Persons who have ADHD and the clinicians who treat them are always on the lookout for more effective treatment of the disorder.  Medications are a mainstay of treatment.  While often effective they are not always effective, so there is a search for new agents.
Many medications work by allowing neurotransmitters to linger in the space between nerve [...]
Giving patients medication is a complicated business. Does the medicine help relieve the symptoms?  Does it do so without unpleasant or severe side effects?  Does the patient feel better overall because he or she is taking the medicine?  What impact does the medicine have on what we call “quality of life” (QOL): vitality, social function, and general mental health? [...]
Yes, that’s right: ADDvance with a double “d.”  I’m taking my cue from Patricia Quinn, MD, who has pioneered attention to girls and women with ADHD.  Dr. Quinn brings three decades of work as a developmental pediatrician to her work with ADHD patients.  I interviewed her yesterday in preparing for a videopodcast I plan to [...]
As a clinician I rely on my past experience and on information in the scientific literature to tell patients what to expect when they take a specific medication.  I try to give them a fair summary of the pluses and minuses they may experience when they take medicine.  I always hedge my remarks, saying, “I [...]
If you have ADHD, you are more likely than other people to have a sleep disorder.  Problems sleeping are common in persons with ADHD, who frequently describe their difficulties  ”turning my mind off”  to get to sleep.  Some treatments for ADHD, especially the central nervous system stimulants, can worsen sleep.  On the other hand, people who [...]
If you have ADHD, you  are at higher risk than persons without the disorder to have other psychiatric problems. This is clearly the case for mood disorders such as major depression.   In a recent study, 38.3% of individuals with a primary diagnosis of ADHD during the previous 12 months also had a mood disorder, compared [...]
A major factor in the reluctance of many persons to take CNS stimulants for ADHD is their fear that such medications will lead to abuse or addiction or both.
That’s a logical  worry, but such fears are unfounded. Taking CNS stimulants for ADHD doesn’t lead to substance abuse.  In fact, doing that lessens the likelihood that someone will [...]
I liked an article I read about one practititioner’s approach to successfully treating teens with ADHD. (See “Autonomy is Critical for Teens with ADHD” www.clinicalpsychiatrynews.com for January,2007). Howard Schubiner, MD,  from Southfield, Michigan, shared his experiences.  His recommendations make sense to me  for succesfully treating ADHD in adults as well. Here’s a summary of his ideas:
1. Teach what [...]
There’s a definite trend for adults with ADHD to abuse substances such as alcohol and marijuana and cocaine. In fact, it’s more like a landslide than a trend!  In a recent survey (Kessler, RC . Amer J Psychiatry 163:716-723) adults were nearly three times as likely to report a substance abuse disorder (SUD) if they [...]
Sometimes patients come for treatment for ADHD saying that they have tried medication and that it “doesn’t work” for them. Before abandoning the idea that medication may be useful, there are some sensible things to do.
1. Get the records. It’s hardly suprising that people don’t remember all the medications they have taken and for what [...]
