Via Google Alert: ADHD

This time with a slight new twist, and a tad bit all and about $$$$$.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9630257/site/newsweek/

'A Problem in the Brain'
ADHD medicine is not just for children anymore.
By Peg Tyre
Newsweek
Oct. 17, 2005 issue - Robert Tudisco, 40, didn't realize he had
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder when he was working as a criminal
prosecutor in New York City. His job provided him with "plenty of
excitement, lots of courtroom action," and he relied on adrenaline to keep
him focused. But when Tudisco left the D.A.'s office for private practice,
he found it impossible to manage his time and stay on top of the paper flow.
After floundering for a few years, he went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed
him with ADHD and prescribed a stimulant. On days when he's in court,
Tudisco doesn't take it. But on days when he has to organize case files, the
medication keeps him on track.

ADHD isn't just for kids anymore these days adults are being diagnosed with
it in record numbers. New data released from Medco Health Solutions, a
pharmacy benefits manager, indicates that about 1.5 million adults between
the ages of 20 and 64 are currently taking medication to treat attention
problems, up from 758,000 in 2000-and most of them were diagnosed well into
adulthood. While there are still more kids taking ADHD medication-about 3.5
million-Dr. David Goodman, director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder
Center in Baltimore, expects the number of adults taking the drugs to
continue to rise. "Many adults who for years have been called lazy, crazy or
stupid," says Goodman, "are realizing the problem may be in their brain."

ADHD in children is characterized by hyperactivity, inattentiveness or both,
and is usually detected when kids struggle with peers or in school.
Diagnosing ADHD in adults can be trickier. Often adult sufferers
procrastinate, are chronically disorganized and are unable to effectively
manage their time. But not every-one who blows a deadline or misplaces the
car keys is afflicted. According to the American Psychiatric Association,
the symptoms have to be severe enough to disrupt both work and family life.
There's no such thing as "adult onset" ADHD, either. Before doctors
prescribe ADHD drugs to adults-whether amphetamines or drugs like Ritalin,
Concerta and Strattera-patients must be able to describe symptoms that date
back to childhood. Drug companies have profited from the growing public
awareness of the disorder: in 2004, ADHD drug sales topped $3.1 billion, up
from $759 million in 2000.

But some experts worry that people are using ADHD drugs to treat the natural
forgetful-ness that comes with aging and the stresses of modern life. Dr.
David Pomeroy, an ADHD specialist from Bellevue, Wash., estimates that 10
percent of people who seek treatment are healthy but want stimulants to
improve their performance at work. "Anyone who takes them is going to feel
more focused," says Pomeroy, who says he prescribes only to patients who
meet the strict ADHD criteria. Arthur Caplan, director of biomedical ethics
at the University of Pennsylvania medical school, warns that we may be
overmedicating ourselves. As doctors begin prescribing medication for people
whose attention or productivity is low, but still within the range of
normal, he says, "we begin to change the definition of what normal focus and
productivity really looks like."

For many people, though, the drugs have been a godsend. Linda Cohodes, 53,
an obesity counselor from Chicago, knew about ADHD from her son, Chris, who
was diagnosed in grade school. When she returned to the work force last
year, though, she felt overwhelmed and underproductive. Although she talked
fast and was always on the move, she felt as if she just couldn't keep up
with her workload. After four months of struggle, her psychiatrist diagnosed
her-along with her husband and daughter-with ADHD. The medication, she says,
is helping her stay focused enough to develop new strategies at work. She
says she's learning to keep her job-and her life-in order.