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ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

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Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#11

Post by vonseel »

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.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#12

Post by Mirioron »

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…

>Imagine if there was a pill to reduce risk of cardiac arrest, with some increased risk of something relatively minor.

(Some?) Antihypertensive drugs can contribute to harm to the liver. They're unlikely to cause anything on their own, but if your liver is already not the healthiest it can make things worse.

>Yes, I get that "lifestyle changes" could help, but I don't want to change my lifestyle.

As far as I've read about ADHD, nothing comes close to the effect that medication has in treating the issue.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#13

Post by bnjms »

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…

> Yes, I get that "lifestyle changes" could help

No. Just don't entertain this idea. You can go 20 years since the first time someone told you you may be ADHD or depressed with subsequent diagnoses. Then tell yourself it's all in behavior no one needs drugs. But twenty years on you'll still find yourself in the same cyclical patterns of periodic depression or chronic inability to select your attention to a task. "Lifestyle changes" could help with the right crutch. But if you need Ritalin or another drug to learn those lifestyle changes so be it.

In your (not quite perfect) comparison. It's as if the pill will reduce cardiac arrest and improve peoples aptitude to learn to run for 30 minutes daily.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#14

Post by jasonlotito »

I have ADHD and OCD. I take medication. This post on ADHD hits hope with me on how people treat OCD.

"My OCD is kicking in, it needs to be aligned!"

OCD is not wanting things straight. That's human nature.

OCD can be crippling. It can take over your thoughts and your life. That's the compulsion. It takes you over. It's doesn't help with programming, it doesn't make your code neat.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#15

Post by rhombocombus »

pottertheotter wrote: post #5
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.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s because of this. I don't habe hyperactice activity so never thought I could have ADHD. And since I can't see how someone else's brain works, I didn't realize things with me were not normal. It was quite exciting to realize that a lot of things I struggled with could he explained.

Same here. My brother has it much worse, and it manifested in him with outward hyperactivity so he got treated and I did not. I got by, but when I finally got into grad school I realized I had a problem that will power couldn't fix.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#16

Post by omgwtfbyobbq »

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 likely have something called Dopa Responsive Dystonia (DRD), and what the author is describing sounds to me like what I experienced prior to being diagnosed with ADHD, and later with DRD.

Having said that, I'm not a doctor, so please go see an experienced movement disorder specialist if you are reading this and have any concerns.

DRD is very hard to diagnose, but easy to treat. Because the stimulants (Adderall and Ritalin) made the DRD symptoms worse, my mother happened to get early onset Parkinson's, and my grandmother also responded to carbodopa/levodopa (carbo/levo), it was fairly obvious in retrospect, but if we didn't have a family member with early onset Parkinson's I doubt it would have been picked up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine-responsive_dystonia

My sense is that anyone with ADHD who uses stimulants should see an experienced movement disorder neurologist or few about basal ganglia and cerebellum diseases and try out medications based on their assessment. From personal experience, it became extremely clear I had DRD after taking carbo/levo, but there's no way I would have really known without trying it. It also helps with some of the stimulant side effects, which I still continue to take because they are very effective.

My family has seen maybe six neurologists total, and only one really knew about DRD. The Dystonia Foundation has a decent doctor locator.

https://dystonia-foundation.org/living-dystonia/find-a-docto...

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#17

Post by easton_s »

I was told by my doctor that since I have a successful career as a software engineer I do not have ADHD. I'm still fighting to get a prescription. What he doesn't understand how my coping mechanisms are probably more unhealthy then the drug. I have allocate recreation time to work, use a lot of caffeine, and sleep deprivation to overcome my ADHD. Sleep deprivation is probably the strongest tool to combat ADHD but as I get older it takes a greater toll on my body.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#18

Post by timw4mail »

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.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#19

Post by Mirioron »

munk-a wrote: post #4
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…

There's another weird factor. Ritalin is an upper and it's stigmatized to take an upper - either your performance, judged by coworkers, will be equivalent or below theirs and the stimulant is seen as the only thing keeping you in your job (which can get super depressing internally) - or, if you're doing well in your position, it can breed internal and external doubt as to whether your performance would just be normal…

What I don't understand is - why is it a problem that somebody performs better on medication? Life isn't sports or a game. It's not a competition. Shouldn't people be happy that someone else can keep their life together? That's less of a burden on society.

>Ever spent a day off staring at a wall dreading the possibility that you might waste a day until you realize the sun has gone down?

That sounds silly and boring. I was daydreaming instead of looking at the wall.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#20

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…

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