Do you believe ADHD is real?

[Mad Jack]

i'm willing to bet most people have "trouble focusing" when it comes to studying or listening to a lecture or some other boring mundane task but when they are on netflix or gaming im sure they have no problems focusing. literally anyone who sees a shrink that specializes in "adhd" will get diagnosed with some form of it and will be prescribed adderall or some other stimmy. if any of of you have ever tried it u know how it feels and it feels fkn good. makes studying much more enjoyable and puts u in a euphoric state. like think about it..why do soccer moms need to take adderall ? feels good that's why. im no chemist but im pretty sure adderall is the exact same chemical known as "speed" on the streets and is a weak cousin of crystal meth, yet its ok under the supervision of a physician. what a joke. same goes for pain meds which is basically heroine in a pill. Doctors are the real drug dealers imo and we are the distributors unfortunately. hate giving that **** to kids man.

There's a difference between trouble focusing and ADHD. Most causes of inattention are not ADHD. Generally the feds have been pretty good about shutting down pill mills lately, and I've been on the receiving end of their former patients which has been quite challenging but we do our best to get them off of unsafe and unnecessary regimens. There have been a few one stop shops that were shut down that would provide the benzo/opioid/stimulant combo, sometimes with a Z-drug thrown in for good measure and I wonder how they were operating for so long.

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[khydroxide]

There's a difference between trouble focusing and ADHD. Most causes of inattention are not ADHD. Generally the feds have been pretty good about shutting down pill mills lately, and I've been on the receiving end of their former patients which has been quite challenging but we do our best to get them off of unsafe and unnecessary regimens. There have been a few one stop shops that were shut down that would provide the benzo/opioid/stimulant combo, sometimes with a Z-drug thrown in for good measure and I wonder how they were operating for so long.

im not saying ADHD isnt real but i think only a small percentage of the population truly has it. It's basically a culture now.....everyone and their mothers are on it sadly. adderall and other stims are way overprescribed and there's no denying it. The way in which it is diagnosed is too loose/subjective. At 2 of the stores i used to work at they were basically fast movers and i literally had to keep the safe open cuz every other script was a stimulant... like how is that possible ?

 

[Sine Cura]

It is a culture. Is it likely that a single mom needs all 4 of her kids (ages 6-14) on varying strengths of Adderall? No alpha 2s, no atomoxetine? Yeah ok.

Same **** with husband and wife just happening to have both Dilaudid 4 mg #120

 

[Mad Jack]

im not saying ADHD isnt real but i think only a small percentage of the population truly has it. It's basically a culture now.....everyone and their mothers are on it sadly. adderall and other stims are way overprescribed and there's no denying it. The way in which it is diagnosed is too loose/subjective. At 2 of the stores i used to work at they were basically fast movers and i literally had to keep the safe open cuz every other script was a stimulant... like how is that possible ?

Yikes. Sounds like a local problem. 9/10 of the people looking for stimulants around here don't actually have ADHD and don't get them prescribed.

It is a culture. Is it likely that a single mom needs all 4 of her kids (ages 6-14) on varying strengths of Adderall? No alpha 2s, no atomoxetine? Yeah ok.

Same **** with husband and wife just happening to have both Dilaudid 4 mg #120

Funny enough insurance requires a prior auth for nonstimulants in adults, and also for extended release stimulants. So basically you're put in a situation where you have to fight to not give immediate release amphetamines to adults with legitimate ADHD

 

[radio frequency]

It is a culture. Is it likely that a single mom needs all 4 of her kids (ages 6-14) on varying strengths of Adderall? No alpha 2s, no atomoxetine? Yeah ok.

Same **** with husband and wife just happening to have both Dilaudid 4 mg #120

I had a family on all the same stimulants once. Husband, wife, and all their children. I get that there may be a genetic component, so the kids on meds were less strange than the parents both also being on the same stimulants. Add in some benzodiazepines for sleep for the parents for good measure. Do some doctors and NPs just not care about their licenses?

 

[owlegrad]

Add in some benzodiazepines for sleep for the parents for good measure. Do some doctors and NPs just not care about their licenses?

I had a nurse throw a fit on me at CVS for refusing to fill this combination. Actually I didn’t even refuse to fill it I just told her I was going to call the doctors office because I was concerned about using one controlled substance to treat the side effects of the other controlled substance. She went nuts. Ranted about how it’s not my place to question the doctor and she’s a nurse so she knows what she’s doing blah blah blah. Grabbed her prescriptions back and stormed out.

Good times. I don’t miss them at all.

 

[PharFromNormal]

i'm willing to bet most people have "trouble focusing" when it comes to studying or listening to a lecture or some other boring mundane task but when they are on netflix or gaming im sure they have no problems focusing. literally anyone who sees a shrink that specializes in "adhd" will get diagnosed with some form of it and will be prescribed adderall or some other stimmy. if any of of you have ever tried it u know how it feels and it feels fkn good. makes studying much more enjoyable and puts u in a euphoric state. like think about it..why do soccer moms need to take adderall ? feels good that's why. im no chemist but im pretty sure adderall is the exact same chemical known as "speed" on the streets and is a weak cousin of crystal meth, yet its ok under the supervision of a physician. what a joke. same goes for pain meds which is basically heroine in a pill. Doctors are the real drug dealers imo and we are the distributors unfortunately. hate giving that **** to kids man.

youre on a pharmacy forum where there are literally dozens of us so called “chemists”.

