Learn More About Your Drugs
So you were just prescribed Risperdal and, after a single dosage you find that your anxiety level has increased and you have suddenly become even more restlessness than you were before. After a week of this you wonder, what are the side effects associated with this drug? Your answer can be found at Drug Information. [...]
Sorry, Virginia, But I Have Bad News
Sorry, Virginia, but I have bad news. There is no Santa Claus and there is no cure for A.D.D./A.D.H.D. At a later time we can examine the Santa Claus issue but, for now, I would like to examine the “Cure for A.D.D.” issue.
1. There is no cure for A.D.D. because there is nothing to cure. [...]
Vacuum Cleaners and Meds
Writing reviews about vacuum cleaners is just like writing reviews about medical treatments. The main question is, does it suck? However, if you think experience with the former does not really prepare you for the latter, then you will definitely want to read Gina Pera’s post about Consumer Reports dispensing bad medical information. This should [...]
The Chaos of the Mind
The mind requires a degree of chaos in order to properly function. Brain cells can go from acting in predictable ways to a moment of unpredictability which leads, in turn, back to a state of predictability. A good analogy for this is a growing pile of sand. The sand pile grows in predictable ways BUT [...]
We Have The Right Brains…For The Wrong Time Period
A recent column in the New York Times provides an interesting perspective on the way our minds are wired. He writes, “Evidence is accumulating that the human brain systematically misjudges certain kinds of risks. In effect, evolution has programmed us to be alert for snakes and enemies with clubs, but we aren’t well prepared to [...]
Schizophrenia Explained
A recent article documents some important breakthroughs in the understanding of schizophrenia.
See: Unlocked: The Secrets of Schizophrenia
There is No Link between Autism and Vaccines
Here’s some common sense information on the autism/vaccine connection and about vaccines in general.
See: http://bit.ly/2jbcpX
Prostate Test Found to Save Few Lives
This is a non-A.D.D. related post.
From the NY Times:
“The PSA blood test, used to screen for prostate cancer, saves few lives and leads to risky and unnecessary treatments for large numbers of men, two large studies have found. ”
Full article is here.
Illness Suppresses A.D.D.
An interesting blog post at ADDitude corroborates something I had noticed quite some time ago, namely that being sick helps reduce A.D.D. symptoms. The author of the ADDitude post noted “As my daughter’s temperature went up, her ADHD symptoms subsided–the fever effect made the ADD go away. For a few days.” Back in 2007 I [...]
No Link Between Vaccines and Autism
THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found.
Source: MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism
Strattera CAUSES Psychosis, Hallucinations and More…But Only in Europe
The manufacturer, Eli Lilly, has now changed the label for Strattera in Europe to include warnings that Strattera CAUSES "hallucinations, delusional thinking, mania or agitation in children and adolescents without a prior history of psychotic illness or mania … at usual doses."
Source: Official warnings issued: The ADHD drug Strattera CAUSES psychosis, hallucinations, mania and agitation [...]
ADHD Brains Develop More Slowly
“Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have slower developing brains, when compared to children without ADHD, however, in most cases they still follow a normal pattern of development, according to an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).”
Source: ADHD Brains Develop More Slowly
Despite the slower development of the ADHD brain, “…the [...]
ADD versus ADHD
For an interesting side-by-side comparison of A.D.D. without Hyperactivity and A.D.D. with Hyperactivity, see: ADD versus ADHD What's the difference?
Negative Impact of Drugs on Children with ADHD
[A]fter longer-term analysis, the report's co-author, Professor William Pelham of the University of Buffalo, said: "I think that we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study.
"We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case.
"There's no indication that medication's better than nothing in the [...]
Adult ADHD: Evaluation and Treatment in Family Medicine
A concise definition/description. For the full “official” description (DSM-IV criteria, etc.) see the link at the bottom of this post.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 30 to 50 percent of adults who had ADHD in childhood. Accurate diagnosis of ADHD in adults is challenging and requires attention to early development and symptoms of inattention, distractibility, [...]
