The Basics

Got Adult ADHD?  Love someone who does (maybe even someone “in denial”)? Perhaps you are a therapist or physician who would like to learn more about Adult ADHD, especially as it can affect relationships.  If you can get yourself to  Ellicott City, MD, on Sept. 24 at 6:00 pm,  you are in luck!

Banish thoughts of sitting in folding chairs in a drab lecture hall.  Instead, picture delicious hot appetizers, cocktails and wine,  an abundant surplus of good-humored company, and an entertaining-and-informed speaker at this second annual soiree sponsored by CHADD of  Greater Baltimore. (While I’m a fan of all CHADD chapters — God bless their volunteering hearts –  I must tell you: This is an extremely fun group.)  Click here to learn more and purchase tickets through BrownPaperTickets. (And don’t procrastinate! Because the event could sell out.)

Last year, I had the good fortune to be the featured speaker  (the photo to right shows the lovely ballroom setting), and if I weren’t 3,000 miles away, you can bet I’d be in the audience this time.   This year’s speaker is psychologist Ari Tuckman, author of More Attention, Less Deficit.  The title of his talk: “Make Love, Not War: A Light-Hearted Look at Making ADHD Relationships Work.”

Not only will you gain an opportunity to

• relax, mingle, and network with interesting people in the local ADHD community (including professionals),
• learn about Adult ADHD strategies for individuals and couples,
• enjoy that rare feeling of being in ballroom full of people who can relate to your challenges,
• have a fun night out in a beautiful setting with fun people. and
• meet and learn from Dr. Tuckman.

But you will also be supporting CHADD of Greater Baltimore‘s wide-ranging outreach. That includes local support groups and training (the chapter runs four parent support groups around the Beltway and one adult group in Linthicum, MD. Visit the link to learn more.) The chapter also contributes to national CHADD‘s Presidential Council initiatives, such as Parent to Parent and Teacher to Teacher training held online and in communities nationwide.

All this for the mere price of a co-pay with a therapist who might just waste your time when it comes to helping with ADHD.  There is no risk here. There is only a great opportunity  to learn and gain support in a beautiful setting with warm-hearted, good-humored people. — AND support these hard-working volunteers’ efforts to help others.  (It might even be tax-deductible!)

I really thought we were done with stories like this, especially on the blog of a well-known medical school. Ah, but this is Stanford, in my backyard, and if you seek evaluation or treatment for ADHD there, well, good luck to you.

In many ways, I consider the Bay Area, in general, the Third World of ADHD medical treatment. Yes, there are a few excellent clinicians in private practice. And the University of California, Berkeley has as its Psychology Department Chair an internationally renown ADHD researcher, Stephen Hinshaw, Ph.D.  But the two university medical schools that serve as Silicon Valley bookends? For all their Nobel laureates, Stanford and UCSF simply can’t hold a candle to Harvard or the University of Pennsylvania when it comes to ADHD research or expertise, and this lack filters out into the community.   Still, even I was surprised today to read this post in Stanford School of Medicine’s blog, Scope: “Blogger Asks, To Ritalin or not to Ritalin?” It is in response to a blog post by an adult who was treated for ADHD as a child and is now a behavioral therapist. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a cartoon floating around among my Facebook friends. One character says: “Come to bed, honey.” And the other character, at the computer keyboard, says, “I can’t. Someone is saying something wrong on the Internet, and I must correct it!”

For 10 years, I’ve resembled that character, rat-a-tat-tatting at my keyboard to counter fallacious information about ADHD on the Internet. The latest just this morning, which as both an ADHD advocate and responsible journalist, was too hard to resist.  (If you’d like to skip my preamble, scroll to the end of this post to get to a recent CNN article and my response to it.)

And yes, it’s been a  personal mission, though it hasn’t kept me up late at night and I aimed for surgical strikes, not omnipresence.   As a writer and editor with a long-held reputation for fairness and accuracy, though, I’ve found this new “medium” of the Internet by turns extremely exciting yet unsettling. Read the rest of this entry »

Lots of ADHD in the News for July and early August. Environmental groups call for ban of pesticides linked to ADHD. Western diet linked to ADHD. Lots of links, but what are the facts?

Please remember as you read some of these reports: Association is not causation. A “risk factor” is something that is associated with a condition. Whether that factor causes the condition or results from the condition, that is often the question that remains to be answered.

