opinions of ADHD?

I'm a 27 year old university student trying to finish my undergrad in finance. I've had issues my entire life getting through school and would be embarrassed to post my university grades anonymously let alone show them to an employer. My school was threatening to kick me out and I explained my situation to them. A counsellor suggested I speak to a psychologist and I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve been prescribed 40mg of vyvance one day and 50mg the next. I must admit that it has had a remarkable effect on my grades recently.

Finance has taught me, for good or ill, that any and all information requires validation. I poured through the internet and my school library on books, posts, and medical journals about adhd. I'm no med student (never even took biology in high school) so much of it was another language to me, but there seemed to be as much information in favour of the existence of adhd, its treatment and medication, as there was against it. I was very surprised to that adhd medication is an amphetamine; isn’t that like methamphetamines, a highly addictive and destructive drug? (though I’m sure 40mg is much less than "street" value). I’m really hoping to get some insight from others about their opinions, findings, and observations.


Adult patients:

How do you feel about your diagnosis? About adhd in general? Do you believe it’s a "disease" or is the medication just a short term fix for some future alternative? Does it seem like adhd is an adequate diagnosis or a misdiagnosis of something else? Is there such thing as adhd at all or just failure in education/ parenting/ something else? What medication are you on? Has it helped? How do you feel about it staying on it indefinitely, or have you already quit/ considered stopping medication in the future? How do you feel about any information about adhd you've been given/read?



Medical students, nurses or practitioners (of any level):

How do you feel about the diagnosis of adhd in a patient? How do you feel about the prescription of amphetamines for a psychological illness? Is it really a "disease"? How do you feel about long term use of adhd medication? Are any long-term side effects outweighed by productivity gains? Are there non-prescription alternatives (such as behavioural modification and cognitive behavioural therapy) that you think could replace medication? Do you think there needs to be any treatment at all or is it some failure in the patient’s development/ environment?



As always, any and all input is greatly appreciated. As for patients, I’m mostly interested in hearing from adults though input from parents on child diagnoses are appreciated as well.

chaser57 wrote:I was very surprised to that adhd medication is an amphetamine; isn’t that like methamphetamines, a highly addictive and destructive drug?

chemically similar, yes.
affects similar/same neurotransmitters, yes.

vyvanse:



the rest:

chaser57 wrote:How do you feel about your diagnosis? About adhd in general? Do you believe it’s a "disease" or is the medication just a short term fix for some future alternative?

if the diagnosis is accurate, what can you feel about it other than that it is correct? it is a 'disequilibrium' in the dopamine neurotransmitter pathway. sorry if that's greek, just means that there are some genes in the pathway that are not 'normal'. if there is medication that can improve the symptoms (difficulty in focusing, scattered thoughts, etc), you would be a fool not to take advantage once you become aware.

good luck.

I'm an adult with ADHD (I also have Borderline Personality Disorder). I am on 50 mg of Vyvanse daily. The medicine has helped immensely, but I don't really want to be on it indefinitely. For one thing, I might want to have kids someday. For another thing, it's hard for me to believe that it won't have some negative effects if I take it for years and years.

Lots of people say there is no scientific proof that it is in fact a disease, but I did find this:

http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com ... imbalance/

It's hard for me to speak for anyone besides myself. Do I really have ADHD? Honestly, I don't know. There are so many factors that influence my behavior: stress, borderline personality disorder, poor eating and sleeping habits, the meds I take, etc.

Maybe we're being silly by assuming that deviating from the norm is a sign of disorder. Perhaps having good listening and concentration skills isn't the default; perhaps it's a talent just like singing well or being athletic.

I don't know. I'm just rambling. Feel free to disagree with/shoot holes in everything I've said.