What is the Reality of ADD Symptoms in Women?

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Executive Summary

ADD, or ADHD diagnoses continue to rise.
What tends to be undiscussed regarding the medical establishment of ADHD and ADD Symptoms in Women?

Introduction

If you search for the term ADD Symptoms in Women, in most cases, you will be taken by Google to some of the biggest medical information websites. The problem is that all of these websites have undisclosed financial conflicts with pharmaceuticals that make ADHD medications. Reading these websites will promote the ADD Symptoms in Women, and following their advice will, in many cases, result in being prescribed ADHD medications.

We have no financial conflicts or other connections to drug companies or medical establishments. We will use our independence to review some of the information on ADD Symptoms in Women from these websites.

How Does the Term ADD Differ From the Term ADHD?

It is a natural question to ask, what is the difference between ADD and ADHD symptoms in adults?

ADD is simply an older term and euphemism for ADHD. This article discusses ADD, but it is used interchangeably with ADHD, so really, Signs of ADHD in adults are the same as signs fo ADD in adults.

The medical profession has made a big deal about the distinction between these terms, but they both describe a lack of attention. The difference in the terms is that the word hyperactive was added (the H). However, this was not an improvement in the term because not all types of ADHD are hyperactive. Therefore, if a type of ADHD is not hyperactive, why is the term ADHD still used?

Thus, the medical establishment’s explanation for why ADHD is superior to ADD or simply “attention disorder” does not make much sense. Yet, ADHD is now the term under which attention issues are classified.

How Does Adult ADHD Differ from Childhood or Teen ADHD?

The following explanation of adult ADHD from an article at AdultADHD would greatly expand the number of adults diagnosed with the condition.

Adults with ADHD are likely to show more restraint due to their higher level of maturity and social conditioning, but the inner restlessness remains and may be re-channeled into activities like thrill-seeking behavior, alcohol, drug abuse, reckless driving, incursions with the law, overspending and other socially unacceptable behaviors.

Under this description, virtually any impulsive behavior could be related to ADHD. The explanation around adult ADHD is that it is nearly any performance issue, from poor organization to being forgetful.

How is Inattentive ADHD Related to ADHD Symptoms in Adult Women?

Inattentive ADHD is the opposite of the better-known hyperactive/impulsive ADHD. This is the more common diagnosis for women versus men, as the proposal is that ADHD presents itself as more aggressive in men than in women. The general social term used for women that may fall into this category is “spacey.” ADHD Symptoms in Adult Women often lead to an inattentive ADHD-type diagnosis. However, there are problems with the evidence supporting these diagnoses.

Article Example #1: From Additude Magazine

The following quotes are from Additude.com.

False Claim #1: Researchers Have a Good Idea That a Gene Controls ADHD?

ADHD is a brain-based, biological disorder that, according to research, is likely genetic. Researchers suspect that a gene involved in the creation of dopamine, a chemical that controls the brain’s ability to maintain regular and consistent attention, may be traced back to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD). In other words, it is not caused by bad parenting, too much sugar, or too many video games.

Notice how this paragraph is written. Everything is related to “suspecting.”

This paragraph is written this way because there is no proof this is true. However, why are people being placed on drugs which claim to address the biological issue if it is only suspected?

The information on the growth in ADHD is better for children than for adults, so let us review the growth for children in the US.

Look at the growth in ADHD diagnosis and drug treatment in less than 20 years. If ADHD is being diagnosed broadly, why hasn’t research determined the reason for ADHD? Adult ADHD diagnoses are also greatly increased in the past 20 years.

False Claim #2: ADHD is a Proven Neurological Condition?

ADHD is a neurological condition defined by a consistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactive impulsivity that interferes with daily functioning in at least two settings – for example, at school and at home.

This is also not true.

Psychiatrists would like this to be true — however, the medical establishment has not been able to point to the neurological condition.

False Claim #3: ADHD Diagnoses and Determining ADHD Symptoms is a Complicated Process?

Pursuing an ADHD diagnosis can be a complicated process. ADHD is a nuanced neurological condition with three distinct subtypes — inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, and combined type — and there is no one test that determines whether ADHD is present in an adult or a child. A professional diagnosis usually follows symptom tests and interviews, a thorough medical history, and evaluations for conditions commonly diagnosed alongside ADD – including oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, mood disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.

This is not true.

Children, often at the direction of teachers, can be placed on ADHD medications after a 10 minute visit with a GP or psychiatrist. The more ADHD prescriptions the MD writes the more money they make.

Article Example #2: From The CDC

The following quotes are from the website of the CDC.

False Claim #4: ADHD Symptoms are Properly Diagnosed Due to Following the DSM?

Healthcare providers use the guidelines in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth edition (DSM-5), to help diagnose ADHD. This diagnostic standard helps ensure that people are appropriately diagnosed and treated for ADHD.

Using the same standard across communities can also help determine how many children have ADHD, and how public health is impacted by this condition.

This is the first third of the ADHD checklist.

The entire process of diagnosis is not scientific.

Article Example #3: From The VeryWellMind

The following quotes are from the website of the VeryWellMind.

False Claim #5: ADHD is Confused With Normal Rambunctiousness”

The condition is not always easy to diagnose, however, as many of the symptoms are commonly mistaken for “normal” childhood rambunctiousness. Even physicians can have difficulty with diagnosis given that there is no single test that can diagnose ADHD or similar behavioral or learning disorders.

