As we head into the last stretches of the school year, some kids are clearly having more difficulty with focus/concentration and impulse control. Work habits are degrading and homework completion is increasingly difficult. Teachers are having to reconnect some kids to the task at hand more frequently. Others are having more impulsive behaviors toward peers . . . → Read More: Fine Tuning The Antenna–Small Adjustments In ADHD Medicine Can Bring A Clear Picture
|
A common question as we head into the summer months is what to do about medications. Most parents (and some kids) are very reluctant to change medications over the school year since a return of symptoms covered by the medicine can be very, very disruptive. Summertime is the logical time to consider some changes. Antidepressants . . . → Read More: Adjusting Medicine Over The Summer Part I–Antidepressants  Leave a comment  ADHD, anger/irritability, antidepressants, anxiety, depression, medication, medication side-effects, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD, stress management, Uncategorized, withdrawal symptoms  ADHD, anger, antidepressants, anxiety, cymbalta, depression, Effexor, Hartman, medication side-effects, Panic Disorder, philadelphia psychiatrist, prozac, psychiatric medicine, Psychiatrist, side effects, SSRI, treatment resistant depression, wellbutrin, Zoloft One of the frequent issues I help parents deal with is a child who is profoundly angry . . . the “too mad too fast over dumb stuff” syndrome. It is a frequent accompaniment to both ADHD-spectrum issues and mood disorders, and is typically more difficult to deal with than the other presenting aspects of . . . → Read More: Tenex–A Tonic To Treat Terrible Tantrums Leave a comment ADHD, anger/irritability, medication, medication side-effects, parenting, relationships, school issues ADHD, guanfacine, Hartman, Intuniv, medication, medication side-effects, ODD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, philadelphia psychiatrist, psychiatric medicine, Quotient ADHD Testing, side effects, Tenex I interviewed a young man this past week who had recently had to take a second medical withdrawal from a prestigious (and expensive) university because of debilitating symptoms of depression. It struck him in the spring semester last year (his Freshman year) and then again this fall. Over the summer, he had seemed to get . . . → Read More: The Cost Of Ignoring ADHD Comments are closed ADHD, antidepressants, anxiety, depression, medication, medication side-effects, parenting, Quotient ADHD Testing, relationships, school issues, stimulants, therapy adderall, ADHD, antidepressants, anxiety, concerta, depression, Hartman, medication, medication side-effects, parenting, philadelphia psychiatrist, psychiatric medication, psychiatric medicine, Psychiatrist, psychiatry, Quotient ADHD Testing, relationships, side effects, stimulants, therapy, Vyvanse I came across an article in the September/October 2012 issue of Scientific American MIND concerning the effect that stress can have on children and their capacity to learn. The researcher summarized years of work and ongoing studies showing the effect of stress hormones on the developing neural connections in the prefrontal cortex (the part of . . . → Read More: Toxic Effects of Chronic Stress–Bad for Adults, Even Worse For Kids Comments are closed ADHD, anger/irritability, anxiety, medication, meditation, parenting, Quotient ADHD Testing, R+R, relationships, school issues, stimulants, stress management, therapy adderall, ADHD, concerta, executive functions, Hartman, medication, medication side-effects, meditation, philadelphia psychiatrist, psychiatric medicine, relationships, stimulants, stress management, therapy, Vyvanse I came across a journal article lately that highlights an area of great concern for me and for others in the mental health world. A research paper published in the August edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry (a dense and difficult to read tome), identified a massive increase in the use of antipsychotic mood . . . → Read More: The Quick Rush To Medicate Comments are closed ADHD, anger/irritability, antipsychotics, bipolar disorder, FDA, medication, medication side-effects, mood stabilizers, parenting, school issues, temper dysregulation disorder, therapy Abilify, ADHD, anger, bipolar disorder, Hartman, medication, medication side-effects, mood stabilizers, Philadelphia, psychiatric medication, Risperdal, Seroquel, seroquel xr, side effects, suicidal ideation I am encouraging you to go to Philmont Guidance Center’s Facebook page and listen to a 6-minute video I uploaded there. Get past the boring talking head thing (psychiatrists tend to be a bit dry sometimes) and LISTEN to what he is saying and THINK about what this will mean if the trend is generalized . . . → Read More: Advocating For Access To Mental Health Care . . . It Is Time For Us To Stand Up For What Is Right Comments are closed ADHD, anger/irritability, antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiety, benzodiazepines, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, ECT, FDA, medical illness, medication, medication side-effects, mood stabilizers, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD, PMDD, PMS, R+R, stimulants, temper dysregulation disorder, therapy, TMS, transcranial magnetic stimulation ADHD, antidepressants, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, Hartman, medication, philadelphia psychiatrist, suicidal ideation, TMS, transcranial magnetic stimulation, treatment resistant depression As most of you ADHD kids/moms/dads know by now, there is a shortage of Adderall products in the United States. It has simmered all summer . . . only to hit the big time now that school is in full swing (great timing, big pharma!!). It has created havoc across the area and quadrupled the calls to the already full in-box on my voice mail. Everybody is blaming everyone else . . . . . . → Read More: The Shortage Of Adderall . . . and the scramble for solutions 3 comments - (Comments are closed) ADHD, FDA, fish oil, herbal medicine, medication, medication side-effects, parenting, Quotient ADHD Testing, school issues, stimulants adderall, ADHD, concerta, Hartman, homeopathic/herbal remedies, medication, medication side-effects, philadelphia psychiatrist, psychiatric medicine, Quotient ADHD Testing, stimulants, Vyvanse I started seeing Mike when he was six years old or so. Brought in by his mother, he was having all the classic problems that a child with ADHD has. He was inattentive and distracted. He was disorganized and was losing things. He couldn’t sit still and would get in trouble for talking and playing when he was supposed to be sitting still and doing his work. He was described as “lazy” when, in reality, that “lazy” was the standard disengaged and distracted “ain’t too interested in doing something I can’t pay attention to” thing we here in mental health land can easily diagnose as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. . . . → Read More: A Tale Of Two Kiddies . . . How Early Treatment Makes A Difference (with apologies to Charles Dickens) Comments are closed ADHD, antidepressants, anxiety, depression, medication, parenting, Quotient ADHD Testing, R+R, school issues, stimulants adderall, ADHD, antidepressants, depression, Hartman, medication, medication side-effects, philadelphia psychiatrist, psychiatric medicine, Quotient ADHD Testing, relationships, stimulants, therapy, Vyvanse The ambiguity of psychiatric diagnosis does not make anything easy. Especially when there is a complicated mish-mosh of symptoms that easily fit into more than one diagnostic category. And, you ARE allowed to have more than one psychiatric diagnosis. But how can I be sure that a child who presents with ADHD symptoms . . . and anxiety, and depression, and a complicated home life, and a complicated school picture . . . actually has ADHD and that the “ADHD symptoms” are not just a result of the other stuff????? . . . → Read More: Accurately Diagnosing ADHD–Using The Quotient ADHD Testing System to Avoid Unnecessary Exposure to Medicine Comments are closed ADHD, anger/irritability, medication, medication side-effects, parenting, Quotient ADHD Testing, school issues, stimulants adderall, ADHD, concerta, Hartman, medication, medication side-effects, philadelphia psychiatrist, psychiatric medication, Quotient ADHD Testing, stimulants, Vyvanse |
   
Dr. Daniel G. Hartman, aka The Sidewalk Psychiatrist, manages and works at The Philmont Guidance Center, just outside Philadelphia. Learn more about Philmont Guidance Center. |
|
|
Copyright © 2025 The Sidewalk Psychiatrist - All Rights Reserved |
||