America's ADD epidemic

[tontonz1]

So yea, every kid in America rings around the rosey cracked out of their minds with all of their cracked out buddies. Why? Well maybe because they are on fucking amphetamines 24/7. I swear to god the stuff is easier to get ahold of than booze, and im 21. Hell, there's hundreds of articles like this floating around, going on about the corruption of adderall. Well this is perposterous tontonz! How can pills ever be easy to get? Because anyone that gets bored in history class, can be high instead. Because doctors make a killing off their scripts from the pharm companies, and is technically not wrong/illegal to distribute as long as their not breaking the hippocracktic oath. Any kid off the street can be like 'HEY YO I TOTALLY CAN NEVER GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT MY TEACHER SAYS IN CLASS'...'hmmmm well looks like you got a case of the apathetic druggie disorder, or ADD. Here, eat these like skittles and you'll start giving a shit again.' Ok, so maybe it goes a little more professionally, but ya, gist, k.

 

Alrighty, so problems happen for a reason. Or so I'm told. What in the past decade has completely revolutionized the world as we know it? If your not saying internet, then I'd say to get out of that rock your under. Just about everyone you know has used the internet atleast once in their lifetime, and those that haven't are probably 3 generations apart, or lives in a cave. You can't argue that the internet hasn't affected your own daily activities in some way; hell we spend millions of life dollars just to update statuses, find shit out, look shit up. It's the ultimate information monster, and it grows like that big pink blob from goosebumps.

 

Phew..If you've read this far, take a gander - http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/

 

It doesn't directly state that ADD is affected by the internet, so here's an emotionally inspiring picture to explain

 

 

I'm proposing that we all see our doctors and become adderall zombies in protest of this atrocious atrocity!

 

Discuss.

 

 

And since my facepalm detector is runnin mad, here's a surfing sheep to ante your facepalm!

 

[vamos scorcho]

tontonz you are compleley roght

[Guest hahathhat]

So yea, every kid in America rings around the rosey cracked out of their minds with all of their cracked out buddies. Why? Well maybe because they are on fucking amphetamines 24/7. I swear to god the stuff is easier to get ahold of than booze, and im 21. Hell, there's hundreds of articles like this floating around, going on about the corruption of adderall. Well this is perposterous tontonz! How can pills ever be easy to get? Because anyone that gets bored in history class, can be high instead. Because doctors make a killing off their scripts from the pharm companies, and is technically not wrong/illegal to distribute as long as their not breaking the hippocracktic oath. Any kid off the street can be like 'HEY YO I TOTALLY CAN NEVER GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT MY TEACHER SAYS IN CLASS'...'hmmmm well looks like you got a case of the apathetic druggie disorder, or ADD. Here, eat these like skittles and you'll start giving a shit again.' Ok, so maybe it goes a little more professionally, but ya, gist, k.

 

i was prescribed some in what was essentially a bribe to get me to give a shit about classes. it got me to do lots of stuff, but then when it wore off stuff would be 10x harder than it was before i was taking it. i didn't like that -- it felt too much like burning a fuse. i took it for a few months, then never made the next doctor's appointment. haven't had any since.

 

i will read these articles and probably ramble more later some stuff hello.

[Braintree]

Anyone know of any studies on ADD and diet?

[jules]

Anyone know of any studies on ADD and diet?

 

I started to read one but I got bored and couldn't finish it so I went to mcdonalds instead

[marf]

I think I would have a degree and a good job today if I had some ADD drugs back in the day

[TwiddleBot]

have a friend who went on add meds and it did seem to help.. friend was finally able to actually sit down and work for 10 hours at a time and plow through university. the medical explanation i was told is that in some people, the brain doesn't receive enough sugar to function properly and amphetamines allows certain areas of the brain to run on less sugar. ideally with time and some self-management skills you will be able to ditch the drugs

 

it wasn't easy for my friend to get a prescription either. it was quite a lengthy process. maybe it varies by state/country.. etc

[GORDO]

tl;dr

[Brandi_B]

I have quite severe ADD and moderate to severe ADHD. I will say this. It is very hard for a lot of us to get adderall and the like because of the abuse by non ADD people. Once you are an "adult" (18+) you have to re-do your Adult ADD diagnosis every three years, and it's not very cheap. Without it, you are not going to get much from a doctor, unless it's one of those "will give you anything doctors" but for some reason in my life I have never encountered one of those.

