Medication and non-ADD users | ADHD Information

every drug effects people differently. it doesn't matter if you have a twin brother and you both have ADD. Each of you may have a drug which will work differently for you. After reviewing almost every post that goes up on this forum I have come to realize that there is no "best" drug "bad" drug or drug that is out their just for people to get high. The only way that you can find out is to go on a trial yourself. try a drug and if it works great! stick with it. if it doesn't, then move on to the next one. I have gone through Strattera, Adderall and Concerta. I currently take a combination of Strattera and Concerta which works awesome. but that took almost a year of trial and error. When I was on Adderall I felt like I was going to fall over and die for the week that I was on it. But there are several people on this forum that swear that Adderall is the best thing out there. Like I said its a trial and error process; so far there has been no correlation between symptoms and medication. Why do you need to see a specialist? A GP or psychiatrist can make the diagnosis. Do you live in a small town or is insurance affecting who you can see? 0 is just a lot of money...Are you looking for someone who will do certified testing? The only testing I know if is a computer game where if you can't focus long enough to click on thingees on the screen, you have ADD, but if you're faking it, you'll overcompensate and screw it up. And then there's brain scans, but the "evidence" for a physical basis for ADD/ADHD involves trends, not definitive brain deformities. What are you looking for?[quote=sleepytimerules]Why do you need to see a specialist? A GP or psychiatrist can make the diagnosis.[/quote]

lovelylady2348

Sleepytime makes a number of great suggestions but there's one I want to give you a second opinon about.

Never, never go see a GP about ADD. After 15 minutes you will walk away with a script. You will not have a true diagnosis, or have been prescibed a treatment plan, or have been given any real experitise on ADD. There are too many nuances to this disorder for a GP to know. It's like going to a GP for a serious heart condition instead of a cardiologist.

The American Pschiatric Assoc had published diagnosing guidelines that any treating ADD should know and use. Testing should consist of a family history, testing for other conditions like learning disorders, depression, etc. Diagnostic interview and continous performance testing (the computer items Sleepy refers to). At this point there are no established ADD diagnostic criteria for brain scans or guidelines or what constitutes ADD by looking at a scan.

If the only specialist is hrs away, they go see them. If you really have ADD then you're most likely having significant issues in your life that need to be addressed.

MaxDad

The answer to your question is that your questions are completely irrelevant. Actually, the real answer is, my opinion is irrelevant, because the extent to which stimulant use is medically justifiable is a moral issue, so it’s your call. Hm…my brain twister worked out quite nicely. =) Anyway, it seems to me the only reason you’re asking this on an online forum is because your misconceptions about ADHD and ADHD medication are inhibiting you from making your own moral judgment. So I’ll start from the bottom of the bad science and work my way up.

“Which medications only work if you truly have ADD”
Trick question. None of them. The idea that stimulants work differently on people by somehow selectively interacting only with a surplus or deficit of some neuro-chemical is completely ludicrous and lacking in both scientific merit and empirical evidence. This widely believed myth stems from the observation that medication induces calmness in those with ADHD versus hyperactivity in people without ADHD. But the trick is that the drug isn’t physically doing anything different. If you consider something like dextroamphetamine, which is preferred for hyperactive ADHD, the only difference in the “effects” for someone with ADHD and without is the relativism of how their brains normally function. Someone with ADHD already has hyperactivity, so that effect from the drug is less noticeable than the euphoric effect, which results in a net feeling of calmness. The person without ADHD notices the hyperactivity more only because it’s new, so they appear hyper. But the mechanism of physiological interaction doesn’t morph based on what’s in your brain at the moment and what’s not – to say so is completely ignoring basic psychology in favor of bad science.

“I do not want to be a person who takes drugs just for the 'feeling.'”
This is usually why we take drugs (unless it’s chemo…), and most certainly typically why we take psychotheraputical drugs. Personally, if I didn’t take my own prescription out of enjoyment of the <i>feeling</i> of increased concentration, I probably wouldn’t take it. If this creates a moral dilemma for you, then maybe these kinds of medications aren’t a good idea.

