I was listening to an audio book recently: Challenge to Succeed by Jim Rohn. I recommend it to anyone interested in self improvement. In the audio Jim makes many good points about wealth, health and state of being. The most important point he makes is this: “What you don’t know will hurt you.”

Any late diagnosed ADDer will tell you that this is too true. What if we had known 10 years, or, 20 years earlier? What if our parents had known and we were diagnosed as children? What a difference would that have made? We can deal with ‘what if’s’ all day long, but, what about today? Today there is a wealth of information available in books and on the internet. There is no reason we cannot self-educate ourselves about our condition, not in an information packed world such as ours.

Rick Mayes Ph.D. recently sent me his article “ADHD and the Rise in Stimulant Use among Children”

This is an important article which helps to demystify the confusing, and often worrisome, information out there on stimulant medication and ADHD. I am making it available to you here on ADDer World, please feel free to download and read:

ADHD and Stimulants – Harvard Review of Psychiatry

It (1) summarizes the existing knowledge of ADHD, (2) provides the
relevant history and trends, (3) explains the controversy, (4) discusses
what is and is not unique about ADHD and stimulant pharmacotherapy, (5)
outlines future directions of research, and (6) concludes with a brief
analysis of how two North Carolina counties have established community
protocols that have improved the screening, treatment, and societal
consensus over ADHD and stimulants.

~Bryan

I just read a very good article by Dr. Eleanor Rolnick about a decade long Norwegian study involving 23 children with ADHD who were put on milk free and gluten free diets. The theory that milk and gluten interfere with the breakdown of certain proteins was developed by Dr. Karl Ludvig. The theory is a metabolic predicament which seems to be triggered when eating milk and gluten and therefore may accelerate ADHD. 22 of the children in the study showed almost immediate mental health improvement, overall behavior, as well as enhanced attention span with increased learning capabilities!

“Long term monitoring of these children has found their disorders to be manageable while the challenges they once faced have virtually disappeared.” – www.keepmecurrent.com

I have talked to a lot of people lately who want results through medication. I don’t have anything against medication and I think medication can help certain individuals, but the more I talk to people who have taken medication the more I learn that mediation is all some seem to have, that all of their hopes are reliant on medication. Someone told me recently that they would be more excited about my book and blog if it talked more about medication and if I had used medication to successfully overcome my ADHD condition.

I would like to share this article that came up about replacing Ritalin with Marijuana!

http://pr.cannazine.co.uk/content/view/147/1/ 

Although I can understand where the researcher is coming from concerning marijuana, I do not agree with this type of therapy for adults and especially not for children. I have personally seen what daily intake of marijuana can do to a person over time and although marijuana is probably beneficial to someone being treated for a terminal and painful disease, it can be terribly destructive to others. I believe there are side effects and dire consequences to daily (Street) marijuana use. Furthermore, many who use it seek harder stuff eventually, not always, but the risk is there – why get anyone started on it at all? That’s just what I think and believe and also believe the research is valuable, but there must be other ways and methods.  

I have been reading something rather disturbing in the news lately. Some doctors are giving prescriptions for ADD ADHD without a thorough examination for diagnosis. Basically, people come in and complain they can’t concentrate or stay focused and receive a prescription for ADD ADHD medication. “Oh Dread!” no wonder we have complaints of over diagnosis!

I don’t know if the news is true or how many people have reported this, but if it is true

Is fish oil helpful for those who have ADD or ADHD? From personal experiences I believe the answer is yes! My experiences with fish oil are limited and although I have taken fish oil supplements it has been only in very small doses and short terms. The reason I am hesitant is because I am allergic to Mercury and I have serious concerns about the toxicity of fish oils. I have been assured that certain fish oils are cleared of contaminants, but I have a nervous nature over such claims. That’s just me and probably part of my ADD. Go figure!

What medication should you take? What medication should you prescribe your child? What medication am I taking?

Okay, okay, -time to talk about medication. I have received a multitude of requests to talk about medication or even answer specific questions concerning medication and it is about time that I got around to talking about medication.