Question by Science and religion??: Why is medicaton for ADD/ADHD bad?
What are the negative affects of taking medication for ADD/ADHD? Does it have any sort of affect your intelligence?

Best answer:

Answer by gemini30
(1) The first danger lies with treating the disorder incorrectly to begin with. There is a group of core symptoms common to those who have ADD/ADHD, and as types of brain imagry were developed that could actually monitor brain activity it was found that decreased prefrontal cortex activity is a common trait in many ADD sufferers. Therefore it was believed that ADD was a problem of decreased prefrontal cortex activity alone, however other patterns of misfiring were later found, especially in more complex patients leading to the discovery of six distinct types of ADD. Notwithstanding to this day only two types are generally recognized in the psychiatric world: Type 1 – Classic hyperactive type (ADHD), and Type 2 – inattentive type (ADD). Both of these types typically respond well to psychostimulants (Ritalin/Adderall) alone, but the other 4 types do not. All forms of ADHD are commonly labled hyperactive or the inattentive or else misdiagnosed entirely as depression or another unrelated disorder.
– Healing ADD, Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

“Medication needs to be targeted to each individual ADD type. The wrong medication can make things worse…When brain stimulants do not work (or when they make the patient worse)….the drugs are said to be ineffective, harmful, or a way of medicating bad behavior….The fault lies not with giving medicine to people with ADD, but with giving people with ADD the wrong medicine.”
“When treatments fail, individuals and families get discouraged….a failed healing program can lead to the ADD remaining untreated….the earlier treatment is effective, the more people are willing to follow through…”
– quotes from Healing ADD – page 234

(2) The second danger is based more in fear than in reality. It is in the way psychostimulants work, even when effective for treatment of symptoms:
“Both cocain and Ritalin” and meth and Adderall as well “work in the basal ganglia (where dopamine is produced in the brain). The reason that cocain is addictive and Ritalin is not is related to how each drug is matabolized. Cocain has a powerful, immediate effect that stimulates an enormous release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The pleasure this brings rapidly fades, leaving the adddict wanting more. Ritalin, on the other hand, works slowly, inducing no high or pleasure from taking it and the effects stay around for a long time.” – in Layman’s terms.
– quote from page 29 of the same book

– The following is an extract from this website: http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/spring05/dionisiod/psy3061/add.htm -It should be noted that the study was done on individuals who had abused meth, not perscription drugs. However perscription drugs when used recreationally by non ADD sufferers are theorized to do the same thing. The site itself condones the safety of medications for those who NEED them.

“According to a study by Thompson et al., long-term use of ADD medications causes dopamine to become more readily available to the cytoplasm “…where it can be oxidized to produce neurotoxic quinines and additional reactive oxygen species that are thought to cause neurite degeneration.”(6) Their research was conducted on patients who had abused methamphetamines for 10+ years. Based on MRI scans and mapping of the brain, it was found that the brain was actually physically altered by years of stimulant abuse.”

(3) When people with ADHD/ADD are left untreated, self medicating with caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, cocain and meth are very common and are by far the worst way to go. Each of these has it’s temporary benefits, be it to settle internal restlessness, to increase entergy and focus, or simply for the stimulant effect, but they are all poisons. “One study done by Dr. Ismael Mena at UCLA showed that cocain addicts had 23 percent less brain activity overall….Cocaine addicts who also smoked had 45% less brain activity. In short the smokers did not have access to over half their brains.” There’s mountains more information on this topic but I’m done with #3.
– same book again – pgs. 171-172

-Some medications are not approved for children under certain ages. Often exercise, supplements and dietary interventions can be effective. More for some people than others. Some people can replace medications entirely with these. Some need medications no matter what. Most find that when medication is combined with natural treatments, much less medication is needed.

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