 

Anyway, understand that amphetamines, like adderall, ritalin, and concerta, affect those that actually have ADD in a very different way than those without it. It's not to dissimilar to some people can drink a whole 2 liter of coca-cola and be super hyper, whereas sometimes I could drink that much and take a nap just fine right afterward. In fact once I had been on adderall for a while I had no troubles at all napping on it or falling asleep at night, other than the issues with sleep I've had all my life.

 

So, it's strange the way it works, and it is very different depending on your diagnosis, but for a lot of us, our brains are already spinning in overdrive all the time and it speeds us up even more and faster that it almost makes things "normal". Things like Dexedrine in the past I felt speedy side effects from, but I rarely got any kind of side effects from adderall other than stomach issues if I didn't eat carefully around my dosage.

 

Anyway, my whole point is, adderall effects people with ADD differently, and yes it can work in that speedy stay up all night working on a paper way, but the people that abuse it are really hurting some of the people that really need it. Which I don't really understand as amphetamine abuse is nothing new and has been going on since probably before, but at least since my parents were in college. My mom said she would always take "poppers" to get stuff done.

[Brandi_B]

Anyone know of any studies on ADD and diet?

I know he is a lightning rod for everything else but that talk show guy Michael Savage is a PhD ethnobotanist and wrote several books on childhood nutrition. He was ahead of the curve on the idea that nutrition could be used as either "adjunct therapy" or as "things to avoid" in order to heal or prevent childhood problems including behavioral issues. He wrote under his given name Michael Weiner. I know people hate his guts and you're even in his stomping grounds (SF) but you can't deny the guy's intelligence/education on that front.

I can tell you that sugary and caffeine infused stuff certainly doesn't help, but there's not really any one specific "cause", granted many people are searching for why it seems to be becoming a generational thing starting mostly with people born in the late 70's and 80's and on. A lot of people say faster paced culture, video games, and TV, which get blamed for a lot of things, but I don't necessarily disagree with it though. I watched a lot of tv, played many video games, and used the computer quite often by the time I was 4 so I certainly would look there. BUt it just seems very difficult to pin down and most of the "diet" studies I've ever read, are either inconclusive, or yield little results. It doesn't really seem to be a considerable "factor".

[pcock]

i want more dextroamphetamines

[Brandi_B]

have a friend who went on add meds and it did seem to help.. friend was finally able to actually sit down and work for 10 hours at a time and plow through university. the medical explanation i was told is that in some people, the brain doesn't receive enough sugar to function properly and amphetamines allows certain areas of the brain to run on less sugar. ideally with time and some self-management skills you will be able to ditch the drugs

 

it wasn't easy for my friend to get a prescription either. it was quite a lengthy process. maybe it varies by state/country.. etc

Exactly! If you put a paper in front of me and say "do this" My brain instantly goes SQUIRRELS! Srsly it starts doing everything it can to not focus. It's like pulling teeth trying to get me to start working. And it's not a procrastination thing, it's a my brain is overwhelmed thing. But when it comes to auditory and visual stuff, ie: stuff not on paper, i'm pretty much 100% there at all times.

[TwiddleBot]

Exactly! If you put a paper in front of me and say "do this" My brain instantly goes SQUIRRELS! Srsly it starts doing everything it can to not focus. It's like pulling teeth trying to get me to start working. And it's not a procrastination thing, it's a my brain is overwhelmed thing. But when it comes to auditory and visual stuff, ie: stuff not on paper, i'm pretty much 100% there at all times.

