Medications for ADHD are NOT performance enhancing!
Posted by SuperADDMom on June 14, 2009
Ok here.. read this!!!!!! Then read my rant.
In court documents filed in the past two weeks (Mayfield sought a
temporary restraining order to return to the track; NASCAR
countersued), it was revealed that Mayfield had admitted ingesting a
double dosage of Claritin-D, an allergy medication, and the
prescription drug Adderall XR immediately prior to the Richmond drug
test conducted for NASCAR.
Mayfield claims the Adderall XR had been prescribed by a physician to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
However, a third drug came up positive during the urine-based Richmond
test. The name of the drug in question has been redacted from court
documents and was not specified by either Mayfield or NASCAR because of
the conditions of a May 29 gag order issued in Mecklenburg County
Superior Court in North Carolina.
Mayfield had filed for a temporary restraining order on May 29, asking
to be allowed to compete while his case with NASCAR was ongoing. Judge
Forrest Bridges denied the request. In the filing, Mayfield’s attorney
claimed the suspension was for amphetamines. During the hearing, NASCAR
attorney Paul Hendrick described the unidentified drug as a “dangerous,
illegal banned substance.”
On May 15, NASCAR chairman Brian France used the words “serious
infraction” in describing the failed drug test and said that the third
drug came from within the categories of “performance-enhancing or
recreational.”
In a countersuit filed by NASCAR in U.S. District Court on June 5,
NASCAR cited the side effects of the redacted drug as “excessive
aggression or exaggerated self-confidence as well as numerous other
physical and mental side-effects detrimental to the health and safety
of a stock car driver.”
Monday, ESPN The Magazine learned from sources that the unidentified
drug was methamphetamine. Neither NASCAR nor Mayfield is allowed to
comment because of the gag order.
Mayfield’s attorneys contend that the failed test was a false positive
test reading, triggered by either a mixture of the two acknowledged
drugs ingested or by poorly executed testing procedures. In their
lawsuit filed May 29, Mayfield’s legal team pointed to Nashville-based
AEGIS Sciences, the corporation contracted by NASCAR to conduct the
league’s random drug screenings, which were implemented for the first
time this season.
AEGIS, which also is subject to the gag order, is not allowed to
comment on specifics of methamphetamine testing as it refers to the
Mayfield case, but its Web site does list two methamphetamine-specific
urine-based test procedures.
Following the May 1 drug test, Mayfield drove his Toyota Camry to a
31st-place finish at Richmond the following night, completing 371 of
the race’s 400 laps. As part of the drug-testing procedure, he was
asked to reveal any medications he was taking in order to avoid
confusion during the analysis.
Mayfield said he informed the on-site testing administrator that he had
taken two doses of Claritin-D within a short period of time prior to
the test.
On May 3, Mayfield talked with Dr. David Black of AEGIS to inform him
of the Adderall-XR prescription. According to the lawsuit filed by
Mayfield against NASCAR and AEGIS, Black “expressed doubt that someone
of Mayfield’s age and experience legitimately needed to take Adderall.”
Mayfield’s attorneys allege that Black’s reaction was unnecessary bias that could have tainted the testing procedure.
Because Adderall allows people to “hyperfocus” and continue to
participate and concentrate on heavy physical and mental activity for
long periods of time, it has been listed as a performance-enhancing
drug in much of the sports world, including the NCAA, MLB and the
Olympic governing bodies. NASCAR’s list of banned substances has not
been released publicly.
In 2004, Olympic sprint champion Justin Gatlin was suspended for what he claimed was Adderall use for ADHD.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe received special permission from Major League Baseball while he was with the Boston Red Sox to take the banned substance after doctors convinced the league that he suffered from attention deficit disorder (ADD).
According to his lawsuit, Mayfield and the program’s medical review
officer, Dr. Douglas Auckerman, spoke on multiple occasions May 8,
during which the racer admitted to becoming increasingly agitated about
having to provide more details of potential drug use. He said he
finally told Auckerman to do “whatever you feel like you need to do
because you have done nothing but confuse me.”
The following morning, Mayfield was informed of his indefinite
suspension for failing the drug test at Richmond. That afternoon, the
suspension was announced publicly at the Darlington Raceway infield
media center. Among the first questions asked of Jim Hunter, NASCAR
vice president for corporate communications, was what drugs came up
positive in Mayfield’s test.
Hunter refused to answer, stating that privacy concerns outweighed any
benefit or effect of making the substance public knowledge. The
following weekend, France cited those same reasons for not revealing
the name of the drug.
