I Was Wrong --- ADD Tip o the Day 375

[doug puryear]

I was sure that people without ADD or ADHD did not respond to ritalin (methylphenidate), but just got a little anxiety or maybe a little hyper.  My friend who is a college psychiatrist assures me that kids are taking ritalin to improve their studying and test performance, and that many parents are encouraging this.  They say that all the other kids are doing it ("Everyone else is doing it, Mom") so that their kids are at a disadvantage without it.

I don't know what I think about this yet, but I do believe I was wrong.  What are the pros and cons of this practice?

So of course the most disturbing thought is - if I was wrong about this, what else am I wrong about?

doug

bonus link:

bryan on not letting ADHD or ADD hold you back    clik

i guess plants are never wrong? except some of our fruit trees bloom too early.

[Al Maroon]

Michelle,

 

Are you sure it was not a little bit of placebo effect when you said that the medication got into your system by pealling off your son's patches?

I am thinking that you were exposed just a very short time to the medication and touching just a bit of the corner of the patch. if just pealling off the patches gave you a noticeable effect, I guess that a full patch on your skin can perhaps hospitalise you.

It's true it depends on the dose your son was on.

As any parrent, I tryed my son's medication to try to understand what he was feeling (I know it'll not have the same effect on me than on him but I wanted to make sure it's not giving him weird sensations or side effects, he was too young to articulate all those details). At a 20 mg dose I felt nothing, no change (that was the minimal dose), I took to pills the next days and on 40 mg I kind of felt something but could not pinpoit it, if someone would put it into my food without my knowledge I yould probably not be aware of an effect. My son was 1 third of my weight at that time, I am a skinny person. 

[doug puryear]

michelle,

ps - i understand that chemically they work the same in anyones brain, but if our brain is wired differently, does it repsond the same?????

doug

[doug puryear]

michelle,

thank you for responding,  think i'm still resistant to the idea that they can improve function for those without ADD, but i may have to eventually bow to the evidence.

best wishes

doug

[Michelle Burton]

It is true that stimulants used to treat ADHD act the same in the brain whether or not you have ADHD.  My son uses Daytrana patches to treat his ADHD, which are trans-dermal patches with methylphenidate.  They have a backing that peels off somewhat like a band-aid   When he was younger, he got a batch of these patches that had backs that didn't want to peel off.  I think they had been stored at a higher temp than they should have been.  So I was helping him to get the backing off using my fingernails.  Subsequently, the medication got under my fingernails and into my system (just a tiny bit, you understand).  My mind started racing, not the kind of racing when you are out of control, but a real clear way of thinking and thinking fast!  I do not have ADHD and it helped my neurotransmitters for a few seconds.  The point is not that it works differently.  The point is that if you do not have ADHD, YOU DO NOT NEED IT!!!  You are already on a level playing field with everyone else!  Those with ADHD need their medication to get them to where you are.

A recent--and terribly sad and frightening--New York Times article about Richard Fee shows us the dangers of using stimulant medications without having ADHD.  Parents need to be involved in their children's lives and stand up to the pressure they feel to give in to what "everyone else" is doing.  That's what parents do.  They can improve their grades by getting enough rest, eating right, exercising, and studying in small spurts instead of cramming at the last minute.  Your child's life could be on the line if they use stimulants.  

Stimulant meds are wonderful and helpful used correctly and under a doctor's close watch.  But just like any other medication, if you do not have the condition it was created to treat, please do not use it!  Please read the above link about what happened to Richard Fee and how his family is dealing with it.  And PLEASE spread the word of the dangers of using stimulant meds without ADHD!

Michelle Burton, CPC

ADHD Coach