Would Med school be easier w/ ADD/ADHD?

[winsicle]

EDIT: ...that is with the medication prescribed for people w/ ADD Diagnoses.

I've always been pretty easily distracted and i think a lot of people are in this same boat. I need very quiet areas w/ few or no distractions and a constant infusion of Caffeine to maintain focus.

I'm not familiar w/ the DSMIV definition, but I think there's a very thin line between me and the plethora of people being diagnosed w/ an attention deficit disorder.

So I think it's a huge advantage to be diagnosed with one of these disorders - being prescribed amphetamines would make it a lot easier to sustain the incredible focus it requires to keep jamming all this info into our heads...

i guess i'll have to be satisfied w/ abusing caffeine.

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[Miami_med]

It would not be easier to have ADHD. As for the drugs, I can't tell, because I have never taken them.

 

[indo]

Why do med students and pre-med students always seem so desperate to be diagnosed with ADD or ADHD as if it some kind of desirable quality?

 

[Ross434]

It's probably an advantage to be diagnosed with the disorder and prescribed the drugs if you dont have the condition. But to actually have adhd? I can't see any possible way that would help you. This question is pretty offensive.

I guess if your logic held then it would be advantageous to have panic disorder and depression too! Hell, maybe bird flu or SARS!, after all, certain anti virals increase dopamine concentration and mental focus!

 

[psipsina]

My understanding of the add/adhd drugs was that if you actually have the biochemical disorder they only normalize you, . . . so you wouldn't really be at an advantage by taking the meds, only put on an even playing field. The advantage of super studying powers that people utilize these drugs for only occurs if you have "normal" biochemical balences and that are pushed to another extreme by the drug. . . but being pushed to this extreme has other consequences that are very undesireable healthwise.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

My understanding of the add/adhd drugs was that if you actually have the biochemical disorder they only normalize you, . . . so you wouldn't really be at an advantage by taking the meds, only put on an even playing field. The advantage of super studying powers that people utilize these drugs for only occurs if you have "normal" biochemical balences and that are pushed to another extreme by the drug. . . but being pushed to this extreme has other consequences that are very undesireable healthwise.

strictly speaking they act on the vigilance center of the brain (among others) and make "mundane" tasks much more interesting and "enjoyable" (at least amphetamines do... ex: dexedrine / adderall). a friend of mine reported cleaning her entire house after 5mg of it, and loved doing so.

the only "negative" consequences are the CV ones (increased heart rate), possibility of palpitations at high doses, jitteriness, possible dry mouth, crashing after one's period of productivity, etc. of course all of these side effects are highly dose dependent, and one person's negative (first) experience is more than likely due to taking an improper dose the first time.

amphetamine psychosis, although warned against by all those high and mighty college "be healthy!" newsletters, takes a WHOLE lot of drug to happen... insane amounts for a chronic period of time.

 

[RaaMD]

are u serious? your inquiry disregards the respect that i feel is deserved for someone that has made it through medical school despite this condition.

 

[winsicle]

are u serious? your inquiry disregards the respect that i feel is deserved for someone that has made it through medical school despite this condition.

No offense meant - it's just that i think ADD is way overdiagnosed, and gives people w/ normal or slightly b/l average attention spans a big advantage when they are diagnosed w/ this and are prescribed a stash of amphetamines. BTW I admire people who truely have ADD and can make it through without these drugs; if I didn't have caffeine, i would not be able to.

 

[akpete]

My understanding of the add/adhd drugs was that if you actually have the biochemical disorder they only normalize you, . . . so you wouldn't really be at an advantage by taking the meds, only put on an even playing field. The advantage of super studying powers that people utilize these drugs for only occurs if you have "normal" biochemical balences and that are pushed to another extreme by the drug. . . but being pushed to this extreme has other consequences that are very undesireable healthwise.

 

[superso]

I have ADD and i have an incredibly hard time getting through medical school. The drugs only help by giving me the ability to concentrate in lecture but without it i could walk in to class - having preread and be wide awake and come out 50 minutes later with maybe 2 vocabulary words like "meninges" and "trochlea" in my head and hate the fact that i daydreamed away yet another lecture. Imagine that FOR EVERY SINGLE LECTURE...literally! Its not good. The drug helps me to move up to a level where i can pay attention in class so i wont have to look at transcripts (1 page ~ 6 or 7 hours). Like in college, others use it and I can't relate to even a fraction of what they say happens - this desire to WANT to learn, and LOVE to learn for hours on end, etc. All i notice is that im able to pay attention in class but thats it. Id rather not have it.

 

[boulux]

No offense meant - it's just that i think ADD is way overdiagnosed, and gives people w/ normal or slightly b/l average attention spans a big advantage when they are diagnosed w/ this and are prescribed a stash of amphetamines. BTW I admire people who truely have ADD and can make it through without these drugs; if I didn't have caffeine, i would not be able to.

well... I don't know what to say. But I think your wrong on a few points.

First of all, I always had ADHD, but my parents never thought that I should have taken medication because I always got good grades at school. However, my mom is a school teacher and, having seen quite a lot of kids with adhd, she knew my adhd was pretty severe. Once I started college, I often missed class, dropped a few course because I found them boring, etc. Then I started to take methylphenidate and since then I have the equivalent of a 4.0 GPA. But my chances to get into med school are very low because I messed my grades early on... I think I should have started to take medication a while ago. At this point, I'm pissed off because many people in my course have the gpa to enter med school and my grades are better then theirs by at least 10% in bio, orgo, maths, etc

 

[Doctor Bagel]

No offense meant - it's just that i think ADD is way overdiagnosed, and gives people w/ normal or slightly b/l average attention spans a big advantage when they are diagnosed w/ this and are prescribed a stash of amphetamines. BTW I admire people who truely have ADD and can make it through without these drugs; if I didn't have caffeine, i would not be able to.

Do you have any evidence that it's overdiagnosed aside from personal speculation? From what I've read, if anything it's underdiagnosed. That doesn't mean there aren't people out there who have been diagnosed with having ADD who don't have it.

 

[Miami_med]

Do you have any evidence that it's overdiagnosed aside from personal speculation? From what I've read, if anything it's underdiagnosed. That doesn't mean there aren't people out there who have been diagnosed with having ADD who don't have it.

It really depends on how you define it. There are crusaders that think that every kid cooped up in school with no recess should want to endlessly sit and read. I have seen it prescribed for such an effect.