Adult ADHD: Cosmetic Psychiatry? I Was Enraged…
ByAs a reader of this blog you know that I am a big advocate for ADD and ADHD.
I also educate a lot of doctors about this.
A while back, I was teaching some Psychiatrists about Adult ADHD, and they weren’t too interested.
They actually thought it was ‘Cosmetic Psychiatry’.
They were suggesting that Adult ADHD was of little importance, and of almost no relevance.
I was outraged!
I made sure to teach them so much research, data, and case studies, that they knew without a doubt that Adult ADHD is real, treatable, and very important!
Realizing that some of my medical colleagues had the wrong impression about Adult ADHD, really motivated me to make sure that you have the right information in your hands, to make sure that even if your doctor doesn’t know enough – you can still get the care you need.
Announcing:
Secrets to Adult ADHD Success
To address this, I partnered with Dr. Russell Barkley – a leading ADHD Researcher and author – and we created this
comprehensive program.
In it – you get a 72 minute downloadable mp3 audio, as well as a 56 page edited PDF transcript.
And to encourage you to act now – if you get it before this Thursday March 12th- you can participate in a live
Question and Answer Call with myself (and if you can’t be on the line – you’ll get the recordings, and
you can send in your question beforehand).
And to help to overcome Adult ADD enemy #1 – Procrastination – I’ve added some other ‘fast action bonuses’ which are good for this week.
So, click here to go and see if this program on adult ADHD is right for you.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
p.s. although it doesn’t seem to happen in any other area of medicine – when you’re dealing with Adult ADHD -
you often have to teach the doctor what’s going on!
Get the tools you need now.
That is a little outragous. i have adult adhd and it is real and very hard to live with. I cant believe psychiatrists can brush off a serious condition that easily.
Add or ADHD syndrome is as real condition as much as bipolar disorder, clinical depression or anxiety disorders. Many psychiatrists treat these common disorders, but some of the doctors don’t believe that ADD or ADHD is a real condition and claim it doesn’t exist. I find this a very narrow view some psychiatrists share of the reality and nature of the condition. I don’t think we can label ADD as a disease, rather a chemical imbalance in the brain of those treating it.
Adult ADD is a very frustrating condition to treat and it can have depression and or bipolar symptom overtones as well which makes it even tougher to get the right therapy and medications that can make a person be able to function better. But adults treating ADD with the proper meds can make it easier to get through life and work, not struggle as hard just to survive
Unfortunately the generic versions of the psycho-stimulant drugs to treat ADD are not as effective for some people as the name brand by Shire. The 30 MG generic for Adderall made by Barr is a little more crumbly/sugar pill. Many have reported the mix is weak compared to Shire. If you try and quarter a Barr 30 mg tablet, you will get a powder. I have discussed this issue with several doctors and scientists and they agree that not all generic drugs are made equal. As they stated, it’s the fillers and delivery function of the drug compound which is equal or inferior to the name brand such as Shire which are the best compounds and the company who had the first patents of Amphetamine Salts.
I have seen many complaints of ADD patients on forums such as this who swear that the generic compounds of drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Xanax, etc. are not as effective, have side effects, and “wear off” much faster than the name brand (Shire)
The FDA really should have more stringent standards for many generic drugs, not just psych meds, antibiotics, etc. and do more random assay tests and check “the mix” of the compound and make sure it is equivilent to the name brands.
For instance, Shire Adderall 30 mg, 30 tabs averages $120-147 in the US compared to $13-25 for generic etc. I believe there are better generics for Adderall and others by other companies, however, Barr seems to be a brand which many patients have complaints about try to avoid and have their pharmacy order other substitutes. Many people have to pay cash prices or expensive insurance co-pays to afford these very expensive meds. Barr possibly isn’t aware of the compounding issue other than listening to their customers and may have to improve the mix.
Dr. Amen, one of the most skilled and experienced psychiatrists that treats adult and children with ADD/ADHD knows beyond a shadow of doubt that the disorder is very real and needs to be treated properly with supplements and meds if needed to improve the quality of life of ADD patients.
Just my $$
My daughter is 21 and has ADD & bipolar disorder. Very recently I attended an appointment with her, with a new psychiatrist, as the one she has been seeing for 4 years is retiring.Well, he is of the opinion that adult ADD is of little importance and that the bipolar illness of far more interest to him. The bipolar illness is stable with no mood symptoms dispite not being on medication for ~10 months.
It is due to the stabilization of the bipolar illness that the ADD was able to be fully recognized and diagnosed and even though it had been there since childhood, it was missed. It is frustrating to run into this ignorance in the medical profession but I have learned it is more common than not when dealing with psychiatry. As the patient you have to constantly advocate for yourself or as a parent for your child. I’m not sure if things will work out with this psychiatrist or she/we will have to find someone who takes the illness more seriously.
Ask anyone who has the condition and they will tell you how disruptive it can be to the pursuit of goals and livlihood.
Tired!
Procrastination certainly is a hallmark of both child and adult ADD or ADHD. The typical advice to anyone who is overwhelmed by a big project is to break it down into smaller pieces. However, my adult child totally rejected this, saying that would be extremely stressful! Apparently, whatever the big, overwhelming project may be, AVOIDING it for this ADDer as long as possible is much less stressful than doing it at the last possible moment. It seemed very odd to me until I realized that the key to the stress was that “whatever” was so overwhelming was also SOOOOO BORING. My adult ADD children find almost EVERYTHING BORING–unless it is very creative or comes at them fast (like a video game.) There is very wide spectrum of severity of ADD. I think some of the worst cases are the most likely NOT to take or continue medicine:(
Cosmetic psychiatry, Wow… like I would voluntarily subject myself to all this “fun” just for the hell of it?? Honestly, I’m about at the end of my rope from constantly having to explain (convince) to people/therapists/doctors/family members, etc. that adult add is real, and not just an excuse. I thought they were supposed to be there to help us!!! For the past 35 years I have dealt with failure, not living up to my potential, constantly disappointing myself and everyone around me… and it has definitely taken a toll on me. I don’t know what else to do, but I’m SO tired of crying. I am extremely sensitive to people’s comments because of the years and years of hearing them and thinking that I was just a lazy, unmotivated slacker who is late for everything. I’ve even had a speech therapist at my school (I’m a Special Ed teacher)scream at me and call me a lazy b**** who needs to go back where I came from. I’m done…I’m exhausted…I’m angry…I’m tired and I’ve had enough…I just want to start over as someone else.
I’m sorry to hear of your struggles and how hard it’s been.
It’s the lack of info out there which led me to start this blog and all of the information that I produce. I hope it helps in time!
Good luck.
To “Losing steam” and Dr. Kenny –
I know very well the distress that others’ opinions about the existence/non-existence of ADHD causes. You are not alone, and I seriously doubt that you are ‘lazy.’
I actually did give up on teaching after 14 years. I don’t know which was worse — the fact that many of my students had ADHD, or my own ADHD and depression. With all the behaviors in my room, I found it impossible to focus on teaching. Having had a bad experience with Adderal and no help from Strattera, my organizational skills went out the window.
When I was first diagnosed at the Hallowell Center at age 40, I told my principal and asked for accomodations regarding extra time to complete tasks. In a demeaning and obviously annoyed tone, she said, “That’s just what you need — another diagnosis.” I have been told countless times that my problems are a character defect, laziness or “not working up to my capacity.” It is humiliating.
I will look over the suggestions for nutritional changes. I use fish oils and know that helps; if I go off them my thinking slows and my mind turns to mush.
Thanks