re: Scientist says ADHD is Bullsh*t

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I've been on ADD meds since the early 90s. My BP at my last checkup was 115/70 heart rate 63bpm. That was after drinking a 12oz cup of coffee about 20 minutes earlier

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You have to understand- you're responding to a poster who basically, from what I can gather, thinks that if you get a stomach ache from the med, you would've been better off with the disease.

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May I ask where this suggestion comes from?

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It's a personal opinion, maybe I'm wrong when it comes to ADHD, but my guess is that when it comes to psychological diagnosis go to someone who is an expert in that field. You bring a Ferrari to a Ferrari mechanic, not some general mechanic. Sure a GP or a pediatrician be able to diagnosis and he may be knowledgeable but a psychiatrist will likely be able to give you a better opinion on the matter.

my first point was maybe to extreme but I think in general it's best to go to an expert in a field when possible.

Edit: it's unrelated but I go see a psychiatrist for private reasons, I've had to change
shrinks and he told me go see a psychiatrist, sure a GP could manage my condition but a psychiatrist will do a much better job. I'm assuming it's the same with ADHD and ADD

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my first point was maybe to extreme but I think in general it's best to go to an expert in a field when possible.

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A common thought from the general public. But ADHD is diagnosed by a questionnaire with set criteria. Particularly in children, it's diagnosed based off answers from (preferably) 2 teachers and 2 parents. It's also very easy to manage the vast majority of the time. Psychiatrists don't have access to any better questionnaires or any better stimulants. Some primary care physicians train where there's lots of ADHD managed, some not so much. I'm one of the former. A psychiatrist isn't any help to managing the disease until it's not straightforward. That is, if there's an underlying reason the patient has the disease that would be better treated with psychotherapy or if they're not responsive to first and second line medications.

Bottom line- folks who think they've got kids or a personal history of ADHD should go to their primary care first. It's very much a primary care managed disease- kind of like hypertension or diabetes (you wouldn't really need to go to a nephrologist, cardiologist, or endocrinologist for either of those). Further, specialists like pediatric psychiatrists are in very short supply. They'd likely not even want to see a straightforward ADHD case. Many specialists prefer a good primary care physician manage the patient until they reach the end of their knowledge. They don't like simple, one-medicine-controlled patients where they have nothing to add other than another bill. They like to see the complicated cases.

Maybe if you live in an area with a lot of pediatricians/FPs that don't see much ADHD/didn't train with it but have an abundance of Ped Psych that may be true, but I would tend to disagree with your opinion. Probably in no small part due to my seeing a ton of ADHD and managing it with good results without so much as having access to a Ped Psych anywhere readonably near. But you'll see most recommendations online show that it's pretty much a PCP-managed disease

Ok didn't know, thanks.

Edit: I have little experience with adhd, so I'm not that informed.

The three things everyone in America believes they have an expertise in are medicine, global warming and evolution.

Without fail, every high school grad with an Internet connection believes they are qualified to intelligently discuss those topics.

This generation of iPad parents is going to push these diagnoses to newer and newer records.

My arse loved video games and TV but that shite was hooked to a wall so you had a natural break from them when you weren't at the house. Even then, I'm sure my attention span is fricked compared to a clone of me born 20 years earlier, but seeing kids hooked on their iPads everywhere they go is eye-opening to a young guy (late 20s) like me.

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EXTREMELY over-diagnosed. Literally any kid could go in and be diagnosed with ADHD because they can't sit still for a few hours. Kids need more recess at school

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Wish they would over-diagnose and give a weed prescription.

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If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor

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That turned out to be bullshite too