For example, in the first news story below, note that there is a link between the Western diet and ADHD.  As the study’s researcher rightly points out (far down in the story):

“This is a cross-sectional study so we cannot be sure whether a poor diet leads to ADHD or whether ADHD leads to poor dietary choices and cravings,” Dr Oddy said.

NUTRITION:

Western Diet Link to ADD, Australian Study Finds

ScienceDaily, July 29

A new study from Perth’s Tlethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a “Western-style” diet in adolescents. Read the rest of this entry »

Seattle-based ADHD specialist Don Baker, MA, LMHC

Adult ADHD workshops are few and far between on the West Coast, especially those that include a focus on relationship issues. To remedy this situation, well-known Seattle ADHD specialist Don Baker, MA, LMHC, and I have scheduled a one-day workshop.

It takes place Sunday, September 12, 11-7 pm, on beautiful Mercer Island, right above Lake Washington. And,  we’d love to see you there.  Couples. Singles (with or without ADHD). Therapists. As  Don puts it, “A full day for the couples, uncoupled, and don’t want to be coupled.” In other words, all are welcome.

We’re still working out the day’s details, but it’s sure to be illuminating and entertaining. I for one immensely enjoy these opportunities to meet with singles and couples affected by ADHD, hear your stories, and share the knowledge I’ve gained over 10 years of study and advocacy.  And I know I’ll learn a lot from Don, too, having greatly enjoyed his presentations at last year’s ADD Resources Conference and hearing such stellar reports about his Adult ADHD groups.

Capacity truly is limited, so if you’d like to join us, please sign up now at brownpapertickets.

See you on the 12th!

Don and Gina

If you live within broadcast range of Atlanta’s public TV station WPBA, be sure to catch an airing of  ADD & Loving It?! (View film trailer below.) Better yet, let this PBS station and others know that you support such programming by pledging during the airing.

This funny-factual documentary about ADHD will first air on WPBA  (PBA 30) Sunday, August 8th, at 1:00 PM and August 9th at 3:30 AM. (It will repeat later in the month, so check the schedule.)

Please share news of this with your friends in the Atlanta area. (And, it’s a perfect “primer” on ADHD for the CHADD’s 22th International Conference, held in Atlanta this November.) You can forward this page as an e-mail or use the “share” link below to post to your Facebook page, Twitter, etc. Word is spreading…one PBS station at a time!

Now that you’ve learned the basics of pursuing an evaluation for ADHD (in this post below), are you still wondering if it’s the right thing for you to do?  Here’s a wise idea: Take a screening test — a set of preliminary questions that can say that yep, you’re a worthy candidate for a full professional evaluation.

Here is one of the best interactive guides I’ve seen, featuring well-known Canadian ADHD expert Umesh Jain MD, PhD, MEd., Just click on the image above, and you’ll be taken  to  The Virtual Doctor Interactive Test at the website for TotallyADD.  Once you’ve finished the quiz, definitely take a look around the site. You don’t even need to have ADHD to appreciate the high-quality videos created by the team in charge, including two professional entertainers who are….TotallyADD. Read the rest of this entry »

Techno-wizard and ADHD Blog-Veteran Jeff at Jeff’s ADD Mind has really been pushing the media envelope lately — movies, magazines, and more — and has now re-designed the entire site with a slick new look and easy navigation system.  It’s jam-packed with fun, philosophy, and irony (the precursors of healthy neurotransmitters!).  Among my favorites:

• Jeff’s ADD Mind Magazine Rack: including the ADHD Handyman, the National Enquirer, and more. Remember: When News Breaks, Jeff Spoofs It!!
• Jeff’s ADD Mind Movie Theater: including “The Gift of ADHD” and commentary from the new “He Said, She Said” series — a collaboration with Zoe Kessler, who writes the funny, savvy column ADHD from A to Zoë .
• Hey You! A guide for first-time visitors (don’t be alarmed by the photo there of Jeff; he might look like a mafia don, but he’s all heart). Read the rest of this entry »

This is perhaps the #1 question about Adult ADHD. To answer it, in part: I offer this adapted excerpt  from my book, Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?.

This post includes the current DSM criteria for ADHD as well as the criteria proposed by Dr. Russell Barkley and colleagues for the upcoming DSM revision (you know it’s “not just for kids” when one diagnostic point involves driving!).

Please use the handy links above and below (see the “share” tool) to spread the word about how an evaluation for ADHD should be performed.