The two sides are waiting to learn their next date in court. Before
filing its June 5 countersuit, NASCAR successfully petitioned to have
the case moved from Mecklenburg County Superior Court to U.S. District
Court. Because the presiding judge is on vacation, the case is not
expected to be heard until late June.
Under the terms of NASCAR’s substance-abuse policy, Mayfield cannot
appeal his indefinite suspension, but can apply for reinstatement, a
lengthy road that includes drug rehabilitation and counseling.
“I don’t need to go to rehab,” Mayfield told a group of reporters at
Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 16, a surprise track visit that violated
the terms of his suspension. “Because I don’t have a problem.”
Ryan McGee is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at mcgeespn@yahoo.com.
ok… I’ll try to refrain from cursing my ass butt off right now!!! But, I’m sitting here fuming right now, and as such, this is going to be jumbled a bit I can tell already!!! Sorry, my “performance enhancing” ADD drugs have worn off for the day! <grrr>
So, I never paid much attention at first, cause I’m not watching tv much anymore, but Jeremy Mayfield ( who I never really liked anyway cause he’s a bit of a hot heat, but now the whole ADHD thing totally explains that, and I’m over it) apparently tested positive for methamphetamine during a random drug test after a race on May 1st.
WOW! You think…that sucks…a sports car driver using illegal drugs to enhance his performance and cheat! what a #$%*&^. How unsafe! driving a car, in that traffic, at that speed! WOW
But the thing is, Jeremy has ADHD, officially diagnosed by a doctor and has been prescribed Adderall extended release as part of his Adult ADHD treatment/management.
On the day in question Jeremy says he also took two cold medication tablets in close succession, in which he declared prior to the test, besides his prescription medication, that he at first didn’t want to mention ( nor should he of had to).
So now, because of wording by NASCAR statements to the media and refusing to actually say what the results were, the media says a third drug is being claimed to have been found, and NASCAR is saying it is not on record anymore. why not? did you goof?
But ohh, the media…. you’re so smart….you all rushed to your google, and have decided that Jeremy must be taking, by descriptions given by NASCAR ( to make jeremy look bad IMO) meth.. ohhh the big bad street drug Meth!
OMGZ Jeremy is a junkie! Ya right!!
OMFG! ARE you all for real!!!??? If you bothered to do your research, you’d know that most all officially used and recognized medications to treat ADHD ARE derived from methanphetamine. (some SSRI’s have been helpful)
If you actually took the time to RESEARCH your article, you’d find out that ADDERAL, the drug that Jeremy has been prescribed for a legitimate medical condition IS “technically” meth, or well….meth’s cousin…. enough to have the same descriptions as what NASCAR claims as being dangerous for a driver to be using while driving.
Again, since you didn’t bother to do your homework… here is a cut and paste from wiki.. ( you’d also find it on webMD etc. since wiki, is not considered a reliable source for most reputable writers.)
Amphetamine is a psychostimulant drug that is known to produce increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite. Amphetamine is related to drugs such as methamphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which are a group of potent drugs that act by increasing levels of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine in the brain, all chemicals, if you bothered to look into it further, you’d known that ADDers tend to have lower levels of.
So I am left to wonder if there is confusion…Jeremy is saying all he took was prescription Adderal, and over the counter cold meds ( and at this point we have no reason to not believe him ). So did these morons over at NASCAR who don’t even have one brain cell to rub between them look at the paper results ( they didn’t even bother to give Jeremy a copy of) and see “anphetamine” as a chemical compound found in his system and then see that Jeremy is saying “adderal and cold meds” so everyone is just thinking there is a third drug? There seems to be a lot of inconsistency in this. But it is not frickin’ rocket science people!
Now the issues I have with this whole thing is that Mayfield is being called a cheater, a druggie, and being told he cannot be reinstated as a driver until he essentially admits to a drug problem and undergoes extensive drug counseling and rehabilitation yet to be determined by how ever the “good ole boys” over at NASCAR see fit.
He can’t appeal the decision, and he has to bite his tongue and be calm ( sometimes hard for us ADDers when being wronged) and be rational while sayng ” I don’t need that, I don’t have a drug problem.” Because if he gets upset, and blows up publically, and damn right he SHOULD be upset. They’ll just say his behaviour is a direct result of the drug problem. They are destroying his reputation.
I want to scream right now.. I’m so pissed FOR Jeremy! NASCAR ( the organization, not the sport) sucks… and if you wanna know why…go read this after…http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&subsectionID=2&articleID=68903
If Jeremy is using prescribed ADHD medication AS prescribed to treat his officially diagnosed ADHD, then he has no problem with drugs at all, and forcing him to do counselling and drug treatment for a problem he doesn’t have is basically forcing him to lie and say he does, just so he can race again.
