ADD/ADHD medications at first seems simple – if you have ADHD, “Here’s the script for meds.” Yes, I am suggesting we modify our scripting process.
ADHD Worries
The truth is that ADD/ADHD medications do require specific, precise thinking with clear guidelines – or the entire process of medication management can become dangerous, frustrating, or disappointingly ineffective - with disastrous long term consequences. Problems arise much too often. And they are correctable!
Hey, this is not hype – we see these challenges everyday in my office and have for many years! I have seen literally several thousand second ADD/ADHD opinions, heard responses from dinner meetings with hundreds of medical folk, and find that some things just are not done in the offices they way they should be.
And the Paradox is Simple: We’re treating Attention Deficit Disorder without Paying Attention!
Getting the meds right takes some forethought, careful planning and ongoing operational guidelines. I’ve been discussing this ADD/ADHD Medication subject since the first post here at CorePsychBlog back in ‘06, and really haven’t changed my tune.
We should not find ourselves asking the patients what to do next, we should be teaching everyone what to look for, what the targets are, and evaluating progress by specific measurements – instead of simply “Is it working?” Duh…
And I am certainly not blaming anyone, any docs, any academics. We simply don’t have a book, a reference, a set of guidelines currently available that provides a simple structure for medication management. My simple take on it: we are so research driven that too few are actually developing feedback loops with the patients in the offices.
Providers themselves are vertically challenged! Just see what my old friend Dr Edward de Bono says about the changes in management systems:
“TELESCOPE TO KALEIDOSCOPE: The management metaphor has moved from telescope to kaleidoscope. Where once top managers could focus on their own concerns, with little need for peripheral vision, they now view a constantly changing pattern of shapes, sizes and colours, from which they must try to make sense. It sounds like an awesome task. It would have been impossible save for the advances in IT, which animates and accelerates the agile corporation, setting it free to move from control to coordination of collaborative effort, from the status quo to the future.” From Thinking Managers.com
Sound familiar? Medicine for my entire [almost] 40 years in practice has been delivered vertically, from the top down – with a cross between a microscope and a telescope, both of which miss the ADD/ADHD kaleidoscope. It’s now time to provide a more inclusive, more horizontal operational grid with specific measurement systems.
Your heard it first here: yes, feedback loops [Jack Welch on feedback here] with specific parameters.
I’ve been talking about these issues for months now, and to make this discussion more convenient for you, I will link some of my previous posts on some of the important ADHD medication management topics, and will tell you quickly about this new project in just a moment. Here are just few of the many topics I have been writing about:
- On metabolic problems with ADD: Specifically gluten sensitivity
- On internists using SPECT imaging for diagnostic evaluations showing PFC evidence
- On the controversy regarding the use of SPECT imaging for psychiatric diagnosis
- On immune testing as it relates to ADD symptoms and obvious immune dysregulation
- On using precise guidelines with the “Therapeutic Window”
- On the importance of breakfast multiple posts, with this one on school breakfasts
So what is the point?
Very simply, I am in the process of writing a book-map to help us out of this confusion – and I want you, my trusted readers, to be the first to know. The book I’m writing:
The Patient’s Guide For ADHD Medications: What To Do When Nothing Is Working
- I have changed the audio here to tell folks about this new book, and have created a special gift
- I have added an opt-in box over there just below the email update box to go after that gift
- The deal is simply this: you sign up now, just to let me know you are interested in the book
- And on the Thank You Page for signing up you will find a 1200 word article/checklist: a pdf file outlining The 10 Biggest Problems with ADD/ADHD Medications with some brief notes on basic solutions.
- There is no obligation to buy the book when it is published, this simply gives you a big bonus benefit: a preliminary look at the contents, and a significant discount when the book comes out near the end of August
- Also, special savings/benefits on forthcoming teleconference training regarding *The Details* because you expressed that early interest
So sign up for the discount and goodies if you haven’t already.
If you have and didn’t get the bonus, just let me know, I will get you the checklist. Then think of two or three people who would like the checklist who are troubled by their progress [this will likely be easy] and send them the CorePsychBlog link so they can get into this offer. Time is short, so get it done now.
Hope you enjoy the checklist and this summary – please let me know what you think in the comments below-
Have a great week!
cp
—>Tweet this post below! For ADHD Medications: Download complimentary white paper Precise Solutions now, – and get ready for the complete version of ‘The Patient’s Guide’ details to follow. Get Neurotransmitter Details Here
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