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Saturday, January 28, 2012

For individuals diagnosed with ADHD, treatment is important. It can help with functioning in day to day life. It can help to increase concentration and reduce restlessness. This can be important for both children and adults. However, not every medication works the same for every person. This is why different ADHD medications exist.

Vivance, otherwise known as Vyvance, is one of the many ADHD medications available. It is an amphetamine that stimulates chemicals in the brain to function properly. It is unclear, however, the exact way this works. It can be used to treat ADHD sufferers ages 6 and up.

It is important to realize that Vivance should be used in conjunction with other types of treatment. These treatments can include counseling or other therapies. Pairing the medication with other types of therapy can help possibly decrease the need for the medication and make the use of the medication more effective. Talking to your doctor about your symptoms and struggles with ADHD can help the two of you come up with a complete and comprehensive plan.

Taking Vivance

Vivance is taken only once a day, unlike other stimulants. This can make taking Vivance easier for certain patients that lead busy lifestyles and don’t have the time to think about taking a pill several times a day. However, there are some cases in which Vivance is not the best medication option.

Because Vivance is a stimulant, patients who have heart conditions, high blood pressure, or a family history of heart conditions, you should talk to your doctor. Additionally, children and adults that have either a personal or family history of mental disorders like bipolar, suicide, or depression should also talk to their doctor about whether using Vivance is the best option.

Important Safety Information

You should also know that Vivance is a controlled substance. Because it contains amphetamines, it is highly addictive. This can create possible drug abuse in both patients that it is prescribed to as well as anyone else who takes it that it is not prescribed to. Vivance should never be given to anyone that it is not prescribed to and you should always follow the instructions carefully to reduce the chances of addition and abuse. Abuse of Vivance can also lead to sudden death and serious heart problems. Selling or distributing Vivance to anyone is illegal and punishable by law.

How Vivance Can Help Adults

For adults, ADHD can be just as frustrating as it is for children. Sometimes, it can even be embarrassing. As adults, we assume that ADHD is a child’s disorder. However, since there is no cure for ADHD, the condition continues on into adulthood. Sadly, however, you cannot always make this clear to employers. This is where Vivance can help. With Vivance, many adults have experienced improved attention span, less hyperactivity, and fewer impulsive tendencies. This allows you to focus on your life, not on your condition.

How Vivance Can Help Children

Childhood is an important time in our lives. It is when we learn how to behave in socially acceptable ways. It is when we learn the important academic foundation for our future. It is when we learn how to develop healthy and meaningful relationships. For children with ADHD, this can be extremely difficult.

Vyvance can help children focus when it is important. It can help them pay attention in class and learn how to build healthy relationships with their peers. This can help improve their self-esteem and help them raise their grades, giving them a better chance in their future.

Vivance Side-Effects

Like all medications, there are some side-effects that may be involved with Vivance. The most common side-effects include nausea, upper abdominal pain, dry mouth, irritability, vomiting, weight loss, decreased appetite, dizziness, and trouble sleeping. These side effects are generally mild and are rarely dangerous.

There are, however, some serious side-effects that can take place. Seizures, mostly in patients who have had a history of seizures may occur. Blurred vision and changes in eyesight can happen while using Vivance.

Motion or verbal tics may also occur. For patients who already have tics or have been diagnosed with Tourette’s, tics may worsen or increase. Children may experience a slowing of growth. Your doctor should check your child’s height and weight regularly to monitor this potential problem. You should talk to your doctor if you think any of these problems are dangerous.

The real question is whether or not Vivance is right for you or your child. This is something that you should discuss with your doctor. Discuss any other type of treatment that may be needed in conjunction with your medication. Talk to your doctor about any potential risks you may have or that may be in your family history. Watch for signs of danger in either you or your child.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Learn the Truth About ADHD and Diet

ADHD, otherwise known as Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder, can create several problems for those diagnosed. Difficulty focusing on specific tasks, particularly those that require concentration, disorganization, difficulty in paying attention to conversations and tasks at hand, and restlessness are just a few of the symptoms that individuals with ADHD experience.