I’d say crystal meth is a weaker cousin of pharmaceutical grade Desoxyn. Differs slightly in salt formulation and likely how the end user ingests.

 

[rxkrafted]

I remember there was this one middle aged classmate in pharmacy school who bragged about getting an adderall script for her "newly diagnosed ADHD". Someone already mentioned this but when people who got so far as to being in a professional degree program start to receive prescriptions for stimulants so easily, that really grinds my gears

 

[Sine Cura]

Well people build their "personality" around and cope by popping pills and smoking weed day and night so are you really surprised. Again the u.s. is the exemplar of consumer whoredom that everyone else has imitated worldwide

Remember the u.s. is the #1 per capita in rx opioid use (really overuse and abuse) in the world and #2 is not even close.

 

[sadface]

There's actually this guy on the forums (can't recall his name) that believes that mental illness is the result of demonic possession lol. As a fun anecdote, I have an attending that had a treatment resistant patient he had an exercism performed on once just to see if the placebo effect was strong enough to help them any. Spoiler: it didn't work

I NEED to know if they made a resident do the exorcism or if they brought in an “expert”. Also thanks for your input on this topic.

 

[Mad Jack]

I NEED to know if they made a resident do the exorcism or if they brought in an “expert”. Also thanks for your input on this topic.

They snagged themselves a Catholic priest

 

[sadface]

They snagged themselves a Catholic priest

Damn. Lol

 

[lane one]

First of all, I've gotta say that I love this thread. I think most of us had that "Oh S***" moment when we started dispensing and realized how many people were on stimulants. Then you start down the rabbit hole of mental illnesses in general being a constellation of traits that were deemed a disorder, and eventually arrive thinking that it's all just made up.

However, in hindsight I think there are a couple of explanations for what you're seeing. First, you've simply gained perspective that you didn't have before. "Everyone" isn't on stimulants, you just happen to be near a college campus and most college students don't have hypertension. Therefore, your pharmacy dispenses predominantly amphetamine salts. Second, as culture changes and we become more open about mental health, more kids are being evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD, which results in more amphetamine salts in your pharmacy.

Edit: Also, whoever said "It's a culture", nailed it.

 

[rxkrafted]

First of all, I've gotta say that I love this thread. I think most of us had that "Oh S***" moment when we started dispensing and realized how many people were on stimulants. Then you start down the rabbit hole of mental illnesses in general being a constellation of traits that were deemed a disorder, and eventually arrive thinking that it's all just made up.

However, in hindsight I think there are a couple of explanations for what you're seeing. First, you've simply gained perspective that you didn't have before. "Everyone" isn't on stimulants, you just happen to be near a college campus and most college students don't have hypertension. Therefore, your pharmacy dispenses predominantly amphetamine salts. Second, as culture changes and we become more open about mental health, more kids are being evaluated and diagnosed with ADHD, which results in more amphetamine salts in your pharmacy.

Edit: Also, whoever said "It's a culture", nailed it.

Stimulants being dispensed near a college campus needs to be looked at more. It's nearly impossible to tell but drug diversion is so common with this that if you were to dispense a month supply of amphetamines for one person, there is a very good chance that it is going into the hands of multiple.

 

[Mad Jack]

Earlier this year, it was my week on working overnights and the last 2 nights I didn't get much sleep, but all of a sudden I felt like I was super productive, had all these ideas for movies, books, organized the pharmacy all by myself, got rid of all the expired, responded to hundreds of posts on Reddit, felt super awake/alert. And then after my last day of work that week, I went home stayed up till 9PM, fell asleep and woke up at 10AM the next day, but all that energy I had the day before was gone.

I'm thinking what I had was a bout of mania due to insomnia that went away as soon as I got sleep. Is that what ADHD feels like?

ADHD is far less organized and goal dorected than mania, usually doesn’t have a positive mood component, doesn't have true racing or disorganized thoughs, and has impulsive but not out of character behavior. ADHD doesn’t have psychotic features. So I guess the gist is, no, ADHD is nothing like mania, it's more like an inability to finish anything and a lack of desire to do so, coupled with impulsiveness and hyperactivity that tends to wane with age.

 

[Sparda29]

ADHD is far less organized and goal dorected than mania, usually doesn’t have a positive mood component, doesn't have true racing or disorganized thoughs, and has impulsive but not out of character behavior. ADHD doesn’t have psychotic features. So I guess the gist is, no, ADHD is nothing like mania, it's more like an inability to finish anything and a lack of desire to do so, coupled with impulsiveness and hyperactivity that tends to wane with age.

It's crazy what your brain does when it only gets 6 hours of sleep within a 72 hour period. I would have thought I would have just passed out from the lack of sleep, not the other way around.

 

[rph3664]

And if you think about it, what parent wants to hear that their kids' problems are their fault?

