ADD Care

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience or knowledge of this?

 

On the one hand, it’s natural herbal type stuff. Could be snake oil concoction based on anecdotal evidence that maybe helps, maybe doesn’t. (can you say Focus Factor?)

On the other hand, the testimonials are compelling, seem written by a diverse group. (the language doesn’t all sound the same, and the experiences, while all positive, are positive on some different levels. Works good alone, works good as a supplement to meds at night, etc. )

What really caught my eye was that they back the testimonials by including spect scans, which seem to show frontal cortex improvement. 😯 There are also some you tube testimonials.

 

Ina

All thoughts welcome.

 

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[Anonymous]

Three words: double-blind study. Without that, all claims are biased.

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[billd]

Like I tell folks who ask about this and that additive for cars to solve all sorts of issues – if it was THAT good, GM, Ford, etc. would be all over it.

someone would take it and run with it with a marketing campaign the like of which we’ve not seen. It would be in journals, all over the place, not “youtube”.

So, whatever happened to burning water, or the 100mpg carburetor anyway?

Yeah.

When a legit organization gets behind it, and the study is published as GameGuy said, I’ll listen more closely.

Well, you asked for thoughts – those are mine.

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[Anonymous]

Thanks for the thoughts so far;

GG.; Yup, I agree. Double blind studies are needed to prove overall efficacy.

billd; I get exactly where you’re coming from, as I come from there as well. If it really worked, someone big would be selling it and they wouldn’t need long winded web pages, infomercials and testimonials. Folks would clamor to buy it. What comes to my mind is Viagra vs Enzyte.

Enzyte has looooots of commercials, with famous porn stars, chesty womenfolk spouting about “enhancing that certain part of the male body,” as well as Bob and the ever smiling Mrs Bob (who I actually get a kick out of.)

Viagra advertises too, but not nearly so much. What you get with Viagra is a bell clapper banging off your legs 30 minutes after taking it (so I’ve heard, ahem…) Viagra commands 10 bucks a pill and folks line up to pay it.

The marketing alone makes me think of Add-care in the same vein as Enzyte or Focus Factor. The’ve got amino acids plus their

“Proprietary Blend.”

Here’s what I can’t shake. These people are walking into the AMEN clinic and getting No Med, Adderall, and ADD care spect scans. The Add care scans are rivaling the Adderall scans in terms of filling in the gaps in prefrontal cortex activity. I figure there’s two main possibilities;

1.) Elaborate and Outright fraud, including falsifying documents and photoshopping scan results.

2.) Maybe they’re on to something. Even if it only worked for a portion of patients it’d be worth a try. None of the individual meds works for everyone anyway.

One of the reasons I now tend to do a lot of research and ask a lot of folk about anything like this is my tendency to get swept up in things. (Brooklyn Bridge? Sure, I could use one. Never thought it’d be available, and at such a low price! )

But the one thing on this that keeps me from just dismissing it is the scans. How do ya fake those? Could this be an actual effective treatment that is just hasn’t gone through the due dilligence yet? (yes, I know this is the type of hope all con artists prey on.)

I know Dr Jain is busy, but i wouldn’t mind knowing if he’s heard anything about it, or what his thoughts might be.

Keep the thoughts coming

Ina

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[Anonymous]

First of all, there’s no physical test (like a blood test or MRI) that can confirm the presence of ADHD. So how can there be one to prove their drug is doing anything? Can any of us look at an MRI or other scan and determine what’s going on? It’s like that commercial for the dandruff shampoo – “you can tell it’s working because o the tingling sensation.” Either that or it’s burning part of your epidermis off. I think you know what I mean.

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[Anonymous]

One question that comes to mind is how they test. Reliable tests on humans so far are mainly urine and blood samples and spinal fluid samples … all are less than usefull for ADHD because medical science is just beginning to learn about brain chemistry. Think of the Wright Brothers’ airplane; that’s about where we are in knowing about ADHD.

Scans, brain scans, etc, lovely things but are they showing something that causes ADHD .. or .. something caused by ADHD ?

Don’t know .. have not seen anything remotely conclusive …

The other question is the standard one about why a percentage of people are cured by the placebo in tests .. it happens and often

enough to suggest that we can, at times, heal ourselves .. rare but it happens .. and where does that fit in?

I used to sell ‘penny stocks’ the high risk investments that are wallpaper in many professionals’ rooms. People will buy stuff even when they know that the risks are way in excess of the gains.

Oh, and personnally, my ADHD includes a huge amount of impulsiveness … restraint is hard, and I already own a few bridges.