The Adult ADHD Diagnose-o-Meter

There is no single test to evaluate for ADHD. No computer test. No fill-in- the-blank test. No blood test or genetic test. These practical facts are commonly wielded by the anti-psychiatry fringe element as proof that ADHD does not exist.  A-hem, just for the record, neither can you measure headaches, backaches, or many other maladies with a quiz, a blood test, or a genetic test.

More importantly, “You also cannot measure a person’s pain or suffering in life by clinical tests,” notes psychologist Thomas E. Brown, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and associate director of the Yale Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders.

It’s important to remember that ADHD symptoms essentially represent an extreme on a normal continuum of behavior that varies in the population, much like IQ, weight, or height. That’s why its diagnosis is not a cut-and-dried matter. To ascertain if a person is “over the line” on this continuum, the evaluating professional must gauge the severity of the symptoms and impairment. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you have your grade-school report cards handy?  These artifacts can be useful when it comes to being evaluated for Adult ADHD because the diagnosis requires evidence of symptoms in childhood. Case in point: the childhood reports (below)  for San Diego-based psychotherapist and ADHD specialist Lew Mills, who has graciously agreed to share them here.

Such records aren’t mandatory, however, so when I hear from readers whose physicians demand such, I suspect these clinicians simply don’t want to (or don’t know how to) conduct a proper evaluation. In other words, it might be a stalling tactic. A wearing-you-down obstacle to diagnosis. Read the rest of this entry »

“….And you want it because it releases dopamine,” explains the short video below.

“Things are important and valuable only if they activate your dopamine…..

“Being unfocused and easily distracted means you’re low on dopamine.”

Bottom line: If you don’t have “enough” dopamine, or your dopamine is activated only by over-the-top pleasures (or anticipation of pleasures)? Caution ahead.

Given the volume of e-mail I receive asking where to purchase my award-winning book,  Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?, I figure it’s time to summarize it in one spot.

PLUS — A NEWS FLASH: Barnes and Noble brick-and-mortar stores now carry the book. Please pass along this news to your therapist, your physician, and your FB/Twitter friends who want a comprehensive guide to Adult ADHD (especially as it affects relationships) but also want to physically rifle through the pages before purchasing.  You can use the handy bookmark/share link below.

To summarize, you can purchase the book at these outlets:

• the book’s website, where it comes with free shipping and free PDF of the book — uploadable to some electronic readers and useful for printing out pertinent pages for a loved one, clinician, etc.
• Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.com
• Barnes & Noble stores. To locate a store near you, click here.

Library patrons can search this library catalog to find the closest library that carries Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? (Just enter your ZIP code.) If your library doesn’t carry the book yet, please request that they order it. You’ll also be helping others who are on a tight budget.

1. Here’s a handy flyer that contains all the information your  librarian will need, including Library Journal’s stamp of approval (“…a unique compendium of information on the topic for lay readers.”)
2. Print it out or just send in the URL via your library’s online request form.

Thank you!

Myths about ADHD are persistent and pervasive. That’s why I created a nonsense-busting appendix in my book (Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?) called “But I Heard That” …. More Background for the Unconvinced.

Myth #1 is excerpted here, Myth #2 is here, and now here is #3:

“…The Symptoms Are Basic Human Behaviors”

Taken singly, ADHD symptoms do resemble typical human behaviors—because they are. “ADHD is a matter of severity, an exaggeration of normal human behaviors,” explains physician, author, and ADHD expert Patricia Quinn.

Furthermore, you can have a little ADHD or a lot or be somewhere in the middle.  Debunking his second big myth about ADHD (that everyone has it), University of Pennsylvania psychologist J. Russell Ramsay puts it this way: “Saying that everyone who has some trouble with organization and procrastination has ADHD stands akin to claiming that because everyone periodically feels sad or nervous, that everyone has depression or anxiety disorders.”

In fact, careful research that measured people with ADHD against a control group revealed that control group members might display only one or two symptoms among the current list of 18 possible symptoms, demonstrating that “everyone” does not have ADHD.

I welcome your comments; no registration required.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe and share with others via the handy “Bookmark” link below.

Part I of “All About Medications for ADHD” focused on common questions and answers provided by ADHD specialist Ted Mandelkorn, MD, of Puget Sound Behavioral Health, a Seattle-based clinic that treats teens, children and adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and related conditions.

In Part II, below, Dr. Mandelkorn details the categories of medications along with dosing, pros, cons, and potential side effects.  The more you know about your choices, the better you can choose a knowledgeable prescribing physician and work with that physician for the best possible treatment outcome for yourself or your loved one.

