Attention Deficit Disorder Medications Provide Symptom Relief

There is no cure for Attention Deficit Disorder. According to the American Psychiatric Association, this is a neurobiological disorder of the brain that affects 3 to 7 per cent of school-age children. Attention Deficit Disorder often continues into adulthood, affecting 2 to 4 per cent of adult men and women. It is not a pure behavioral disorder; in the past it was known as “brain damage syndrome,” “minimal brain dysfunction,” and “hyperkinetic impulsive disorder.” While no cure exists, treatment does exist and is quite successful.

What Attention Deficit Disorder Medications are Available and how do they Work?

Medication is the most common treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder and can considerably aid in reducing its symptoms. Physicians usually prescribe Ritalin, Concerta, Methylin, Dexedrine, Aderall, or Cylert. These Attention Deficit Disorder medications are classified as stimulant drugs. Why give a stimulant drug to a hyperactive person? They actually ease hyperactivity, increase concentration and focus, and reduce impulsivity in 90 per cent of adults and children with the disorder.

These Attention Deficit Disorder medications work by altering levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Numerous studies verify the safety of these drugs for adults and children. However, these amphetamine-based drugs do have troublesome side effects such as stomach upset, nervousness and insomnia, headache, lack of appetite, and dizziness.

Several years ago a new drug, Strattera, showed very promising results as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication. Strattera is not a stimulant drug and has none of the side effects associated with stimulants. Physicians often try Strattera first; if it eases symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder, there is no need to resort to the stimulant drugs.

The use of Nortriptyline, an antidepressant, as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication for adolescents is controversial. It’s also used to treat chronic, severe pain. The use of a drug used primarily to treat major depression seems to have little to do with Attention Deficit Disorder. However, this drug also affects neurotransmission chemicals in the brain similar to those targeted by the stimulant drugs. It also calms anxiety and insomnia. The success of Nortriptyline as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication in children has not been established.

If Nortriptyline as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication is controversial, then the use of Haloperidol to treat this disorder is even more so. Haloperidol is a very powerful anti-psychotic used in the treatment hallucinations in schizophrenia. It works by interfering with the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. It is sometimes used short-term as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication as it has a marked sedating effect.

Haloperidol has many serious side effects such as drowsiness, low blood pressure, blurred vision, tremors, muscle rigidity, nausea, insomnia, depression, eye-damage and skin rash. Used long-term as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication, Haloperidol causes an irreversible side effect called tardive dyskinesa, a severe nervous system disorder that causes uncontrollable movements of the fingers, neck, eyelids, jaws, lips, and tongue. A great many physicians refuse to prescribe Haloperidol as an Attention Deficit Disorder medication because the patient will literally twitch and jerk for the rest of his/her life.