This study focused specifically on methylphenidate, one of many medications prescribed for ADHD. The title should be adjusted accordingly, as the current title is ambiguous and potentially misleading.
When I was on ADHD medication and developed depression, they gave me ADHD meds + anti-depressants. When those didn't work they added anti-psychotics. I was 12 years old, getting my blood checked regularly to try to detect the liver or kidney failure (I don't remember which) they knew was a side-effect.
Turned out I just didn't like living in Florida.
FWIW, ADHD increases the risk of depression too. Executive Function Disorder creates a lot of internal thoughts of "I'm a loser" "I'll never be able to succeed", and so forth.
Though, being fair, those are thoughts other people will direct at those with ADHD as well.
Can someone comment on whether ADHD medication leads to 'loss' of the unfiltered imagination that I have come to associate with my perpetually distracted self ?
A friend on ADHD meds told me that it feels like trading unbridled creativity for stability. He found it to be an essential drug for functioning, but I got a sense that it involved losing something really central to your sense of self. Almost like being made sedated/compliant by force.
I have long dealt with the double edged sword of ADHD (diagnosed at 27, obvious symptoms since early age). I have had my best ideas / 1st author papers during moments of hyperfocus. At the same time, I struggle to do mundane busy-work with any level of reliability and have had bouts of depression tied to ADHD derived perfectionism/procrastination (if you know, you know).
I have yet to make the leap to medication as I have managed to 'hang on' through the different things I have tried in life. I often joke that I will start medication if I get fired. I am grappling with the decision of making the leap over to medication, and if the cons are worth it in any situation that isn't incredibly desperate.
Some perspective here would really help.
edit: Thanks a lot for sharing your personal experiences. It really helps in at least convincing me to give meds a try. I'll set up an appointment .... tomorrow, soon, surely
This was for ONE adhd medication and the risk was only increased for the initial 90 days... and then went back to baseline.
I just started on ADHD meds after knowing I've had it most of my life and not wanting to be reliant on drugs. I turn 37 in 8 weeks or so. I have had bouts of apathy, have had some really rough times, definitely anxiety and sadness.
Still early days. I'm about 2 months in. I can feel the effects when I am on it. I can feel when it starts to wear off. No feeling of addiction at all. No dependence. No taking it every day like I've heard about for depression medication. Take breaks on weekends / on light work days without looming deadlines.
I actually like a big part of my ADHD brain more than the drugged version. Probably because I am used to it. But also I kind of like being multi-threaded by nature. It feels great to be able to do a lot of things simultaneously. The downside to this is it's very hard to be "present" in anything. This is where the ADHD meds come in.
I've been taking a lot of notes on feelings and side-effects since starting, and on the emotional side I feel a stronger sense of everything - from pleasure to joy to sorrow. Maybe it's the "present" part of it.
I have always been very good at "listening," well, hearing what people are saying and internalizing it/remembering it. But I've never been good at listening - in terms of applying critical thought to what people are actually saying to me. More like a note+file vs. analysis.
Some parts of me that have been dormant, especially the creative as in creating (not creative as in thinking) side of me has really sprung to life. And I'm enjoying that aspect the most.
Anyway, depression seems to be very far away from the side effects for me. It would suck and I empathize with anyone who has complications/side effects like that.
For what it's worth, as an undiagnosed (and unmedicated) ADHD kid, I was depressed from age 8 to $current_age. Doing much better now with therapy, Adderall, and an SSRI.
Trying to conform to a neurotypical world is hard.
On a related by side note, methylphenidate has been shown to have mild neuroprotective effects (unlike some amphetamine derivatives) [1]. Interestingly dopamine can cause/be neurotoxic (presumably at high levels for a long time). [2]
(Both sources were quickly googled, I'm sure there are better papers.
1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2701286/ 2 - https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-59259-006-3_...
Considering stimulants (generally, but also specific ones) only work for a portion of people that try it, I find this very unsurprising. The increase isn't that big and probably down to a mixture of disappointment and side effects without the main effects.
It's one of the main reasons doctors prescribe different stimulants. I've personally heard every mutation of "This one worked for me but the other one gave me bad side effects and little effect".
I'm not a doctor, but as a family member and extended family member, I know that many bipolar children appear with ADHD in their early years and are treated with ADHD medication.
They are treated with stimulants that have no effect on bipolar disorder.
In case people don’t know yet, doctors in some sense have an imperative to prescribe medication, regardless of whether it will destroy someone’s life. It’s almost considered mal practice not to prescribe SSRIs to a depressed person. But that prescription may follow them for life, most never get off them. Or don’t even know who they are when they get older, was that drugged person them or someone else?
An approximately 30 percent increase in incidence rate ratio that reversed upon discontinuation of methylphenidate is was was reported here. I would be interested to see what the data would be with a nonstimulant like atomoxetine, which has a structure very similar to that of fluoxetine. Could use in combination cancel out this effect?
It’s worth mentioning that ADHD also increases the risk of depression. Along with anxiety, depression is one of the most common comorbidities particularly in people with undiagnosed ADHD.
I didn’t take ADHD meds as a kid, so I can’t speak to their effect on me. But when diagnosed as an adult, I had suffered nearly my whole life with chronic depression and anxiety.
Both reached a crisis level a few years back, which was a major factor in seeking diagnosis. This diagnosis, and treatment, saved my life. I won’t share my medical charts or anything, but I will say that since my meds and dosage have been consistent, depression is still there but barely noticeable. Anxiety much more manageable.
