Thread by @dustychipura

When your friends and acquaintances on FB send you messages like this.....🤦‍♀️

*cracks knuckles*

At this point messages like these actively make me angry and I have to check myself not to just angrily unload on them lol. But COME ON.

My response:

oops just realizing this is all screencaps and not accessible:

First tweet - text reads, 'Hey Dusty
I hope you and your crew are well. Question for you... Do you know much about prescriptions for dextroamphetamine (or similar) to help treat someone with ADHD? Specifically

an adult who was more recently diagnosed. My girlfriend has been taking it for some time and while it might help her at times...I'm just not convinced it's a healthy way to go. Seems like a slippery slope taking an addictive stimulant with so many side effects.
Thoughts?'

my response:
' hi [person], thanks for messaging me! I do know quite a bit about stimulant-based ADHD meds. Here's my answer:

stimulant based medications are regarded as some of the safest meds to take, specifically because they are quite tightly controlled.

Your gf's dosage under the guidance of her doctor will be fairly low - sort of akin to multiple cups of coffee - but more effective than multiple cups of coffee because the medication targets the part of the brain that is underfunctioning and essentially wakes it up.

Stimulant meds are tightly controlled in terms of access to prevent any kind of abuse, and studies have shown that children and adults who take stimulant medications are actually at LESS risk of addictive behaviours because the stimulant helps manage the ADHD,

and it's the ADHD itself that is a risk factor for addiction. Untreated/unmanaged ADHD puts people at a greater risk of depression, anxiety, addictive behaviours, emotional distress and dysregulation, and poor self esteem.

Additionally, while some ADHD meds do have side effects

, most people find these are pretty minimal. If your girlfriend is experiencing any side effects, she should work with her doctor to experiment with differnt dosages and types of meds (because there are several and they all work differently - dextroamphetamines, methylphenidate,

and lisdexamfetamine, not to mention the non-stimulant based meds available) - some are short-acting or 'instant release' while others are longer 'extended release' and different people will find these meds affect them differently.

so to recap; ADHD meds administered correctly are absolutely NOT a risk for addiction. The studies overwhelmingly show that they do help the person manage their ADHD, and this is corroborated by the testimony of people with ADHD, myself included. Now, if a person has previous

issues with addiction to stimulants, that might be different and again, their doctor is the best person to decide what's safe for them.

Lastly - there's something interesting in our assumption that ADHD meds are somehow inherently dangerous and I think it's based in a kind of unconscious ableism around the nature of ADHD. For example, many kinds of medications have side effects and we never question the validity

of taking them to manage a health condition. People with diabetes take medication every day, but we would never suggest that that person not take their meds. There's a belief that a lot of people have that ADHD somehow isn't 'real' and its challenging because a lot of people

with ADHD do appear normal or just like everyone else... but there are a lot of hidden costs to having ADHD and the biggest one is how much shame and frustation it brings to the person. It costs us trust in, and love for, ourselves. Stimulants can help overcome this motivational

gap in the brain and help us be the person we know we should/can be. Behaviour management interventions definitely also help, but depending on the person, the best treatment for ADHD is multimodal - strategies, meds, and therapy. There's nothing inherently wrong, bad or dangerous

about treating a legitimate medical condition with medication - we do it all the time for all kinds of other conditions.

Lastly, I would encourage you to listen to your girlfriend herself about this. Why are you worrying about her medication? it's her choice, her body and her experience. What matters most is if SHE feels that it is working and if SHE is happy taking it. If she is struggling or

it's not working for her, then that is a good time to look at the other options out there (probably starting with a different type of med or dosage, but also looking at what books and resources exist to support her with whatever area she is struggling with).

I'm also happy to connect with her if she needs any advice about anything. Hope that helps!'

.....*grumble* wtf sending me this shit on a Saturday morning mumble mumble