The disorder can affect children, adolescents, and adults. There is no cure, so if a child is diagnosed with ADHD, the likelihood is that the disorder will carry on into adulthood. This can make focusing on the job and in relationships difficult during adulthood. Generally, ADHD is treated with medication and other types of therapy. However, many individuals wonder if the right diet could alleviate the symptoms often experienced with ADHD.

While the thought is not too far off, the research on ADHD diets is very limited and rather contradictory. Essentially, while an ADHD diet will not harm anyone who is on it, it may or may not help with symptoms of ADHD. However, experts believe that diet does play a role in alleviating symptoms associated with ADHD. The decision to go on an ADHD diet is something that only the individual can make with the help of their physician. Results are not guaranteed and any results experienced may also fluctuate from one person to the next.

What Does an ADHD Diet Mean?

Essentially, an ADHD diet should help the brain function better and help increase the functionality of certain chemicals in the brain that create the symptoms experienced with ADHD. These symptoms should lessen or be less severe when the diet is adhered to.

There are three basic types of ADHD diets. Individuals can implement parts of each one, use them all, or just stick with one type of diet to see which works best. This can vary, depending on the individual.

First, overall nutrition is important, not just for those that have ADHD but for everyone. Overall nutrition is the food that you eat every day. It is the foods that can make ADHD better or worse. Second, there are supplementation diets for ADHD. These diets assume that, by adding certain nutrients to the body, the brain will function differently. This assumes that the symptoms are created by nutrients that are lacking within the body. Lastly, there are elimination diets for ADHD. These diets would involve the removal of certain foods that may worsen the symptoms experienced with ADHD.

Using an Overall Nutrition Diet for ADHD

According to experts, having a healthy overall diet may help increase brain function. This diet includes eating a high protein diet, reducing or limiting simple carbohydrates like sugar and sweets, eating more complex carbohydrates, particularly fruits and vegetables, and increasing omega-3 fatty acids.

A high protein diet requires you to still watch for fat. This is important to future health and can help prevent heart disease. A high protein diet should be full of beans, nuts, sprouts, tofu, soy products, and can include a limited amount of cheese, eggs, and meat. It is said that a high protein diet may help to increase the efficacy of ADHD medication and proteins should be consumed early in the day and in the early afternoon for a snack.

Simple carbohydrates can include more than just sugar. Other products to avoid include white flour, potatoes, honey, and white rice. These foods may cause an increased hyperactivity in individuals with ADHD.

Complex carbohydrates are often missing from the average American diet and are extremely important. While whole grain products are considered complex carbohydrates, the majority of carbs should come from vegetables and a moderate amount of fruit. If consumed right before bed, they could help reduce restlessness at night and promote healthy sleep.

Omega-3 fatty acids are extremely good for the brain. This can be taken as either a supplement or achieved through natural food sources like tuna, salmon, olive oil, canola oil, or Brazilian nuts.

ADHD Nutritional Supplements

According to some researchers, because the American diet is rarely what it should be, individuals should take a complete multivitamin every day. However, this ADHD diet should be used with caution and with the close advisement of your doctor. Since symptoms from one person to the next can vary greatly, so can results. Additionally, for adults, certain health conditions can make taking nutritional supplements dangerous.

Elimination Diets for ADHD

Elimination diets require you to be sensitive to your body. You have to learn how to recognize the severity of your symptoms and determine if a particular food could be contributing to your symptoms. To use an elimination diet, you have to first determine a food that you believe might be causing or adding to your symptoms. This assumption can be made because of how you feel after you eat a particular food. Once you have identified the food, you need to eliminate the substance from your diet completely. You then need to observe how you feel over the next few weeks. If you notice that your symptoms have lessened in severity, you have probably identified a food that you need to avoid.