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Originally Posted by sunrise
Whoops, I misunderstood. I thought you wanted to see more support and discussion here (on PC) on ADHD.
I'm sorry, I was making a joke. Obviously, it fell flat. Forget I said it--wasn't meant to be an attack.
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I'm sorry, I didn't know you were making a joke. I wasn't trying to be an *** either but apparently I failed in that regard.
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No, I don't. I have never received a diagnosis/label (for these symptoms) nor asked for one. I am not hung up on that sort of thing. To me, if the treatment helps, that's what counts. I'm not questioning any diagnostic accuracy. You seem to be trying to put a lot of words in my mouth, and I'm not sure why. 
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Sorry.
I need to be kicked in the arse I think.
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Some people like to sit passively in their doctor's office, say or question nothing, and blindly do whatever the doc recommends, but I am not like that. I prefer the team approach to medical care, and both my GP and PNP have the same philosophy (or I probably wouldn't be with them). I really appreciate that my PNP considers my input and what am I looking for when making her treatment recommendations, as well as looking at my whole person. I appreciate that just because she sees some ADHD-like symptoms in me, she doesn't automatically put me in the "ADHD" column of a table, read across to the "treatment" column and automatically prescribe Ritalin (or whatever).
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I'm not like that either. Everyone should take control of their healthcare, and be more proactive about it, but most don't for whatever reason. I do believe that proper diagnosis (treated properly) leads to better care--usually. I just have to wonder why your PNP didn't use the first line treatment-stimulants-, and instead moved to an anti-depressant that might not deal with the ADHD symptoms as effectively as the stimulants would? There is also Strattera, which is a non-stimulant. Unless you didn't want a stimulant for some reason or couldn't take them for medical reasons perhaps. However, if the Wellbutrin works well for you, I say stick with it. I'm in no way whatsoever criticizing your PNP or your decision to take Wellbutrin since it alleviates your negative symptoms. I work in a team approach also, with my GP and my psychologist.
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I have a friend whose son has ADHD and unfortunately, his doctor followed this one size fits all Ritalin approach to ADHD treatment. It did not work well for this boy, and there was no follow-up or discussion of alternatives (they got medical treatment through an HMO). He barely managed to graduate high school recently and now is struggling at his halftime job in a fast food restaurant. He will not consider treatment alternatives because of his bad experience with Ritalin and the doctor's attitude. I encouraged my friend to get her son in to see someone like my PNP, who looks at the whole person and who is experienced at prescribing more of a diversity of meds, but her son is now dead set against any meds, and my friend is reluctant to go outside her HMO for better care.
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I hate authoritarian physicians who don't collaborate or consider ALL of the treatment options. When the Ritalin didn't work well, he should have gone back to his doctor and discussed other treatment options (including a detailed discussion of what side effects the Ritalin had), and why the Ritalin didn't work well for him. I don't take Ritalin myself, but the tremendous push for Ritalin over other stimulants and non-stimulants for ADHD treatment is due to the massive advertising campaigning on the part of the pharmaceutical company who makes Ritalin (and it's long acting sister drug, Adderall). I think people are taught from the time they are a child that doctors are the authority, and do not question the almighty authority figure. They also erroneously think that a DOCTOR means they are some sort of a genius who knows more than you do, and whose time is more valuable than you getting more than cursory office visits that last 15-20 minutes. I get pretty good care by using my GP with my psychologist.
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I have started a number of threads in the ADHD forum. I post a thread when I have a novel topic I want to discuss or get feedback on. A number of people start threads here, Simcha, you haven't been the only one by any means. Your responses to my post feel hostile to me, so now I'm not sure I would want to start any threads here anyway. I might get more of the same sort of response from you. It really feels like you are trying to deliberately misunderstand my post and attribute all sorts of things to me that I never said or meant. It feels like you "have it in for me." 
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No, I don't have it out for you and I didn't mean to sound like I was aiming hostility at you (or anyone). I wasn't asking other people to start threads here though. I was expressing my frustration at the world at large concerning ADHD, not just here. Ironically, in relaying your story about the two people you know with ADHD who gave up on getting proper treatment for ADHD--because they didn't receive proper treatment from the get go, you've touched on something that I've said time and again about how a lot of people just give up after their first experience--which didn't effectively treat their ADHD because the doctor had no idea how to effectively treat ADHD in adults (or sometimes, sadly, any mental disorder). This includes psychiatrists, who in my experience aren't very educated about ADHD in adults.
I hope you accept my apology for sounding like an ***, as it was unintended.