 

Yeah, that's exactly how it is for my friend. Terrific artist, can play instruments for hours.. Extremely intelligent. But when my friend was hit with tons of research papers, T.A. assignments, conferences, etc etc, suddenly the problems began, exactly like what you are saying, just overwhelmed and unable to organize all the tasks, frequently taking on way more tasks than one is capable of. My friend went through a period of literally sitting there watching TV shows on the internet while the work was piling up, unable to focus.

 

I have similar problems myself but somehow I've been able to manage so far. ADHD sounds in a lot of ways like the issues a lot of people face, just more.. extreme.

 

And it does have it's benefits, like lots of creativity. It's just if you want to do certain things with your life, suddenly you realize you have obstacles to overcome

[pylonbitch]

i am quite badly adhd.. wasn't actually diagnosed until in my twenties (previous to that i was just a 'wee bastard'). never medicated.. have learned a lot of coping skills.

 

i pretty heavily self-medicated on dealer bought amphetamines right through the nineties... for the first time in my life i could concentrate on writing music for hours on end without distraction, and that's what i used to do while all my mates went out clubbing (did a fair bit of clubbing myself mind you), but when everyone was raging high, i'd get zoned into my music.

 

took it to extremes, and ended up staying awake for days and days at a time, cos i got more of a buzz out of the random trippiness associated with sleep deprivation. burnt myself right out.

 

i don't do that any more, and i have to say that giving amphetamines to children in place of teaching them actual coping strategies is a weak and feeble way to deal with this disorder that does more damage in the long run than it does good. yeah it makes kids sit still, but the associated side effects would suggest to me that it's more for the parents than for the benefit of the child.

 

oh and the current fad for instantly diagnosing a complex neurotransmitter issue and prescribing nasty substances to children who suffer ostensibly from bad parenting fudges the actual issue, dilutes the problems that people with real adhd face, and damages the children involved.

 

adhd, by the way, is hereditary.. if you have it, your male children have about a 25% chance of having it too. statistically, less chance if your kids are girls.

 

 

i take evening primrose oil and fish oil every day now, and it helps, in as much as when i stop taking it i start to feel 'very adhd' again... some days are better than others.

 

i consider my adhd to be more of a blessing than a curse. anyone who actually also has it will understand this statement.

[Brandi_B]

 

 

I have similar problems myself but somehow I've been able to manage so far. ADHD sounds in a lot of ways like the issues a lot of people face, just more.. extreme.

 

 

Well one of the issues with ADHD that is different than ADD. That is "random" out of nowhere hyperactivity. This affects me, and it's not just irl being physically hyper, it's mental as well, and often, mostly mental. In fact I can think of a couple watmm posts I've made in one of these swells. It's almost like a "manic" episode, but it's like an extremely hyper super brain drilling explosion of mental and physical activity. It's like "I MUST TELL YOU THIS NOW IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU MUST STOP EVERYTHING AND LISTEN TO ME" etc. Annoying, but sometimes fun too ;)

[Brandi_B]

i am quite badly adhd.. wasn't actually diagnosed until in my twenties (previous to that i was just a 'wee bastard'). never medicated.. have learned a lot of coping skills.

 

i pretty heavily self-medicated on dealer bought amphetamines right through the nineties... for the first time in my life i could concentrate on writing music for hours on end without distraction, and that's what i used to do while all my mates went out clubbing (did a fair bit of clubbing myself mind you), but when everyone was raging high, i'd get zoned into my music.

 

took it to extremes, and ended up staying awake for days and days at a time, cos i got more of a buzz out of the random trippiness associated with sleep deprivation. burnt myself right out.

 

i don't do that any more, and i have to say that giving amphetamines to children in place of teaching them actual coping strategies is a weak and feeble way to deal with this disorder that does more damage in the long run than it does good. yeah it makes kids sit still, but the associated side effects would suggest to me that it's more for the parents than for the benefit of the child.

 

oh and the current fad for instantly diagnosing a complex neurotransmitter issue and prescribing nasty substances to children who suffer ostensibly from bad parenting fudges the actual issue, dilutes the problems that people with real adhd face, and damages the children involved.

 

adhd, by the way, is hereditary.. if you have it, your male children have about a 25% chance of having it too. statistically, less chance if your kids are girls.

