Tag Archives: add women

Neurotoxicity and meds

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Buried in the fine print of an article in Wikipedia, I found some rather disturbing information.

A number of releasing agents, notably many of those derived from amphetamine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Amphetamine), have been found to be neurotoxic (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Neurotoxic) to serotonin (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Serotonin) and/or dopamine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Dopamine)neurons (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Neurons) via damage to axons (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Axon) and dendrites (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Dendrite), enzymes (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Enzyme), mitochondria (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Mitochondria), DNA (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/DNA), plasmalemmal (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Membrane_transport_protein) and vesicular transporters (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Vesicular_transport_protein), and the cell membrane (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Cell_membrane), ultimately causing cell death (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Cell_death) or apoptosis (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Apoptosis) as a result. Examples include amphetamine, methamphetamine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Methamphetamine), MDMA (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), fenfluramine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Fenfluramine), and PCA (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Parachloroamphetamine), among others.

What this says essentially is that amphetamines can damage neurons and cause cell death. But the piperidine compounds aren’t as  toxic – that’s Ritalin, Concerta and Daytrana:

In contrast, piperazine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Piperazine), aminoindane (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Indane), and oxazoline (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Oxazoline) releasing agents, as well as those from various other chemical families (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Chemical_family), are considered to be either fully nontoxic (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Toxicity), or significantly less toxic (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Toxicity) in comparison.

Methylphenidate belongs to the piperidine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Piperidine) class of compounds and increases the levels of dopamine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Dopamine) and norepinephrine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Norepinephrine) in the brain through reuptake inhibition (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Reuptake_inhibitor) of the monoamine transporters (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Monoamine_transporter). It also increases the release of dopamine and norepinephrine. MPH possesses structural similarities to amphetamine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Amphetamine), and, though it is less potent, its pharmacological effects are even more closely related to those of cocaine (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Cocaine).[1] (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Methylphenidate#cite_note-0)[2] (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Methylphenidate#cite_note-1)[3] (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Methylphenidate#cite_note-2)

I’ve written here previously about Dr. Tracy Ware’s assertion that amphetamines aren’t such a good choice for our ADD brains, even if they do help our focus and concentration. And that Ritalin (methyphenadate) isn’t quite so bad. This article supports her opinion.

Darn it. Just when we found something that would at least wake up our brains a little, allow us to focus, the ultimate effect is negative. I sure don’t want cell death in my neurons. I think it’s back to caffeine for me. But in small doses so my heart doesn’t go pitty-pat in ways it shouldn’t.  (sigh)  Don’t you wish this was easier?

“Focus Factor” on sale til 2/28/11

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Hie thee to Costco (http://http//www NULL.costco NULL.com/Browse/Product NULL.aspx?Prodid=11507373&search=FOCUS%20FACTOR&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=FOCUS%20FACTOR&Ntt=FOCUS%20FACTOR&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial) this month if you want to save some money on “Focus Factor, (http://www NULL.focusfactor NULL.com/?gclid=CMTc9My5nKcCFSVe7AodOGANbA)” a supplement that is supposed to  help attention and focus. Normally the price for 150 tablets is about $50 in drugstores but at Costco this month the price is $18 and some change. AND with a Costco coupon, you save an additional $4 per bottle! That means you can buy three bottles for less than the price of ONE bottle retail.

I’ve been taking “Focus Factor” since I went off my Adderall about 9 months ago. I struggled for months,  so I tried the generic knockoff of it (no longer manufactured) and found that it made me calmer and perhaps a little more focused. That’s good enough for me. After all, it’s just vitamins and I can always use a few more of those in my body.

You are supposed to take 4 pills a day, every day! That’s a bunch of money! So I was SO happy to see it at Costco (http://http://www NULL.costco NULL.com/Browse/Product NULL.aspx?Prodid=11507373&search=FOCUS%20FACTOR&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=FOCUS%20FACTOR&Ntt=FOCUS%20FACTOR&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial) AND with the coupon, too (you can order it online without the coupon – but you do need a Costco membership).  The limit is four bottles, so I bought my limit and put three of them in the freezer for later.

Just thought you’d like to know.