A PHYSICIAN’S PERSPECTIVE

Theodore Mandelkorn, MD

2010

PART TWO: OVERVIEW OF MEDICATIONS Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to overstate it: Please be a smart mental healthcare consumer when it comes to ADHD medical treatment.

That means not simply assuming that your prescribing physician, no matter how much ADHD expertise is professed, truly knows what’s what.  Learn the basics so you can “Trust but Verify.”

Ted Mandelkorn, MD

For all the information flooding the Internet  now about Adult ADHD, it’s still hard to find a solid overview of the medications used to treat it. So, I contacted Ted Mandelkorn, M.D. (pictured right).  Had he updated the excellent handout from a lecture I’d attended years ago? Indeed he had. Even better: He gave me permission to share it with ADHD Roller Coaster readers.  The first installment is below. Part II will follow shortly.

An “early adapter” of ADHD expertise and treatment, Dr. Mandelkorn is the parent of a child with ADHD and has ADHD himself. He trained in pediatrics and adolescent medicine, and he was a mental health fellow under Dr. Michael Rothenberg at the University of Washington. He has been in practice for 35 years, since 2001 at his clinic, Puget Sound Behavioral Medicine.

A PHYSICIAN’S PERSPECTIVE

Theodore Mandelkorn, MD

2010

PART ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• WHO SHOULD TAKE MEDICATIONS, AND WHY?
• WHAT IMPROVEMENT SHOULD BE SEEN?
• WHO SHOULD PRESCRIBE MEDICATIONS?
• MEDICAL TRIALS
• WHAT IS THE CORRECT MEDICATION?
• WHAT IS THE CORRECT DOSAGE?
• WHAT ABOUT “NATURAL” THERAPIES?
• SUMMARY

Read the rest of this entry »

A quick post to let you know—because it hasn’t been publicized—that Is It You, Me, or  Adult A.D.D.? is available for immediate download as a full PDF.  Why is this useful?  Lots of reasons.  I’m letting you know right now because the PDF might not be available soon.

Yes, you probably don’t want to read the entire PDF from your monitor.  After all, it’s a big book, one my friend and Huffington Post blogger Michael Laskoff calls “almost ridiculously comprehensive.” (Check out Michael’s archive on Huffington Post for many thought-provoking posts on Adult ADHD and other topics.) Read the rest of this entry »

I knew something was up when a greater-than-usual  number of “help, please!” e-mails appeared in my in-box this morning.

Then my friend Doreen gave me the heads up on Facebook: MSN.com had featured a “When Your Lover Has ADHD” tag on its Valentine’s-themed homepage.  It linked to an interview I’d done last year with Health.com: “When Someone You Love Has ADHD: Frequently Asked Questions About Helping Your Partner and Yourself.”  It begins this way:

When journalist Gina Pera married a man with undiagnosed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) she embarked on a wild ride that took her from frustration and confusion to understanding and advocacy. Today she runs support groups for people with ADHD and their partners, and her book Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? was published in 2008.

“Wild ride” indeed. But our marriage started out more on the rainy side. (That’s us at our outdoor wedding in 1998.  Despite the huge two-person umbrella, my husband still managed to position the dripline right over me. Fortunately, that kind of center-of-the-universe tendency is a relic of the past — or neither one of us, not to mention our marriage, would have survived!) Here’s a sample of the questions:

Q: How did you realize that your husband had ADHD?

Q: In the title of your book, you used the outdated term “ADD.” Why that instead of ADHD? Read the rest of this entry »

Dear readers,

Each time you shop at Amazon, Amazon will make a donation to keep this ADHD Roller Coaster blog and The ADHD Partner blog rolling along — at NO extra cost to you!

It’s simple: Just begin all your Amazon shopping expeditions from this link (just book mark it).

http://tinyurl.com/y8wu2st

If you do that, Amazon will send a tiny percentage of all purchases my way.  Books. DVDs. Appliances. You name it!

As most of you know, my ADHD volunteerism  is reaching the decade mark soon. And every little bit helps towards maintaining three blogs, hosting websites, donating copies of the book to those in need, speaking to groups about Adult ADHD, and more.

Thanks so much and happiest of holidays!

Gina

This week: A guest post from ADHD coach Cynthia Hammer, founder and former executive director of Seattle-based non-profit ADD Resources (click here to visit her blog, “Pinnacle Coaching”).

