WAG Simone and adhd

[2G1B]

@Jenny, do you mean "it would not be right for JUST anyone to be able to take them"?
I totally agree with that. And it wouldn't be legal, at least in the US. I have to jump through more hoops to get my kids their ADHD meds (two of my 3 have it) than I did to get the narcotics I just got for a surgery. People who don't have ADHD should be banned from competing if they are taking these meds.

I can't wait for my 10 yo DD to get home to tell her about this. She adores Simone. After Svetlana, Simone is her favorite gymnast ever. My DD just started taking meds in the past few months and she has kind of fought it because she just hates to take any medicine at all and I think that she feels like taking them is admitting that something is "wrong" about her. But there is such a change in her ability to make corrections, to stay a little focused, and to hear what her coaches and teachers are telling her. I think that knowing that Simone has to take medicine for it too will really help her to see that it isn't something wrong with her, just different.

My son has been taking meds much longer. His issues were more apparent from a younger age (he is severely inattentive). He has told me that without meds his coach will be telling him something and he telling himself in his head, "Pay attention. Hear what he is saying. Don't forget what he is saying. Pay attention!!!" Then the coach finishes talking and he thinks, "I have no idea of what he just said to me. UGH!!"

 

[notthatmom]

My son has been taking meds much longer. His issues were more apparent from a younger age (he is severely inattentive). He has told me that without meds his coach will be telling him something and he telling himself in his head, "Pay attention. Hear what he is saying. Don't forget what he is saying. Pay attention!!!" Then the coach finishes talking and he thinks, "I have no idea of what he just said to me. UGH!!"

This is me 100%!!

Growing up, I never knew how my classmates could just pay attention....there was always 10 billion things on my mind and I didn't understand how other people just didn't have minds like mine.

I struggled like crazy in school, I had to work 10 times harder than my peers and still didn't get the best grades (though, still decent, I graduated from college and all that jazz). Now that I have the medicine, I'm like "woah! This must be how everyone else feels!"

Had I been diagnosed as a child, school would have been so much easier...heck I coulda went to Harvard :P

And yeah, picking up the perscription is no easy task. My Dr office is like 30 mins away, then I have to take it all the way back to my pharmacy to fill it. My Dr actually lives in my town, I'm half tempted to ask if I can just pick it up at her house ;)

 

[notthatmom]

Ps. I have no idea how I made the font blue ^

 

[sewgood]

The only controversy is the Russian hacking of this information.

On this site, yes. Read some of the comments on other sites, though.

 

[2G1B]

On this site, yes. Read some of the comments on other sites, though.

Is it the standard "ADHD isn't real", "parents just want to dope their kids up to make them robots" or in this case to make her a better athlete? This article is a year old; but it is great:
https://indyschild.com/good-intentions-wont-cure-adhd/

 

[looly]

Is it the standard "ADHD isn't real", "parents just want to dope their kids up to make them robots" or in this case to make her a better athlete? This article is a year old; but it is great:
https://indyschild.com/good-intentions-wont-cure-adhd/

So many feels from this article. Thank you for sharing it. My amazing DD was diagnosed 3 years ago, and I have learned so much about the disease, about her, and about myself (yah, it's often inherited and I know just where she gets it from.) While it makes me angry the the hackers outed Simone, I am glad that my daughter has another role model to look up to in someone who manages their illness and is able to perform at the highest levels (because of, or in spite of, or both).

 

[Rapunzel]

The whole point of the banned substance list is to stop substance misuse in athletes. The key word here is misuse, if an athlete has a genuine medical need, then that's a world of diffrrence.
Factor in the impact of the medication on an ADHD sufferer and consider how focused it could make a non-ADHD sufferer - that's why it's on the list.
It's like the asthma steroids - increasing lung capacity in an asthmatic is great - using them to increase lung capacity in a non-asthmatic is cheating.
It's all about the misuse not about the medical use.

 

[azara]

What many people who don't take these medications overlook are side effects. I don't know anything about ADHD, but asthma inhalers like Ventolin make me very jittery and wobbly - not great for gymnastics, I can tell you! I imagine there can also be side effects for Ritalin which would actually be detrimental to doing gymnastics, not helpful.

 

[notthatmom]

What many people who don't take these medications overlook are side effects. I don't know anything about ADHD, but asthma inhalers like Ventolin make me very jittery and wobbly - not great for gymnastics, I can tell you! I imagine there can also be side effects for Ritalin which would actually be detrimental to doing gymnastics, not helpful.

There are potential side effects to pretty much ANY medication. But for people with ADHD, the positive effects far outweigh the bad. If you truely have ADHD, there isn't much that would negatively effect your gymnastics...other than maybe the loss of appetite, but over time you get used to it and get your appetite back.

If someone takes ADHD medicine and it makes them too jittery, they either don't have ADHD or their dosage is incorrect.

 

[azara]

There are potential side effects to pretty much ANY medication. But for people with ADHD, the positive effects far outweigh the bad. If you truely have ADHD, there isn't much that would negatively effect your gymnastics...other than maybe the loss of appetite, but over time you get used to it and get your appetite back.