These meds helped me put my life back together. I’m not dismissing the study, or that other people have different experiences. But I share my perspective when things like this come up, in case it benefits others who might have similar struggles and wonder if ADHD might be a factor.
Does this study really account for the fact that depression is a common co-morbidity for ADHD? And that ADHD leads itself to people getting depressed?
Sounds like they just did a meta-analysis and saw a link between ADHD and depression and blamed the med.
I hate sounding like an alarmist....but something is extremely wrong with how physicians handle adverse reactions.
So, I took a flouroquinolone and had a text book reaction. 50+ physicians later at mayo and other top US hospitals and I was gaslighted more than helped in any way. I am now in a group for sufferers and meet new people daily, who took the drug and the doctor completely dismissed their neurological issues as anxiety.
After sending documents to my primary he agreed that I suffered an ADR and stopped prescribing it completely unless no other options exist.
"Health care providers/professionals (HCPs) play a critical role in ADR surveillance. Only 6% of all ADRs are reported and under-reporting acts as great impedance in exchange of drug information." https://www.ijbcp.com/index.php/ijbcp/article/view/1652
A bit of perspective from speed user (amphetamine, not meth) who I know: Been into it for 10+ years. Usual weekend binge on 3.5 grams of good quality amphetamine. Can last from Friday evening till Tuesday, will little sleep between. Lots of things get done. Rest of the week head and brain is out service, depression you call it, nothing is been done, hard to go to work, any excuse willdo, sort out yourself some food or a takeaway, watch some youtube, sleep a lot till you get better. Current state, 5 weeks clean: go to work, no problem 8 hours shift, do your duty to pay the bills. After work - eat, relax for a bit, read a lot be it books or just daily news. Bed time. Personal projects be it coding or electronics just put on hold....
This was positive at least:
> After MPH treatment discontinuation... returned to baseline levels by 31 to 60 days
weird. amphetamine is one of the medications of last resort for debilitating depression
ADHD is not a disease. Expecting children to pay attention to boring adults is. A good portion of teachers are incredibly unanimated and boring. They should not be teaching ADHD kids.
Look, my mother has ADHD (or something like it), and she had no problem teaching the (mostly boys) in her class with ADHD. A few even went off their meds in her class. Unfortunately, the next year, they were put right back on with a new teacher.
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Warping ourselves to fit our society. Modern footbinding.
unless you require acute trauma care, look away from western medicine for solutions to your problems
As long as everyone else here is giving anecdotal data, here’s mine.
My nephew was diagnosed with ADHD and was given Ritalin. He hung himself a week later.
So, I had a psychologist tell me that I have many ADHD markers and referred me to the central mental health agency for an official diagnosis.
Unfortunately, In Sweden, an official diagnosis means higher insurance (fine), higher mortgages (not fine) and the inability to hold certain licenses.
Of course those markers of ADHD are pretty severely affecting my life, which is why I was seeing the Psychologist in the first place...
Would anyone recommend seeking a diagnosis in those conditions? Has anyone done this in Sweden and then gotten a mortgage? Is there anything else I can do?
And then we stick them on antidepressants.
> Although only 8.6% of American males are on antidepressants at any given time, they seem much better represented as a percentage of mass shooters. Here are 39 mass shooters who were either on antidepressants at the time of their rampage, had abruptly quit taking their medication when they went on their spree, or had been prescribed antidepressants at some point in the past.
https://thoughtcatalog.com/jeremy-london/2019/09/37-mass-sho...
Michael Moore came to the same conclusion when researching for his movie, Bowling for Columbine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04UqzYOdGNs
These drugs can have serious side effects in x/1,000,000 people. What happens when you give them to tens of millions? You'll start to see those edge cases. Why didn't we have many of these mass shootings prior to 1990? When did we start mass dosing our kids? I think we have a lot more research to do, if anyone is actually willing, but you'd be going up against the big guys.
This doesn't surprise me. I've been prescribed Ritalin at times both as a child and an adult in small doses. It is a remarkable strong medication, and operates much like I imagine recreational drugs operate - there's a definite strong high, and an equally brutal comedown afterword. I would be extremely cautious about prescribing this to anyone, especially children unless nearly every other kind of intervention has been explored.
If you are a parent and considering Ritalin for your child, first ask yourself if you'd consider legal cocaine to be a reasonable solution for your child. If that sounds insane to you, then you should consider the fact that Ritalin is probably not so different.
Anecdata, but I've been on methylphenidate (Concerta) since age 7, and holy cow has it impacted my life in an insanely positive way. 21 years later, I'm still on Concerta, but excelling in my career, spending meaningful time with friends, family, and hobbies, and generally pretty happy with myself. When I tried dropping the meds in college, my life basically fell apart in a matter of months. My then-girlfriend now-wife almost broke up with me, I started failing classes, I lost contact with friends, and really struggled to feel alive. The Concerta doesn't fix my ADHD, but wow does it make it manageable. Thankfully, I had a supportive and invested family, understanding friends, and support structures all around me. I'm so glad my parents put me on meds instead of making me struggle throughout my childhood due to an outdated believe that "drugging kids bad". I owe my life and success to this drug, and while it doesn't work perfectly for everyone diagnosed with ADHD, it works so well for me that you'd have to pry my prescription from my cold, dead hands.