Russ Howard
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Sue,
Yes, I'm a member of both of Dean's networks. I respect the heck out of his opinions. He's awful young to have such wisdom. :-)
I remember when I was on Ritalin, they took me off it when I was 10, before I reached puberty. At that time, they knew it was dangerous to put kids in puberty on it. I figure it's because of all the hormones we had running around in us at that time. The ritalin probably makes them go even crazier.
Before I go on, I want to let everyone know that what I have been saying can be verified by reading books, the journal of the american medical association, or by checking out the national institute of health web site. Just so people know that I'm not totally off my rocker (well, I am off my rocker, but not completely off my rocker).
It has been shown that ADHD people have a much higher than normal penchant for addictions later in life. I'm opening a lot of my life on this network, but if it helps people, I'm all for it. I was an alcoholic at age 14. I started smoking at age 10. I have kicked both. Mostly thanks to the love of a good woman.
They think the higher rate of addiction is due to the following: ritalin works on seratonin in the brain. As do adderall and strattera (although strattera is non-narcotic). The theory is that people with ADHD have a far lower than normal seratonin level. This is why they have the excitablity, problems sleeping, etc. Seratonin works on the pleasure centers of the brain. When seratonin is low, we seek a way to bring it to normal. Several ways to do it are with drugs, alcohol, or smoking. When you take the ADHD drugs, it brings the seratonin levels to normal and allows people to control their behavior (somewhat). When you go off these drugs, within a short time, your seratonin levels go back down to what they were before and your body CRAVES ways to bring it back up. Some do it with chocolate (yes, chocolate also works on pleasure centers and is addictive), or caffeine. Others do it with alcohol or drugs or smoking.
Unfortunately, the alcohol, drugs, and smoking have nasty side effects - like death. Chocolate does too, if you eat enough. Caffeine produces MASSIVE headaches, once you become addicted, if you don't get your dosage.
Russ Howard
Eagle Computer Technologies - Fort Worth, Texas
"Helping technology make sense to everyone"
russ.howard@eaglecomputertechnologies.com
Co-Leader - Ryze Home Page Helpers Network
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