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[Anonymous]

Actually, the tingling in the dandruff shampoo is due to the presence of menthol. Makes your scalp tingle, but doesn’t actually help the dandruff. It’s actually a pretty deceptive practice. I get where you’re coming from.

As to the sources of the scans,

Dr Daniel Amen wrote a book called “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.” This was, I think, his breakthrough work. He has since written about a number of brain related topics including ADD. A list of his works is on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=daniel+amen+books&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=3649271207&ref=pd_sl_6f3wdlw3g_b

One of his hallmark practices is the use of 3-D representations of brain activity called spect scans. He uses them to link patterns of brain activity to various psychoses and conditions including ADHD. He has clinics where you can get these scans. I checked change your brain out at the library, but wasn’t able to stay focused enough to read it completely. (SURPRISE ) 😯 He’s also been on PBS Hawking his works in during their fund drives, so he has at least the semblance of being authoritative and/or respectable.

To answer Tea’s question about causation, I’m gathering that the scans show differences in brain activity under various circumstances. Take one with no meds. Take one with this med. Take one with that supplement. As long as nothing else changes, then whatever med or supplement you took between scans should be creating the difference. And of course, there lies the possibility of manipulation or misinterpretation. Dunno how long they waited or what else may be happening.

Tea also brings up an interesting point about the placebo effect. Maybe they’re better because they think they’re s’posed to be.

So that is what I know about him and his scans. He may be all new age hoooey for all I know.

I’m enjoying the banter, and remain interested in all thoughts. I was really hoping someone had tried ADD care, and could give me a rundown on their experience. I may wind up having to try it myself.

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[Anonymous]

For me, ADD-Care actually works to help control ADD/ADHD symptoms without the side effects, stigma or outrageous cost of some of the prescription medications. It especially helps with my anxiety.

Jef Gazley, M.S., LMFT is the developer of ADD-Care and has been researching ADD for almost two decades. He is also my therapist and I trust him. If you look at Jef’s website you’ll see the impressive results of the Amen Clinic SPECT scans from clients taking no medication, prescription medication and ADD-Care. See them at http://www.add-care.com.

Jef developed ADD-Care along with a local (Phoenix area) naturopath named Dr. Kenneth Proefrock. ADD-Care is currently in the process of being patented – which is an expensive process. There have been no double-blind studies because of the cost of such studies is prohibitive for an individual. While Jef cares about his patients and is committed to helping people with ADD and PTSD, he is not rich by any means.

If you are unfamiliar with The Amen Clinic or SPECT scans, learn more at http://www.amenclinics.com and continue reading below.

In their latest book, “Delivered From Distraction”, Drs. Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (bestselling authors of “Driven To Distraction”) explore Dr. Daniel Amen’s use of the SPECT scan as a scanning tool to help look at the brain.

Dr. Hollowell said “This test also deserves to be used more than it is in psychiatry. We psychiatrists have been slow to pick up on its usefulness in our field…I came away excited and eager to learn more.”

Dr. Hollowell is “convinced that there is a place for SPECT in clinical psychiatry.” He also said “It is obviously helpful to be able to look at the brain before you try to treat it. Perhaps SPECT will prove to be the most practical way for psychiatrists to do that. Both John Ratey and I [Dr. Hollowell] believe that Amen makes a good case for the clinical use of SPECT.” He went on to say “John Ratey and I have been thinking of joining in that effort [SPECT scan studies] ourselves.”

I hope that Drs. Hollowell, Ratey and Amen will follow through on their quest for SPECT scan studies. I also hope that Jef Gazley and ADD-Care will be part of those studies.

Just my 2 cents.

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[Anonymous]

Wow. Thanks Winnie.

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[Anonymous]

Winniez;

I saw the spect scans, which is what made me start this thread. I couldn’t dismiss that as outright marketing hooeey. I see the different formulas as well..

I’m curious about the liquids and droppers. Are those sub lingual? How long do you find they last?

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[Anonymous]

I don’t take the liquid, I take the capsules. I take 2 caps 3x per day of Obsess-Care and it helps my anxiety. It also seems to help me think more logically instead of “shotgunning” everything all at once. I also don’t get so upset over minor things or people who annoy me.

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[Anonymous]

The difficulty with studies are that a) they are expensive b) if they ask the wrong question it may appear like there is no difference to placebo where there might be an effect [ I see this in the neurofeedback research] and c) the studies are typically small and hard to generalize.

Sometimes the most compelling research is that by consensus. When people have tried something and there are consistent reports of its effect, then it might mean something. The problem with this is bias, of course. If the individuals being treated or the people treating have a vested interest in the outcome, then it taints the process. Disclosure is the hardest thing to sort out because non-academic institutional research doesn’t necessarily have to follow the same ethical protocols.

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[Author]

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