Thursday, October 20, 2005
Vince DunbarI was thumbing through the latest issue of Newsweek the other day and came across an article about adult ADHD -- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It turns out it's not just for kids anymore.
I read the article with some skepticism. I have thought for a long time that ADHD was over-diagnosed. When a kid has trouble sitting through a school day or can't seem to connect with his teachers, there's the temptation to slap the ADHD label on him and prescribe medication.
I was a high school teacher in the early '90s when the ADHD boom was really taking off. And there were undoubtedly students I was in favor of medicating. If I'd had a tranquilizer gun on hand, there were times when I would have gladly used it. But not in the numbers that are being tranquilized.
The opposite is actually true. They're not being tranquilized, instead they're being stimulated. Ritalin and other ADHD treatments are actually stimulants that keep a constant stream of messages going to the patient's brain and keep him (the vast majority of ADHD diagnoses are boys) from getting distracted or hyperactive.
I have no doubt that the disorder actually exists, but according to the Newsweek article, about 3.5-million kids taking medication for ADHD. That number seems a little high to me. It's a huge percentage of children.
This is not a Tom Cruise-Scientology rant. There are chemical imbalances. They do exist and ADHD is among them. There are children who are affected and medications can be effective. It's just that we seem a little too eager to try to cure every kid that's a little squirrely with drugs. Sometimes he just needs a little attention and some success in the classroom to settle down.
So, I read the article expecting to feel the same way about the adult version of ADHD. I discovered that adult ADHD differs from its juvenile version because, unlike their younger counterparts, adults with the disorder are not hyperactive, almost the opposite. The main symptoms are procrastination, disorganization and difficulty managing time and impulsiveness.
"Wait!" I thought immediately. "I have that. Procrastination? I'm sitting here reading Newsweek when I should be out mowing the lawn. There's a pill to get rid of that? Where do I sign up?"
I read on with much greater interest. The adult version is treated with drugs very similar to those the juvenile sufferers get. Maybe this explains my entire adult life. I can't start any project until I get to the point that if I don't start right now, I won't finish in time. I spend half my life looking for my keys and wallet and the day slips away from me all the time.
My skepticism was melting away. Maybe there's nothing really wrong with me. Maybe I just have this disorder that explains every missed deadline, every messy room, every time I meant to get to the gym but just ran out of time in the day. I have this, I just know it. The only thing that stands between me and a perfect life is a supply of these little pills.
But then I read more. There is no such thing, the article said, as "adult-onset ADHD." If you've got it now, you always had it. The symptoms just change. I thought about it. That wasn't the case here. I wasn't a hyperactive child, just a disorganized one.
I had a messy room, but so did almost everyone I knew. I didn't have any more trouble sitting still in class than anybody else (at least the other boys). I could follow directions and make connections with my teachers. I don't have adult ADHD, I've got adult-onset lethargy. The solution is to get up off my butt and mow the lawn.
I'd been momentarily sucked in by the idea of a quick fix. It's like the drug commercials on television. They promise to fix all that ails you.
There's a list of nonspecific symptoms like "Do you procrastinate? Are you disorganized and have trouble managing your time?" they ask. "Then you need the little green pill. Ask your doctor about Spazzozine."
"Side effects may include trouble sleeping, irritability, hair loss and facial warts." On the whole, I'd rather be disorganized and procrastinate.
My favorite warning on these television drug advertisements is when they describe a medication as having a "low occurrence of sexual side effects." I'm not sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know.
The airways are filled with ads for medications that are designed to make people feel better. They ask people if they're happy and promise relief.
"Do you sometimes feel down?" Who doesn't. "Are you sometimes discontented?" Who isn't. "Do you sometimes feel less than perky?" Yes, it's called life. Only a fool is always up, content and perky, and they need to be medicated.
Again, there are genuine disorders that afflict lots of people. But shouldn't our doctors be telling us about the drugs that are available rather than the other way around? I don't have adult ADHD, but I'm sure if I did a little doctor-shopping, I could find one that would agree with me if I said I did.
Do I think that Newsweek shouldn't run the story? No. But I do think that people should stop looking for a cure for what they think might ail them in a prescription bottle and drug companies should stop sending them searching for a doctor who will agree that their nonspecific symptoms require pharmaceutical solutions.
Vince Dunbar is a columnist and page designer for ThisWeek. vdunbar@thisweeknews.com
Boy, if he could of traced it to childhood, he'd be singing a different tune! [QUOTE=Brookelea] http://
But then I read more. There is no such thing, the article said, as "adult-onset ADHD." If you've got it now, you always had it. The symptoms just change. I thought about it. That wasn't the case here. I wasn't a hyperactive child, just a disorganized one.
Brookelea,
Not all children with ADHD are hyperactive. Many have the "Inatentive type" of ADHD, or ADD. The majority in this group are girls, but certainly some boys do also have this type of ADHD.