 

 

i take evening primrose oil and fish oil every day now, and it helps, in as much as when i stop taking it i start to feel 'very adhd' again... some days are better than others.

 

i consider my adhd to be more of a blessing than a curse. anyone who actually also has it will understand this statement.

 

Yeah I'm with you on most of this. And yes it is hereditary for the most part, but there's many cases where there's either not enough info, or deep heritage research that comes up dry that leads people looking for other "causes".

 

Also People with ADD/ADHD are the most likely adolescents, and adults, to "abuse" drugs and alcohol, and also suffer from severe depression. It can come from numerous sources (the depression) but a lot of it is home/school and not getting any cooperation. My dad didn't (and doesn't really still) believe that ADD was real until I got to college, despite my first diagnosis at 11. He still thinks it's just excuses for being lazy, and says that I'll really do the things that I really want to do. And he's right if the things that I want to do are not long research papers, reading non-fiction massive books that include lots of dates and numbers, and sitting in a lecture that doesn't interest me and trying to make me focus.

 

Also, if anyone here want's to experience what having ADD/ADHD is like, read the book "House of Leaves" and make sure you read every single footnote and side story. That book is 100% the way my brain often functions.

 

Jumping from here to there, and back and then there, and then forgetting for a second, and then oh yeah, but wait that's not it, oh that, oh screw it check this out, hey this thing over here is cool, wait wat? Oh yeah, Lindsay Lohan is in trouble, hey did you know that she's got a lot of freckles, I like people with freckles, she tries to cover them up a lot with makeup, I once read that they give you superpowers. Yeah I prefer Batman much more than Superman, but Superman seems to own up to more. But really when it comes to doing a thesis on particle physics it's all there, the lab work has been fantastic and I even spent a few days making holograms, which was totally random, but hey physics is awesome isn't it? Ever look at the stars and think they are freckles, kind of like Lindsay. Yeah she's cool. Yep, see ya later.

[TwiddleBot]

Well one of the issues with ADHD that is different than ADD. That is "random" out of nowhere hyperactivity. This affects me, and it's not just irl being physically hyper, it's mental as well, and often, mostly mental. In fact I can think of a couple watmm posts I've made in one of these swells. It's almost like a "manic" episode, but it's like an extremely hyper super brain drilling explosion of mental and physical activity. It's like "I MUST TELL YOU THIS NOW IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU MUST STOP EVERYTHING AND LISTEN TO ME" etc. Annoying, but sometimes fun too ;)

 

Interesting, did not know there was a difference. Yeah, my friend has ADHD and likewise has similar moments of energy.. actually I always enjoy being around my friend in those moments, I find it often cheers me up. I wonder if ADHD can make you a bit more outgoing and social in some ways? Now that I think of it I had a friend back in my college days who had ADHD as well and he is probably the most social person I've ever met even if he couldn't make it through school

[Fred McGriff]

alls i do is fap when i eat addies. quite fun though.

[acidphakist]

Resident ADD/Depression/Generalized Anxiety Disorder sufferer, checking in.

 

My experience with ritalin has been nothing short of brilliant. I can focus on work, and when my anxiety is under control it helps my depression as well.

[TwiddleBot]

i tried the meds a couple times way back in the day. actually honestly, they were gentler on me than a cup of coffee. totally just worked, made music.. unfortunately it also made me want to sit outside and chain-smoke cigarettes

[Brandi_B]

Well one of the issues with ADHD that is different than ADD. That is "random" out of nowhere hyperactivity. This affects me, and it's not just irl being physically hyper, it's mental as well, and often, mostly mental. In fact I can think of a couple watmm posts I've made in one of these swells. It's almost like a "manic" episode, but it's like an extremely hyper super brain drilling explosion of mental and physical activity. It's like "I MUST TELL YOU THIS NOW IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU MUST STOP EVERYTHING AND LISTEN TO ME" etc. Annoying, but sometimes fun too ;)

 

Interesting, did not know there was a difference. Yeah, my friend has ADHD and likewise has similar moments of energy.. actually I always enjoy being around my friend in those moments, I find it often cheers me up. I wonder if ADHD can make you a bit more outgoing and social in some ways? Now that I think of it I had a friend back in my college days who had ADHD as well and he is probably the most social person I've ever met even if he couldn't make it through school

 

Yes some of the most social people I have ever known were ADHD, whether serve or not. Often it's because they tend to lead a "on the go" or "by the seat of their pants" lifestyle that leads them to be out places more often meeting people. And we also like to talk a lot quite often (not in all cases) so having people to listen is always great.