Hugs

Linda

PS I am also taking 3000 units of fish oil as recommended by my psychiatrist — Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega (http://www NULL.nordicnaturals NULL.com/en/Products/Product_Details/98/?ProdID=1428)which has extra potent strength. I take them with food (it’s an oil and needs food to be absorbed easily). Oh, and I keep them in the freezer, too (that’s what reminded me to tell you this!)

Finishing my book

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I am writing.

Well, I am charged with writing my book, but instead I am writing a blog post.

We are at the beach and it's a gorgeous morning (after a series of awful, cold, windy and rainy mornings). "We" refers to me and the two Shelties that are doing a good job of distracting me from writing. Milli and Boomer are here because I knew I would worry about them if they were home. But they sure require a lot of my precious attention.

They are out wandering on the deck right now. I'm at the beach house that will be occupied by the ADDiva retreat women in October, I am living in it so I will know how we can best use it for the retreat. Already I am envisioning yoga at sunrise and meetings at the octagonal deck on the sand. It's a marvelous place to be.

But my book is going more slowly than I anticipated and I have a DEADLINE. OK, I will say it out loud: my book is going to be written, edited and printed by my birthday, April 29, 2011. OMG! Are you kidding me?

The more I write, the more I need to write. I worked with Judith Kohlberg for a weekend and she encouraged me to drop out a lot of stuff I thought was important ("You have other books to write. Save something for them," she told me). But I am adding that stuff back in. It IS important. And I want this book to be rich and full of tidbits and anecdotes about life in the non-linear lane.

Here I am sitting at my brought-from-home desk with adjustable tables all around me. It's an amazing view. I wish I had more time (don't I ALWAYS Wish I had more time?) but I promise you this: the book WILL be done. DONE, do you hear me? DONE. By my birthday.

So I'd better write…see you later..and keep WRITING!!

CogMed – Take 2

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About a year ago, in the interests of giving everything a try that purports to help ADHD, I plunked down my money (a lot of money actually – $1500) and set about trying CogMed, a computer-based memory training program. (http://cogmed NULL.com)

At the time, I was absolutely overwhelmed – more than usual overwhelm – and knew I wasn't going to be able to give the program the time and, um, attention, it needed. But I plunged in valiantly. The result was not so good. The exercises are difficult and get more difficult as the program progresses. That's by design – there is a computer somewhere in Europe that constantly monitors my efforts and scores. If I am doing well, it increases the difficulty. If I am floundering, it eases up a bit to let me get back in the groove.

But there's the rub – there IS no groove. Every time I start feeling confident, the doggone program ups the ante. It's maddening. And frustrating.

Embarrassingly, of all the people Dr. Tracy Ware has coached through CogMed, I was the ONLY person who didn't finish. A sad distinction, especially since I had a year to finish the program. I even stopped taking my Adderall, in part, because I'd heard that people did better on CogMed without meds.

To be fair to myself, CogMed is a PC program. I am a Mac person. I had a really old PC laptop that died this year. So it was a major headache to load the program and DO it. Tried to install Windows on my Mac and never did get it figured out (I am sure it's possible, I was just too overwhelmed with other stuff to make it work).  Then there was the question of time. My sessions lasted 90 minutes – sometimes longer. It took me a long time to buckle down my brain and force it to work in the way that CogMed demands. My head hurts remembering it.

So why in the world would I try it again? Because apparently it really makes a difference for ADDivas like me. Some of my best friends have had remarkable success with CogMed. They say the old patterns still had to be changed but thanks to the results of CogMed, new patterns were POSSIBLE.

I've always said that most of the advice given to ADHD folks is just the same old advice given to linear people. The only problem is that linear people can IMPLEMENT that advice. I recently was disheartened to hear a noted psychologist tell someone to "just DO it" – like we haven't tried that already! But if CogMed can help my brain actually conform to those linear standards a little better, then it might be worth another shot.

A few weeks ago, I plunked down more money (not quite as much, thankfully) and decided to give CogMed another try, especially in light of the buzz at CHADD this year that working memory is the key to ADHD problems and perhaps treatment.

I still had the disk from last year so I could start any time. Tracy sent me the new login but I let it languish for two weeks. I was at CHADD, the ADDA board retreat and I knew I wouldn't be able to start or sustain training in the midst of travel. So….this weekend, I blew the dust off the CD cover and popped it into my new PC laptop (I actually bought a laptop for CogMed  … and my Quickbooks files which suck on a Mac).

