Causes of ADHD

Children who have symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) actually may be sleep-deprived, according to researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Sleep Laboratory.

Doctors should consider that possibility before prescribing Ritalin and other ADHD drugs, they suggest.

An estimated 8 percent of US children suffer from ADHD, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, and more than half of them are being treated with drugs.

ADHD is characterized by overalertness and nervousness, with affected children being fidgety and overstimulated.

Paradoxically, the use of stimulant medications like Ritalin seems to be the most effective method for treating ADHD symptoms in the majority of children.

Fighting to Stay Awake?

Dr. Giora Pillar wondered whether some children diagnosed with ADHD might simply be sleepy. Their excessive motor activity could be a tool to stay alert, he conjectured, which might explain the effectiveness of stimulants that increase activity in the central nervous system.

“Sleepy children, unlike sleepy adults, may demonstrate hyperactivity and attention-deficit behavior rather than excessive daytime sleepiness,” Pillar explained.

“This theory is supported by parental reports that children, when extremely tired, tend to be cranky, overactive, angry and aggressive,” he pointed out.

Sleep Apnea

Pillar and colleagues studied 66 children with an average age of 12. Of these, 34 already had been diagnosed with ADHD, and the rest served as a control group. The ADHD-diagnosed children had significantly higher levels of sleepiness during the day than those in the control group, the researchers found.

Half of the test subjects with ADHD (vs. 22 percent of the control group) suffered from some degree of sleep-disordered breathing, such as sleep apnea, which is characterized by interruptions in breathing that last 10 seconds or more, occurring at least five times per hour during sleep.

Limb Movement Disorder

Fifteen percent (vs. none in the control group) had Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD), which is relatively uncommon among children.

Studies have shown that treatment of these sleep disorders in children often leads to substantial improvements in behavior and cognitive achievements, Pillar said, as well as a significant reduction in irritability, bad moods, anger and fear.

For example, school performance, which is low in children with sleep apnea, has been found to improve markedly following the removal of adenoids and tonsils to correct the disorder.

Enforce Good Sleeping Habits

The researchers urge parents of hyperactive and attention-deficit children diagnosed with sleep disorders to have breathing irregularities and limb movements treated, to enforce good sleeping habits, and to avoid giving them caffeinated drinks at night.

Only if these steps do not work, they say, should parents consider medication for ADHD.

The researchers’ findings originally were published in the February 2004 issue of the journal Sleep.

Copyright 2005 Daily News Central

Technorati Tags: ADHD drugs, adhd symptoms

This is an interesting question I found on Yahoo Answers about managing adult ADHD without medication.

I’ve read several books about adult ADHD, and they all seem to emphasize the use of medication. I have nothing against the use of medication, but I can’t afford it right now. Is there any way for those of us who have ADHD and can’t afford medication to effectively manage our symptoms?

It’s possible in some ways, but it is very difficult. I would suggest speaking to your doctor about what your problem is. See if he or she can refer you to somewhere where you can get the medication you need.

My best friend has adult ADHD in the worst way. Most of the time, those of us who know her well recognize after about three or four minutes that she’s not taken her medication in a while. But, she doesn’t take it every day. Sometimes she’ll go weeks or months without taking it.

Most of the time, it means that she has to really cut back her case load at work. Naturally, the longer she has to concentrate, the harder it is for her to do it without her meds. She is also married to a man who is her polar opposite, and who kind of keeps her in line. He does help her a lot in a mind-over-matter sense — he knows it’s difficult for her, but he does call her out on it when she is being extremely ADHD, and he’s really a soothing influence on her.

What she has done in the past was get her prescription, and use it when she needs it. Most doctors do recommend with childhood ADHD that it be used in school hours or extreme circumstances only. It wears off around the time school lets out, so unless there is major studying to do, or some other activity that requires sustained focus, they recommend you come off of it and start again the next day.

Weekends, holidays and summers are often times they suggest you not be on meds. Apply the same tactic in your situation. If you know there is a situation that will probably be difficult for you, take it that morning. If there are days when it’s a little less necessary to focus for a significant length of time, skip it. It can help make one refill go a long way.

I would also suggest talking to your doctor about generics (LOTS cheaper than name brands), samples (many doctors have them, and are more than happy to hand them out for just such an occasion) or changing the Rx altogether.

The normal non-drug-related suggestions are not as effective, but if you suffer from mild to moderate ADHD, they could help some. Make sure that you get enough good sleep, eat well, try to adhere to a schedule, cut out processed foods, allow yourself breaks to collect yourself (then either be disciplined enough to go back to your work or have someone to help keep you accountable), etc.

Something that helps some ADHD people is a bit of caffeine. For some reason, a lot of the time, the bodies of people with ADHD react differently to stimulants and depressants, so caffeine can be somewhat soothing, and Benadryl can cause excitability or hyperactivity. Go figure. After all, most of the drugs on the market today for ADHD are stimulants similar to speed.

But it’s always best to speak with your doctor before deciding to stop taking a drug you’ve been prescribed. If you have no other options, you could just try to help it on your own. But it’s possible there is something between shelling out the money to pay for your current Rx and taking nothing at all.

On this installment of the TV Edition of Freedom Magazine, host Dave Figueroa exposes the Myth of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder.

A growing number of experts, along with psychiatrists themselves, agree that there is no scientific evidence whatsoever, that mental diseases actually exist.

