Healing ADD (Amen)

[Tara]

This book has many answers to ADD and different types of ADD. It offers suggestions to help manage the different types of ADD. It suggests that medications,nutritional approaches, supplements, etc. all work differently for each type of ADD. (2002)

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[unreal33]

I think this book relies too heavily on the SPECT imaging stuff, and less on the other science surrounding ADD. Most of the rest of the book is stuff you can read elsewhere.

[Tara]

Where else do you suggest to find the info in this book? I have over 40 AD/HD books in my library and I found the info in this book to be unique.

[unreal33]

Oh, it's certainly unique as far as the brain imaging information. But as for the connection to the amino acid deficiencies, that's been in other medical journals and books on ADHD, including some you can find at various health food/nutritional supplement stores... and the nutritional info is all also in a book specifically on nutrition and ADHD that I saw in the bookstore last year. But I'll grant you, much of the info on brain imaging and the various subtypes of ADHD are unique. Not saying it was a bad book, just that I kind of expected more from the title "Healing ADD."

[rogerj1]

This is the only book I've read thoroughly about ADD. Am I missing something by not reading other books?

[Tara]

I think it's a good idea to read as many AD/HD books as possible.

There are many different theories and points of view of AD/HD and learning about them help you form your own idea as to what you think AD/HD is.

[waywardclam]

By Dr. Daniel G. Amen of the Amen Clinic, also wrote Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.

I am 80% through this book and it is very clinical but I am finding it very interesting. Does anybody here know anything about the book or about Dr. Amen or the Amen Clinic? He sounds fantastic from the perspective of his own book, but I would be interested in hearing an outside opinion.

It's also fascinating to hear about his subtypes of ADD that he recognizes... an entirely new paradigm to me of looking at the condition...

I could summarize some of his ideas here if people are interested.

[Slowpoke]

I don`t mean to be disrespectful to everyone who supports this, but I did the online questionnaire and printed it out. When I took it to show my doctors, I got the same general response: it means absolutely nothing, the results useless... even from the doctor who was an AD/HD specialist... I was dissapointed, but am intrigued as to why it would be that this is not recognized more...?

[waywardclam]

Ooops thanks for moving my post into this thread... should have done more research as to whether it had been discussed already

Everything I have ever been told is that questionnaires are not very useful in the diagnosis of ADD, and the anecdotal evidence from self, parents, spouse, teachers, family, etc. is more important.

As to why your doctor doesn't take it seriously... I would immediately fear that your doctor might be one of those people who doesn't take ADD seriously, and believes we are all people who just need to "pull our socks up" or something like that...

In the end though, it doesn't matter, does it? If your doctor wants to use a different method to diagnose you, you can go ahead and try your doctor's method, right? And if you don't like that, you can always go find another doctor. The medical profession seems to be very fragmented as to how they want to handle ADD.

[MightyMouse]

This book is on the top of my "need to read list" for any AD/HD patients I have. I loved this book. Personally - and I understand I am in the minority here - I loved the clinical format and details of the book. I keep a copy handy in my home office and eventually when I have a "work" office I wil have another copy there.

[DSCH]

I believe Dr. Amen should be commended for his clinical work with brain imaging and breaking down the catch-all that is ADD/ADHD into more specific subtypes. His exact conclusions are one thing, the general direction he is pointing out to psychiatry and psychology is another. Psychiatry and psychology without physical and quantitative diagnostics of brain and body function is shooting blind.

[BadHire]

eh ... I don't know about this book.

a) It seems like another "oh wow, only Doctor xxxx really understands what's going on" books. Every complicated condition seems to require one of these.

b) The book seems to serve largely as an advertisement for his clinics.

c) Sure, the book has some good info, but doesn't really cover any new ground. Plus, if his SPECT imaging stuff is so amazing and important, why don't we see others trying to replicate and add to his results?

d) And what's up with Demi Moore on the back cover recommending the book???? Eeek!

[gabriela]

i'm going to bring dr amen's book "healing add" to my next doctor's appointment. it'll be interesting to hear what *her* opinion on this spect stuff is!

theories are almost always fun, i think!
:yin-yang:

[Dissident]

I just picked this up the other day as my first book on ADD. I'm most of the way through it and it seems pretty helpful and rather encouraging as well. I may get some of my family to have a look at it when I'm finished.

[gabriela]

Originally Posted by MightyMouse

Personally - and I understand I am in the minority here - I loved the clinical format and details of the book.

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me too, although i realise i need to learn a lot more about neuroanatomy in order to fully understand it - in fact i'm going to ask my doctor (who's a psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) if she has a book on this subject to lend me the next time i see her!

it's kinda "weird"; i've *"always"* been fascinated by "the brain" - i can still remember how *interested* and absolutely *amazed* i was when, as a child, i watched this (i believe it was from bbc) program about patients with severe epilepsy who, in order to stop them from having so many disabling seizures, underwent callosalectomies (cutting of the nerve bands in the corpus callosum)!
(*not* what you'd call your typical childrens' program!;-)

i found it fascinating how, after the surgery, these patients lost their coordination (in varying degrees), and how they could *see* an object, yet be unable to *name* it...

little did i know that - many years later - the doctors would tell me i'm one of the few people who're born with a "natural" callosalectomy...