Is ADHD a real disorder?

also, i got it in spades, if you haven't noticed.

ADHD is a slightly different flavor of ADD.

plz to reference this, not to be the snark, but I really would like to know if I've been lied to

ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and ADD is Attention Deficit Disorder. They *are* different diagnoses, so yes, you have been lied to.

that's not a reference

I can find nothing to differentiate the two AT ALL

please please make me look stupid

Doesn't 'HD' manifest itself in physical behaviors, where 'DD" is the mental/concentration issues?

http://add.about.com/cs/addthebasics/a/add.htm

The Differences between ADD and ADHD - Though there are many symptoms that are shared between ADD and ADHD, there are also some major differences. Some symptoms might also be similar but may be caused by different reasons. For example, restlessness can be a symptom of ADD, Inattentive Type, but is often triggered by anxiety from completing tasks requiring sustained attention. Restlessness in ADHD, Hyperactive and Impulsive Type is caused by the symptom of hyperactivity.

http://add.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=add&cdn=health&tm=55&f=20&su=p247.2.140.ip_p726.2.152.ip_p284.8.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what/WWK8

Confusing labels for AD/HD

In 1994 the name of the disorder got changed in a way that is confusing for many people. Since that time all forms of attention deficit disorder are officially called "Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder" after which a comma appears. After the comma, a subtype is specified:

* "Predominantly Inattentive Type" for someone with serious inattention problems, but not much problem with hyperactivity/impulsive symptoms;
* "Combined Type" for someone with serious inattention problems and serious problems with hyperactivity and impulsivity; or,
* "Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Type for someone with serious problems with hyperactivity/impulsivity, but not much problem with inattention.

Even though these are the official labels, a lot of professionals and lay people use both terms: "ADD" and "AD/HD." Some use those terms to designate the old subtypes; others use ADD just as a shorter way to refer to any subtype.

http://www.add-adhd.org/ADHD_attention-deficit.html

What is Attention-Deficit Disorder?

ADD is officially called Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), although most lay people, and even some professionals, still call it ADD or A.D.D. (the names given in 1980) or ADHD . The disorder's name has changed as a result of scientific advances and the findings of careful field trials; researchers now have strong evidence to support the position that AD/HD [ A.D.D. or ADHD ] [as we will refer to the disorder throughout the remainder of this Briefing Paper] is not one specific disorder with different variations. In keeping with this evidence, AD/HD [ A.D.D. OR ADHD ] is now divided into three subtypes, according to the main features associated with the disorder: inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. The three subtypes are:

* AD/HD [ A.D.D. OR ADHD ] Predominantly Combined Type,
* AD/HD [ A.D.D. OR ADHD ] Predominantly Inattentive Type, and
* AD/HD [ A.D.D. OR ADHD ] Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type.

These subtypes take into account that some children with AD/HD [ A.D.D. OR ADHD ] have little or no trouble sitting still or inhibiting behavior, but may be predominantly inattentive and, as a result, have great difficulty getting or staying focused on a task or activity. Others with AD/HD [ A.D.D. OR ADHD ] may be able to pay attention to a task but lose focus because they may be predominantly hyperactive-impulsive and, thus, have trouble controlling impulse and activity. The most prevalent subtype is the Combined Type. These children will have significant symptoms of all three characteristics.

ADD is officially called Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), although most lay people, and even some professionals, still call it ADD or A.D.D. (the names given in 1980) or ADHD

what so now im supposed to call it "a d slash h d"?

call me old school but NO HYPERACTIVITY, NO H.

sunny is just trying to be dumb and succeeding :P

look, i'm sorry I went off on big dogs in small apartments, ok? Truce.

Chronic Fatigue is SOOO fake. It used to be called sloth, and it's one of the seven deadly sins. Now it's a 'condition' so lazies can collect disability and watch more Montell.

-- andy, Wednesday, September 22, 2004 10:07 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Link

There's not many statements I hate more than this type of statement.

