A Message from our Healthcare Director, Dr. Jack  Maggiore:

Our followers know well of the statistics that we post of the 40%  misdiagnosis rate of ADHD, as reported by the University of Notre Dame in 2010,  and again by Portrait Health Centers in late 2011.   One of the more overlooked conditions that mimics the symptoms of ADHD,  inattentive type, is a sleep disorder.   Lack of quality, restorative sleep directly contributes to what appears as lack of interest, daydreaming, inattention, and poor comprehension, in the classroom, as well as in the workplace.   Not too surprisingly, the same individuals who are often misidentified and misdiagnosed as having ADHD, and the same people who have a tendency for migraine headaches.  One of the
more common triggers for a debilitating migraine event is the lack of
sleep.  The reason that inadequate sleep leads to a migraine headache is thought to be related to the predisposition of these individuals to have a period of hypertension in an attempt to keep the brain alert and the body awake in the face of physical and mental exhaustion.  Unfortunately, this increase in blood pressure leads to the body’s response to reduce the blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels in the head, a process called vasodilation.  Vasodilation leads to localized inflammation, or swelling, which causes severe pain, commonly
experienced as an intense headache in the more than 30-million Americans with  the disorder called migraine.

It is not likely that those with migraine have an  increased tendency for true ADHD, and there is not sufficient evidence that  those with true ADHD are more prone to having the syndrome known as  migraine.  However, for many  individuals with ADHD being treated with a stimulant medication, any “vacation”  from these drugs, or a change in the dose of the stimulant medication may serve  as a trigger to a migraine headache.   Also, for those who are prescribed the blood-pressure-lowering medication  Strattera® to control the symptoms of ADHD, one of the unanticipated benefits of  this medication may be a decrease in the number of migraine headaches due to the lowering of blood pressure, a possible initiator in the migraine pathway.  Any medication that has either stimulant or sedative properties is likely to cause a change in sleep patterns, which, as we indicated, is a trigger for migraine headaches. It is important that you discuss any change in sleep with your doctor, especially if you see that headaches are occurring with this  change.

 Do not underestimate the benefits of a good night’s sleep. A comprehensive sleep evaluation is valuable for many reasons related to ADHD  symptoms, migraine, as well as problems with weight management, diabetes, stress, and heart conditions.  Sleep is essential for much more than just an opportunity to recharge our inner battery, it is at the heart of a number of our hormone cycles, metabolism,  and mental health.  

Contact our Nurse Navigatorat (847) 868-3435 today to discuss how your migraine  headaches and ADHD tendencies may be related to a sleep disorder.  Visit us at www.portraithealthcenters.com.

To schedule an appointment online, simply click on the button below:

It’s the day after my therapy-induced epiphany about my attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and social anxiety. But back at the high school lunch posse, little has changed. It’s a lovely spring day and my group -- mine not because they have any claim to me or I to them but because they mostly leave me be -- has decided to sit in the cafeteria’s outdoor courtyard for the first time since autumn. Of course, no one has informed me of that. But after 20 minutes of stumbling vainly around the indoor cafeteria whilst precariously balancing my overburdened food tray, I am able to put it together.

My anxiety-addled ADD/ADHD mind is whirring as I approach them. I have a routine when we sit at the indoor table. There is always one seat left open for me. It is in the far corner of the long, rectangular lunch table. There, in this little niche, I’m allowed to sit quietly with my head down, and I’m granted refuge from the most direct and cutting mockery.

Although mockery is par for the course for such a gawky, pasty-skinned wallflower as myself, no one lavishes upon me hostile, vaguely disgusted remarks as generously as Liz, the girl whose own appearances are meticulously groomed -- complete with a spray-on tan, cover-up, and thick blue swooshes of eye shadow. (Somehow, her makeup-facilitated ruse passes her off as pretty while I'm the one who is so worried about fitting in that I haven't made eye contact with anyone in a year.)

The first day I’d sat with this clique, on the first lunch hour of sophomore year, I had innocently grabbed a seat that happened to be next to Liz. She welcomed me by waving over her brawny boy-toy Stephen who'd been sitting comfortably across from her just moments earlier.

“Hey ... uh, sorry man," he said to me. "This seat isn’t for you. I forgot that I sit here.”

“There’s no way I could’ve stomached my lunch with that much awkwardness next to me,” was Liz's not even hushed reply.

Though comically clannish in retrospect, this social assault hit my sophomore self like shell shock. First I refused to make eye contact with Stephen and Liz, then anyone at the table, and eventually anyone but my parents.

Ever since this first day, my sophomore self begins to imagine their probing eyes scrutinizing me -- quivering knees, watering eyes, and all. It's all I can do to shovel my plate of macaroni and cheese down my tight throat every day.

Though Stephen played a part in the assault that nearly destroyed me, over the course of sophomore year, I learned to be grateful for the barrier that his bulky maroon sweatshirt places between me and Liz. That sweatshirt -- along with Stephen’s complete indifference to my presence -- has been my sanctuary all winter. He’s granted me the privilege of being allowed to duck my head (bashfully) behind his bulky mass, scarf down my food, and scamper out of the cafeteria unnoticed and unharassed.

Out in the courtyard on this lovely spring day, I’m naked without Stephen’s protection. Awful things could happen. What if I have to sit next to Liz?

