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Aurore
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28 Sep 2008, 12:56 pm

ADHD does exist. Is it overdiagnosed? Probably. Is it idiotic and disgusting to dismiss it as pure psychiatric fraud? Definitely.


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anbuend
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28 Sep 2008, 1:21 pm

Callista wrote:
Ritalin has to be snorted or injected for a "high". It is not addictive in pill form.


Pills can be changed... I used to know someone who crushed and snorted his Ritalin and sold it to other people with instructions on how to do the same.

(This not directed at the OP, just in general.) A lot of people confuse addiction and physical dependence though. Neuroleptics can cause a physical dependence resulting in withdrawal, but are not addicting to just about anyone because nobody has the urge to continue them based on a high. Opiates, properly used for pain management, cause a physical dependence, but the "high", if present at all, wears off pretty quickly if they're used as directed. (And many people don't get a high. When I've had to have them after surgery, I've never gotten any kind of 'high', I've just got sensations that are either painful or mind-muddling. Nothing remotely pleasant, but I've been told that some people's neurology or body chemistry or something causes them to experience those same sensations that are unpleasant to me, as pleasant to them, causing them to want more of it. Then they need higher and higher doses to achieve the same 'high', so to misuse those drugs requires using them in another way than directed.)

I am not so sure that it's impossible to get a high off Ritalin in pill form either, I seem to remember some people saying otherwise who'd experienced it. But I never experienced it when it was prescribed to me. That said, as noted, pills can be crushed and snorted, I've watched people do it in front of me.

On the main topic... I'm not a fan of psychiatry but I do think that ADHD reflects some kind of neurological difference. My psychiatrist had what was probably pretty severe ADD, and while on his meds he could do his job, while off of them he could barely, if ever, finish a sentence (most people I have known who are diagnosed with ADD have far less problem focusing than he does). The important part though was he chose to take them, nobody forced them on him or threatened him for not taking them. He frequently took time off of them because he felt like he was never fully himself on them, just more capable of functioning. I've heard similar stories from a lot of people who have it, and most of them (including my psychiatrist) did not view themselves in the pathologized way that mainstream psychiatry views ADD.


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demonfox88
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28 Sep 2008, 1:37 pm

are you actually dissing something so obviously real? and anyway now I'm curious as to what makes you say that



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28 Sep 2008, 6:51 pm

I don't believe ADHD truly exists as a standalone diagnosis - what was once known as 'just being a kid', 'just curious', 'being naughty' etc is now just labelled and medicalised for convenience more often than not. If there is a genuine problem, on a very rare occasion, I'd tend to suggest looking closer and seeing if there's something else triggering it, like for example Aspergers, autism, dyslexia, etc - one of the broader conditions that ADHD can occur alongside as a kind of secondary symptom of. If that makes any sense.


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nightbender
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28 Sep 2008, 7:48 pm

I have seen the papers where novartis decided to invent it in order to sell more ritalin.



hadapurpura
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28 Sep 2008, 9:00 pm

nightbender wrote:
I have seen the papers where novartis decided to invent it in order to sell more ritalin.


Show them.

Over-diagnosed, even grossly over-diagnosed, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

It sounds a lot like somebody who said in 90% of the cases, autism really was a parent who wasn't able to tell their children to shut up because they were idiots.



Callista
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28 Sep 2008, 9:54 pm

Yeah, that's what I meant... you can't get a high from taking Ritalin pills; you have to snort them or inject them. Obviously you would crush them first... 'cause otherwise... ouch. :P


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beau99
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28 Sep 2008, 10:51 pm

Callista wrote:
Yeah, that's what I meant... you can't get a high from taking Ritalin pills; you have to snort them or inject them. Obviously you would crush them first... 'cause otherwise... ouch. :P

Except... more than a few people HAVE gotten high from simply swallowing them.


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LeKiwi
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29 Sep 2008, 2:34 am

beau99 wrote:
Callista wrote:
Yeah, that's what I meant... you can't get a high from taking Ritalin pills; you have to snort them or inject them. Obviously you would crush them first... 'cause otherwise... ouch. :P

Except... more than a few people HAVE gotten high from simply swallowing them.


Yup, I've heard of a few cases where they've been stolen from kids or from pharmacies for this reason... they're a stimulant after all.


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Sora
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29 Sep 2008, 11:00 am

AD(H)D is a quite real disorder if it's impairing.

I can't even imagine how to phrase this for disbelievers. If that happened to me face-to-face I'd explode.

A normal highly active and annoying kid who's running around in homework sessions still gets their homework done at least 2/3 while a kid with ADHD will write 2 lines of letters (of 5 + 2 other sheets) in that same 1 hour.