Or is it the other way around, and is normal childhood rambunctiousness commonly mistaken for ADHD? How does anyone know if ADHD symptoms are ADHD or normal rambunctiousness or due to family problems, a lack of discipline from fathers, or a lack of exercise and overconsuming media? As the first thing that MDs do is prescribe ADHD drugs, there is no way of knowing. US medical reimbursement to general practitioners and psychiatrists does not allow these areas to be investigated. ADHD-producing pharma companies send pharma reps on rotation to compliment, flirt with, provide incentives to and track their ADHD prescriptions. No other rep comes to visit, say, from a company promoting the MDs to look into the issues that I just brought up.

Of course, the medical establishment claims that everything I just mentioned has nothing to do with the prescription written for ADHD medications, and the pharma reps visit the offices of MDs for their health, which pharma companies pay for discernable reason.

What a Diagnosis of ADHD Means

Remember that a positive diagnosis for ADHD will, in the vast majority of cases, lead to amphetamines, Methylphenidate, and or an antidepressant, and often drugs to control the symptoms of these drugs, which include mood stabilizers and sleep aids.

Ultimately, to make the distinction, pediatricians will run through a checklist of characteristic symptoms to determine whether the child meets the criteria for ADHD as outlined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

You have seen part of the checklist already. Are you impressed with its scientific nature? Well, there is more to this that you probably do not know. This is because what VeryWellMind leaves out is that pharmaceutical companies have a high degree of influence over the American Psychiatric Association and the determination of the level of diagnosis of ADHD. There have been scandals related to professors at the most prestigious universities that influence the DSM and ADHD diagnosis levels for money, which I cover in the article What is the Problem With Medically Defined ADHD Symptoms? (Subscription required)

I never see any explanation of these scandals in these pharmaceutical-funded articles on ADHD.

Article Example #4: From The Mayo Clinic

The following quotes are from the website of the Mayo Clinic.

Jumping the Explanation: ADHD Just “Is” – Don’t Look Into It?

Some people with ADHD have fewer symptoms as they age, but some adults continue to have major symptoms that interfere with daily functioning. In adults, the main features of ADHD may include difficulty paying attention, impulsiveness and restlessness. Symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Many adults with ADHD aren’t aware they have it — they just know that everyday tasks can be a challenge. Adults with ADHD may find it difficult to focus and prioritize, leading to missed deadlines and forgotten meetings or social plans. The inability to control impulses can range from impatience waiting in line or driving in traffic to mood swings and outbursts of anger.

This article skips providing background on ADHD and jumps directly to the symptoms. Another article I found from WebMD does the same.

Article Example #5: From Johns Hopkins

The following quotes are from the website of Johns Hopkins.

False Claim #7: It Should Be Considered Normal to Have Diagnosed A Disease That The Medical Establishment Does Not Know What Causes It?

ADHD is one of the most researched areas in child and adolescent mental health. However, the precise cause of the disorder is still unknown. Available evidence suggests that ADHD is genetic. It is a brain-based biological disorder. Low levels of dopamine (a brain chemical), which is a neurotransmitter (a type of brain chemical), are found in children with ADHD. Brain imaging studies using PET scanners (positron emission tomography; a form of brain imaging that makes it possible to observe the human brain at work) show that brain metabolism in children with ADHD is lower in the areas of the brain that control attention, social judgment, and movement.

This is very similar to the claim made by Additude.mag article. Everything is guesswork, but — they can determine if a person has ADHD.

After reading these articles, the following observations and questions immediately come to mind.

Observations and Questions From Reading Industry-Sponsored Articles

Observation/Question #1: Where is the Discussion on the Specific Drugs or the Side Effects of ADHD Drugs (Which are Amphetamines and Antidepressants)?

Very little time is spent discussing the drugs that accompany an ADHD diagnosis. Furthermore, the side effects of the treatments of ADHD, which are normally exclusively drugs, and quite aggressive drugs, were not discussed in these articles that I reviewed. The articles make it sounds like all that is necessary is to be diagnosed with ADHD.

But the inevitable conclusion of this diagnosis is drugs.

Observation/Question #2: How Long Should Patients Be On these Drugs?

ADHD drugs do not cure ADHD, and ADHD also is considered a lifelong condition that improves somewhat into adulthood, but now adult ADHD is also becoming increasingly diagnosed. And the drug companies and associated MDs state there is an epidemic of under-diagnosis of adult ADHD.

Where is the discussion of the implications of taking ADHD drugs for decades on the body and the brain?

Observation/Question #3: Where is the Disclosure of Financial Conflicts With Drug Companies?

These drugs are designed by the pharmaceutical companies to be gateway articles to get people curious about ADHD to make an appointment with an MD and to get either that person or their child on (as I noted earlier) amphetamines, Methylphenidate, and or an antidepressant, and often drugs to control the symptoms of these drugs, which include mood stabilizers and sleep aids. In fact, some of these articles were written by pharmaceutical companies and then placed on these websites in exchange for a fee. However, none of these entities explained or disclosed their financial conflicts to the reader.

The Undisclosed Financial Connections Behind These Websites

As none of these entities saw fit to disclose their financial conflicts, I will explain the financial conflicts of these entities.

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Read The Complete Article and Get Truly Independent Medical Information

This is only part of the article; the rest and much more information are all on our subscription website. Pharmaceutical companies highly influence to the point of controlling nearly all information sources and medical authorities on medical topics, which is the vast majority of the information online that Google gives the public in their search results. Did you know WebMD is 100% funded by industry sources to push you towards the treatments from their funders, and they are owned by a venture/vulture capital firm named KKR with no public health function? Their only objective is to maximize income from industry sources. Why continue to apply information controlled by pharmaceutical companies? You deserve a completely independent source without financial conflicts. Unlike WebMD, Healthline, or the Mayo Clinic, we don't bill Pfizer to show you information or allow their PR departments to write our articles.

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