I’ve always enjoyed Cynthia’s personal essays (look for more to come), and we both appreciate the thoughtful perspectives of Judith Warner, who writes the “Domestic Disturbances” column for The New York Times.
——————-

Do you ever get discouraged about all the bad and inaccurate press about ADHD? That it is a condition that doesn’t exist? That those of us who have ADHD are seeking the easy way out by taking medicine or that we parents give dangerous medicine to children for a made-up condition?

I just finished reading an article by Judith Warner, a columnist for The New York Times who planned to write a book on these kinds of topics, but she kept putting off writing the book—and she finally realized why. Read the rest of this entry »

I will be joining ADHD specialist Dr. Alan Graham of ADDvisor.com for a free teleconference on “ADHD and Success Strategies for Couples.”

Date: Wednesday, October 14.
Time: 8:30 pm EDT.
To Pre-register: click here.

Only Harry Potter fans have awaited a book as I’ve awaited Dr. Charles Parker’s forthcoming book on ADHD medication treatment strategies. Nothing has frustrated me more in ten years of advocacy than hearing meds-gone-awry stories. A solid getting-the-meds-right guide for patients and clinicians is long overdue.

With the full book still in the editing stage, Dr. Parker has made this abbreviated e-book available free: Predictable Solutions for the 10 Most Common Challenges with ADHD Medications. To download the book, visit this page on Dr. Parker’s Corepsychblog webite.

A sampling of challenges addressed in this booklet:

• Problem #1: Overlooking Targets – Beyond Diagnostic Labels
• Problem #2: Neglecting the Evidence of Metabolic Rate
• Problem #3: Multiple Diagnoses, Emotional Baggage, and ADHD
• Problem #5: Overlooking Bipolar with ADHD
• Problem #7: Overlooking the Therapeutic Window

Read it and reap!

Since I posted this blog entry on recent research from neuroscientist Nora Volkow and colleagues, more detailed stories interpreting the study’s findings have become available. In particular, this report from MedPage today targets clinicians. That site also includes an audio interview with Dr. Volkow, below (despite a strong Spanish accent, Dr. Volkow does a good job of making complex concepts understandable to the layperson, in my opinion).

Quick! Catch this excellently informative and entertaining documentary on ADHD before it goes offline 9/25/09.

In case you’re wondering about the headline (Action! Camera! Lights!), it’s an homage to “Fire! Ready! Aim!” — a tongue-in-cheek description of ADHD-related impulsivity.

Rick Green and Patrick McKenna

About the film: Canadian comedy legend Patrick McKenna is after the truth. “Everything you think you know about A.D.D. is wrong.” In this one hour documentary he talks to researchers, specialists and doctors about A.D.D. and A.D.H.D.. He also chats with ordinary Canadians & Americans who are directly dealing with the challenges of this common problem. Interwoven with these insights, Patrick shares his own life story and his struggle with undiagnosed and untreated A.D.H.D, and now his success taking it on Adult A.D.D..

Read more at the website, including a transcript of the film. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI-TV for airing this well-balanced segment during ADHD Awareness Week, and thanks to Dancing with the Stars star Karina Smirnoff and the amazing Kavanaugh family for sharing their stories. (Oh, I make a small cameo appearance, drawn from a 30-minute interview with Health producer Dawn Heefner. Astute, intelligent questions all!)

PHILADELPHIA, PA.; September 22, 2009 (WPVI) — Attention deficit disorders are common among children. But few people know that they affect anywhere from 4 to 16% of American adults too – though most don’t know it. But identifying the disorder can be a big step in learning how to live a good life with AD/HD.

Karina Smirnoff moves across the dance floor in “Dancing With the Stars” with a precision that shows hours & hours of practice.

That’s not easy for someone with attention deficit disorder – ADD….

Continue reading at KPVI’s website, and PLEASE leave a note of appreciation there for this story.

Okay, the headlines this week may not come as news to us. But, following the recent ADHD Hall of Shame entry, science-based reportage comes as welcome relief. The following news sources, among others, report the latest study by NIDA Director Nora Volkow and colleagues showing that, well, ADHD is real. Read all about it.

Here’s a sampling of the breaking headlines, followed by the press release from the researcher:

• BBC News: ADHD Brain Chemistry Clue Found
  US researchers have pinned down new differences in the brain chemistry of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They found ADHD patients lack key proteins which allow them to experience a sense of reward and motivation. Read the rest of this entry »

A quick note to let you know that Amazon has just re-discounted Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder.  The regular price is $21.95, and the discounted price is $14.36.

