106 players have drug exemptions b/c of ADHD in MLB

[southsider2k5]

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/275324

 

106 major-leaguers receive drug exemptions

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.10.2009

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NEW YORK — Baseball authorized nearly 8 percent of its players to use drugs for ADHD last season, which allowed them to take otherwise banned stimulants.

 

A total of 106 exemptions for banned drugs were given to major-leaguers claiming attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from the end of the 2007 season until the end of the 2008 season, according to a report released Friday by the sport's independent drug-testing administrator.

 

"This is incredible. This is quite spectacular. There seems to be an epidemic of ADD in major-league baseball," said Dr. Gary Wadler, chairman of the committee that determines the banned-substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

[ptatc]

It's obivious that many of the players are seeking an advantage by improving their focus and concentration. This is what many of the ADHD drugs do. However, many of them with have the opposite effect on patients who are misdiagnosed. It will be interesting to see how many of the players have the opposite effect.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

For those of you who don't know . ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . It used to be called ADD . You can google ADHD and find out more about it but it seems apparent that by the amount of cases ptatc is right . Players are trying once again to gain a competitive advantage through ADHD drugs .

Edited January 11, 2009 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[BobDylan]

For those of you who don't know . ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . It used to be called ADD . You can google ADHD and find out more about it but it seems apparent that by the amount of cases ptatc is right . Players are trying once again to gain a competitive advabtage through ADHD drugs .

 

ADD and ADHD are different.

[lostfan]

ADD and ADHD are different.

There is no ADD anymore, the term is obsolete.

 

/says my friend who is in a PhD psych program

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

ADD and ADHD are different.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/learning/adhd.html Read under the heading symptoms.

[bighurt4life]

There is no ADD anymore, the term is obsolete.

 

/says my friend who is in a PhD psych program

 

 

This is true. I work in the psych field. ADD was taken out of the DSM IV about 11 years ago.

 

As far as people with ADHD taking the meds for energy/ focus that's not necessarily true. People with ADHD take the meds so they can function like a normal person. It actually takes their hyperactivity away if they are properly diagnosed and makes it possible for them to focus which they can't really do without the meds. If you don't have it then the meds they give (Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin, etc...) will give you tons of energy and can even get you overstimulated so you lose the ability to focus effectively. But for those who need them the meds just allow you to be somewhat normal, just like depression medications for those who are clinically depressed or even insulin for a diabetic.

 

The strange thing about ADHD meds are that most of them are amphetamine-based, meaning that they are essentially like taking speed which for someone who has been properly diagnosed has the opposite effect on the body that it has on the rest of the world. It slows these people down while everyone else will get crazy hyper and stay up for days on end with boundless energy if they take enough. Some of the students that I work with are so naturally hyper that they cannot even sleep if they don't take their speed. Pretty interesting stuff.

Edited January 11, 2009 by bighurt4life

[BobDylan]

I stand corrected.

[He_Gawn]

It's very common. As bad as it sounds, I took an adderall nearly every time I pitched my senior year, and I do not have ADHD. Helped me concentrate tremendously and I worked quicker than ever. Eventually earned a scholarship and stopped taking them because I felt I was cheating myself and the competition. I'm sure many pros take them.

[RockRaines]

Right, ADHD medication actually speeds up those folks to slow them down. To people without the disorder, its basically taking speed. You can crush it up and snort it and will react like its very very cut up cocaine. For baseball players who play 162 games a year, its basically replacing greenies.