 

[BidingMyTime]

I agree with Mad Jack, although this is my opinion, I really have no special experience in this area. But yes, of course it is a real disorder, just misdiagnosed. I have no doubt there are parents who freak out when their children act like children, and want to "fix" them with medication. This doesn't mean there aren't real children (and adults) who do need medical treatment to function at their fullest.

 

[realgrimmshady]

I believe there is a very real possibility that I have undiagnosed ADHD. It's difficult and sometimes even impossible to force myself to pay attention to certain things, my mind just wanders if I am not interested in the subject. I struggled with this a lot in my rotations. Yet I do fine at my job and have made very few mistakes the last couple of years, mostly because I've learned systems and approaches that work for me. In one and one conversations I'm also known to be extremely attentive to patients and remembering every single detail. I've also learned that exercise sessions improve my ability to focus but it generally lasts only a few hours.

Either way, I also don't like the idea of using medication, I'd rather not alter my brain chemistry if I can help it.

This has been my experience my entire life, and especially recently on my APPE rotations. I do have an ADHD diagnosis. What people don't understand is the "impossible" bit of it. Truly and quite literally impossible to stay on task/ keep the mind from wandering, and can't self-redirect no matter how many times you tell yourself to focus and just do one thing. It's unbelievably excruciating. Also, if you are a female, most ADHD goes undiagnosed or isn't diagnosed until far beyond childhood (late 20s-30s) because ADHD symptoms tend to present differently in girls when compared to boys (tend to be less outwardly hyperactive + disruptive, and instead hyperactivity is manifested in fast/excessive talking, constant fighting, nail biting, etc). I have worked in pharmacies since high school, and the way pharmacists treat ADHD (like it's not an official medical diagnosis with a neurological basis - try telling me dementia or schizophrenia isn't real?) is so unbelievably ignorant and it makes our entire profession look bad. Pharmacists out here barely able to contain themselves when they have a chance to announce that they are ~*doctors*~ but then behave like this and wonder why we can't get any respect as a profession.

 

[Sine Cura]

Stimulant + alpha-2-agonist + atomoxetine + risperidone is the new holy quaternity

 

[Mad Jack]

I really feel like we - as a society - devolved a bit when the term, “Karen” was coined...

Sounds like quite a Karen thing to say, tbph

 

[JustFillIt]

Sounds like quite a Karen thing to say, tbph

well - fortunately for me - I give absolutely zero (fill in your favored phrase) what you think about how I feel.

I maintain my position to say that coining the phrase “karen” for anyone is not progress in the right direction. Although I may agree that there is a problem with overly privileged and entitled individuals taking others for granted (especially in the service industry). Creating a divisive term such as “a karen” devolves the problem even further.

Maybe if you thought a little deeper about things you would see it too. Your avatar says, “Critically caring” however it appears your not, “critically thinking”

🤣

 

[Mad Jack]

well - fortunately for me - I give absolutely zero (fill in your favored phrase) what you think about how I feel.

I maintain my position to say that coining the phrase “karen” for anyone is not progress in the right direction. Although I may agree that there is a problem with overly privileged and entitled individuals taking others for granted (especially in the service industry). Creating a divisive term such as “a karen” devolves the problem even further.

Maybe if you thought a little deeper about things you would see it too. Your avatar says, “Critically caring” however it appears your not, “critically thinking”

🤣

I think you fail to see that memes exist for a reason

The Karen, the Kyle, the Chad. They're jokes, jokes about very real archetypes so you can say in a shorthand manner, "I was dealing with this total Karen today" instead of wasting your breath describing what a Karen is every time you're discussing one. It's intellectual efficiency

 

[Sine Cura]

Society devolved a bit when the "agricultural revolution" occurred

 

[Mad Jack]

Society devolved a bit when the "agricultural revolution" occurred

Perhaps it simply evolved past you

 

[Sine Cura]

That's now how eeevolution works sweaty

 

[mwsapphire]

I was diagnosed at 7 years old and didn't start meds until I was a teen , stopped in my early 20's because of side effects.
I was only ever on Atomoxetine, never stimmies.
I think it's real. Sometimes on bad days taking a shower or combing my hair feels like an overwhelming task. Sometime I don't eat because I don't want to deal with the " feeling" of food, and my clothes have to be made of the right fabric or it's unbearably itchy and rough feeling. Overall I'm fine though.

 

[owlegrad]

...and my clothes have to be made of the right fabric or it's unbearably itchy and rough feeling.

I actually have that too. I can’t order clothes online because if they don’t “feel right” I won’t wear them. Although the feeling isn’t always the same. For me microfiber is usually the best feeling though.

 

[mwsapphire]

I actually have that too. I can’t order clothes online because if they don’t “feel right” I won’t wear them. Although the feeling isn’t always the same. For me microfiber is usually the best feeling though.

Took me so long to figure out polyester doesn't agree w me, my clothes feeling unbearable and wanting to go home so I could change was a big source of discomfort in my life lol. good thing I figured that out before med school/residency.

My business casual wardrobe is all chinos/khakis/corduroys w cotton blouses and things sweaters to be worn with a cotton shirt underneath.