We never know when this “sale” will happen — and when it will stop. So, if you’d like to buy an extra copy for gifting or sharing with your therapist or physician, now’s a good time. Just click on the title above to be taken to Amazon.com.

Maybe we so often associate ADHD challenges with schoolwork, paperwork, and housework that we don’t often think of ADHD putting a kink in, um, bedroom fun. Or, that activity that we assume most people can do “in their sleep”: sleep.

Ah, but what you don’t know can hurt you. It can hurt your love life. And it can hurt your ability to get to bed on time, go to sleep, and stay asleep, not to mention leaving you prone to gasping for air (sleep apnea) or dancing the cucharacha with your restless legs all night.

I invite you to visit my blog on ADHD and Relationships to learn a bit more on those two subjects and, best of all, read the many insightful comments from readers that follow. (While you’re there, please sign up to follow this monthly blog so you’ll be notified of new posts.) I guarantee you’ll find some kindred spirits.

1. ADHD and Sex: No Shame, No Blame

“Gina, sex is difficult for people with ADHD; it’s tough to stay focused!” says a female Facebook friend, responding to my query on this topic. Read the rest of this entry »

New study on ADHD and adults

To watch a short interview on NBC’s The Today Show with preeminent ADHD research scientist Dr. Russell Barkley, click on the link above. He introduces the studies examining long-term outcomes of children diagnosed with ADHD. For details on this groundbreaking research by Dr. Barkley and colleague Dr. Mariellen Fischer, read ADHD in Adults: What the Science Says. (Click on the title to learn more about it on Amazon.com.)

TO LEAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN. NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED!

An ADHD Roller Coaster salute goes to The New York Times Silicon Valley-based reporter Matt Richtel (photo, right) for his ongoing coverage of the risks associated with driving while using cell phones and texting (see selected headlines and links below).

As you read these important stories, please keep in mind: These risks ratchet up even higher when untreated ADHD takes the wheel. That’s why I devote a chapter to this topic in Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder. (Read an excerpt of that chapter here and, while you’re at it, catch the video of “Attention Deficit Disorder Man!”)

• “Senators Seek a Ban on Texting and Driving”

excerpt: “Studies show this is far more dangerous than talking on a phone while driving or driving while drunk, which is astounding,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, one of four Democratic senators to introduce the proposal. Read the rest of this entry »

Live a few decades not knowing that you have ADHD, and chances are you’re lugging around not only emotional baggage but also physical baggage — sleep debt, adrenal exhaustion, off-kilter hormones, allergies, and more. Yet, in our specialist-dominated healthcare “system,” finding a physician who can assemble all the puzzle pieces is a challenge.

When’s the last time your personal physician, not to mention ADHD-treating psychiatrist, closely scrutinized lab results for your complete blood panel, adrenal function, or hormones and could properly answer your questions about, say, potential gluten sensitivity? Yet, if you’re suffering from any of these allied health challenges, your brain function could be suffering in ways that will never be sufficiently addressed by psychotropic medications alone.

A few years ago, I scoured the Internet for a “big picture” physician who was sharing information (on a blog or website) not only about ADHD and its commonly co-occurring conditions but also the many other biomarkers that affect brain health. Fortunately, I found CorePsychBlog , written by physician, author, neuroscientist, and psychiatric consultant Dr. Charles Parker (pictured, above right). (Regular readers of this blog have seen Dr. Parker’s comments. For the record, he and I have never met and have no business association.) Pick your media preference: written posts, radio shows, or videos. CorePsychBlog is packed with information. So packed that I’ve picked out a few highlights to get you started (in a follow-up post, I’ll share links to some of Dr. Parker’s highly informative videos): Read the rest of this entry »

Like me, you’ve probably consulted Consumer Reports when it comes to purchasing appliances. But would you trust them for advice on medically treating your ADHD? Given their latest press release, I certainly hope not!

It starts with this (and just gets worse): Read the rest of this entry »

Update 1/23/09:  At least 203 public libraries, including two in Australia and one in Germany, now carry Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Thanks to everyone who asked your local library to carry it.   If you’d like your library branch to order the book, click here access a flyer with all the information your librarian will need.

Ten years ago, I chanced upon a new book at our local library: Neuropsychiatrist Daniel Amen’s Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness. It did change my life, my husband’s life, and our marriage. And it set me on a path to help others change their lives by creating more awareness of Adult ADHD.

