ADHD symptoms persist for most young children despite treatment
Nine out of 10 young children with moderate to severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continue to experience serious, often severe symptoms and impairment long after their original diagnoses and, in many cases, despite treatment, according to a federally funded multi-center study led by investigators at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
The study, published online Feb. 11 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, is the largest long-term analysis to date of preschoolers with ADHD, the investigators say, and sheds much-needed light on the natural course of a condition that is being diagnosed at an increasingly earlier age.
“ADHD is becoming a more common diagnosis in early childhood, so understanding how the disorder progresses in this age group is critical,” says lead investigator Mark Riddle, M.D., a pediatric psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. “We found that ADHD in preschoolers is a chronic and rather persistent condition, one that requires better long-term behavioral and pharmacological treatments than we currently have.”
The study shows that nearly 90 percent of the 186 youngsters followed continued to struggle with ADHD symptoms six years after diagnosis. Children taking ADHD medication had just as severe symptoms as those who were medication-free, the study found.
Children with ADHD, ages 3 to 5, were enrolled in the study, treated for several months, after which they were referred to community pediatricians for ongoing care. Over the next six years, the researchers used detailed reports from parents and teachers to track the children’s behavior, school performance and the frequency and severity of three of ADHD’s hallmark symptoms—inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The children also had full diagnostic workups by the study’s clinicians at the beginning, halfway through and at the end of the research.
Symptom severity scores did not differ significantly between the more than two-thirds of children on medication and those off medication, the study showed. Specifically, 62 percent of children taking anti-ADHD drugs had clinically significant hyperactivity and impulsivity, compared with 58 percent of those not taking medicines. And 65 percent of children on medication had clinically significant inattention, compared with 62 percent of their medication-free counterparts. The investigators caution that it remains unclear whether the lack of medication effectiveness was due to suboptimal drug choice or dosage, poor adherence, medication ineffectiveness per se or some other reason.
“Our study was not designed to answer these questions, but whatever the reason may be, it is worrisome that children with ADHD, even when treated with medication, continue to experience symptoms, and what we need to find out is why that is and how we can do better,” Riddle says.
Children who had oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder in addition to ADHD were 30 percent more likely to experience persistent ADHD symptoms six years after diagnosis, compared with children whose sole diagnosis was ADHD.
ADHD is considered a neurobehavioral condition and is marked by inability to concentrate, restlessness, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. It can have profound and long-lasting effects on a child’s intellectual and emotional development, Riddle says. It can impair learning, academic performance, peer and family relationships and even physical safety. Past research has found that children with ADHD are at higher risk for injuries and hospitalizations.
More than 7 percent of U.S. children are currently treated for ADHD, the investigators say. The annual economic burden of the condition is estimated to be between $36 billion and $52 billion, according to researchers.
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Other Johns Hopkins investigators on the research included Elizabeth Kastelic, M.D., and Gayane Yenokyan, Ph.D.
I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I have ever heard.
FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is description is so incredibly visceral that I feel like I have an entire new understanding of what it feels like to be living the symptoms on the inside. Women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have… you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor the we see in movies. Here is the story of one woman’s experience with a heart attack:
"I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, ‘A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up. A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you’ve been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you’ve swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn’t have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation–the only trouble was that I hadn’t taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.
After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. ‘AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening – we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven’t we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I’m having a heart attack! I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn’t be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else… but, on the other hand, if I don’t, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.
I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics… I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn’t feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in. I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don’t remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like ‘Have you taken any medications?’) but I couldn’t make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.
I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents. Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not the usual men’s symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn’t know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they’ll feel better in the morning when they wake up… which doesn’t happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you’ve not felt before. It is better to have a ‘false alarm’ visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be! 2. Note that I said ‘Call the Paramedics.’ And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what’s happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor – he doesn’t know where you live and if it’s at night you won’t reach him anyway, and if it’s daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn’t carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later. 3. Don’t assume it couldn’t be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it’s unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let’s be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive to tell the tale.“
Reblog, repost, Facebook, tweet, pin, email, morse code, fucking carrier pigeon this to save a life!
I wish I knew who the author was. I’m definitely not the OP, actually think it might be an old chain email or even letter from back in the day. The version I saw floating around Facebook ended with “my cardiologist says mail this to 10 friends, maybe you’ll save one!” And knew this was way too interesting not to pass on.
Female heart attacks are much different, and most people don’t know it!
This is so much more helpful than the fucking lists that basically describe everything that happens during a really nasty panic attack and then tell you to go seek help as if you don’t have an anxiety disorder that does this to you on a regular basis and can afford to go to the emergency room.
Auto-reblog.
Many women have silent heart attacks as well, where there are no symptoms at all until BAM! Then it happens.
As a formerly (mostly) healthy person who is now dealing with post-covid heart issues, this was tremendously helpful to read. Reblog, save a life.
