ADHD questions...should we be worry?

Hi, I have a question regarding ADHD. Both my brother and I have taken an online quiz regarding ADHD. We both were scored well above the mark, meaning we both are potential "candidates" for ADHD. (It was an online quiz) However, I am reluctant to take medicine as I haven't seen any disturbance in my life. I am a good student and I seem to cope with it very well. My brother, on the other hand, can't seem to concentrate that much in school. He does poorly in school, academically speaking, and says he can't concentrate that much. Although we are in the same obviously, is it possible that I learned to control it better than he can? Also, I've been taken Omega 3 fish oil pills for a long time (2 years) almost daily, and they've said to help with ADHD. What do you guys think?

Don't worry, ADHD or ADD (if you two have either one) is not a life-threatening issues. You mentioned you have not had any disturbances in your life, so that's great!

First thing to think before you do anything - you may not even have this condition. Or if it turns out you do, nothing may even change, or maybe it'll get better! So, don't worry :)


Now, the very first thing you want to do is schedule an appointment with your doctor, and he/she may refer you to a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist. Let them know you are taking vitamins, as those are unregulated and may actually have an effect (positive or negative) on any condition you have.

Also, another thing to note, a lot of conditions are misdiagnosed as ADHD or ADD because of similar symptoms, so be sure you discuss all your symptoms and family medical history with your doctor.

Just take it one step at a time. My sister and I both have ADHD, and we're now well into our 20s and are okay with it. I was afraid of the medicine at first, but let me tell you, my life is million times better because of it.

Good luck!

Sounds like you conducted an experiment by taking Omega 3 and getting successful results where as your brother did not and is having trouble. So, I think you might be onto something. Please be careful of doing anything on-line and taking test results as the whole truth and nothing but because, as I am sure you know, scam artist can use anything to get people to give personal info as well as money. But, your experiment is very compelling.

Yup, fish oil would deffinatly hlp you out in that catagory, and honestly you cant say you have ADHD untill you take the "actual" test.

before I would resort to ADHD medication, I would try giving up the remote control, and watching less TV in general, and do things that promote attention span. Like reading a book.

High School and College textbooks differ from what they were decades ago, the are like chrismas trees now, how can anyone concentrate with that going on?

The drug companies marketing practices, including their control of university policy that cranks out tons of Ph.D. psychologists are responsible for this explosion in mental illness labels.

Each Ph.D. wants that 90 dollar an hour rate, and with so many the only way to achieve this is label just about anyone they see with some nut or learning diabled label.

The practice is sorcery, since especially the common drugs used in ADHD are amphetamines, they are highly addictive and stress out the heart. If a child dies of a heart arrythemia while on the meds they just chalk it up to " an undiagnosised heart defect". The defect is that their heart could not take the effects of the drug along with the other slings and arrows of stress a heart has to deal with.

I wouldnt worry too much, online quizzes are very, very inaccurate. They are based on your own opinion of yourselves for a limited number of questions. Most people who take these quizzes will end up in the catagory of having ADHD but they do not. This is a complicated disorder and there is a lot more to it than can be found out in a questionare.

Unless you and your brother are identical twins then it doesnt mean you would both have it if one did. It is possible that your brother has it and that you dont, based on your description.

If you havent seen any disturbance in your life and no trouble at school then you dont have this condition. ALthough some people cope with it better than others you do not just learn to cope with it, if you do then it isnt ADHD because this condition is severe and the whole point is that it is out of control.

For you, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
As for your brother, he has the same problem I have. It's no fun being a space case. My experience has been that some doctors have a tendency to over medicate ADHD patients. I was given 5 mg of Dexedrine to take 3 times a day. I was okay with that as long as I was doing physical labor. On days I was doing easy stuff, I found that 5mg was way too much. Taking too much is counterproductive and can actually perpetuate the problem. So most often I took my tablet and split it in half. 2.5mg was usually much more effective. It helped me focus, keep my job, and eventually I learned to cope without meds. That should be the object of the game. The only thing I'm taking now is fish oil, and that's for my heart health, not ADD.
If your brother choses to medicate for it, he needs to take as little as he can to get the job done. It isn't a permanent crutch, it should be an aid to help a person develop coping skills and learn to live without the meds.