This is one more chapter in psychiatry’s attempt to control the lives and minds of our society.

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: adhd, adult, drugs, fraud, myth, psychiatric, Scientology

There are several alternative treatment options available to the parents of children correctly diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. Attention Deficit Disorder or that with Hyperactive tendencies are a set of mental illnesses that are routinely mis diagnosed.

This is due to the fact that many of the symptoms of ADHD and ADD are considered by many normal characteristics in growing kids. The challenge to develop any treatment options therefore is to accurately determine the degree of hyperactivity that pushes someone over the edge of normalcy and into the realm of a mental disorder.

One thing that you should be aware of is that the medical community is not in full agreement about ADHD in general or the use of some treatment options. There are those that believe that mediation used to treat this disorder have unacceptable risks. Another important factoid is that the treatment of all but the most pronounced mental disorders and diseases is a relatively new frontier.

Not in the sense of age as we’ve been working to find treatment options for all mental disorders for decades. But it’s more a frontier in the sense of understanding the causation and our ability to measure the severity of the problem. This is why jumping to an aggressive treatment option may not be in the best interest of the child that’s been diagnosed with ADHD or the family involved

If you have a child who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD for short, there are another of options open for treatment. The most common ADHD treatments usually involve as their biggest part the use of drugs like Ritalin or Dexedrine. On the street, these are known as Speed or methanphetamines.

Other treatment options for ADHD involve therapy and counseling for not only the one identified as having the ADD problem but also the whole family and especially the parents. Counseling can be used to help better identify emotional disturbances, and can assist with teaching the kid some study skills and organizational skills.

Note that teaching study skills etc. is normal stuff that should be done by parents. For many children however, because of the lack of parenting skills, the kid is diagnosed as having the problem.

The problem is that many ADHD treatments address the physiological part of the condition and ignore every other part. This is a problem, because ADHD children have trouble forming strategies to organize their lives and so they need, in addition to the drugs, some coaching in study skills that other students may be able to learn on their own. It is not enough just to medicate as an ADHD treatment option alone.

There are a number of other options that should also be considered. The most popular one at the moment is to have your child tested for allergies. Food allergies have been known to cause many problems for growing children and could be a root cause of ADHD as well.

Another option is to explore the use of natural remedies. vitamins and minerals may help keep your child off the pharmaceutical industries profitable drugs. Understand if needed, fine, but so many times, there are alternative options that work without the use of expensive drug solutions.

Other people recommend meditation techniques as ADHD treatment options. They say that the best way to treat ADHD is to take advantage of the mind’s natural flexibility and to rework the way it runs through self programming. Through daily meditation, focus, relaxation, and an end to the anxiety that is so common with ADHD sufferers.

I hate to say it, but a lot of adults with ADHD have an attitude problem. Many of us are negative thinkers with low self-esteem.

It’s understandable; life with ADHD can have us feeling bad for being so “different” from everyone else. And we feel worse when we try to improve our lives using the wrong systems.

Mainstream advice doesn’t account for the unique wiring of ADHD brains, and when this advice fails, we feel like we’ve failed. It chips away at our self-esteem.

As a result, many people with ADHD grow up to be BMWs-people who constantly B*tch, Moan, and Whine! This is one of the reasons that adults with ADHD often have trouble making new friends and maintaining relationships. It’s also why so many of us struggle to get along with our family members, coworkers, and neighbors.

No one likes to hang out with a BMW. Their constant brooding, complaining, and finding fault can quickly bring a happy person down or zap that person’s energy. Simply put, BMWs are a drag!

If you are a BMW, then don’t fret. With a little work, you can adjust your attitude and improve your social skills. Here are three practical things you can do right away to overcome being a BMW.

1. Accept compliments with grace and gratitude-even if you don’t agree with them.

If you’re a BMW, then chances are that your self-esteem can use a pick-me-up. Accepting the compliments that are paid to you will go a long way in helping you feel better about yourself.

You’ll find that most people genuinely mean what they say. If your friend says she likes your haircut, believe it! If you argue with her compliment by disagreeing and saying something like “This is the worst haircut I’ve ever had!”, then you’re essentially telling your friend that her opinion is wrong.

2. Avoid putting yourself down in front of others.

People often view self-deprecation as “fishing for compliments” and feel a responsibility to lift you up and make you feel better. After a while, this becomes annoying, and you can easily lose friends who might view you as high maintenance.

There’s a big difference between expressing your challenges, and putting yourself down for them. It’s perfectly okay to say “I would have liked to have the house cleaned up by the time you got here, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time.” In contrast, a BMW might say something like “I’m such a slob! My house is always a mess and no matter what I do I can never get it together!”

3. Surround yourself with positive, happy people.

One of the easiest ways to adjust your attitude is to surround yourself with people worth emulating. When you choose to spend time with other BMWs, you’re choosing to be a BMW.

Make a concerted effort to ditch the BMW within, and then invite a pleasant coworker to join you for coffee, take a walk with a friendly neighbor, or reconnect with a supportive friend. You’ll absorb the positive energy of these good influences. And positive, happy people will be much more understanding when you do find yourself running late for lunch or forgetting a birthday!

When you adjust your attitude by increasing your self-esteem and adopting a more positive perspective, you’ll find that you have an easier time creating and maintaining social connections. People will enjoy spending time with the real you, and you’ll feel better about yourself, too!

Technorati Tags: adhd, adult adhd