Posted by noa on June 23, 2000, at 17:40:41
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin SR... » Vesper, posted by Cam W. on June 23, 2000, at 10:43:12
Cam, just to jump in on the ritalin/stimulant thing: my understanding is the old "paradoxical" effect idea has been discounted, as you say, and that in fact, lots of people get the same effects from the stimulants that ADD kids do. It supposedly activates cortical functioning, which in ADHD is supposed to be deficient, making it hard to focus, stay attentive, and use thought processes to inhibit impulses or think through multi-step problems, etc. As many of us know from our own experiences, some of these functions are deficient in depression, too, so in addition to potentiating the effects of some ADs, stimulants (and similarly, stimulating meds like wellbutrin) can be helpful for some depressions because they address these processes.
BTW, that non-ADD folks respond to stimulants has led to the general principle that a good response to ritalin, etc. should not be used as a criterion for the diagnosis of ADHD, although this principle is either unkown to or ignored by many pediatricians, I think.
poster:noa
thread:37871
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000619/msgs/38218.html