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Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

endeavorrx.com

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Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#51

Stimulant medication for ADHD has the highest effect size in all of psychiatry. ADHD is highly treatable, when people are properly treated. This just feels like something that somebody made for the parents who are pathologically drug averse at the expense of their children. Of course, the parents don’t realize that their kids don’t get that development time back, so the longer they wait, the harder things can get for…

Nonstimulant medication is also very effective, but with the caveat that it takes longer to kick in. The second caveat is that it’s devoid of any recreational value during the startup period, which has an outsized effect on people’s perception of the medication “working”. Stimulant medication tends to be favorably accepted at first (for entirely unsurprising reasons, even though some people don’t experience quite the…

I’m not saying the non-stimulant options do nothing, but on average the non-stimulant options have a lower effect size than the stimulants. There are many well designed studies that have covered this territory over and over.

Lots of people take these medications at the same dose for years and years.

I get that many people feel strongly about this topic in all kinds of ways and directions, but that fact by itself changes nothing.

Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#52

$99 a month subscription, because they're FDA or whatever approved. Is there corruption with these kind of things, or did they just hit jackpot?

Just saying there are heaps of free apps that monitor and manage insulin dosing without FDA approval. I don't see why you need FDA approval for a video game, or even make medical claims about a video game.

Because you can buy it using FSA/HSA. There are very strict laws against what is considered purchasable on those plans.

Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#54
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is false. The FDA does not grant approval to market anything solely on the basis of "low risk for adverse events." The game makers had to run studies demonstrating that it improved ADHD measures. The link you provided says that as well: "The FDA reviewed data from multiple studies in more than 600 children, including studies that evaluated, among other things, whether participants demonstrated improvements in at…

Fair enough, I think I came to that conclusion because reading the next statement was just that they determined there were no major adverse events. But I think it still stands that this is only a marketing authorization, the FDA isn't saying it works, so really the company shouldn't be mentioning the FDA at this point unless they go for a stronger classification.

"When the facts change, I don't change my opinion."

Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I’m personally in favor of OTC availability of some kind of safe abuse resistant mild stimulant. Sure there are a few people who would try to get high with it but hard liquor and weed are legal. Like caffeine?

Caffeine builds physical dependence easier than amphetamine, AFAIK

Is caffeine strong enough to have any serious effect on ADHD? It barely touches my concentration difficulties.

Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#57
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a person who did study statistics, they found absolutely nothing useful, for the most part, if what you say is correct. (Basically, everything they found can be attributed to random chance, and there’s no proof their game is anything special compared to other games)

Did we read the same thing? "The primary endpoint was achieved, mean change from baseline on the TOVA API was 0.93 in the EndeavorRx group versus 0.03 in the control group (p=0.006). "

I couldn't find anything incredibly definitive on TOVA, but based on https://www.queensu.ca/rarc/sites/rarcwww/files/uploaded_fil... it does seem incredibly useless / statistically insignificant.

Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#58
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fair enough, I think I came to that conclusion because reading the next statement was just that they determined there were no major adverse events. But I think it still stands that this is only a marketing authorization, the FDA isn't saying it works, so really the company shouldn't be mentioning the FDA at this point unless they go for a stronger classification.

"When the facts change, I don't change my opinion."

Which facts? I was wrong about the evidence needed for marketing authorization but, if I’m not mistaken, they would need that authorization in order to market the product in the first place so mentioning the FDA authorization would, in my opinion, potentially give people the wrong impression that the FDA has endorsed the product at a level (e.g. approval) which I don’t believe the FDA has done at this point.

Re: Doctor-prescribed videogame for ADHD

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caffeine builds physical dependence easier than amphetamine, AFAIK

Is caffeine strong enough to have any serious effect on ADHD? It barely touches my concentration difficulties.

I don't know if it actually helps, but for a while I was drinking so much coffee I gave myself ulcers.

I eventually got diagnosed ADHD in my 30s, and my doctor suggested that my coffee problem was a subconscious effort to self-medicate. I've been on stimulants for a few years and quit coffee easily (with some nasty headaches and such, but no real cravings)

I do still have coffee now and then, but only occasionally and only because I like the taste. I often stick to decaf when I do have it, too

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