💊 Should You Take ADHD Medications & Are They Safe? ⚕️

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Please note I am not a medical professional.

Deciding whether to take ADHD Medications can be hard, and even harder to find the sweet spot that works for you. It can be even harder if you're a parent debating the ethics of medicating your kids. It's mostly shown that in adequate doses, meds can really transform someone's life. But it is not unheard of that they can cause unpleasant side-effects and in small numbers, mental health issues.

Sources:

Videos:

Studies:
(Does stimulant therapy of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder beget later substance abuse?)

(Growth in Children)

(Mortality Rates in ADHD)

(MR imaging of the effects of methylphenidate on brain structure and function in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.)

(Effect of Psychostimulants on Brain Structure and Function in ADHD)

(Developmental trajectories of brain volume abnormalities in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.)

#AdhdMedication #AdultAdhd

[ChrisHwe]

Wow, I can see you have put a lot of effort into this video, even listing all of the references. Keep up the good work!

[jacob]

Strattera works well for me, but meditating daily has helped just as much. My strong negative emotions and obsessions made it very difficult for me to get things done. I'd often "freeze" when I needed to do something productive. Meditation has taught me how to gently let go of thoughts so that I can finish the task at hand. I'd definitely recommend it.

P.S. Jordan Peterson doesn't think that ADHD exists, so I'd take his "advice" with a pinch of salt. Love the guy, I just think he's misinformed on the subject.

*9/7/2022 UPDATE:* I've been put on 50 mg of Vyvanse after being kicked out of university in 2021. The results have been pretty good, and I'm doing well in the degree programme that I'm currently enrolled in.

It's a constant tug-of-war between medicating and not medicating for me.

[ubermut]

I've been on ADHD Meds for 2 days now, and I think it's interesting how it makes me focus. But: I miss being distracted. I know, it's often viewed as a bad thing, but maybe we should describe it as some kind of broad consciousness? I mean, we also talk about narrowing down when we talk about focusing. And this broad consciousness is fun and beautiful. It gives me the ability to hold multiple threads all at once, to discover, to be very aware of others, my surrounding and arts... And I love discovering and just following where my brain takes me. Focusing is wonderful when I have to work. But I wonder, why as a culture do we devalue distractibility so much? Meds DO help, but I question whether or not I would need to take them in a different kind of society that would be open to the way that ADHD brains work...

[luke]

6:05 for anyone that wants a perfect summary of his opinion. I also back this. It's not one thing that helps... it's a combination of the right dosage of medication, exercise programs, healthy eating, good sleep hygiene, morning and evening routines, meditation practice etc. All of these things play a part.

[nryane]

Looking forward to a diagnosis (ASD/ADHD/C-PTSD, etc) and am considering medication if I have ADHD.

I like that you mention the general pros and cons, plus your own experience.

Blessings!

[jewels]

As someone who personally experiences concerta giving me my life back. Just by being able to choose to focus, the fact you are so skeptical but still say things as fact only if you can back it makes me respect you. I cant be angry at someone who has done the research and advocates for doing what is best for the individual. 🤷‍♀️

[elsalopez]

That is correct, Stuart. You have to closely monitor your meds for ADHD if you feel they make a great difference vs. natural methods. My Son was on it from age 7-16, then he decided he couldn’t b/c he entered military and now he’s 30 but has learned how to work with his ADHD. No drug or alcohol abuse issues. I take Dextroampamphet ER 25 mg but still seeing how it helps me function for my life (business owner 2 businesses) & yes, healthy lifestyle exercise/nutrition are Vital for anyone either way meds or natural. Thank you for your info! I am glad your video notification popped in! Stay Safe👍🏼

[gayatris]

Thank you for the well-made video. It’s really hard to find unbiased stances on these meds.

[fcbv]

I nearly broke up school. Today I'm studying at the best business university in Germany. I achieved that all without meds. Today I take Vyvanse anyways because even if I can deal with my procrastionation when I have to study, the problems ADHD is causing in other parts of life are also important for me. I can deal now much better with my emotions and I'm overall in a much better mood.
Vyvanse is not a wonderdrug and I don't get smarter or much better grades, but my life gets much easier. Don't expect too much of it. But I think it's a good try to see, if it works for you and if the dopamine level is your problem.


