Which Drugs Make ADHD Worse?

Main Chapters: 00:00 Intro - Which Drugs Make ADHD Worse? 00:10 Take home message 03:42 Stimulants and ADHD 07:23 Sedating Drugs and ADHD 08:08 SSRIs and ADHD (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) 09:18 Marijuana and ADHD 10:03 Dopamine Blockers and ADHD 15:59 Conclusion It’s challenging to study what medications worsen ADHD. In part this is because most drug research is conducted by pharmaceutical companies that tend to minimize the drawbacks of their products. But even independent researchers, with limited time and budgets, would rather explore what can help alleviate a condition, rather than what makes it worse. So the information we have is a mishmash of anecdotal case reports, theoretical concerns, and comments in on-line chat discussions. In scientific studies, stimulants are among the drugs most widely mentioned as capable of exacerbating ADHD - but this is largely because they are the most widely studied medications for ADHD. Most cases of them worsening ADHD (aside from their other side effects) are situations in which the dose is too high, causing over activation and anxiety which can disrupt brain function. If helping those with ADHD was as simple as boosting brain levels of dopamine or norepinephrine, we would expect a number of drugs to worsen ADHD symptoms. Antipsychotics (dopamine blockers) and blood pressure medications (many of which decrease norepinephrine) would be at the top of the list. But brains, and the neurochemistry of ADHD, aren’t that simple. Many of these drugs are reported to help with, or at worst, are neutral, regarding ADHD symptoms. We also might try to distinguish between medications that directly worsen specific symptoms of ADHD, and those drugs that impair the brain’s ability to perform tasks. Sedating or numbing properties of benzodiazepines or SSRI fall in the latter category. ----- Follow   / dockruse   on Medium for hundreds of full length articles on this subject and more! Access to full Medium articles requires paid membership. ----- References: Antihypertensive drugs and brain function: mechanisms underlying therapeutically beneficial and harmful neuropsychiatric effects (2023) https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascre... The Dopamine Dilemma: Using Stimulants and Antipsychotics Concurrently (2010) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Non-Stimulant Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (2005) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, cognitive dysfunction and quality of life in high-dose use of benzodiazepine and Z-drug https://link.springer.com/article/10.... Full Chapter list: 00:00 Intro - Which Drugs Make ADHD Worse? 00:10 Take home message 01:24 Lack of Research on Drugs Worsening ADHD 03:42 Stimulants and ADHD 06:22 Self Assessment and ADHD 07:23 Sedating Drugs and ADHD 08:08 SSRIs and ADHD (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) 09:18 Marijuana and ADHD 10:03 Dopamine Blockers and ADHD 11:03 Dopamine Systems 13:11 Tonic and Phasic Dopamine Release 15:59 Conclusion 16:22 Outro Streamed live June 12, 2024 ------------------------- Psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author John Kruse, MD, PhD presents practical, actionable, well-researched information about treatment options that scientists and clinicians recommend for adult ADHD and other mental health conditions. Subscribe if you're curious about how neuroatypical brains can optimize their functioning in our shared, and somewhat strange, world. ADHD topics have a pink background, and those on more general mental health topics have a purple background. A small collection of Politics related videos have an orange background. Dr. Kruse has posted videos in the "Videos", "Live", and "Shorts", sections of this channel. You're welcome to email him with topics you want discussed or people you think he should interview. [email protected] #health #mentalhealth #adhd