" to give them time to interject. I also often find myself speaking quickly, and polite people have a hard time finding a time they can say "hold on, I'm lost".

Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you may not believe is that you are no longer in control of wanting to get more. That’s the reality of a drug. Anyway, have the paranoid episodes hit you yet? Give it some time, I see the anxiety is already consistent. Just be sure to manage your drug holidays and control tolerance.

> What you may not believe is that you are no longer in control of wanting to get more. That’s the reality of a drug. Really? I’ve repeatedly asked to stay at the same dose even though my doctor and I both agree it may be too low, because the next step up could be too high and disrupt my life. > Anyway, have the paranoid episodes hit you yet? When I was drinking way too much to self medicate? Yeah. Not so much since.…

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Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does one treat chronic anxiety? Xanax has a miracle reputation but like all other benzos it is said to only works temporarily as a hotfix, then you build up tolerance and you go back to your baseline Pre Xanax (or worse). What is very frustrating about such explanations is that I can't tell if it exactly put you back to your pre Xanax era or if after tolerance builds up (for a same dose) you are better than befor…

Breathing exercises work. I do them every single day, and I no longer have to take anxiety medication. I am almost always aware of my /breathing patterns/. You may want to search for "breathing" on Hacker News. Here are actual extremely informative comments to go through, sorted by most recent (this is important because of COVID-19 as people have been thinking about breathing more): https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=…

Thanks for elaborating, I'm vaguely familiar with what's known as "breathwork" but had no idea there were specific electronic devices/development like this. Do you find the electronic device a necessity to achieve results? It sounds like it's worth it to you, but >$1k is a bit steep of an initial ask.

Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#298
post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think prevalent ADHD self-diagnosis (and doctor-assisted over-diagnosis) kind of devalues the sheer amount of hard work most people put in to achieve good things in life. When I hear "it's so easy for you but I cannot concentrate on boring things because I have ADHD", it's REALLY hard to not get viscerally defensive, although I rationally understand that there could really be very rare medical conditions in play.

I've found that visceral defensiveness is a reliable signal to introspect more deeply, since the surface trigger is rarely the same as the reaction's root cause. I don't think people using motorized wheelchairs devalues the hard work I do walking around, and I think it's only fair to ensure there are ramps and elevators where necessary, even if I take the stairs. And sure, I've seen some able-bodied teens goofing off…

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Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#299
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By the same logic cocaine in small doses would not be addictive. I can tell you that everything that manipulates your dopamin levels can lead to some kind of addiction. Plus you have actual withdraw symptoms from amphetamines too.

Cocaine isn't a prescription drug. Adderall/Vyvanse aren't addictive at the prescribed doses, it's not really relevant what happens if you just start snorting it. > Plus you have actual withdraw symptoms from amphetamines too. Easily managed and known to last about a week. The non-stimulant ADHD medications like guanfacine actually have much worse withdrawal!

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Re: FDA approves new ADHD drug for children

#300

Seems that lots of people only think ADHD people have a hard time paying attention. If it was that simple I would be so happy. Here are just a few of the things I struggle with. - Will power. People with ADHD struggle sooooo much with will power. It’s a constant struggle with everything in life and really wears you down. - Constantly putting on a fake front pretending you don’t have ADHD. - Rejection sensitivity - Fe…

- Life being an eternal struggle due to slipping into drug/alcohol use and doing those very intensely - Being unable to maintain good habits (e.g. gym) because it feels like you're nearly a completely different person at different points because your desires/wants change from day to day to hour to hour to minute to minute - Forgetting literally everything due to getting distracted - Not remembering important stuff so…

I guess I have ADHD. I thought these were all normal things.
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