Might I point out to his lawyers ( not that you shouldn’t already know this but)… Jeremy is being discriminated against by NASCAR for a legitimate health issue. So Jeremy, I hope you sue NASCAR’s ass off, and end up owning it! Call Dr Ed Hallowell for expert witness on ADHD in adults.
And for the writer of this article I read who is malinformed about ADHD and medications, and too lazy to research his topic; Here’s some fast facts about Adult ADHD, for you and anyone else who thinks that because we take a medication for it that is a stimulant and is amphetamine, it must be a “boost” to us somehow, or allows us to perform “better” than others.
- People with ADHD have a neurolocial difference in their brain chemistry. Without ADHD medications they very often have to endure serious lack of focus, lack of attention to detail, getting side tracked easily, getting easily bored and falling alseep or gettind drowsy in repetitive situations.
- ADHD medication is NOT performance enhancing to a person who NEEDS it to function “normally”, like it would be to a person who is not ADHD and took it. Adderall for people with ADHD is no more performance enhancing than lithium for bipolar or insulin for diabetics. At BEST it allows a person with ADHD to perform on PAR with the others around them and even then it doesn’t “cure” ADHD traits, or make us equal in any way shape or form. Ask any Adult ADDer who struggles trying to balance what YOU handle easily in a day or week, how they’d do without their medication, and then tell them that with it, they would be better then you. Then prepare to be reemed out.
- People with ADHD are MISSING the essential brain chemicals that YOU NON ADDers have that keep your brain awake. So we take stimulant medications in order to compensate for that. The hyperness comes from the fact that WITHOUT the chemical that YOU have to function normally, our brain says ” WOAH.. something is wrong here, I can’t stay awake, quick, turn up this chemical and that one to compensate for the lack of that one, we need to keep this body awake and moving” and therefore the hyper, innatentivness and other classic traits of ADHD occur. When you put stimulant medication INTO that ADHD equation, and fine tune it with the right levels, the brain functions more closer to what a NON ADDer’s brain functions like and the hyper slows down. It’s not like you just gave rocket boosters to a jet engine for more power, or shot heroine into his arm! Get your facts straight and stop spreading crap!
- Dr Black…you astound me.. what can I say… You’re an ass! For more info on that go read this article, which better says what I am thinking.
- FYI: taking ADHD medication doesn’t allow people with ADHD to “hyperfocus”, nor would medication give Jeremy an “edge on his competition” or make it “dangerous for him to drive”. Hyper focus is generally what happens when we DON’T have ADHD medications to help us regulate the ability to tell the passage of time, and regulate our attention better in order to accomplish stuff and not be distracted by everything. We use hyperfocus to functon better when unmedicated, because basically without stimulants, it is harder f0r us to juggle our attention. Without ADHD meds many of us struggle with hyperfocus and all the other issues adults with ADHD struggle with ( you know the ones Dr Black thinks no one our age have, or need to be treated for.) HAVE ever heard of google Mr Ryan from ESPN?
With the words “ADHD Hyperfocus” the third result down on a google search gives you an article on About.com by Keath Low, with a pretty good definition by ADHD Doctor Kathleen Nadeau. She explains hyperfocus this way. “In actuality, ADD is not a ‘deficit’ of attention, but a disorder in which individuals have much less control over their responses to stimuli,” writes Nadeau. They are unable to regulate their attention. Though they may have extreme difficulty focusing, organizing, and completing certain mundane tasks, they are often able to focus intently on other activities that interest them. This tendency to become absorbed in tasks that are stimulating and rewarding is called hyperfocus. It is not unusual for these individuals to become so immersed in a task that they are oblivious to everything else going on around them. - By the same standards you’ve applied here to Jeremy Mayfield, one could call the Children’s Protection Agency tomorrow on me and report that I take meth every day and I drive around with my kids in my car while doing so, since I take concertta every day for my Adult ADD and am the primary driver in our home. Before my ADHD medication, on a long drive on a route I am used to…I had a hard time staying awake, and have to often stop and get out of the car and take a break, to wake myself up, or drink large doses of caffeine to keep alert. If you asked my husband, he’d tell you he much prefers my driving while on “the meth” than not, as i get too distracted by other things when driving without it.
- When driving WITH my meds, I actually follow the speed limits and am not forced to use cruise control to keep from speeding. As many ADDers do TO focus when driving so they only focus on the driving.
So you see…ADHD medications for an ADHD NASCAR driver as performance enhancing is actually laughable…it would be like like saying a cigarette and a coffee for a non ADDer NASCAR driver would be performance enhancing.
ERRRRR….this just makes me mad….Jeremy, I’m rooting for you. Stay calm, stay strong, stay true.
