Hi,
I just read the letter from the mother of the 11 yr. old girl. I wonder if therapy might be in order first for the anxiety before medication. I think some thought should go into asking why she has anxiety. Don’t you? The mother refers to her daughter saying something to “my husband.” This makes me think that the husband is not the biological father. Otherwise, she would have said “her father.” Before loading this child up with meds, I wonder if the family, or at least the mother and daughter ought to get some counseling.

Aren’t a lot of kids anxious at age 11 or any age? I mean that is a time of change for most kids. I think more should be done to TALK with this child about the things she is anxious about. OK just my suggestion. Can you print what you think in your …

Gobble, gobble. The holiday that starts off “The Holidays” seems to have come to represent a kind of feasting. “We’re working our way through three kinds of pie here, so the interruptions from long distance phone calls help us to pace ourselves,” said a relative of mine when I called.

A heartening change I have noted over the last several years – and if it’s not universal, it’s a change that can be made in anyone’s home – is a de-emphasis on fanciness and a re-emphasis on family feeling. If the preparations are going to overtax anyone’s household, or cognitive system, too much, then they should be ditched in favor of something simpler which leaves people feeling abler and more convivial. Piecrust from scratch might taste better, but if its price is the mood of the baker, then it’s too expensive. If “many hands make light work” sounds to …

A Plan is not a fantasy:
Somewhere along the road from diagnosis to reasonable adjustment, one discovers the massive but elusive distinction between a Plan, and an Idea. When people discuss broken “commitments,” one wonders if they are, in fact, Commitments (as in, Plans), or are more like Ideas of what you Ought To Do, Want To Do, Could Do, Should Do, would like to Have Done, even Intend To Do. The category for what I Will Actually Do is much, much smaller than one imagines, and explains the many things, um, Not Done.

Performance problems:
Self esteem in our culture comes not so much from “feeling good” about oneself, but from doing what is esteemable. Children with performance problems are particularly at risk here. No matter how positive, and kind, and understanding, a child’s world is, she still has herself to live with. It appears, from my observations, that …

We will refer to both ADHD and ADD as “ADD.” We encourage you to: 1) forget any preconceived ideas about what ADD is or isnÍt; 2) read with an open mind; 3) seek to learn all you can about adult ADD.

Two years ago we raised the question, “Is there a connection [between ADD and FMS]?”(2). We believe there is, since ADD and FMS: a) respond to the same medications (stimulants), b) have similar symptoms, c) run in the same families.

An ADD work-up typically evaluates emotional and behavioral, but not physical, symptoms, whereas an FMS work-up usually evaluates physical, but not emotional or behavioral, symptoms. But when ADD and FMS patients are asked the same questions, the similarities between these two conditions are more obvious. NOTE: There is no advantage for an ADD patient to seek a FMS diagnosis, and there may be disadvantages. Stimulants …

An unfortunate schism has existed in the world of AD/HD for many years. “Mainstream” medical researchers, more familiar with the arsenal of pharmaceuticals available to treat AD/HD, have tended to ignore or discount “alternative” approaches. Meanwhile, the “alternative” crowd has demonized the use of stimulant medication, grossly exaggerating or distorting the facts.

In the controversial world of AD/HD, people declare themselves to be in the “medication camp” or the “anti-medication camp.” For many years, individuals have asked about dietary approaches or nutritional supplements that could “treat” AD/HD in place of stimulant medication. Such a question is born of this false dichotomy – an either/or presumption. Rather than asking “What can I take instead of stimulant medication?” a better question is, “What are all the steps I can take to enhance my cognitive and emotional functioning?”

Medication remains the most powerful and proven way to reduce AD/HD symptoms, however not all …

 

Dear Dr Quinn,
For the past 2 years I have been taking 20 mg of Adderall daily for adult ADD and seem to have been doing fine. It helps me control outbursts of anger and aided primarily in anxiety management. Recently, however, I learned that I am pregnant so I stopped taking the Adderall altogether. However, I find that my temper seems to flare up and the anxiety and depression have been over-whelming at times.

While I am under the impression that a class “C” drug is not advisable to take during the first trimester, I find that taking just 10mg every 3rd day seems to make coping much easier. Is taking Adderall during pregnancy totally forbidden? What has been the experience and or clinical test results been of others taking this medication before and or during pregnancy? Can you direct me to more details regarding my issue?

Thank …

It’s not how much you accomplish in life
that really counts, but how much you give to others
It’s not how high you build your dreams
that makes a difference, but how high your faith can climb
It’s not how many goals you reach,
but how many lives you touch
It’s not who you know that matters,
but who you are inside
Believe in the impossible,
hold tight to the incredible,
and live each day to its fullest potential. Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Welcome to NCGW’s Mentoring Program. In 1996, at the Chicago CHADD Conference, Sari Solden, Patricia Quinn, and Kathleen Nadeau gathered a small group of women together to talk openly about what it is like to be a woman with AD/HD. For many of us, it was the first time we were able to speak freely about the obstacles and challenges we faced every day as women with AD/HD. …

For some time, women with AD/HD have been reported to have an increase in coexisting anxiety and mood disorders. Clinically, many of these women report severe mood disturbance during the latter half of their menstrual cycle suggestive of PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder). If this is indeed the case, the questions then become – Is PMDD real and what can be done about it?

Over the last decade, there has been considerable controversy about disorders of mood surrounding a woman’s menstrual cycle. It has taken years for the medical community to recognize that women suffer physical symptoms and mood disturbances around their period and that they aren’t “crazy.” Bloating, irritability, mood swings, and mild depression commonly make up symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). Many women experience these bothersome PMS symptoms on a monthly basis, while another 3-9% of women suffer from a much more serious condition, PMDD or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. …

A Quiz, for which there is no answer key; it is meant to evoke thought, ideas, conversation and – maybe – action:

A briefcase is for:
___		storage
___		transportation
___		temporary housing
___		stand-in picnic basket

 

When you are at lunch with friends or colleagues and your watch alarm rings, signaling you the time for your next dose of medication, you do the following:
___		turn it off and quietly take your medication
___		turn it off
___		turn it off, excuse yourself from the table, and take your medication in the ladies’ room
___		fumble about, go red in the face, explain to everyone about your medicine, your diagnosis, symptoms, and get mixed up before you’re through, forgetting whether you actually took it, or not
___		what alarm watch?

 

When you are late for a meeting again, you:
___		decide there have been too many of

…