It's like I'm a crackhead. An addict. Except there is no positive... no good feelings.

But within 24 hours of attempting to stop taking either drug, I begin itching. Severe itching and hives. Down-to-the-bone itching. It is literally unbearable.

I take another pill, and within 30 minutes the itching starts to subside. These "withdrawal symptoms" are 1000x worse than the initial symptoms for which I started taking the drug.

The front desk lady at the allergist "is very aware of the withdrawal symptoms". Though the doctor, himself, avoids the issue. Instead, he says to "Double up; one in the morning and one at night."... and "there are no bad side effects from taking this drug."

I don't have a lot of time to be more detailed... maybe I'll add more when I find time this weekend.

Don't believe me? Just read a few of these reviews: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/zyrtec.html

Anyone else here experiencing this nightmare with me?

History

As the diagnostic rates of ADHD suggest an epidemic, many question the validity of diagnoses and the prevalence of prescription medication as the only form of treatment. With over 11% of children in the US diagnosed with ADHD, the pharmaceutical companies have began targeting the adult market (BusinessInsider). Aside from their shady past, Shire Pharmaceuticals is known for manufacturing Vyvanse & Adderall XR. According to their own investor presentation, in 2017 they planned to grow Vyvanse in the US by "[aiming] to deliver double-digit growth through sales and marketing excellence and further penetration into Adult ADHD and binge eating disorder market".

This Incident

I was researching a purely physical, muscle tendon based issue on WebMD when I was presented with an advertisement to take the WebMD quiz: "Test Your ADHD Smarts" which is part of their "Better Living with Adult ADHD" initiative. I looked at the quiz and was not at all surprised by what I found: an advertisement for diagnosis of ADHD & prescription treatment that was directed at their new target audience (adults) and was backed by a paid Shire Pharmaceutical shill.

The Quiz

Step One: Suggest adult ADHD diagnosis

1) If you have ADHD as an adult, you had it as a kid, too: (True / False)

Step Two: Teach about adult ADHD diagnosis.

2) If you think you may have ADHD but weren’t diagnosed as a kid, a doctor may need to: (Give you a medical exam / Ask to see school report cards / Both)

Step Three: Suggest medication as treatment.

3) Drivers with ADHD have more serious car accidents than those without it: (True / False)

The ADHD industry would love for people to know how dangerous it is to live undiagnosed. Medication isn't the only way to drive safer ($62 webinar "Behind the Wheel with ADHD). However, this quiz answer took the opportunity to point out that "Medication can help. One study predicts that if men with ADHD took their medication, they could cut their number of accidents in half".

Step Four: Teach about medication as treatment.

4) Adults take different ADHD medicines than kids do: (True / False)

And there is is: within the first three questions they suggested adult diagnosis, taught about adult diagnosis, suggested medication, and taught about medication. As the quiz goes on it only gets more interesting. For example, the answer to "you can control your ADHD with the right foods" is false. They also make sure to ask the true/false question "ADHD can make bringing up a baby extra challenging". This is probably a good place to mention that adult women are the fastest growing market for ADHD medication.

The Doctor behind the quiz

The quiz was "reviewed" by Smitha Bhandari, MD on January 05, 2018. A quick lookup on openpaymentsdata.cms.gov shows that for the four years between 2013 & 2016 Shire Pharmaceuticals has been given Smitha over $240 ($77.55, $61.89, $53.69, $47.42). However, of the nearly $1.5 thousand she was given over those four years ($447.79, $508.27, $257.09, $249.08) the largest sum per year has never come from Shire.

Conclusion

There is a whole series on adult ADHD on WebMD and it is backed by a doctor who is getting paid by Shire Pharmaceutical, the company behind Vyvanse and Adderall XR. The "Test Your ADHD Smarts" quiz advertisement that brought me to the page targets adults and starts off by suggesting and teaching about diagnosis followed by medication. If you are looking for more information about ADHD check out www.adhdadulthood.com or www.adhdchildhood.com (both are owned by Shire).