When my book, Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder, was published, one of my top priorities was making the book available in public libraries. (I don’t know about your library system, but ours seems to go out of its way to stock books by the ADHD dissenters and deniers.) I’m grateful that fans of the book share this goal, as explained in this recent note from Jack in Canada, and hope you will join us:

Dear Gina

I had put in a suggestion in the library’s on-line system for your book, but I thought I would do it personally. So I went to the main branch downtown and spoke to one of the librarians. Read the rest of this entry »

Tom was trapped: stuck on a 13-hour road trip with his wife — and his marriage on the rocks.

“Something’s wrong,” Liz started, and Tom’s heart sunk.

The Newmarket couple was heading from Ontario to visit family in New Brunswick. She wanted to have it out with him — then and there.

Tom knew, hurtling down the highway, there would be no escape. He had to face facts. Read the rest of this entry »

Jeff discovered he has ADHD at about age 46 –”not the best of times to find that out,” he notes, “certainly not after 46 years of having bad habits solidify.”

Still, he dedicated himself to understanding the full depths of what it means to have ADHD, including learning to recognize problematic behaviors while they were occurring and modifying them for more desirable results.

Fortunately for his readers, Jeff has for several years shared his personal and philosophical musings on ADHD at his blog, Jeff’s A.D.D. Mind. I discovered it while writing my book and, frankly, feeling overwhelmed with the-then omnipresent rosy talk of ADHD’s gifts. The individuals and families I knew who were affected by ADHD were truly struggling; sure, they needed assurance and encouragement, but didn’t they also need realistic information and strategies? (My husband didn’t ease my worries about the book’s reception by jokingly offering to move us to a missile silo in Nebraska.) Jeff’s honest, thoughtful essays validated my approach at a critical juncture. Thanks Jeff! Here is one of my favorites from his archives:

The A.D.D.er Cannot Understand Life
Because the A.D.D.er Cannot Understand Time

Jeff

To make sense out of life, one must also be able to make sense of time; that is, understanding one requires understanding the other. In our everyday world, they are inseparable: Life requires time, and time has meaning because of life. The life of the human being is understood to be “a life” because it occurs in time over time. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, a journalist asked me to name three top challenges that ADHD poses to relationships. My first thought: “Finding the keys, the cell phone, and the wallet.” But that sounds so trivial, doesn’t it? Yes it does, until you’ve been pulled into an ADHD partner’s adrenaline-spiking, to-the-death search on a daily basis. And, in truth, other issues do loom much larger — like remembering to re-charge the cell phone. Another minor issue? Not when your child or partner is counting on you to stay in touch.

Now, I’d be the last person to suggest we can rely solely on organizational tools to resolve ADHD-related issues, especially as they affect relationships. But sometimes we get so caught up in the whirling vortex of bigger problems that we miss simple solutions to the smaller ones. For example, what could be easier than placing your keys, watch, gizmos-to-be-recharged, and whatnot in a tidy valet like this one (pictured right). Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick note to thank everyone who has so generously received my book, Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder (August 31, 2008, 1201 Alarm Press).

I noticed that today it is #3 on Amazon in the category of books on Adult ADHD (of which there many!) and #10 on books about couples and family therapy (of which there are hundreds!). Moreover, the reviews you’ve posted on Amazon have deeply touched my heart. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and reactions — and especially to reach out to other potential readers with a message of hope and optimism. Read the rest of this entry »

A physician with the World Anti-Doping Agency contends that ADD (as he calls it) is being overdiagnosed in major-league baseball. More importantly, it is over treated with medication. On what does he base this? The fact that he has rarely diagnosed the condition throughout his career.

Fail to see the logic? Me, too.

Just when I think this blog can move on to topics other than ADHD medical treatment, another flagrant show of ADHD ignorance makes the headlines. Being a big believer in speaking truth to misperception, I just can’t let it pass.

Besides, it’s pretty good timing. You know those physicians-in-denial-about-ADHD that Dr. Charles Parker wrote about last time? This physician serves as a good example. Read the rest of this entry »

We hear quite a bit about people who are “in denial” about their ADHD. But there’s a flip side to this phenomenon: An adult with ADHD dealing with denial in friends and loved ones who simply refuse to “believe” in ADHD or that this adult has it.

I just reviewed my friend and fellow blogger Bryan Hutchinson’s list of his 11 most popular posts for 2008. I enjoyed each in their original posting, but the one on facing this aspect of denial strikes me as particularly useful.

Like Bryan, I often hear from adults diagnosed with ADHD who can’t understand why others rail against their diagnosis. Bryan offers a list of what he considers the 10 most common reasons.

