@ncscswitch:
Right, I am just talking from negative personal experience.
No one else is saying things like this…
There is no definitive objective set of criteria to determine who has ADD/ADHD and who does not. Rather, instead, there are a loose set of behaviors (hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity) that combine in different ways to give rise to the “disorder.” These behaviors are highly context-dependent.
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/myth_add_adhd.htm
There are NUMEROUS tests, rating scales, etc. that are used to evaluate to see if a person has ADHD. The DSM-IV lists specific criteria. Also nearly all psychiatric disorders require context. This is because certain behaviours in certain contexts are considered to be appropriate, other behaviours in certain contexts are considered to be symptoms of a psychiatric disorder.
Cheering at a pep-rally vs. at a funeral. Praying to God in a church/religious community vs. discussing politics with your invisible friend Bob. etc.
No one is asking questions about the rise in psychoactive drug use (LEGAL drugs in this case) by children of all ages.
Ritalin use is up 500% over the past six years
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/myth_add_adhd.htm
interesting given that Ritalin is generic, and that no pharmaceutical company is marketting it.
Or did this occur during the 6 years after Ritalin was first promoted? Regardless - this is a poor point. A new pharmaceutical will grow at an astonishing rate when it first comes out - especially if it is first-in-class. If no one used it - it wouldn’t grow. If one person was Rx’d Ritalin in year 1, and 10 people were Rx’d in year 6 - Holy Shit!! That’s a 1000% growth!!! In only 6 years!!!
No one is commenting that what once was a rare psychiatric issue now effects…
this baffling disorder that appears to have claimed approximately 20% of the population.
http://www.sunherb.com/myth_of_add_and_adhd.htm
i really don’t know where these people get these figures. Commonly accepted figures in the psychiatric community are ~ 4-6% in school-children, ~2% in adults.
Oh and CC. when did you become a psychiatrist? I thought you were an ER doctor, and ADD was (until the 1970’s) a VERY RARE disorder that was one of those minor “isn’t that interesting” areas of study in very specialised areas of psychiatry. I did not know that it now had a physiological component (other than the drugging of kids into oblivion)
Does this matter? I work in the ER, but i have a private practice where i do CBT, psychotherapy, and about 30% of my work is psychiatric. I also do minor surgeries, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Some doctors even KNOW stuff too!!
Also - just because you feel that you were “drugged into oblivion” - don’t drag everyone else into it. Your bias in this area is pretty transparent. Try for a moment to be just a tiny bit objective.
I would think as an MD you would be more concerned with factors such as
The Physician’s Desk Reference states that “sufficient data on the safety and efficacy of long term use of Ritalin in children is not yet available.”
http://www.sunherb.com/myth_of_add_and_adhd.htm
it depends on what your definition of “is” is. REally - these guys have a VERY different definition of “sufficient” than the psychiatric world. There are many studies which have demonstrated the safety of this particulat class of stimulents.
(how did this get segue’d from a discussion of the validity of ADHD as a real disorder? Or have you given up the point to me and are just trying to score some points against the doctor?)
And furthermore I would think that, as a physician, you would be dedicated to CURING thse ailments…
nervousness, decreased appetite, insomnia, stomachaches, headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, skin rashes, abdominal pain, weight loss, visual problems, changes in heart rate and rhythm, changes in blood pressure, generalized ill feeling, depression, restricted creativity, crying easily, lowered seizure threshold, stunted growth, and psychic dependence.
I do treat these ailments. Did you know that you can drown in water? Or that too much can have a profound osmotic effect on your brain related to cerebro-pontine myolinolysis? Nutmeg can cause hallucinations, Asparin can cause GI bleeds, tylenol can cause liver toxicity, many common cold remedies can cause death. The fact is everything we use can cause side-effects. I don’t know how it is in the US, but good doctors actually monitor for these things, use them in appropriate doses, and tend to not use them in people on Talwin.
rather than advocate their continued infliction on CHILDREN.
anything that will help these children have a better quality of life, decrease their propensity to criminal behaviour/incarcerations/car accidents/sexually inappropriate behaviour/early pregnancy/unemployment/caregiver stress etc.
You should read an actual STUDY sometime. Not the usual scientology bullshit (unless you’re a scientologist - in which case do me the courtesy of alerting me to this fact so i can stop banging my head against the wall and simply nod my head and say "yes - you’re right . . . psychiatry has no studies, yes, you’re right - no one committed suicide until anti-depressants were created, yes you’re right - psychiatrists never look for medical causes of psychiatric phenomenon, yes - you’re right - it was right of Tom Cruise to berate Brooke Shields for her post-partum depression and denying Katie pain relief for her childbirth)