The Medical Thread: We're experts on everything else; why not?

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

And Ritalin was the answer to everything then.

I don't think that part of ADHD treatment has changed much. Swap the Ritalin for Adderall or Vyvanse and throw in some talk therapy.

[St. Clown]

I don't think that part of ADHD treatment has changed much. Swap the Ritalin for Adderall or Vyvanse and throw in some talk therapy.

I have a nephew who’s high-functioning autistic, has anxiety issues, and ADHD. His parents and doctors are having a very tough time trying to get the mixture of meds to help him. When he’s off his meds he’s on the verge of not being allowed in school, but things have changed for his mixtures in the past few months, and it can be tough just to get him to convey his emotions and thoughts on the matter because of his autism and still being on 10 years old.

The encouraging part of this is that they’re not just slamming all ADHD patients with one single solution, the treatment really has progressed in that they want to find the right mixture for each child. Some children only receive talk therapy, while others receive that and a lower dose of Drug X, yet others get the therapy and high doses of X, or a mix of X, Y, and Z, and so on.

[Kepler]

Two friends under the age of 42 have died in last two weeks, both of “heart issues” one with pre existing condition of hypertension.

Both had been exposed to covid, so this will be yet another few cases where it’s hard to say if covid caused it- but there’s certainly evidence of covid being nasty if you have these conditions.

Yikes, that is awful, very sorry.

Did they have other health issues beyond the hypertension? 42 is obviously extremely young.

[Kepler]

I don't think that part of ADHD treatment has changed much. Swap the Ritalin for Adderall or Vyvanse and throw in some talk therapy.

Was Ritalin / Adderall a problem, or was it just that they just drugged them and then did nothing else?

It doesn't seem like a bad drug, it seems like it should be one component in a complicated solution. (True of almost all drugs.)

[MissThundercat]

Was Ritalin / Adderall a problem, or was it just that they just drugged them and then did nothing else?

It doesn't seem like a bad drug, it seems like it should be one component in a complicated solution. (True of almost all drugs.)

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, all that ever happened was Ritalin and in with the "special" kids.

[dxmnkd316]

Was Ritalin / Adderall a problem, or was it just that they just drugged them and then did nothing else?

It doesn't seem like a bad drug, it seems like it should be one component in a complicated solution. (True of almost all drugs.)

early to mid 90s there was a revolution in how it was treated. Like Cloud said, now there are half a dozen (or more) base medicines each with probably a dozen or more formulations. Some day (maybe today already) they'll view and treat it as a spectrum disorder similar to how we view the autism spectrum. ADHD is probably a constellation of varying deficiencies with similar or overlapping symptoms but aren't the same "specific disease". See also: senility

[BassAle]

I don't think that part of ADHD treatment has changed much. Swap the Ritalin for Adderall or Vyvanse and throw in some talk therapy.

My nephew was diagnosed with ADHD. They prescribed some kind of medicine, and it changed him from a C student who wasn't really applying himself and was slightly overweight to an A student that was also hyper-focused on athletic training (in his case freestyle snowboarding). He'll spend all day every day in the summer perfecting his flips with a snowboard strapped to his feet on a trampoline, or doing flips off the diving board and he'll go resort boarding 50+ days per winter. He got ripped, got a coach, and is on his way to becoming a pretty elite athlete.

Whatever they prescribed him was magic, and I kind of wish I could take some of it...

[leswp1]

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, all that ever happened was Ritalin and in with the "special" kids.

I was in school and then in Practice at that time. I wonder if things were different out where you were. At the time we saw a huge push to have a holistic approach, NOT do medication alone . Lots of evidence based practice guidelines pounded into us saying do not do meds without helping the kid/family deal with learning strategies. We were not allowed to prescribe unless there was a counselor involved to help both the pt and the family. Holistic approach or you were a pill pusher and got a bad reputation. Seen this waffle back and forth- not because of what is good medicine but because of lack of coverage and lack of providers- psych and medical.

