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

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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

#111

Post by treeman79 »

throwaway34241 wrote: post #96
cpuguy83 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having gone through this with my fam, given that you seem to have reactions to every med, have you considered it may be autism or aspurgers? ADHD and autism are often seen together, and reactions to other meds also seems to be fairly common. I just wanted to throw that out there because this realization that it's not just ADHD, not just anxiety, etc has changed our life dramatically... and there are meds that can hel…

Speaking about other possible conditions, anecdotally there are two people in my family who saw a psychiatrist for ADHD like symptoms, who years later were eventually diagnosed with sleep apnea (both with a normal BMI). It seems like this is not uncommon, quoting Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep”: > Based on recent surveys and clinical evaluations, we estimate that more than 50 percent of all children with an ADHD diag…

Good guesses. I do have apnea. I have a cpap and it’s well controlled.

I have an auto immune condition(Sjogrens) as well As a clotting disorder. Plus way to much sugar in 20s.

Took many many years to figure the above out. Proper treatment diet has been helping, but a lot of damage has accumulated.

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

#112

Post by gameswithgo »

dr_dshiv wrote: post #69
burtonator wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

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. When I think about that, it's kind of mind blowing. For that matter, it is also crazy that we don't start giving children coffee at younger ages to help focus — since there are no known negative effects. It's just a cultural trope that it stunts growth, et…

increased impulsiveness and sleep quality are know negative impacts

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

#113

Post by treeman79 »

petercooper wrote: post #59
cpuguy83 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having gone through this with my fam, given that you seem to have reactions to every med, have you considered it may be autism or aspurgers? ADHD and autism are often seen together, and reactions to other meds also seems to be fairly common. I just wanted to throw that out there because this realization that it's not just ADHD, not just anxiety, etc has changed our life dramatically... and there are meds that can hel…

This is possible. When I was diagnosed, it was autism masking ADHD (apparently the other way around is more common though) because I have all the ADHD issues with everything except my special interest. I was told that ADHD more commonly masks autism though, so it's certainly worth exploring the possibility.

Hyper focus is a cool super power of adhd.

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

#114

Post by didibus »

dr_dshiv wrote: post #69
burtonator wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

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. When I think about that, it's kind of mind blowing. For that matter, it is also crazy that we don't start giving children coffee at younger ages to help focus — since there are no known negative effects. It's just a cultural trope that it stunts growth, et…

Some children are given coke, pepsi, mountain due or other soda drinks with high caffeine content.

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

#115

Post by bg4 »

burtonator wrote: post #52
_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

I've been on Adderall for 5 years ... I'm 43 right now. It really HAS changed my life. What I've found is that over the long term you're able to perform much much better. By the time I was in my 30s I had developed coping skills which worked for the most part but I would find myself getting demotivated and defocused sometimes on long term priorities and sometimes unable to recommit to them. Adderall totally changed t…

I started taking it in my late 30s for ADD and it was life changing. Over time though it was making me super angry so I stopped taking it. I now focus on sleep and exercise but my career really accelerated while I was taking it.

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

#116

Post by whimsicalism »

dx87 wrote: post #104
whimsicalism wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That's completely irrelevenat to what I was talking about. As an adult, it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to prescribe medication.

Sorry, I perceived it as relevant to the first sentence you said.

> it can be difficult to find a psychiatrist willing to prescribe medication

Absolutely - my SO is diagnosed and I've been with her in the pharmacy where she was blatantly accused of trying to get it so she could sell it (nope, just a normal college student diagnosed with ADHD). That was wild.

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

#117

Post by treeman79 »

justin66 wrote: post #63
andybak wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Started stroking out on it I've never heard this particular phrase before and I can only guess it's meaning vaguely from the context. What does it mean?

It sounds like the OP was talking about stroke. The way it was written ("started") it's a little unclear whether the OP was in fear of experiencing a stroke because of other side effects (elevated BP or something), or actually experienced a stroke, which is an extremely rare side effect.

I get minor strokes a lot. TIAs. So far haven’t a full blown stroke.

My blood is sticky(factor 5 Leiden), and cranial pressure runs high.

I tried going off blood thinners 2 months ago, for about a week. Dumb move.

My right side has regained most of its strength and sensation.

Neurologist chewed me out royal. I have to be very careful with meds.

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

#118

Post by theironlily »

TheLegace wrote: post #45
cbluth wrote: post #3

i have severe ADD, and i dont have the patience with myself to read enough of this article to benefit my understanding of it.

Take a look at this new treatment(neurofeedback)[1]. It changed my life. Instead of changing brain chemically you can change the structure of your brain. It's not ADHD that's the problem, its the focus networks in the brain not being trained properly. ADHD becomes a gift when you can focus and the brain just naturally learns, and memorizes very well. I went from being incapable of anything to being really great at an…

I’m just starting neurofeedback, curious what your experience was like. May I email you at the address you have on profile ?

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

#119

Post by jFriedensreich »

_dibly wrote: post #7

This was an interesting read but, as an adult with ADHD, all I get out of this is that medication is even more of a benefit to those with real difficulties coping with their ADHD. I've always been one to 'just deal with it' but after a few years of working through school and seeing my younger brothers go through the same thing with medication, I realized that I was essentially just handicapping myself. Now I take med…

Could you let us know what more modern medication you are using? I have serious problems with Ritalin side effects but am not aware of any alternatives besides adderall, vyvanse or riatlin like products.

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

#120

Post by treeman79 »

winter_blue wrote: post #106
treeman79 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Took adderal for year. Completely life changing. My focus and energy level were on par with a normal persons. Unfortunately it was far too hard on the body. Started stroking out on it. Plus it interacted with almost every Medicane I’ve been prescribed. Tried vyvanse. Only one side effect. The deepest most profound sadness imaginable. Would sit for hours just “sad”. Nothing was bothering me. Worked fine aside from tha…

> Tried vyvanse. Only one side effect. The deepest most profound sadness imaginable. Would sit for hours just “sad”. Nothing was bothering me. Worked fine aside from that. Gave it up after a few weeks. Omg, I actually experience this very thing for myself . I thought I was unique in experiencing the "deepest most profound sadness imaginable" from Vyvanse. It's good to know it wasn't just me. I did eventually connect…

Exercise is a huge help.

I’m at my best when hiking hills 3-6 miles a day.

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