Sunday, December 05, 2004

632 Adult Attention Deficit Disorder

The current issue of FDA Consumer has an article on adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.


FDA Cover Nov/Dec 2004

"It seemed that the harder he tried, the worse things got for Robert Jergen. As a child, he was always being scolded by his parents and teachers. As an adult, his bosses reprimanded him for missed deadlines and his attitude problem. He got fired from jobs, drank heavily, and lost his fiancé.

But Jergen wasn't a slouch, a drunk, or intentionally obnoxious. He had a condition called attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"I wanted to be a good kid, but I frequently did things without thinking or without even realizing that I did them," says Jergen. Problems with concentration continued to plague him as an adult. In college, Jergen would stay up all night trying to finish his schoolwork. "I could not focus my attention on the page long enough to read a paragraph. My thoughts raced round and round in my head. It's like my mind was a pinball machine with five or six balls smashing into each other." "

There are drugs that can help, but it may take some trial and error to get the right one, and there are side effects.

2 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

Well, Norma. I'm not too sure how you got to my blog, but I'm pleased to get to yours. Well done!

Signed -- too chicken to get a colonoscopy

Norma said...

In case anyone wonders why Mr. Cloud, a Canadian, mentions a colonoscopy on a ADHD discussion, it is really simple. Using the "next blog" feature, I stepped into his colorful blog about the fecal occult blood test. I simply, in true librarian fashion, made a suggestion--just get a colonscopy, because if the FOBT turns anything up, you'll have to get one anyway. Colon cancer is the only cancer that can be prevented, and a colonoscopy is the way to go. Isn't the web a wonderful way to make friends?