ADHD a fake disorder, neurologist-turned-author says

Zero: That’s the percent of children suffering from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, a neurologist said in his new book, “ADHD Does Not Exist: The Truth About Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder.”

ADHD a fake disorder, neurologist-turned-author says

So this neurologist wrote a book about ADHD and in it, he says that the disorder doesn't exist.

he’s come to one conclusion: ADHD is only a collection of symptoms, not a disease or disorder in itself.

If this doesn't drive home that this disease was made up by the pharmaceutical companies to make more money, I don't know what will. This is probably the worst over diagnosed disease in this country and according to this guy (a neurologist I must stress), it isn't even a real disorder.

Go ahead and read the article (it isn't very long).

You know, God forbid that parents actually take responsibility for their children misbehaving. It just HAS to be some sort of mental disorder. What a crock. I apparently have ADD according to some doctor back when I was a teenager. I can function just fine and would prefer not to be medicated into boringness to overcome it.

reply to post by Krazysh0t

Well, last year at the age of 43 I was finally diagnosed ADD.
I take Wellbutrin (bupropion) for it and it has helped me a fair bit.

If someone tells you ADHD/ADD does not exist, obviously they do not have it and do not know how it can negatively affect a persons life.
This author is full of it.

Truly they are mistaken.

They have no idea how one train of thought can bud into dozens of parallel thoughts.
Those thoughts and questions all linked together, can cause a serious headache for anyone who needs to focus on a single task.

I have it, it makes it hard for me to express myself. It makes it hard for me to explain things when the original thought is lost in the mix.

reply to post by Toadmund


Like I said in the OP, I have been diagnosed with ADD (in addition my dad has as well). I know for a fact what it can do to you and your life. I still function just fine with it and don't think medication is the answer. I don't believe you.

Im not medicated for it. Some need to be some dont.
It all depends on the seriousness of your case in hand.

I should take something for it. I dont like doctors, haven't been in years.
I dont like the whole healthcare for profit premise.

reply to post by Toadmund


Careful with that axe, Eugene...I took bupropion, two separate occasions. Stuff works wonders, but ended up giving me seizures. Stopped breathing and heart rate was nil. I am in the minority with effects that severe, but if you get a bad headache, call your dr.

On topic, I think neurologic maladies are difficult to diagnose and pigeonhole as the mind is as individual as the fingerprint and should be treated as such. As with autism, ADHD is grossly misdiagnosed or wrongly diagnosed by doctors who have no business diagnosing it as they are not specialists. But there are a lot of kids who are a hot mess that need help. My gf is one of TWENTY employed at a charter school whose job is to simply follow around a messed in the head kid, most of which CANT get diagnosed due to insurance reasons.

I feel that there is more to be learned, but blanket terms for mental illnesses doesn't help anyone.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


For some, meds. For others, not. Just because you're lucky doesn't mean someone else doesn't need them...Are you really Tom Cruise in disguise?

reply to post by Krazysh0t


I don't know where to go with this.

I was diagnosed with ADD at a young age. Now, it was not ADHD, but plain ADD.

Does this doctor/author mean ADD and ADHD?

Being an adult with ADD, and on medication for it, I can say there is a world of difference between medicated and non medicated.

The medication I take hasn't altered my mood or emotion. It does allow me to stay focused on tasks, and actually process information when I read/hear it.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


You seem to have made a jump from it not being a disease, to it being entirely made up, and the fault of parents.

It DOES say it's a collection of sypmtoms, not a disease, they are STILL symptoms, that families need help to manage.

I'M CURED!!!

j/k

Perhaps teachers and parents have trouble handling a very active kid and they were looking for answers and treatment, God forbid.

Its sad soooo many people, especially children, were put on medication for something that is, after all, normal. Another case pointing to an over-medicated population.

reply to post by the owlbear


Hey now, I said ADD not ADHD.

But I enjoy the randomness of my thoughts. I don't want to be medicated into some boring linear thought pattern like the rest of society. Most of our best inventors, geniuses, and artists probably could have been diagnosed with some sort of personality disorder. ADD and ADHD probably being chief among them. Medication destroys innovation in order to make you just like everyone else.

reply to post by Toadmund


Did you try alternative medicine first ? I would advise you to take up Yoga or Meditation before popping any pills, heck even body massages or a daily sauna session could work marvels...

reply to post by Krazysh0t


Note this a Neurologist, not a Neuro-Pscychiatrist! Big difference! I am tired of people saying this is a fake disease! Of course it is made up of symptoms, it is a disease, all diseases have symptoms!

