Anormalguy

I'm not going to comment on Ritalin and its affects on children because I'm not qualified.

That said, my wife has been in childcare and education for over 20 years as a teacher and an administrator, and she firmly believes that at least half of the ADD and ADHD diagnosis are incorrect. She feels that more hands-on parenting would be more beneficial than drugs in some cases. She does concede that some children benefit from proper drugs.

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Zweiblumen

I'm a father of a girl that has ADD/ADHD (not very common for girls). I had very strong feelings against Ritalin and related drugs. Mostly based on negative information that I had hear. When faced with the decision if my girl should try Ritalin I was lucky to get facts from a doctor (neural specialist) and a pharmachist. Boiled down it comes to that for those that respond to medication it will give them advantage. ADD/ADHD idividuals using Ritalin are less likely to become drug abuser than those that do not take Ritalin (ADD/ADHD increased probability of becoming drug abusive). There are other methods to assist ADD/ADHD idividuals like "Cognitive Behaviour Modification" (I'm not 100% on the translation) that can be used with or without medication. Diet, sleep and exercise are also big factors that are often overlooked.
BUT the scary part that those professionals told us is that the biggest factor for ADD/ADHD probability is genetic. Therefor I decided to take a test and I'm ADD.
That put me in the position to decide if I would use medication or not.
Figureing out if Ritalin will help or not is very simple as the medication will clear out of the system in aprox 4 hours. What I did was that I took 1 tablet 10mg Ritalin and found out that it helps me. For me it was like all enviromental sounds got muted, for me without medication a car passing outside sounds like a jet in take off on medication it is more "normal" I'm told :-). I was also told that the fact that I was consuming 1 Liter or more of Coffee each day and was I able to have coffee right before bed was a good idication that Ritalin could help me. (Ritalin and Coffee don't mix well for many though).

Each and everyone has to make up their own mind about any medication and there is nothing wrong with beeing sceptical about prescriptions.

BUT ADD/ADHD has it's benefits too, you "normal" people don't know what you are missing :-)

Yours
Zweiblumen

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dd3953

Hm. Sometimes I slept better if I have a Mt Dew first.

Zweiblumen and ottopilot - What type of testing did you go through? I'm hoping (and assuming) it wasn't all question/answer.

(sorry Crack, I know this is really off point, but I'm really curious.)

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Zweiblumen

It was in 2 main parts, form with multiple choice questions that one fills out before the second part wich is an interview and tests.
I'm ready to answer questions (via pm) if anyone has any.

Yours
Zweiblumen

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Halx

As someone who used to take meds for ADHD... I find this comic to be accurate.

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SecretMethod70

Something to keep in mind is that the latest research shows that there are about 6 different variants of attention deficit disorder. In some cases, drugs are useful. In others, not so much. The latest research into the issue really is quite interesting.

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ottopilot

My testing was probably similar to Zweiblumen, but were spread over two days with scheduled weekly visits over 2 months to verify against a baseline established at the initial testing. I went to a psychiatric group that specializes in diagnosis of brain dysfunction.

A true ADD ADHD brain exhibits slower or lower metabolic activity in areas that control movement, attention and social judgement. That's why stimulants tend to help "some" who exhibit these traits. My PET scan was another indicator of this type of brain activity.

The big picture here is how expensive it is to be adequately tested. Most insurance does not cover thorough ADD/ADHD testing. In 2000, I spent nearly $2000 plus what insurance covered. This alone is a deterrent for most parents to manage, allowing for lesser measures leading many to mis-diagnosis. Often, the result is to be inappropriately medicated.

Because I've taken a job in government, I went off my meds while going through drug and background checks. It's bound to come up, but I'll deal with it when it happens. I can tell a big difference in my ability to focus and filter out all the background noise. All the channels are back on and it's tiring to keep up the level of mental energy required to appear "present". So I look forward to returning to my meds once I'm through the clearance process.

Sorry...off topic... see?

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