And then the idea that it’s ok to take medication only with a diagnosis…
This ignores the fact that, unless you’re an extreme case, ADHD diagnosis is totally subjective – the “symptoms” are natural behaviors and a part of life, so everyone has them. The only question is whether or not they’re severe enough to warrant medication, which is your own call. Also, since the majority of people are diagnosed not by neural topography but by some doctor’s generalizations, and that some doctor can be any doctor, the subjectivity of who has a disorder and who doesn’t means that, theoretically, someone with ADHD can find a doctor who will withhold the diagnosis and someone without ADHD can find a doctor who will give them the diagnosis. This subjectivity, therefore, gives you, the patient, some power on whether or not you want to say you’re definitive one way or another. In other words, it’s your opinion whether you have ADHD or not. Further, since the use of medication is a moral issue rather than a medical issue, it’s also your opinion if you think you should take medication or not. This is not to render medical professionals irrelevant, but to dismiss the status of the almighty medical school graduate as the ultimate and infallible authority on all things relating to physiology.

So on one hand, you’re confident you have ADD. On the other, you’re quite hesitant about whether or not you should use medication. Here’s the issue I’m seeing. You want the assistance that you believe ADHD medications may bring you, but you don’t want to be a drug user. For some reason it is widely ignored that the controversy behind ADHD medications is mostly a moral issue rather than entirely a medical issue. After all, we assume that illicit drugs are evil, but remove the methyl group from “speed” and all of a sudden you have a therapeutic drug. I’ll admit that I follow some basic assumptions that are perhaps controversial: medication is no more dangerous for some people than for others based on severity of ADHD symptoms, it does not get some people “high” while inducing a more balanced neurophysiology for others, and there is no rule of human psychology that makes stimulant use automatically equate to drug addiction for some while healing for others. But following this, I think it’s pretty obvious that the issue is almost entirely moral. So the answer is that you, personally, have to decide whether or not you believe you have ADD/ADHD and then determine if your morals allow you to take medication. Whatever decision you make, you will, eventually, find a doctor who agrees with you.

PS – Diagnosed at 19. Been on Dexedrine for a few months and love it. Boyfriend thinks I’m just a raging addict, too bad he can’t see that this has more to do with his brother’s past methamphetamine addiction than reality. But he’s not my shrink so guess what, he doesn’t get to make that official diagnosis either. Good luck.

Thanks for the analysis, sleepytime. 

Actually, I do want to try to take the meds to see if any improve my symptoms.  But I have the huge obstacle of getting diagnosed with the nearest ADult ADD specialist 2 hours away.  I found another doctor 3.5 hours away that will evaluate me for 0.

Local doctors here don't seem to evaluate adults for ADD.  Mostly pediatricians handle all the ADD testing.

I want to take the meds if I do have ADD but if I am found not to have it, I don't want to take the meds even if they do make me feel better.

Personally, the book I read describes me and my symptoms very well.  I do think I am ADD.

I've got to fork up the money and just go forward with the evaluation and if they determine that its not ADD, then I have to just deal with it.

As an undiagnosed adult with ADD, I often considering driving the 120 miles to a specialist to get evaluated.  I hear of some peoples 'ah ha!' moments when they find the right meds and think maybe there is help for me out there.

I do not want to be a person who takes drugs just for the 'feeling.'  I only want to take meds if I truly have ADD which of course, a specialist will determine.

My question is this:  which medications only work if you truly have ADD?  I've heard of college kids taking Adderall for the boost in studying.  Wouldn't trying a medication be an easy way to determine if you have ADD - take the medicine and see if you can tell a difference?  But, if any person can take an ADD med and feel improved then I don't want it.  I'll just deal with it as I am now, which is pursuing developing the coping skills necessary.