“How do I get someone with ADHD to clean the house? Give them homework.”
“What does ADHD stand for? Attention deficit HEY DOUGHNUTS!”
“Why didn’t the ADHDer cross the road? He doesn’t know. He was about to cross the road and suddenly the day was over.”
For the millions of Americans who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these jokes will bring a wry smile, but they also reflect the painful reality of fighting ADHD. A country with no end in sight.
According to Matt Ford, a staff writer at new republic whose tweet Last month we talked about the challenges in tracking Adderall medications, but it’s very difficult to explain ADHD to someone who doesn’t have it. “It just makes things harder,” Ford said. “It sounds simple. But remembering to do things to take care of things and complete tasks is harder for me. And things slip by.” He became concerned when he faced the prospect of not being able to fill a prescription for Adderall, a drug he was prescribed. Can you remember to do simple tasks like paying bills, replying to emails, or texting him?
These are not hypothetical problems. Like Ford, I took Adderall and other stimulants after being diagnosed as an adult. When it became difficult to obtain, its effects were severe and debilitating. (Too many ADHD patients have the daunting task of calling the pharmacy to find out who has Adderall in stock and getting in touch with their doctor to have a new script created. The fact that we had to is perhaps the cruelest joke of a national shortage. We are arguably the least fit people for such a job.)
Ask anyone who suffers from ADHD, and they’ll tell you that even on a good day, ticking off the boxes on your to-do list can be a serious challenge. In fact, the more tasks you have to complete, the more overwhelming and difficult it will be to even start. And ironically, the attention required to do one thing can be so draining that it’s hard to move on to the next chore. Adderall and his other ADHD medications create a chemical reaction in the brain that allows users to focus in ways that would not be possible without it.
As Richard Friedman, Ph.D., professor of clinical psychiatry and director of the psychopharmacology clinic at Weill Cornell Medical Center, told me, you have discontinuation syndrome and it’s further debilitating … your brain. was flooded with dopamine-increasing drugs, but not now.
Specifically, during the drug-free period last winter, I pattered around my apartment looking for distractions from my need to focus. But I wasn’t just feeling careless, I was literally exhausted all the time.
ADHD has traditionally been associated with children, and an estimated 6 million Children suffer from it. For children whose parents failed to fill prescriptions for Adderall, it led to problems sleeping, attending school, keeping up with schoolwork, and other behavioral problems that could lead to intervention or suspension.
“Ask anyone who suffers from ADHD, and they’ll tell you that even on a good day, ticking off the boxes on your to-do list can be a serious challenge.“
But since the mid-2010s, adults have become more likely to be diagnosed with and prescribed stimulants, while millions of people may not be diagnosed. According to recent research, 4.1 percent of Americans Employer-based health care plans take stimulants. This would make him represent more than 6 million Americans, although the actual number is likely higher, with some estimates suggesting that reach 16 million).How many Americans are taking stimulants 30% increase Over the last five years, it has increased even more dramatically during the pandemic.
But despite patients reporting being unable to fill prescriptions for months, the issue has received little media attention and even less regulatory and political attention. was so disastrous that they began seriously considering the idea of importing medicine from Canada to help patients.
Paradoxically, one of the problems in addressing this problem is to explain one reason why this shortage is occurring.
Part of the problem is certainly the aforementioned increase in prescriptions. During the pandemic, the rules have changed to allow prescriptions to be filled after a telemedicine session (previously restricted to in-person appointments). As a result, by one estimate, nearly 40% of his prescriptions for stimulants are now due to online visits.
Another stumbling block is the FDA’s decision last October tointermittent production delaysThis is exacerbated by supply chain problems that have plagued the global economy for more than two years.
Complicating matters, Adderall and other ADHD stimulants are Schedule II controlled substances. In other words, it is heavily regulated because it has a “high potential for abuse.” As a result, the Drug Enforcement Administration, not the Food and Drug Administration, determines how much drug is produced each year and how much each pharmacy can purchase. The DEA he refused to increase those quotas in January.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), one of the few members of Congress to express concern about the Adderall shortage, defeated the DEA and FDA on the Adderall shortage question. Still, she still hasn’t received “a full explanation as to why this is happening,” she told me in an interview last month. [the shortage] Exit or when exiting.
But the bigger problem, from her point of view, is that “no one was ringing the bell that we were headed for shortages.” The lack of media and political attention to the problem continues to exacerbate the problem, leaving ADHD sufferers trapped and forced to fend for themselves or find solutions on their own.
As Spanberger sadly points out, “part of the problem is that people don’t see these drugs as essential.” Just like they get another disease.” During our conversation, she noted that one of her challenges in getting her colleagues in the House to join her in tackling this issue was the stigma around her ADHD, and how members were easily stereotyped. I implied that I didn’t want to be seen advocating for an issue that could be cleared up. .
As Friedman pointed out to me, “ADHD has long been suspected of being dramatically overdiagnosed.” , has become a dominant figure in popular culture. Currently under federal investigationlinked ADHD to obesity and promoted an advertising campaign linking vague symptoms to the condition.
According to Friedman, these stories were [ADHD] Whether it’s a minor problem, a hoax, or worse, the people diagnosed are just lazy. For those with ADHD, these attitudes are frustrating to hear, but perhaps understandable. It’s hard to explain how just taking a can mean the difference between a productive day and a non-productive one. People who take stimulants are not lazy, but without stimulants they become lazy.
Another common myth about ADHD and prescription stimulants is that those of us who take these drugs are addicted. But, as Friedman points out, this is “a common misconception. Addiction means taking more drugs to get you high.” You don’t need more.”People aren’t taking Adderall to feel euphoric, they’re taking it to function.
This is one of the persistent complaints in the press about Adderall shortages. ADHD is poorly understood and underappreciated, but as Ford told me, for those of us with ADHD, ADHD is “life-changing. quality of life will deteriorate dramatically,” he added.
He jokingly said it was important to combat ignorance about ADHD, but said, “Everyone who complains [it] I can’t concentrate enough to raise hell. As long as stigma and misconceptions about mental health persist, people who suffer from ADHD should help others understand why this affliction is so debilitating, and how a simple pill can make such a difference. After all, how can we explain why a task that seems so easy to others is so difficult to us?
And perhaps that explains why, after nine months of nationwide shortages that have affected millions of lives, there is still no end in sight and little urgency to fix them. It’s also the best explanation.