When I was pregnant with lilnsl (1995) I went to a CEU thing with Dr Stanley Turecki (wrote a book called The difficult child). Never read the book but what a dynamic speaker. Listening to him was an epiphany- both professionally and as an almost parent. Passed on his wisdom many times over the yrs~

- context is as important as actual diagnosis. If a kid lives in a walk up 2nd floor apartment above a little old lady, has a rigid schedule with lots of rules, the symptoms are 'severe'. Put the same kid on a farm with 7 siblings, flexible schedule- when he starts to feed the chickens, mucks out half a stall, feeds the rest of the chickens, is energetic and runs around a lot, the symptoms are 'mild'.
- kids don't live in a vacuum. You have to consider the style of the kid and the adult are comfortable with- ie rigid, laissez faire, flexible or not. If the styles don't fit the symptoms will be 'worse'
-its mostly genetic. If parents have chaotic executive function they'll struggle to understand the child's poor executive function is not 'normal'. They may have difficulty knowing what 'normal' is.
-Having the dx does not mean the kid is doomed to failure. The traits that make them struggle in certain activities may be very useful in other settings. ie they may suck at working in a cubicle, sitting all day but may excel in a job that requires moving from thing to thing.
-The most striking thing he said was the guiding factor for medication was not academics but social interaction. Kids with severe sx can have difficulty with impulse control/ reading social cues/understanding social 'order'. This can cause the kiddo to interrupt, not wait their turn, say or do things that are not acceptable to their peers. If they are struggling socially that is when meds are the most important.
- meds can help with executive function and impulse control but kids may have to unlearn behaviour patterns they used to cope before med. After the med helps with focus the kid still needs to learn how to function with that new found focus.

I can't count the number of times that I thought of this, shared with parents, family members, teachers, etc. Medication alone is not a panacea. It is also not totally evil. It shouldn't be given in isolation.

::climbs off soapbox::

[Ralph Baer]

Astronaut Michael Collins

[MissThundercat]

It appears I have something called a stye under my right eye; it's what happens when the glands get clogged.

I've heard a warm wet wash cloth applied every so often can help, and I'm definitely thinking no makeup until it clears up.

[Swansong]

It appears I have something called a stye under my right eye; it's what happens when the glands get clogged.

I've heard a warm wet wash cloth applied every so often can help, and I'm definitely thinking no makeup until it clears up.

My girlfriend has been dealing with multiple styes for months. Hot compress plus some spray her eye doctor gave her, and monthly poking and prodding. It doesn't look fun.

[Kepler]

And makeup is stupid and ruins looks.

The things people do for their consumerist Masters.

[MissThundercat]

With makeup: professional. Possibly adorable. Cute.

Without it: "Who am I kidding? My looks are going down the toilet faster than an unwanted pregnancy on prom night."

[The Sicatoka]

Two friends under the age of 42 have died in last two weeks, both of “heart issues” one with pre existing condition of hypertension.

Both had been exposed to covid, so this will be yet another few cases where it’s hard to say if covid caused it- but there’s certainly evidence of covid being nasty if you have these conditions.

When Covid hit, I saw it picking off the low-hanging fruit (think: nursing homes, chronically ill). My mom passed, not Covid, just before the hard lockdowns. I was literally last guest in her memory care unit/nursing facility; I walked out with mortician, her in a body bag, and the doors locked behind me for months. They boxed her final possessions and put them on the loading dock for me to pick up.

My uncle lived in the same memory unit. The first positive case in there came two weeks after my mom passed. My uncle got it. He survived but lost six neighbors in the unit. All had memory issues plus significant health concerns. Covid took the weakest of the weak.

A neighbor got it and nearly died because his heart couldn't keep up because of reduced O2 from his lung output. But crazy as this sounds, Covid saved his life because he was young enough his heart should've kept up so they tested more. They found significant coronary blockages (in time) because of Covid exposing them.

My point: Many folks who have serious co-morbidities didn't know they had them until Covid exposed them. The overweight and diabetics and vitamin D deficient knew. Other folks found out their (hidden) underlying conditions in the worst possible way.

[The Sicatoka]

And makeup is stupid and ruins looks.

The things people do for their consumerist Masters.

But you are more photogenic when you apply yours.