Has anyone else wondered if the prevalence of ADHD doesn't parallel caffeine use and sleep deprivation, especially in kids (kids don't take naps anymore)? And that the main treatments are-- stimulants?Interesting...
Psychiatric medications, science, marketing, psychiatry in general, and occasionally clinical psychology. Questioning the role of key opinion leaders and the use of "science" to promote commercial ends rather than the needs of people with mental health concerns.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Caffeine Withdrawal and ADHD
The Last Psychiatrist has a very interesting piece about caffeine withdrawal. He details his own experience of withdrawing from caffeine, symptoms of which he had mistaken for an illness. He closes with the following:
I posted over there--that description of symptoms are exactly what I felt when dropping 50mg.s of Seroquel cold turkey. All of it. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteIf you run the right medline search, you'll find that some Italian divorcee got ECT for 10 years or so, till she gave up her 5-10 cappucinos a day.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the DEA should look into this.
Surely using Provigil as a PRN drug is not a good idea either.
ReplyDeleteCaffeine withdrawal is well documented. It gives us hesadaches, irritability and sleepiness. The worse for me is the darn headaches on the weekend, when I don't get caffeine soon enough.
ReplyDeleteStimulants for ADD is a topic too hot to touch, but I definitely think what kids drink plays a role in how stimulated they are. I would decaffeinate a child before trying stimulants. That includes chocolate and other more obscure sources.