Author: Suzanne B. Robotti

Suzanne B. Robotti

Suzanne is the President and Founder of MedShadow, and the Executive Director of DES Action USA.  MedShadow’s mission is to preserve quality of life by ensuring everyone has access to the risks, benefits and alternates to using drugs to manage healthcare. Read More

You may have heard of a new study that concluded that people diagnosed with adult ADHD were more likely to end up with dementia, especially if they choose not to treat it with medications. The headlines in the popular press were scary: “Adult ADHD may take a toll on the brain,” and so forth. Worse, some health sites have already embedded this possibly untrue information in articles. But don’t panic because there are good reasons to question the research. The study claimed that having a diagnosis of adult ADHD and not using medicines like Ritalin more than doubled the risk…

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Every fall I remember my son’s middle school experience of nearly being bullied by the principal and the teaching staff into taking Ritalin. When my son was 12, my husband and I arrived for the normal teacher conference a few weeks after he started at a new school. Two teachers told us flat out that he had ADHD. All his other teachers complained of his inability to sit quietly through a lesson and that his homework was incomplete. We explained that there had recently been seismic disruptions in his life and asked that he be given time to settle in.…

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Think the only way to deal with a child who has ADHD is with a stimulant? Think again. More parenting skills and other resources can help your child out more than you might think. What causes hyperactivity and ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder)? A combination of temperament, environment and parenting. The most important factors are parenting skills and resources, especially those that can help create some calm. You can learn them. “I would suggest we can head off many cases of ADHD in the first 2 years of life,” says W. Douglas Tynan, PhD, ABPP, director of Integrated Care at the…

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A 6-question test purports to diagnose ADHD in adults. Can such a simple test screen for ADHD when many of its symptoms are associated with other ailments? I had a terrible time writing this ADHD blog today. While I was working, I was texting my sister, making a dentist appointment and helping my kid with his homework. I was restless and kept jumping to my feet for a glass of water or to let the cat out. Even when my blog was done, I couldn’t relax. There were just too many things on my mind. Thank goodness my husband made…

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With new studies piling up warning of risks of stimulants on kids, are the risks of ADHD meds worth the benefits? I’ve never hidden my concern about giving stimulant medicines to children, teens and even adults with ADHD. When my child was diagnosed ADHD, we took a long, considered view of ADHD meds and decided against them. Behavioral therapy is the first line of treatment and we went that route. But we circled back to reconsider meds many times, when notes came home from teachers complaining of his behavior; when we couldn’t, try as we might, get him to concentrate…

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One person demanding proof from drug companies saved millions of US babies. Don’t forget her lesson. Morning sickness can be debilitating. It’s certainly uncomfortable. And for most pregnant women it’s a rite of passage. Very occasionally morning sickness causes so much nausea that the pregnant woman becomes dehydrated causing risk to the pregnant woman and fetus. In those cases women generally go to the hospital. Most other pregnant women have varying degrees of discomfort and interruptions to their lives. Recently Kim Kardashian (I don’t really have to explain who she is, right?) claimed to use Diclegis for relief from morning sickness.…

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ADHD Drugs Side Effects What’s the harm in using ADHD drugs to get a little help studying? If you actually don’t have ADHD, these stimulants can lead to nausea, headaches, high blood pressure, arrhythmia and other side effects, as I learned by reading Teresa Bergen’s great article ‘Smart Drugs’ on Campus: Too Easy to Get & Abuse. She explores the growing phenomenon of college students taking illegal prescription drugs — stimulants mostly — in order to focus more clearly and improve their grades. I wondered whether the kids who do have ADHD and are taking stimulants have the same risks for nausea, psychosis and…

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How adults with Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADHD) can create a structure that supports them instead of tripping them up Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse don’t need to be a lifetime sentence. Many people find they can taper off and end their dependence on drugs once they’ve created a structure that helps them concentrate. ADHD medicines can be used as a temporary tool to aid you in focus, while behavioral therapy teaches you life-management skills and techniques. In fact, many people have set a goal of getting off ADHD drugs because so little is known about their effects on the mind and body…

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Doctor Says Valid Diagnosis of ADHD in a Toddler is Not Supported by Evidence “More than 10,000 American toddlers 2 and 3 years old are being medicated for ADHD  drugs outside established pediatric guidelines.” (NYT) “Valid diagnosis of ADHD in a toddler is not supported by evidence,” according to Susanna Visser, DrPH, MS of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. What happened to the accepting tone of “ants in the pants?” Kids wiggle, move, get distracted and through all this inform the rest of us how wonderful life is. I have often worried out loud in this…

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