Bottom line ADHD is based on a chemical imbalance and the way your brain processes information...I feel I must drive this next point home:

IF YOU TAKE MEDICATION FOR ADD/ADHD AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ON A STIMULANT, YOU DO NOT HAVE ADD/ADHD. IF THE MEDICATION SLOWS YOUR BRAIN DOWN AND ALLOWS YOU TO PROCESS INFORMATION, YOU HAVE ADD/ADHD! THE MEDICATION WILL NOT WORK IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ADD/ADHD!!

Don't believe me, try it! It does exist, millions of people suffer from it and left untreated it can cause severe depression in teenagers and adults, oh unless that is a made up disease too!!

Do some research from a non biased opinion. Check out studies done by Neuro-Psychiatrists NOT Neurologist...This doctors do not have the special training of how processing in the brain takes place.

Pax

reply to post by Panic2k11


I have also heard that meditation and Yoga works. I have yet to try those things, as my time is slammed right now.

Toadmund
If someone tells you ADHD/ADD does not exist, obviously they do not have it and do not know how it can negatively affect a persons life.

If someone has ADHD or ADD, obviously they are eating a diet containing artificial food colorings, preservatives, high gluten, and/or dairy and would rather take a pill to mask their body trying to tell them they're being posioned than negatively affect their dietary choices.

Sorry, but that is the absolute truth. Not saying every diagnosis of ADHD is bullcrap, but if someone is diagnosed with it and consumes poisonous commercial food sold in the United States, then odds indicate their illness is diet related and their pharmaceutical "cure" is merely a convenient way to avoid dealing with the actual problem. (and yes, I do believe it to be no coincidence that the same chemical companies that produce the additives and preservatives are financially merged with the pharamceutical companies producing all the deadly anti-depressants and various stimulants that do little more than mask symptoms of the real problem.)

reply to post by Krazysh0t


I think that he is more or less correct. ADHD is a symptom of a cascade of synergistic issues that can range from genuine neurochemical problems to emotional trauma. There are innumerable factors that interact that can cause behavior and that lack of capacity for concentration that would result in this diagnosis. Calling ADHD a disease or a disorder is like calling a fever a disease or a disorder.

However, I do think that there needs to be a judgment call. Only the individual or the parents (if they are a child), can make the call assessing the risks of the medication, and possible dependency upon it vs. the issues that would be negated by taking the meds.

I am of a mind that within the mental health community ADHD is over-diagnosed, and even more than this, overly dependent upon a pharmaceutical solution. They hand out these meds like Pez to these kids, when most of these problems for many would be solved if parents were allowed to discipline their kids appropriately without fear of having them taken away. Or, if necessary a behavioral approach with the guidance of a therapist. But they go to the meds first. It's a crutch, and one with consequences (sometimes severe ones) down the road in my opinion.

Ritalin in particular I feel is an extremely horrendous medication, and should only be given to a child as a method of last resort. If your back is against the wall, and your child is about to be expelled then maybe consider it; but only if you have a comprehensive plan to wean your child off of it. This will require a more labor intensive and time consuming behavioral approach, which I suppose is another facet of this issue. The over-dependence upon medicating children into "appropriate" behavior, instead of teaching them appropriate behavior is in part a product of a society that is addicted to "results now".

Having said all of this, both my husband and myself are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD respectively. I could get the meds if I wanted them, but I choose not to, because it reduces my creativity and capacity for empathy. My husband is in a managerial position in the health-care industry and feels he must use the medication in order to maintain the focus necessary to do his job as livelihoods (employees), and lives (patients) are dependent upon it. I can't fault his choice.

reply to post by WilsonWilson


Ok I will give you that. There are symptoms to be diagnosed.

reply to post by redhorse


I have to disagree with the loss of creativity. In both my day job and my business, it requires creativity, both in problems and actual designs and Stratera for me doesn't remove this ability.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


I was kidding about the Tom Cruise jab
And I understand where you are coming from on not wanting meds, and it sounds like you do not need them, which is great. I have been a guinea pig for so many meds, I don't even remember them all. Literally. Only my currnet psychiatrist has been able to work with me to diagnose my individual brain. Now, I just need a little Valium or Xanax to calm down before my anxiety throws me into depression. Awesome. I only wished more people had an insurance plan that covered 100% of psych visits and $5 copays on meds...maybe we wouldn't have as many homeless.

There are kids out there that NEED meds. I needed them at a young age but was too afraid of the social stigma attached and suffered into adulthood.
Are we overmedicated? Yes. But that is because we have doctors prescribing drugs they have no business giving out. Most GPs have slim to none idea with mental ailments. It's too bad most insurance won't cover them either.

reply to post by macman


It does for me. It makes me boring as hell. I can't stand it.