If you have ADHD, has this kind of denial been a problem for you? If so, how did you deal with it?

Read through a few online archives where adults with ADHD share their thoughts, and invariably, you will encounter just a few like this:

“Those of us who do take meds take them so we can function in a non-AD/HD world.”

They would operate just fine in the world, they maintain, if it weren’t for all the “neurotypical” types making them toe the line. Betsy Davenport, a Portland clinician who specializes in treating AD/HD (and has it herself), responded to one such post this way:

“Actually, I take medication to maximize my functioning in THE REAL world, which includes my home, where we ALL have Quirky Brains. It has nothing to do with the rest of the people, or the conventional expectations of the rest of the world’s people, or the rigid social climate in which we live, or any of that rot. Read the rest of this entry »

This Thanksgiving finds me with much to be grateful for: friends, family, husband, health, and a book that is being generously received.

But this very day, my biggest, warmest THANKS goes to all those adults with ADHD who took the time to write their truth, so eloquently and movingly, in response to this recent New York Times column on ADHD.

Read the rest of this entry »

Linda H. writes:

Hi Ms. Pera,
I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I have a copy of your new book that I just started reading over the weekend. I have heard so much about this book, and since I do have ADD (I prefer the ADD vs. ADHD) I thought perhaps I will see myself and/or my husband in this book.

I am also wondering if there is a way to get to the forums that are mentioned in the book, assuming that you have an online forum for discussion and help for either the person with ADD or their partner. I would love to participate in same if that is an available option. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, Adult ADHD can affect driving behavior, too. In fact, Chapter 5 of the book Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? explores exactly how the ADHD Roller Coaster hits the road. An excerpt follows this great animation from “A.D.D. Man!” Buckle your seatbelts and watch out for Road Rage Ralph and Sally Soccer Mom.

Chapter 5:

Driving While Distracted:
The Roller Coaster Hits the Road

My husband’s driving has improved since
taking medication. He no longer “punishes”
drivers who pass him—by flashing his lights,
making rude gestures, and yelling. I’d be so
embarrassed, I’d slink down in the seat.

– Elizabeth

Carol, married 15 years, says her husband is the absolute best driver ever: “At night, Ken notices little animals on the side of the road and has stopped for moose and deer that I never would have seen.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Many of us banged our head against the wall for years, never knowing that we were even dealing with Adult ADHD. The problem wasn’t just our ignorance. No, worse than that, the problem was that we believed the myths — totally wrong ideas about what Adult ADHD is and isn’t.

Respondents to the ADHD Partner Survey explain why they missed the signs of ADHD in their relationships (sometimes for decades) at my other blog, ADHDRollerCoaster.org:

In the next few posts here, I’ll excerpt a chapter from Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? so we can bust common myths about Adult ADHD one by one.

********

“Never in a million years would I have suspected ADHD!” Jennifer explains to the support-group for the partners of adults with ADHD. “I thought ADHD was a hyperactive little boy’s disorder. My husband is Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction from the book Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? (continued from the previous post)

Same Meeting Room, the Following Tuesday, 8 PM

Be careful talking about good intentions to newcomers at this week’s gathering! It’s the same room but a very different crowd. The people gathered here tonight aren’t adults with ADHD; they are their partners. And most have had it with good intentions. They are also done with being doormat and “dumpee,” warden and watchdog, crisis manager and caretaker, and a parent instead of a partner.

Ironically, the two meetings that take place one week apart—one for adults with ADHD and the other for the partners of adults with ADHD— typically show little overlap. That is, one partner or the other in a couple is either “in denial” about ADHD or feels no need to learn about it. It’s too bad, because when couples act as a team in learning about ADHD, they tend to speed through the learning curve—with fewer bumps and bruises, too.

The group assembled tonight, though, has come seeking knowledge. They also seek clarity and hope that they can somehow stabilize their lives with partners who seem focused on destabilization. Until Read the rest of this entry »

Introduction from the book Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?

Monday, 8 PM
The monthly meeting comes to order in the heart of Silicon Valley, a world
center of leading-edge technology. Household names such as Google,
Yahoo, Apple, YouTube, Netflix, and Hewlett-Packard dot this short
stretch of coastal California between San Francisco and San Jose. In attendance
this evening are software developers and computer scientists, some
from these very companies.

What’s on tonight’s agenda? The Next Big Thing in high-tech? Not
exactly. Not unless you have adult ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder). In that case, keeping track of your keys can be a very big thing
indeed. Read the rest of this entry »