Dude, anything, I don't care what or how you label it, if it gets in the way of your functioning, it's a problem. Like I've experienced (fuuuuck have I ever experienced) and Hurting sez here:

Procrastination and disorganization are real problems. They can lead to career and marriage failure, depression, feelings of wasted potential and missed opportunities. Fuck, if I wanted to of course I could "change my environment" instead - I could go live on some commune or something. But that isn't what I want.

And my problems, you know...I was not wanting to leave the house & all kinds of wonderful funtime stuff. Which 5 or so different docs/psychs/therapists suggested all thought were different diagnoses (based on the symptoms). Well, it helped in getting right meds, but since everyone's so different, you kind of have to start w/basics based on some generalized idea of what's wrong & find pills or combos that work better from there.

And of course there's no one answer to all this & that's why it pisses me off when people (general populus or even some overly pushy doctors) think they are the personal expert on how exactly one should solve their problems in this arena.

It's been shown that if you educate yourself and then choose your OWN treatment plan, it's more effective, if only because you are getting efficacy & c. from deciding the whole thing for yourself. That works for me.

exactly (both posts)

Feeling you X 100, Hurting. It sucks a lot and I'm still waiting to get to the point where I can afford a professional diagnosis of this shit and get it taken care of, if possible.

Plus: A child who really has ADHD can't even focus on things they ARE interested in.

Exactly. And that's why adult ADD is such a problem. When you have goals and the ambition and drive to make them happen and yet can't keep yourself consistently focused enough to get anywhere, it's incredibly frustrating and occasionally downright depressing. A glacial pace isn't compatible with mortality.

a big dog in a small apartment is only a problem if the dog is hyperactive. A merely inattentive big dog is fine in a small apartment.

ooh i'm glad this is still happening. so i went out to get a froze fruit and have a cigarette. now all this time this conversation re: big dogs, i've been thinking about this one guy and his big dog i saw on my block the other day. some yellow lab thing. they looked so happy. well i go out and there's this guy with this dog, again looking really cute. then they got in a jeep and drove away. i feel like he drove his dog to my block to walk!

anyway, the point is they seemed very happy walking in Brooklyn together.

a big dog in a small apartment is only a problem if the dog is hyperactive. A merely inattentive big dog is fine in a small apartment.

-- Beth Parker, Tuesday, August 7, 2007 9:45 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Which, strangely enough, kind of explains why I don't think my parents and teachers would have thought I was ADD - I was never hyperactive, I just couldn't concentrate. When I daydreamed all the time it was just "cute" (at least until middle school), and I often slid by on my ability to bullshit.

I have always slid by on my ability to bullshit. I still do. It's my #1 coping skill. I have the more common type of ADHD -- the "combined," so I'm both inattentive and v v jittery. I can spend a whole day at work unable to either get much work done or keep my leg still. I need medication pretty badly, actually, before I get fired or self-medicate myself into an alcohol coma or both. :(

So in answer to the thread question: yes. And it's a big problem.

lol i was reading ur post and doing my leg tapping thing and then i kept reading and then i stopped leg tapping.

That another thing, actually -- ADHD and alcoholism were made for each other. It calms the nerves, focuses the mind for about 5 minutes (which is more than you've been able to focus all day), and plays right into that whole "poor impulse control" aspect of ADHD.

i hate when u have a drink thinking u can relax to get some work done but then u just pass out

i wonder if it is possible to have environment- and stress-induced ADD? e.g. it builds up and then unleashes on system? like a virus coming in and out of remission

i do think all the categorizing and assigning of disorders to things has possibly gone too far, but at the same time, naming something (not nec in health/medicine but in world in general) is a way to acknowledge and tackle it. not so into the rampant prescription of drugs, however.

i wonder if it is possible to have environment- and stress-induced ADD?

It's possible to have anxiety disorders, but adult add is generally something you have as a child and never grow out of. Most add people will tell you that they can't ever remember a time when they WERE able to relax and focus.

god have mercy on every teacher i ever had

I disagree with this. There is such a thing as adult onset ADD. I've been treated for such although a psych told me that symptoms for ADD were pretty indistinguishable from bipolar symptoms so there was no point in making an extra diagnosis.

I had absolutely no trouble with concentration and focus before the age of about 24.