If someone takes ADHD medicine and it makes them too jittery, they either don't have ADHD or their dosage is incorrect.

Yes, of course the positive effects outweigh the bad. Perhaps my comment was irrelevant to ADHD specifically - as I said, I don't have knowledge on Ritalin etc. at all. Arguments surrounding TUEs extend further than this particular case, though. I think in other instances the side effects of taking medication (when the user actually needs it, not abuses it) can still be a marginal disadvantage, not an advantage as I have seen some claim. Many in Russia, for example, think taking medications like Ritalin acts as a stimulant and is therefore advantageous - though they are wrong.

 

[flipnastic]

What many people who don't take these medications overlook are side effects. I don't know anything about ADHD, but asthma inhalers like Ventolin make me very jittery and wobbly - not great for gymnastics, I can tell you! I imagine there can also be side effects for Ritalin which would actually be detrimental to doing gymnastics, not helpful.

Yup, yup, yup! My daughter is in daily steroids fir asthma and at 5, is starting to realize most people don't take meds on a daily basis. I told her that Simone bikes takes medicine everyday and her face lit up! The meds (especially when she's on albuterol and prednisone) definitely do NOT make gymnastics easier...if fact, I am beginning to wonder if she has add/adhd as well or if the symptoms are side effects from her meds. It's hard watching your little ones struggle, but I know Simone talking so openly about this will inspire many...kids AND adults!

 

[raenndrops]

Yup, yup, yup! My daughter is in daily steroids fir asthma and at 5, is starting to realize most people don't take meds on a daily basis. I told her that Simone bikes takes medicine everyday and her face lit up! The meds (especially when she's on albuterol and prednisone) definitely do NOT make gymnastics easier...if fact, I am beginning to wonder if she has add/adhd as well or if the symptoms are side effects from her meds. It's hard watching your little ones struggle, but I know Simone talking so openly about this will inspire many...kids AND adults!

Albuterol can cause add/adhd like symptoms.
I have ADHD and Asthma. I had ADHD before it was a diagnosis (1976)… I was "a hyperactive child" back then. So, of course, I was not medicated for it.

When I use my nebulizer for a bad asthma attack (normally just use the inhaler which isn't quite as bad with side effects as the nebulizer ), I either have to lay COMPLETELY still for 20-30 minutes before resuming activity or I am super amped up for the rest of the day - shaky, can't sit still, can't focus, can't think.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Albuterol can cause add/adhd like symptoms.
I have ADHD and Asthma. I had ADHD before it was a diagnosis (1976)… I was "a hyperactive child" back then. So, of course, I was not medicated for it.

When I use my nebulizer for a bad asthma attack (normally just use the inhaler which isn't quite as bad with side effects as the nebulizer ), I either have to lay COMPLETELY still for 20-30 minutes before resuming activity or I am super amped up for the rest of the day - shaky, can't sit still, can't focus, can't think.

I'm sure if you would have cut down on your cursive writing, you would have been fine!

 

[Jenny]

The whole point of the banned substance list is to stop substance misuse in athletes. The key word here is misuse, if an athlete has a genuine medical need, then that's a world of diffrrence.
Factor in the impact of the medication on an ADHD sufferer and consider how focused it could make a non-ADHD sufferer - that's why it's on the list.
It's like the asthma steroids - increasing lung capacity in an asthmatic is great - using them to increase lung capacity in a non-asthmatic is cheating.
It's all about the misuse not about the medical use.

This.

 

[Randomactsofcheer]

Yup, yup, yup! My daughter is in daily steroids fir asthma and at 5, is starting to realize most people don't take meds on a daily basis. I told her that Simone bikes takes medicine everyday and her face lit up! The meds (especially when she's on albuterol and prednisone) definitely do NOT make gymnastics easier...if fact, I am beginning to wonder if she has add/adhd as well or if the symptoms are side effects from her meds. It's hard watching your little ones struggle, but I know Simone talking so openly about this will inspire many...kids AND adults!

My DD has epilepsy and was diagnosed with a neurocognitive disorder and ADD after being on her seizure medication for six months. The psychiatrist that diagnosed her through neuropsych testing thinks the neurocognitive disorder and ADD are caused by her seizure medication. I think he is right. Her memory is better and her attention deficit symptoms have decreased after being on the seizure medication for almost two years. But there is still no way DD would be able to function in school or at gymnastics without taking a stimulant. Gymnastics would be downright dangerous for DD without her medication.

DD is definitely more aware this year of how much medication she takes and that she is "different" from other children. We try to teach her that being different is okay, that everyone is different. But we are definitely at a stage where she just wants to fit in, so I can't wait to share this Simone Biles story with her.

 

[Jenny]

I just wish it had always been known and had not come out this way.

 

[duyetanh]

I can't wait to share this Simone Biles story with her.

I am so glad! It's seriously why I started the thread...

 

[duyetanh]

I just wish it had always been known and had not come out this way.

I do agree...but I can also understand why it was not.

 

[sewgood]

I just wish it had always been known and had not come out this way.

Why?

 

[Jenny]

Why?

because I would love if it were not a big deal and she had felt able to share about it years and years ago. I love that Louis Smith has been so open about his ADHD.