I was guardedly optimistic – I had some experience with this, after all, so perhaps it would be easier. Nope. The program still kicks my butt. I have no idea what my baseline working memory showed when I started yesterday but it couldn't have been good. I still stumbled, mostly on the spatial tasks that require chasing a series of lighted dots and reproducing the same pattern with my mouse. Ha. Good luck with that one.

This time, I have scheduled CogMed into my life five days a week. I am going to finish it, I swear. The research is too compelling NOT to jump into this again. And I will keep you posted right here. Deal? OK then. I'm going to talk about Day Two in a separate post.

Never forget anything again … ever!

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OK, maybe that was a little too extreme. I get a little carried away with techno-bling that really works. And this smartpen WORKS.

It’s a fat-but-sleek ink pen that has a recorder (kinda cool), a microphone (pretty neat) and a camera (spectacular!) that will capture virtually everything you can write, draw, speak or dialogue with (OK,  I know it’s poor grammar, but I am too excited to correct it).

I received my Livescribe Pulse smart pen (http://www NULL.livescribe NULL.com/Smartpen/index NULL.html) last week but had no time to open it until Wednesday when I took it on a spin with a long-time client. As we talked, my Pulse recorded everything we both said AND it recorded the notes I took, too. With a camera. Under the pen “nib.” Really?

At the end of the session, I stopped the recording (by touching the pen to the “stop” command printed at the bottom of the page!!) and then turned back a couple of pages. I touched the end of the pen to a word I had written 10 minutes earlier and…..my voice flowed out of the pen with words I had used EXACTLY at the moment I wrote that word. WOW. OMG. This is big. This is HUGE.

The darned camera had actually recorded my scribbles and saved them! And thank goodness, had also saved the spoken words too. That’s a blessing considering that my ADDiva handwriting leaves something to be desired (my mother swears I was a doctor in another life, but actually my doctor-husband has to decipher my notes for me!),

I was even more amazed when I put the Livescribe pen in its special holster to connect it to my computer (via USB). Not only did the audio recording upload to the special Livescribe desktop software (for either Mac or PC), it uploaded my scribbles, too,

This is about as close to perfection as I’ve seen in the technology world. And the darned thing even creates a piano that you can play!!!!

The catch is that you MUST use the special computer imprinted paper to capture the words and audio (the paper is full of little dots that tell the computer where you have made a mark, etc). I was leery of proprietary notebooks, especially about price, but they aren’t too bad.

A four-pack of notebooks with 100 pages each is about $20..that’s about $5 each which isn’t terrible. Not cheap. Not wildly expensive. And you can use (should use) both sides of the page since the pages are numbered.

Here’s the website (http://www NULL.livescribe NULL.com/en-us/)– I thought you should know!

Hugs,

(Update since I bought my pen in March — there is a new version out named the Echo … even better and still the same price)

Million dollar ideas

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I read somewhere that all of us come up with million-dollar ideas every week, perhaps even every day (for ADDivas like us, it might be as often as hourly!).

But we seldom ACT on those ideas, for a variety of reasons: lack of time, self doubt, fear of failure.

When I have those ideas (quite often), I am sure I will remember them later but — my ADD brain conveniently forgets them almost instantly. I usually have some growling hint that I had a brilliant idea but no memory as to the substance of the idea itself!

So…I propose that we use this space as a catch-all for our million dollar ideas. Even if we don't have time to work on them right now, at least they are captured and we can go back to see them again.

One caveat: if you see a Million Dollar Idea that speaks to you, please check with the person who submitted it. In other words, no stealing THEIR good idea and making it your own unless the originator gives you permission. This will be a place of creativity and ideas, not a mudfight, OK?

I am creating a separate category for Million Dollar Ideas (under ADDiva Entrepreneurs); and I will kick off the parade with my first idea….check it out!

Does Ritalin make you smarter?

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Watch CBS News Videos Online (http://www NULL.cbsnews NULL.com)

 

Last night's broadcast of 60 Minutes (CBS) confirmed my worst nightmares: that ADHD meds will become so popular they will be treated as "brain candy" instead of as a medical necessity for people with brains like ours.