And I gotta sit next to that even and watch the drama unfold.


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Mysty
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29 Sep 2008, 11:16 am

LeKiwi wrote:
I don't believe ADHD truly exists as a standalone diagnosis - what was once known as 'just being a kid', 'just curious', 'being naughty' etc is now just labelled and medicalised for convenience more often than not. If there is a genuine problem, on a very rare occasion, I'd tend to suggest looking closer and seeing if there's something else triggering it, like for example Aspergers, autism, dyslexia, etc - one of the broader conditions that ADHD can occur alongside as a kind of secondary symptom of. If that makes any sense.


I take it you are using "diagnosis" here to mean the disease or disorder which the diagnosis describes?



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29 Sep 2008, 12:00 pm

LeKiwi wrote:
I don't believe ADHD truly exists as a standalone diagnosis - what was once known as 'just being a kid', 'just curious', 'being naughty' etc is now just labelled and medicalised for convenience more often than not. If there is a genuine problem, on a very rare occasion, I'd tend to suggest looking closer and seeing if there's something else triggering it, like for example Aspergers, autism, dyslexia, etc - one of the broader conditions that ADHD can occur alongside as a kind of secondary symptom of. If that makes any sense.


I agree with you there. It used to be kids could pick their own activities but today, they are overscheduled beyond belief. I couldn't stand having one activity picked for me without my consent, let alone something daily. They aren't just allowed to "have fun" anymore, of have a little downtime just to kick back and relax. I don't think I'd survive a modern childhood.


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fernando
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29 Sep 2008, 11:06 pm

PrisonerSix wrote:
LeKiwi wrote:
I don't believe ADHD truly exists as a standalone diagnosis - what was once known as 'just being a kid', 'just curious', 'being naughty' etc is now just labelled and medicalised for convenience more often than not. If there is a genuine problem, on a very rare occasion, I'd tend to suggest looking closer and seeing if there's something else triggering it, like for example Aspergers, autism, dyslexia, etc - one of the broader conditions that ADHD can occur alongside as a kind of secondary symptom of. If that makes any sense.


I agree with you there. It used to be kids could pick their own activities but today, they are overscheduled beyond belief. I couldn't stand having one activity picked for me without my consent, let alone something daily. They aren't just allowed to "have fun" anymore, of have a little downtime just to kick back and relax. I don't think I'd survive a modern childhood.


That's my view too. Those kids that are now being diagnosed ADHD were considered completely normal a thousand years ago. But now, all of a sudden, they "need" pills to put attention in school. It's a collision between our culture and our nature. Under the ways of nature kids need to keep active so they can learn as much as possible for their adult years. And then we developed a culture where kids need to sit still so they can learn as much as possible for their adult years. And if you don't sit still you are diseased and they push a pill down your throat.


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30 Sep 2008, 12:52 pm

No, that's questionable argumentation for 2 reasons...

#1 AD(H)D kids grow into AD(H)D adults usually.

One would think if it were all just environment and people thinking it's inappropriate to be active, all problems will disappear by adolescence.

Yes, sitting still is important a normal activity.

A kid of 6 years is perfectly fine sitting still for half an hour, but one who can't even sit down for more than a few minutes but is very willing to sit down and reacts with anger and/or embarrassment if I point out it's gotten up yet again despite the fact that the kid didn't want to has a problem.

All with AD(H)D probably just imagine an attention deficit?

#2 Last time I checked:

It's the parents and society's fault if a regular paediatrician is allowed to informally diagnose AD(H)D and officially prescribe meds.

Last time I checked paediatricians weren't educated in recognising psychiatric disorders.

Or else why can't a paed or a general practitioner informally diagnose Asperger's too? That's not accepted for whatever odd reason. Why? It should be too, if a paed may diagnose AD(H)D as they currently do.

Yet these countless AD(H)D diagnoses of psychiatric are suddenly acceptable and willingly taken into account if people try to argument that AD(H)D is a fake disorder.


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30 Sep 2008, 1:00 pm

It's a real disorder if it affects the life of those who have it negatively compared to their peers, and those with it all share the same symptoms and a similar outcome in society.

"Autism" isn't a disorder if it doesn't negatively affect the person, but then, they don't have it do they if it doesn't affect them? You'll find everyone with Autism will be negatively affected compared to their peers in the ways the disorder is defined, and having it called a disorder allows for people to seek allowances, as they usually need them to function at the level of their peers [in the best cases] (if drugs help, cool. People take medication to alleviate asthma; it's no different with any disorder/disease).



LePetitPrince
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30 Sep 2008, 1:03 pm

A rude or shy personality affect the person negatively compared to their peers yet there's no organic abnormality ....does this make rudeness or shyness disorders?