ADHD,

Chemical imbalance … nonsense.

In my days as a car mechanic, there was a standard joke when you couldn’t get something to work. Another mechanic would say, “just get a bigger hammer”. That is what these meds are, a bigger hammer. And sure, a bigger hammer would usually get what was stuck unstuck. It was a joke because though you can change things with a bigger hammer,  there was usually so much damage from the hammer that you had a bigger problem after using the hammer than before it. So be it with mechanics' hammer and ADHD drugs. Yes, it is clear from ADHD medication research that these drugs can get your child’s behavior and attention “unstuck” for a while. However, you are very likely to end up with a bigger problem than you started with.

When one medication is not successful parents are often asks to try another under the pretense that “some children respond better to one medication than another”. This creates the illusion that there is a significant difference in the stimulant medications for ADHD. In a very limited since this is true. There are minor differences, not profound differences in medications. The reason there are so many different ADHD medications is not because each medication is a new and great step forward from the last, but because it is a very lucrative drug market. Thus, competing drug companies have their chemists create new drugs so they do not infringe upon each other’s patents. The most important difference in the various stimulants is the length of their action.

Early drugs such as dexedrine, and ritalin, focalin, Adderll, Methlyn etc. lasted from two to five hours. They typically have to be take 2 to 3 times per day. They often produce a rebound effect when they wear off. Long acting drugs may last 10 to 12 hours.

Generally the longer acting drugs are preferred because of there sustained benefits during school, requiring no mid day dose and less rebound when they wear off.