Important for all genders so you can recognize other symptoms in yourself and others.
Sex facts: STDs don’t always come with symptoms. Just because you don’t see or feel anything doesn’t mean you don’t have an STD. So make sure you and your partner get tested! (Source)
NEW GYNECOMASTIA BOOK BY BLAU ON AMAZON 2015.See cost of Gynecomastia. The only book written by a plastic surgeon,Dr Mordcai Blau, is.There is a new article by dr Blau about gynecomastia in body builders in the most prestigious plastic surgery journal PRS. Dr. Mordcai Blau is an internationally
Tranzschelia pruni-spinosae -fungus causing rust disease symptoms on the leaves of a plum tree (Prunusdomestica). Plenty of asexual urediospores are seen in the pictures taken with a microscope.
Bean pods (Phaseolus vulgarisvar.nanus) on the left side are infected by grey mold (Botrytis cinerea) and on the right side by white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum).
In July I wasn’t feeling well. What started as a slightly sore throat turned into a cough. The cough became so bad that my side hurt from coughing. I saw a doctor via video and she said, “It sounds like you may have bronchitis. I can’t give you any antibiotics until you are still coughing and sick for five more days. In the meantime, just as a precaution, I want you to take a COVID test.”
Hey. If you are currently taking or considering taking medication for depression/anxiety/other mental health things, first of all: I’m with you. I feel for you and I wish you the best success at getting better and feeling like yourself again.
We’ve seen flashes of what it looks like to detox from Heroin on TV. But they never show detox from CymbaltaorEffexor. And those guys have a nasty detox too.
Disclaimer 1: This post is notanti-medication. It’s not meant to scare you out of taking them. If they help you - take them! It’s just here to help answer questions you might have, such as “Are my new tremors related to the medication I’m taking?” or “Why have I been dizzy for three weeks?”
There is no shame in taking medication for your mental health.
Disclaimer 2:I am not a doctor. Always always always consult your medical professionals. This is only meant to add some knowledge to your vocabulary of things to ask that your doctor might not mention.
I’m giving examples from Effexor because that’s what I know, but the general principles in this post apply to any psychiatric drug.
Below is an incomplete list of withdrawal symptoms from coming off of VenlafaxineakaEffexorakaViepax (the check marks are ones I have experienced):
brain shivers
agitation✅
anxiety✅
confusion
mania
mood swings
anorexia
impaired coordination✅
dizziness✅
fatigue✅
lethargy✅
headaches✅
night tremors
tremor✅
sensory disturbances✅
electric shock-like sensations
vomiting
vertigo✅
sweating
diarrhea
dry mouth✅
… the list goes on. Anything could be a side effect. Nightmares. Loss of appetite. Muscle aches. Sleep disruption. A completely whacked sleep schedule.
I’m posting this because people should know.
First of all,
NEVER STOP TAKING A MEDICATION WITHOUT CONSULTING A DOCTOR.
Second of all, even if you are on a regular dose of Venlafaxine, you might still have some withdrawal symptoms.
Third of all, if you suddenly start having these symptoms, you deserve to know that it could be caused by your medication.
Now, you might be wondering why anyone would ever take this drug if there are so many side effects and such horrible withdrawal? And that’s a fair question. And the answer is that sometimes it’s worth it. Venlafaxine does help with anxiety and depression and their side effects, such as brain fog. It can restore someone to functionality enough that they are not incapacitated by their mental illness. Sometimes it’sworth the side effects if it means you can have a job, take care of yourself and your loved ones, enjoy a drink with friends, feel emotions, drive, etc.
There is no shame in taking medication for your mental health.
There is no shame in taking medication for your mental health.
There is no shame in taking medication for your mental health.
And sometimes it’ll work for a little while and then stop. And if you go to the doctor with just your symptoms, they’ll take a thousand and one tests and conclude that nothing is wrong with you. And you’ll be caught in a loop of asking yourself, What is wrong with me? Is this my life? Am I just…like this now? And that can be terrifying in itself.
So spread the word. Make sure people who are taking or considering taking this drug know what symptoms might be connected to it. It could save a lot of time wondering why we suddenly have extra headaches or get random shivers when it’s not cold outside.
Knowledge is power. Advocate for yourself. Make your psychiatric prescriber inform you of the possible side effects and symptoms you might experience from the medication they just gave you. If you are a highly sensitive person like me, let your doctors know that.
I am going through withdrawal right now. If you are too, I feel for you. If you are screaming into the void of a medical system wondering why you have a zillion symptoms and perfect test results, my heart is with you. You are not alone in this.
one of the worst adhd things ever is wanting to trick yourself into doing tasks so you make up fake deadlines to give yourself a sense of pressure but then your adhd goes ‘is that a Real deadline with immediate consequences or a fake one to make our life more organized? :/‘ and then you go ‘it’s a fake one to make our life more organized ’ and then the task doesn’t get done
