HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE ADD? SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS PLEASE, WAYS TO CHECK, TREATMENTS IF POSSIBLE \ THANKS.
Basically, if you have trouble paying attention. Its hard to pin down ADD because its just a name given to people with specific symptoms. If you frequently find that even when you're trying to pay attention your mind wanders and you suddenly realize that you've missed a chunk of a movie you were watching or conversation you were having, that could be a sign. Especially if it interferes with your life, and you have no control over it. Of course this can also be caused by other things. There are diets online that you can try that are supposed to help with ADD, but if its really a problem for you, you should see a psychiatrist and find out if it is indeed ADD, and if medication would help you.
ADD (or ADHD as it's more recently been renamed) is, unfortunately, a term like Autism - it is accepted to describe a set of symptoms, and that set of symptoms is assumed to be a reliable indicator of an underlying physical condition. In reality there is no sure-fire way to diagnose ADD; much as jps said, if you have difficulty paying attention to things on a regular basis, even when they should be interesting to you, you may have symptoms resembling those ADD is supposed to have. Does this mean you have it? Maybe maybe not. The description of the ADD symptoms might just describe a person who's had too much sugar, has some kind of infection, or is bored. The fact that the accepted treatment for ADD is "stimulants" (read RITALIN here) should be a major warning sign for most people - it's been estimated that 25% of the public school children in the US are being regularly dosed with Ritalin. (This is a huge percentage of the population to have a mental disorder.) If the drug companies had their way they'd feed that crap to every kid on the planet. My advice would be that if you made it through this entire post, you don't have ADD/ADHD. Also, if it's SOMEONE ELSE telling you that you have ADD, you should tell them that you don't have ADD, they're just really boring. Lastly, under no circumstances should you take drugs that are supposed to improve your mental condition, even if other people "really really believe" that you should. Stimulants, depressants and psychotropics are not to be taken just because some people don't think you pay enough attention to them.
Although its true that many of those people were likely misdiagnosed and don't need ritalin, and that the drug companies don't have people's best interests at heart, Ritalin is hugely benefical to a great many people. I know I would never have gotten through school without it. I don't see how the fact that its a stimulant is any kind of warning sign. Ritalin is really pretty harmless for healthy people. Thats ridiculous. If people with ADD were all so disabled that they couldn't even read a paragraph, it would be a much easier disorder to diagnose.
Well... if you want a diagnosis there are a few online resources related to the problem... this was the most comprehensive one I found on a short search. http://www.fpnotebook.com/PED70.htm Probably it's best to pay attention to the basic diagnostic criteria: - Symptoms' onset is before 7 years of age - Symptoms persist for not less than six months - Impairment in more than one setting (that is, not just at school...) This diagnosis schedule claims that ADHD is generally severe enough to disrupt the kid's education, giving them speech and other developmental problems.
ADD is already overdiagnosed. Just be careful and get more than one professional opinion before you take drugs. They aren't always necessary.
'Just posting this in order to get other opinions ... It is said by some : paradoxically , stimulants have a calming effect on people with ADD/ADHD . If some one took cocaine , amphetamines or similar drugs such as Ritalin or Adderall and felt the drug action , could this be used as a basis for self diagnosis ?
Not likely. Different drugs work for different people. Plus it takes between 4-6 weeks to find out if a drug works or not for you. It's easier to take one of those internet tests and then go to a counselor or psych.
Is your answer motivated by profit Konek , or do you genuinely care about these people ? Here's my line of thought : I took an Adderall once ( D-amphetamine / amphetamine mixture ). The dose was one third what a child would normally take ... I zoomed around for 8 hours . Now, the proponents of stimulant therapy for the supposed disorder ADD/ADHD have stated numerous times that these drugs " paradoxically have a calming affect " on these people - how possibly can you state that testing if a calming effect is achieved or not by taking these drugs is invalid ?
Because, like I said, people respond differently to different drugs. Taking one drug just once is a poor diagnostic tool. The disorder is more behavioral than anything else, so in order to diagnose it you need to evaluate behavior, not responses to chemicals. Plus, many people with ADD are able to keep their disorder in control without drugs through therapy alone, thus avoiding expensive insurance copays or possible side effects. Drugs aren't always necessary, though in some cases they might be.
Every research paper , essay , web page etc...that I have encountered dealing with methylphenidate /amphetamine treatment for people labled with the "disorder" ADHD , states these stimulants have a calming effect - as apposed to the commonly encountered response , which I labeled Zooming around. This seems to be important , for it could be used to verify ( a marker ) . The tests you mention are very subjective and utilize the Psychologists arbitrary inclusions or exclusions . "The disorder is more behavioral than anything else, so in order to diagnose it you need to evaluate behavior, not responses to chemicals." But the whole reasoning clung to is that their brains are chemically different .Chemicals effect behaviour . Why not use them to diagnose ? Individuals will be able to make a determination themselves and bypass the psychologists that have setup their own system , complete with a built in capricious fudge factor . Are there any stats which address women diagnosing young males with ADD/ADHD , then prescribing medications , as opposed to men ?
That would be a great idea. Let's take a sample of spinal fluid, measure the levels of brain chemicals and compare to a standard. The problem is, the scientific community has not yet decided which chemicals are the key in this disorder. Plus, spinal taps are very painful and expensive, so right now they are only used for research. Hopefully reference levels and a better sampling procedure will come around, but in the meantime, administering drugs without a psychiatric test is like administering insulin without measuring blood sugar levels first.
How about administering cocaine-like drugs to thousands of misdiagnosed children ? If they are stimulated by these drugs , as opposed calming , then they do not have ADD/ADHD . Can we agree on this ? " Let's take a sample of spinal fluid... " I'm not talking about spinal taps . A person can determine for themselves if they have the extremely rare ADD . ...which chemicals are the key in this disorder. " An interesting aspect of research would be that " social interaction " also similarly affects the Dopamine system . Some are saying that these people only require healthy contact with others , not mind altering drugs . The mental health industry is geared towards manufacturing mental disorders ...then entraping .
my thought exactly,just b/c someone doesnt pay attention doesnt mean they are sick,many people get just tired or bored, very quickly.. drugs just make everything worse proper nutrition/good food is the best help for the brain/body imho.