When I arrive at the posse’s headquarters, everyone's all circled up tightly: There isn't a single opening for me to wedge myself inside of, there isn't a rectangular table with a quiet corner for Carl. If I want to sit down, I’ll have to ask someone to move. Which, of course, I don't do, given my yearlong strike against making eye contact with anyone (except my parents and now my therapist, all of whom at least understand some of my ADD/ADHD ways).

Like a stalking cheetah, I noiselessly circle the crew -- too busy in their own world of conversation to see me -- searching for something vaguely resembling a space to sit. And I find one: a two-foot gap where I have a shot at wedging my tray inside, craning my neck into the group’s circle, and pretending I have friends.

There's only one problem with the space: The sprawling expanse of my gangly body is now directly behind Liz’s Abercrombie-adorned torso.

I close my eyes and pray quietly that in this peaceful patch of earth I can eat my lunch unnoticed. I ease myself into the space and wait for the volley of muskets the firing squad could shoot at me any minute.

When I feel the reliable thump of my tray against that two-foot space of ground and no one says anything, I think I am safe. Then, just as I get situated, I see Liz’s blond head twist towards me.

She’s standing up and beginning to turn around. She must be trying to get out of the circle and walk to class.

As her blue, mascara-lined eyes meet mine, she jumps.

“Ack!” she screams, her carefully manicured feathers momentarily ruffled. My presence has caught her -- and everyone else -- by surprise. Poise regained, she turns to her friends and says, "There is some sort of ... person behind me." She sneers with an expression of mock horror.

“At least it usually stays out of the way,” she adds. Back on the path to her next class, the tail of her skirt swooshes by my mortified face.

Just a few minutes earlier, I was basking in the solace my therapist had given me by simply believing me to have a pulse and, what's more, a personality! But being labeled “it” -- something I’d be loath to apply to a family pet -- is the last thing my still-struggling self-esteem needs.

I’m 19 now and that moment still ranks as one of the top 10 worst in my life.

Any hopes I’d been fostering about unearthing some of the personality that I’d buried in elementary school were set back at least a year. And frankly, the excavation is only now in full swing.

____________________

Visit Portrait Health Centers for more information on ADHD and ADHD testing.  www.portraithealthcenters.com

Click below to schedule an ADHD Test at Portrait Health Centers.

Panic has ensued over the announcement of a supply issue with many of the ADHD medications that contain a form of amphetamine drug.  The FDA has posted drug shortage alerts due to the quotas imposed on manufacturers by the US Drug Enforcement Administration on the active ingredient, namely the amphetamine mixed salt.  Limits are being imposed on manufacturing and are expected to continue for the next 6 to 8 weeks.  Among the drugs affected are the commonly prescribed Adderall® and Metadate®.

If you should experience difficulty having a prescription filled,

·         Ask your pharmacist if the medication is available from another location, especially if you use a large chain pharmacy.

·         Contact the manufacturer to help locate a pharmacy that has your medication in stock. 

·         Contact the doctor who prescribed the medication to see if he/she has any samples you can use.

·         Ask your doctor about the availability of other medications used to treat ADHD.

·         Always have the effectiveness of a new medication tested using quantitative testing, which is available at the Portrait Health Centers.

Portrait Health Centers www.portraithealthcenters.com will work with your doctor to find the best solution during this time of low supply of your ADHD Medication.  For more information about this testing service and other services provided by Portrait Health Centers, call us at 847-868-3835 and ask to speak with our Nurse Navigator.  You may also schedule an appointment on-line by clicking here:

New Year’s Resolutions are all about making a commitment to improving our lives and ourselves.  Losing weight and exercising more remain the top two resolutions made by US adults, and those are fine self-improvement goals.  However, if you look at the trends for Americans who are increasingly overweight and in danger of becoming diabetics, it takes more than just a lofty promise to ourselves on New Year’s Eve to accomplish a goal.  It takes a plan.

Not Just a Promise… A Plan!

For the more than 5 million Americans with ADHD, a list of resolutions may include plans to become more organized, procrastinate less, channel your excess energy, and reconnect with friends and loved ones.  A top 10 list of New Year’s Resolutions may include:

1.      Channel that extra energy

            Feelings of restlessness and the inability to wind down and relax is a true burden for those with ADHD whose brains are programmed into believing that there is still more to accomplish in any given day.  Finding a way to channel       that energy into something constructive provides a helpful benefit to yourself, and possibly others.  Try working into an evening routine exercise that raises your heartbeat.  Just 30 minutes of walking outdoors, in a mall, or on a   treadmill or bicycling outdoors or on a stationary bike is often adequate to help the body and brain feel content with a productive workout.  Extra energy could also be channeled into a hobby such as woodworking, automotives,   crafts, and restoring antiques.  Volunteers are needed more nowadays than ever, for churches, park districts, community centers, schools, and hospitals.  Channeling your excess energy to positive use is accepting your ADHD as a true gift, and serves as an example to others how embracing your gift helps to overcome the negative stigma associated with ADHD.

To learn more about ADHD treatments, therapies, and tips, visit www.portraithealthcenters.com.  To schedule an appointment at Portrait Health Centers, call (847) 868-3435 or simply click below: