Diagnosing Add, Adhd, And Medicating Those Diagnosed

[scifiohmy]

In my generation, no kids ever had ADD or ADHD. Now, in my children's generation, it seems like they all have it. What's more, they're all on medication. Most moms with ADD/ADHD-diagnosed children say they were basically handed a prescription from the get-go and given no info about alternatives. Thoughts?

[Gregb]

Reports over the years have clearly confirmed that kids were being misdiagnosed.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100817103342.htm

 

That's not to say add/addha aren't real conditions because they are, it's just unfortunate docs were careless in handing it out because it gave the real disorder a tarnish in the eyes of the public.

[Turtle]

In my generation, no kids ever had ADD or ADHD. Now, in my children's generation, it seems like they all have it. What's more, they're all on medication. Most moms with ADD/ADHD-diagnosed children say they were basically handed a prescription from the get-go and given no info about alternatives. Thoughts?

Such anecdotal reference is scientifically useless. Children in 'our' generation that exhibited symptoms associated with ADD/ADHD were simply labeled as 'rambunctious' or some other such folk-wisdom phrase.

 

This is not to dismiss misdiagnosis as Greg points out.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Turtle

[scifiohmy]

Children in 'our' generation that exhibited symptoms associated with ADD/ADHD were simply labeled as 'rambunctious' or some other such folk-wisdom phrase.

 

That's exactly what I'm getting at, Turtle. How do you know that the child legitimately has ADD or ADHD? Hyperactive, rambunctious behavior is normal for a child.

Edited April 28, 2014 by scifiohmy

[Turtle]

That's exactly what I'm getting at, Turtle. How do you know that the child legitimately has ADD or ADHD? Hyperactive, rambunctious behavior is normal for a child.

It's a matter for doctors, their research, and their consensuses to determine what is and is not normal for a child. . It is not a matter for anecdotes by non-professionals.

[scifiohmy]

It's a matter for doctors, their research, and their consensuses to determine what is and is not normal for a child. . It is not a matter for anecdotes by non-professionals.

 

So, are you saying that unless a person is a doctor or an otherwise trained medical professional that they aren't capable of determining if something is or is not wrong with their child? If the doctor says the child has ADD or ADHD and the parent disagrees, is the parent automatically wrong?

[Turtle]

So, are you saying that unless a person is a doctor or an otherwise trained medical professional that they aren't capable of determining if something is or is not wrong with their child? If the doctor says the child has ADD or ADHD and the parent disagrees, is the parent automatically wrong?

I am saying I trust medical professionals over your opinion or the opinions of non-professional parents; yes. No doubt there has been over-diagnosis and over prescribing meds for kids in regard to these afflictions, as pointed out in the article Greg cited. Note that the conclusion reported in the article is a professional study based on actual data and following scientific protocols, not parents' opinions. None of that means there is no such thing as ADD or ADHD as you imply, which Greg also pointed out.

 

Not only is there blame for the doctors who misdiagnose, but for the teachers and school administrators who push parents to put their kids on meds and the pharmaceutical producers who prod and give inducements to doctors to prescribe their drugs.

[Deepwater6]

My last three visits to my family doctor there were no less than 3 pharm reps there. Waiting to speak to the doctor, give them free samples, and maybe some other perks that I don't know about. All I do know is when I get to the appointment 5-10 minutes before it's scheduled and the reps are there, I end up in the waiting 30-40 minutes instead of the usual 15-20.

[Buffy]

My last three visits to my family doctor there were no less than 3 pharm reps there. Waiting to speak to the doctor, give them free samples, and maybe some other perks that I don't know about. All I do know is when I get to the appointment 5-10 minutes before it's scheduled and the reps are there, I end up in the waiting 30-40 minutes instead of the usual 15-20.

 

Ever notice how they all seem to be cute, 20-something women? That's one of the reasons I stick to female doctors....

 

 

The independent girl is truly of quite modern origin, and usually is a most bewitching little piece of humanity, :phones:

Buffy

[scifiohmy]

I am saying I trust medical professionals over your opinion or the opinions of non-professional parents; yes. No doubt there has been over-diagnosis and over prescribing meds for kids in regard to these afflictions, as pointed out in the article Greg cited. Note that the conclusion reported in the article is a professional study based on actual data and following scientific protocols, not parents' opinions. None of that means there is no such thing as ADD or ADHD as you imply, which Greg also pointed out.

 

Not only is there blame for the doctors who misdiagnose, but for the teachers and school administrators who push parents to put their kids on meds and the pharmaceutical producers who prod and give inducements to doctors to prescribe their drugs.

 

Turtle, you've misunderstood me. I never implied that the diseases don't exist. If you'll refer to my original post, all I ever said was that there were no diagnoses during my generation's tenure in school and now there are plenty. That doesn't mean the disease doesn't exist, only that something happened at some point in time to bring about awareness of the issue. Even my next post, when I question how you tell that diagnosis from normal behavior, is not intended to imply that the diagnosis is always wrong or that these diseases don't exist. 

[Turtle]

Turtle, you've misunderstood me. I never implied that the diseases don't exist. If you'll refer to my original post, all I ever said was that there were no diagnoses during my generation's tenure in school and now there are plenty. That doesn't mean the disease doesn't exist, only that something happened at some point in time to bring about awareness of the issue. Even my next post, when I question how you tell that diagnosis from normal behavior, is not intended to imply that the diagnosis is always wrong or that these diseases don't exist.

Roger that. My bad. I suppose 'what happened' is similar to what happens when any disease/disorder is recognized; the dysfunction comes to the attention of some doctor and they initiate a study and publish the results. This piques the interest of other researches and more research ensues and so on until authoritative medical groups include it in the list of recognized maladies. :)