Do people with ADD have a shorter or longer life?

Question

I was diagnosed with ADD about a month ago, and I was wondering if having ADD or taking Ridilin (sp?) to treat it affects your lifespan. I'm not necessarily worried, so don't go easy on me with your answer.

Hmm, dunno if this will help, but the type of ADD I have is different than some people's. I am not able to focus on things that I find boring, and tend to procrastinate VERY often. It takes me nearly 5x as long to do an assignment than it should take to complete it, but otherwise I'm okay. (I have a high IQ, so we weren't able to see that something was wrong until 10th grade... that was when my grades started to fall because teachers gave more work, and I couldn't keep up.) I also can't spell outloud, do mental math, unscramble sequences in my head, or say the alphabet in reverse.
Also, in response to one of the answers, I'm a 16 year old female, not a male... And I've been on Ritalin for only 3 days to see what doseage I'll need. I've spoken to my doctor and he said that Ritalin is harmless when not abused. =/ I'm straightedge, so I don't see that happening w/ me.

I was tested by an experienced doctor, who tested me for all learning disabilities and tested my IQ. (Whole thing took nearly 8 hours.) In the ADD test, I scored three times as much as needed to be diagnosed with ADD. She was just the tester, so I was reffered to another doctor (who was given a large packet about my results/personality/testing scores) who interviewed me for about an hour and a half before deciding for me to try Ritalin.

Answer 1

FIrst of all, I feel for you. I am in graduate school and the calibur of work involved there has uncovered some 'glitches' in my brain. I am finding some help with Concerta (although I am anti-medication I have gotten desperate). I also have a high IQ and nothing was ever noticed until later in my school years. Although, just a note- I don't actually have ADD- I have post-traumatic stress disorder from something in my childhood but the symptoms are similar to ADD when trying to do school work.

Unfortunately, I don't think that there are actually any studies on the long-term effects of taking Ritalin. For the most part the research is done with adults- not children- and the so called 'long-term' studies are like 2 years at the max. So that question is pretty much unanswerable.

Other people have answered the other part to your question- those with ADHD type are often involved in riskier, impulsive behaviors that may lead to a shortened life span.

Answer 2

I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that taking Ritalin has had an effect on lifespan directly. As far as your impulsivity potentially shortening your lifespan, I can tell you that in general, the symptoms of ADD/ADHD including impulsivity tend to mature as the individual grows into an adult. Depending on the severity of the ADD/ADHD, the impulsivity may continue to be a problem, however it usually manifests in behaviors that effect common adult factors. This may translate into impulsive relationship or employment changes, problems with communication (conversation, interaction diplomacy), and sometimes impulsive use of substances such as drugs or alcohol. While these are all considerations, it really does depend on the individual and how likely they are to resort to those behaviors when they experience stress.
If you are worried that a medication might have an adverse effect on your health, it might be a good idea to go to a local university and look up the research thats available for a specific drug, You can also refer to the Physician's Desk Reference and the manufacturer's website for a listing of known adverse effects and discuss your concerns with your physician.

Answer 3

In my experience ADD is one of the most overdiagnosed problems in the world. Most of the people who are supposedly ADD are in fact not willing to pay attention, or bored due to subject not being in their intellegence range (special problem for exceptional students). As far as lifespan goes, there is no reason to think that such a disorder should have any significant impact at all. Ritalin and Tegretol, two of the commonly prescribed meds, have a lot of side effects, so its best to get a second opinion before starting chemical treatment. Especially since depression and some other common problems have symptoms that mimic ADD. If your diagnosis was made by a single doctor, I would STRONGLY advise you seek a second, and possibly third opinion before resigning yourself to a life of medications. I wish you the best.

Answer 4

I think that untreated ADD can shorten the lifespan because of the increase in impulsively (and therefor potentially dangerous behaviors.) An untreated ADD'er is more likely to abuse drugs in attempts to self medicate (I just read a very interesting article on this.)
However, the truth it, they really do not know exactly what the long term risks are with these medications. They haven't been around long enough for it to be studied enough.

Answer 5

I am going to assume that you are a young male adult, maybe in your early teens. Was Nothing explained to you? You need to Read-Up on the information regarding your diagnosis. There are several degrees to ADD - and from All that I have read, "Ritalin" is not a respected treatment any longer. The long term effects from taking this drug can be very devastating and have lead to early death in young adult lift, (17-19) There are alternatives, check everything out and try and control yourself when you are board. One thing that helps are "hand games" that you can carry with you. Don't be distrustful, you only hurt yourself and the ones who love you. When you fell yourself starting to "get out of control" make your brain think of SomeThingElse. Look out the window,up at the ceiling and dream - break the anger! Good Boy, I know you want to try, and it was very smart of you to ask on Yahoo!Answers - in most cases, young man, those suffering from ADD;Reversal;Dyslexia are of high I.Q. - Bill Gates is one. So your in good company, now go and READ,READ, and read it again. Learn everything you can, and by learning you will be able to tolerate your misgivings and cope in society and become just as successful and Rich as Bill Gates and Tom Cruse and and I could name a dozen rich and famous people who learned to cope and move on. You can to.. you have lots of time...

Answer 6

Please read up on a condition called Aspergers Syndrome. One of the main characteristics of AS is high IQ - boredom in AS people can cause a drop in grades at school.

It is extremely common for people with AS to be misdiagnosed with ADD.

Answer 7

It doesnt effect their life span.