Yeah, that's me - although I do get that "hyperfocus" thing ADD people are supposed to get sometimes. (xpost)

I used to keep myself at the office way longer than I had to be because it was so hard for me to finish work efficiently - there's not much of another explanation for that kind of procrastination. (now I have a flexible job that's partly based at home - which is even worse in a way, but no one really notices how long it takes me to do things.)

(by yeah that's me, I mean I had trouble focusing early on - in elementary school I was always known for daydreaming)

well, if not full blown caused ADD, there definitely seems to be external factors that can exacerbate the symptons, and stress & a stressful environment will do that.

Also, my hyperfocus/ADD bits manifests itself in such a way to feed my videogame addiction. I can spend way too much time getting involved in a game world if it's rich enough, and play long enough in a session to where I know i'm grinding at the end, but I can't break away due to the brain candy/low-level nervous stimulation by the game. It's something like where I'd have times that I couldn't wait to get home to dive back into some world(Oblivion, Vice City, San Andreas, etc) that was far more richly detailed and stimulating than my boring dayjob. The only non-game behaviour I can remember, where I spent all my evenings consuming some media or narrative, was when I was shotgunning entire seasons of BSG.

I keep seeing "hyperfocus" and thinking "hyperfuckus."

What are the biggest drawbacks to ritalin, assuming non-abuse? Is it dependency forming? Does it wear off after a while, moving you to stronger drugs? I know about the risk of heart palpitations and all that.

probably would make more sense to ask a doctor instead of ilx.

Most doctors haven't actually been on the meds they prescribe, and are totally unaware of a lot of their negative/side effects.

so yeah, nevermind me, ask a bunch of non-expert non-professionals!

I wish Nowell would check back in.

uh, I did talk to a doctor, who suggested ritalin and told me about the side-effects. But I would like to hear about it from people who have actually taken it.

a doctor most likely could've answered those questions.

Maybe ask him about something like Strattera? It's not a stimulant so doesn't have a lot of the negative side-effects that Ritalin does. My brother was on ritalin when he was younger. I'll shoot him an email and see if he has anything to share.

And yes while no doctor has ever taken every single medicine for every ailment they are required to treat I think it is safe to place some faith in their years of study and professional knowledge. Otherwise you may as well not bother with modern medicine and just muck about with some roots and potions from your local curandera.

I've been on ritalin as an adult, what would you like to know?

I'm actually still on Concerta, which is ritalin-derived, I think.

Stence, there are things about medications that are not listed in the side effects. A doctor will not know half as much about the way they actually make you *feel* as someone who has been on the stuff.

For example, I've never come across a single piece of literature about Lithium that even mentions the low-leve auditory hallucinations. Yet talking to a couple of other people who had been on it, they marked the same sensation. That's not something my doctor could have told me, but it's something I wish I'd known before I took the stuff.

uh, if you and other people experience side effects that haven't been reported, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD TELL SOMEONE, MAYBE A DOCTOR EVEN.

I'd say I have a cautious, slightly wary but ultimately faithful attitude toward modern medicine. I just know that the pharma industry has been pushing drug solutions to everything for years, and that there are sometimes unsavory relationships between pharma and doctors, or between pharma and the bodies performing studies. I also know that in my previous experiences with ongoing medication (for asthma, allergies), I found that in the long run I got worse and required stronger medication, but when I stopped using medication I eventually had fewer problems, and none of the doctors I saw suggested this effect as a possibility. I'm not about to seek out medicinal plants in the forest, just wanted to hear someone's experience with the drug.

ps thanks for the needless condescension

Like you think I didn't try that? And face the doctor going "hrmm, that side effect isn't listed in the handbook. If you're hallucinating, maybe you're having a schitzophrenic breakdown, and should be put on even MORE heavy medications for the side effects of the medication we put you on to stop the side effects of the first one..."

And then you learn to shut your mouth in doctors offices, and trust experiencial evidence.

x-posts

p.s. Stence, you know I love you, but you're kind of being a dick on this thread. Can't you go and do something nice, like post pictures of your hair? :-)