College students agreed that pill popping is rampant on campus, especially with  stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin. They take them to stay up late studying; they take them to finish papers; they take them to focus on tests.

Apparently the stimulants are prescribed for truck drivers who are on the road for hours; and even doctors who work double shifts. But hey, back in my college days, didn't we do the same thing? Except the drug of choice then was No-Doz, 200 mg of caffeine concentrated in little white pills.

I went online to see if NoDoz was still around. Yep, it's still sold and it's a lot cheaper than Adderall or Ritalin. College students said Ritalin was selling for $3-$5 per pill. A bottle of 60 NoDoz costs only $9 online. Free shipping, too..

My fear is not that college students will get hooked on Adderall. My fear is that Adderall and its ilk will become so commonplace that their legitimacy as treatment for ADHD will be diminished, dismissed or even discarded.

The non-ADHD students interviewed by Katie Couric said they could focus better, they could read fine details even about uninteresting information. That's sure not what they do for the ADHD brain. I have clients who take their ADHD meds faithfully but still can't keep their attention on the chapter or the math problem or the To Do list. The pills help us pay attention; but sometimes we veer off into worlds of focus that have nothing to do with the original task.

So, let's be clear here. Just because everybody can take stimulants and gain some focus, it doesn't mean that ADHD isn't a valid diagnosis. We're out here. We still need our meds. And even if we forget to take a few each month, we shouldn't be sharing them (and especially not selling them) to all of the rest of you out there.

I guess it makes the drug companies happy. I guess students are happy and perhaps their professors.

I'm not so happy.

The Name Game

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This article first appeared in ADDitude Magazine online. (http://www NULL.additudemag NULL.com/adhdblogs/8/archive/200907 NULL.html)

Maybe it’s my ADD, but I still feel like I AM a child! So how am I gonna be a grandma to a little girl who will expect grownups to act like, well, grownups?

I spent an hour online this morning, trying to find a nickname I can live with and I’m running out of time. Little Lilly Surratt will make her appearance any day now and I have no idea what to call myself.

It’s my first grandbaby and I’m having a little trouble coming to grips with the fact that:
a) I am actually old enough to be a grandma and
b) it’s happening whether I like it or not.

Most of my friends already wear the “grandma” crown. They tell me it’s wonderful, that they can’t imagine anything better. My neighbor can’t wait to cradle her first grandchild.

Maybe it’s my ADD, but I still feel like I AM a child! I like skipping and silliness and jumping on beds and turning somersaults. (You know, I haven’t done that for a while, I think I’ll turn one right now! OK, scratch somersaults off the list). But I do like strong sea breezes and fuzzy caterpillars. And I really like staying up past my bedtime. I do it a lot!

So how am I gonna be a grandma to a little girl who will expect grownups to act like, well, grownups? I don’t have to figure it out today, I suppose. Perhaps I don’t have to figure it out at all. Maybe I can be the whimsical, wacky grandma who builds tents out of blankets and has afternoon tea in her purple treehouse (oh yes, there IS a purple treehouse at GardenSpirit).

Oh my gosh! If ADD is genetic, as many researchers suspect, perhaps Lilly will be “one of us.” Our youngest ADDiva-in-training! This is exciting!

Perhaps Lilly and I will spend goofy mornings finger painting the fence and then take a nap in the hammock under the southern pines that tower over my house. We might take a walk in the Carolina sunshine and snuggle in for a batch of homemade blueberry scones.

As much as I hate labels, maybe I can stretch this Grandma thing to fit me – kind like my favorite jeans. I suspect it won’t really matter what she calls me in the end – Oma or La-La or Gi-Gi or even… gulp… Grandma.

Hey, we might need a new ADDiva category: GrandADDiva! OK, Lilly, I’ve got you covered! Come on out into the world, baby girl!

 

Three stages of ADHD in women

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It has been my experience – both personally and professionally – that there are three distinct stages of ADD and ADHD recognition and acceptance for women.

Stage One: Nuts and Bolts – OMIGOSH, I have ADD! When women are diagnosed with ADD, there is often sigh of relief ("Ah, so THAT’s what it is. Thank goodness it has a name!") followed by a dig-in-and-fix-it determination ("Let me try everything and see what works").

Unfortunately the sigh of relief phase is usually quite brief. Continue reading →