What is attention?

Concentration is the ability to keep our brains functioning, to execute our thoughts truthfully, to process information appropriately, and to put decisions into action.

How does our brain work?

There is often a lot of different information floating around in our brains. Much of this information is irrelevant to what we are currently trying to accomplish. When we want to complete a certain task, the brain immediately sends a set of electrical pulse information to other parts of the brain to control irrelevant information to achieve coordination, maintain focus, and successfully complete the task.

The electrical impulse information transmitted between nerve cells is accomplished by chemical “neuro-transmitters” passing through the spaces between cells called synapses.

“Dopamine” is one of the chemical neurotransmitters. The brain sometimes releases excessive amounts of dopamine into synapses. The evolved human brain can secrete another substance called “dopamine transporter protein” to send excess dopamine back to the front-end nerve cells.

How does the brain of ADHD patients work?

An important reason for the symptoms of ADHD is that the patient’s genes cause the “dopamine delivery protein” to be excessively released, resulting in insufficient “dopamine” in the synapse and unable to effectively transmit instructions to control interference. As a result, the patient is drowned in the mind. thoughts or behavior information.

Therefore, patients with ADHD will be clinically diagnosed with symptoms such as being easily “distracted”, “hyperactive” and “impulsive”.

How do drugs work?

Methylphenidate can delay the secretion of “dopamine transporter protein”, allowing an appropriate amount of dopamine to be present in the brain to effectively limit the work of interfering information.

After taking it, the drug begins to take effect in about 15 to 30 minutes and leaves the body through urination after 3 to 5 hours. Drugs are to ADHD patients what glasses are to myopia patients: you can see when you put them on, and you can see clearly when you take them off; they are never part of the body.

Another drug called atomoxetine is mainly prescribed for ADHD patients with irregular secretion of another neurotransmitter, norepinephrine.

There are other types of ADHD drugs, among which ADHD drugs belonging to the amphetamine family are not approved for use in every place (including UK).
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To use medication or not?

Most ADHD medications are very effective. Methylphenidate (Ritalin) begins to take effect about 15 to 30 minutes after taking it and leaves the body through urination after 3 to 5 hours. ADHD patients take medication like myopia patients wearing glasses. During the period of drug effect, patients can concentrate, and their ability to think and do things can be improved. The good habits and skills learned during this period can often be retained or maintained for a longer period of time.

Medications not only help patients go to school or work, but equally important are their positive effects on their emotional and character development.

1. Emotional development includes the ability to regulate emotions, insight, and (with guidance) how to transform negative emotions into positive energy.
   
2. Character development refers to developing qualities such as integrity and honesty.

Patients experience improvements in many areas of their lives

1. School and Office
   Learn and listen better, improve memory, start work more easily and maintain it, make fewer accidental mistakes, write clearly, know better about planning, better organize daily activities and pack bags/books/documents.
   
2. Friends:
   Know how to care more about your friends, be less impulsive or observant, no longer always want to please others, be able to say “no” to friends when appropriate, and be less impatient and indifferent to others.
   
3. Family:
   Generally, other family members feel relieved that they are communicating more with the patient and that the patient is ignoring them less. Parents find it easier to teach their children, and the relationship between parents sometimes improves.
   
4. Patients:
   Reduce accidents caused by impulsiveness; over time, become more confident, better understand and express themselves, better able to arrange priorities in life and play different roles in life (students, children, brothers) / sisters and myself, etc.), be more efficient, better arrange time, money and work, and be happier.

ADHD medication side effects

1. Stomach pain, headache, or dizziness:
   Symptoms are usually mild and occur during the first week after taking this medicine. Atomoxetine drugs may make people feel tired or nauseous for the first two weeks.
   
2. Some people may experience a loss of appetite:
   patients with overweight problems may be happy about this! Parents will worry that their children will not eat enough, but when the medicine leaves the body, the children will feel very hungry and eat a lot!
   
3. Delayed sleep time:
   You may even find it difficult to fall asleep. If this occurs, please consult your doctor.
   
4. Rebound phenomenon:
   When the amount of drugs in the body decreases and the potency of the drug decreases, the patient may feel tired, yawn, become more emotionally sensitive, lose concentration, or lose temper easily. This can last from half to an hour. At this time it is best to let them relax such as taking a bath, eating something, etc.
   
5. Mild symptoms:
   such as thirst, sweating, and dry eyes.
   
6. Rare adverse reactions:
   hallucinations. If a patient has a family history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc., extra caution must be taken when prescribing medications for them.

If the patient suffers from other problems, such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, convulsions, etc., the side effects of the drug may be more obvious. For patients who also have autism symptoms, caution must be taken when prescribing medications. For cases in which treatment is ineffective, misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis should be considered.

“For those children who have medical reasons or other problems that prevent them from taking first-line (stimulant) drugs, or who do not respond well to first-line drugs, second-line (non-stimulant) drugs (such as atomoxil) can be used. statin, tricyclic antidepressants, and bupropion)
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