P.S. it's really fascinating for me, that a amphetamine can calm me down when on the other hand coffeee makes me nervous as hell and overstimulated :D

[megankeily]

I am 22 and going for meds because I want to give myself the best possible chance at success. I am doing it as a preventative measure before I get into the later years of my medical degree where shit gets real and I don't think I will cope with the workload because I am barely coping now in my 2nd year. Fingers crossed

[artofmagi]

My biggest concern used to be what might the effect of medication be on a developing brain, until I learned about the fact that untreated ADHD can be potentially very dangerous. They're more likely to get into drugs (essentially self-treating), car accidents, suicide, dangerous impulsive behaviors, etc. Untreated ADHD can shorten your lifespan. A very large portion of kids and adults in prisons in the US have undiagnosed/untreated ADHD (estimated 40%, with only 2 out of 30 having been diagnosed as kids, and most common drug was amphetamines).

Whenever a doctor prescribes medication, nobody's saying that it's without risk - all medications have side effects to a greater or lesser extent. However, your doctor will prescribe you (or your child) because they honestly believe the benefits outweigh the risks. We want our kids to have a pleasant, happy childhood, and that's really difficult when you have untreated ADHD. They are much more likely to be yelled at or criticized for their impulsive behaviors, they're going to realize that they're struggling to do certain things that other kids can do easily and beat themselves up for it, and so on. The benefits in general outweigh the risks.

I was diagnosed as an adult and looking back, had it been caught early, had I been treated, maybe I wouldn't have engaged in all the risky behaviors that I had in my teen and college years. Maybe I would've finished school instead of dropping out. Luckily I got out of that relatively unscathed (physically anyway), but I was headed down a very dark, dangerous path. Pills don't build skills, but they can really help.

TL;DR I think sometimes we get caught up in the hypothetical bad stuff that might happen with medications, but there aren't many conversations about what might happen if we don't treat ADHD.

[raeRenae]

It’s been 5 days and I think I’m gonna stop fr. I just need to accept doing the least sometimes.

[jdogexceeder]

I was on Ritalin as a kindergartener and when then adderall all the way up to high-school. The only thing that got me off of it was a ketogenic diet. I seemed to adapt to that way of eating best, however the only drawback was that I could only lift weights and not play sports that required glycogen for energy usage.

[kount]

I’ve been very recently diagnosed with ADHD and I am 32 years old, my doctor immediately prescribed Wellbutrin as my anxiety was off the roof ! I decided not to take it, as I would like to explore how to deal with my focus with what I am learning about ADHD now

[Ph.C]

As with everything, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. One should not rely 100% on medication and take it every single day for years, for example, as this certainly cannot be healthy. And one also shouldn't totally reject medication because it might really help to get certain systems in place in your life that will support you even on your "days off". Balance is everything !

[teebaxter]

I was diagnosed when I was really young and tried a couple medications for. It could just be that my dose was too high for a toddler, but everyone tells me that I was like a zombie and I believe that it triggered an ED because I spent most of my time completely passed out. I got off of it some time before the age of 8 and I was fine all throughout school. Now I'm in college and I am debating going back on medication to help me focus on my course work but at the same time I am worried that it will have the same affect that it used to have and it will strip me of my personality like so many describe. I don't know any other way to be or any other way to think so something that changes that is somewhat terrifying. I've been doing research online about coping mechanisms (can't afford to see someone), however, and trying to find tips that will help me balance homework, work, social, and personal time.

[Finkeldinken]

I miss being able to take Concerta because it helped me somewhat, but I had to stop taking them because of side effects that got progressively worse over the couple of years I took them. I wish I could take them because it's the only class of medication that has ever helped me even a little.

[Jz-enpi]

Thanks!
It’s very difficult to make a research with adhd brain though!

[MilnaAlen]

The growth stuff could well be from reduced appetite too, and it might help if parents and teachers really made sure the child eats enough. Sadly I don't think that's something that many parents and teachers have resources and time for.

[JavierNavarroPrez]

As always great and useful. I'm on Concerta. I was on Ritalin and before that on Strattera. Concerta is by far the biggest attention aid in my life and is helping me perform much more. On the downside anxiety is not good but in the end without medication it will probably still be there.