 

 

There's this really strange line in the whole ADD/ADHD thing to. And that is hyper focusing. Adding meds and their effect of that is a whole other conversation. But a lot of add/adhd folks, when they get into "hyper focus" mode are some of the most focused and productive people. But you can not tear them away from what they are doing to save your life, and often will not stop to eat or sleep. I get this way often, especially when playing video games. You look like a zombie but in fact you are doing and thinking about a million things at once and doing it in a ridiculously effective way. I do this a lot when playing guitar, I can talk and look around and just act quite "normal" as if i'm not doing anything while playing pretty well, unless i'm in a difficult time signature or something. It actually annoys some people, but it works out really well when I've done TV related projects so I can just watch the video and not pay attention to what my hands are doing, but be super aware of what they are doing. Yes there's a bit of how long someone's been doing something like that in there, but it's quite common that ADD/ADHD people are more "stand out" artists, whether what they produce is considered "good or not", the point is they usually just play their instruments in a different way than most people. I hate using myself as an example, so just as a disclaimer I'm not trying to make myself out to be any kind of amazing musician, just giving my personal experience here.

 

alls i do is fap when i eat addies. quite fun though.

 

I'm surprised, adderall makes most men temporarily impotent, and if not that most of the time they may be able to get it going on, but not "deliver". Very very common, you must be a rarity.

[pylonbitch]

nah brandi... a lot of the time on rakes of speed all i wanted to do was fuck my bird. once it's up it stays up.

 

i know a lot of blokes who have exactly the same experience with phet.

[Brandi_B]

i tried the meds a couple times way back in the day. actually honestly, they were gentler on me than a cup of coffee. totally just worked, made music.. unfortunately it also made me want to sit outside and chain-smoke cigarettes

Yeah I've been in a big slump the past few years, i'd say the past 2 years, as far as productivity goes, especially "artistic" related stuff, like music and painting. And I attribute it to not being able to get adderall. The two times I've gone to get my diagnosis updated, i've run into issues with my last report not being "through enough" and the last doctor told me I needed to go to a psychiatrist as a referral before he would prescribe me, despite my history being well documented and me basically being on it from 11 years old - about 24ish. They always shove other "drugs" like strattera at me, or try and get me on another anti-depressant and have a general altogether "cure" which never, ever , ever, works, and in fact causes more problems. So coffee has been sort of getting me by but it doesn't last 1/16 as long, doesn't work anywhere near as well, I can only drink so much before I start feeling like crap, and also turns my teeth uber nasty colors.

 

Long story short. Because I have documented history with ADD/ADHD and being on adderall, they REQUIRE that I have an updated diagnosis, AND a referral. It's like this major tail chase and is very frustrating. Whereas if I had no history I think it would be a lot easier.

[pcock]

dextro/adderall makes me insanely horny

[Brandi_B]

nah brandi... a lot of the time on rakes of speed all i wanted to do was fuck my bird. once it's up it stays up.

 

i know a lot of blokes who have exactly the same experience with phet.

Hmm, well I guess it depends on the person. I know of the lets say 5 or so guys that "my friend" would occasionaly give a little adderall to on the weeks in high school, they would always complain of mostly just not being able to get off, but there was one guy who could just never get it up, and claimed he never had this issue when not on it.

 

Edit: Yeah horniness seemed to be a common thread (maybe it's a guy thing) just carrying out "the task" seemed to be a frequent issue, so who knows maybe it was from drinking with it as well. That's one area of add meds I don't really know much about aside from those brief experiences.