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ADHD Plus: Dr. Charles Parker On Thyroid, Diet, Hormones, SPECT — And ADHD Meds

Live a few decades not knowing that you have ADHD, and chances are you’re lugging around not onlyDr.  Charles Parker 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):

Metabolic Moments and Nutrition in Evidence: “If your metabolic body is rusty or broken, your brain drifts downstream in the swill,” says Dr. Parker. “Not a pretty sight on the short term, devastating over the years.” Learn about insulin resistance, adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), fibroids, endometriosis, and more.

Getting the ADHD Meds Right: “If we start with the right diagnosis, and recognize complexity of the spectrum of ADD, we will be much more capable of finding the right solution,” says Dr. Parker, introducing the first in a three-episode series regarding right diagnosis, right meds, wrong meds, and metabolic issues that encourage a failure of treatment.

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  1. Dr Charles Parker’s avatar

    Gina,
    Early this morning up to find your kind piece on my mission over at CorePsych [actually mine is very close to your objective over here] – and am so appreciative of your taking the time to send this note to your crew. It’s been most reassuring out on my perch to listen to your exceptional voice, your keen insights, and your engaging sense of humor about matters that are so regularly misunderstood out on the ADHD road to recovery.

    Confusion often prevails where common sense and the evolution of mind science appear to have taken a vacation.

    Most of all I appreciate your fresh, uncomplicated take on matters that may at first appear just too complex – and, even though we have never met, it seems like we have been friends for many years. In speaking with Russell Barkley at a recent meeting I quickly discovered you have that effect on many of your colleagues – and I thought it was just me ;-)

    Thanks so much – look forward to our evolving conversations!
    Chuck

    Reply

  2. David L.’s avatar

    Hi Gina and Dr. Parker,

    Gina referred me to Dr. Parker’s blog a couple years ago. As if it’s not hard enough to have ADHD and to deal with (mis)managed care in trying to get ADHD treatment, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to find one physician who could “connect the dots” between my low thyroid, heart arhythmia, itchy skin and more. Reading Dr. Parker’s CorePsychBlog validated many of my concerns and motivated me to keep looking for answers. Thanks to both of you!

    David

    Reply

  3. Glenna A.’s avatar

    Go Gina Go!!!

    Thanks so much for digging until you found a doctor who is writing and blogging about ADHD and its traveling companions. I have long struggled with this issue with close to no help from my doctors.

    I have done my own research and tentatively begun to solve my own physical problems with ADHD, thyroid insufficiency, allergies, asthma, fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. All those conditions are related, who knew? Certainly not my esteemed docs.

    Glenna

    Reply

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