Adult Attention Deficit Treatment

ADHD is often considered a condition that affects only children. Well, the H in ADHD means hyperactivity. It’s true, most adults with attention deficit aren’t hyperactive. As children, they may indeed have been hyperactive but have learned to control that as adults.

Then there are adults who were never diagnosed as having ADHD while growing up. Maybe they compensated well enough for it to never have been considered for the diagnosis. Someone like this, as an adult, may find himself in a job that requires focus that he doesn’t have. This may wind up getting him fired or just never being promoted.

Another situation that can bring on the need for treatment is advanced schooling. Maybe this person was able to get by in High School, but advanced schooling requires more focus than he has.

Treatment for ADD also tends to treat anxiety. Probably most people with ADD also have some amount of anxiety....that may actually be related to scatterbrain or...“too much going on upstairs”. At the appropriate dose, ADD treatment is calming. ADD treatment can be uplifting, energizing, so often helps depression.

A side effect of ADD treatment can be appetite suppression. Surprisingly, this usually doesn’t automatically cause weight loss. Seems most people don’t really eat when hungry. They eat out of habit. But some overweight people use the appetite suppression to eat less and may lose weight.

Surprisingly, sleep may improve with ADD treatment. One way treatment may help is if there is a little medication still active while falling asleep, it may shut off the mind that otherwise keeps talking. Another possibility is that since treatment is usually stimulating, the person has been more active during the day, thus more tired and ready to go to sleep.

We typically test people for ADD or ADHD with this test: https://innovativemedicine.org/static/adhd-questions-77d9e94e21afa9479372c84bcb7a5be6.pdf

If you are interested in pursuing this avenue, you can make an appointment by calling 765-471-1100. The first appointment includes an evaluation that covers many areas of your health, a physical exam and may include blood and urine tests.

The first visit costs $200 and may take an hour. If you qualify for ADD treatment, it usually takes a few visits to find an appropriate dose. Once we find a good dose, we usually repeat visits every two months. These visits cost $108. Most appointments can be by phone. Occasionally, we will require an appointment in the clinic to do things like measure your vital signs and keep up with urine drug screens as required by law.