dmcoco84

First. lol.

Phew… I passed. That sure was stressful. All right, I’m working on it. I’m pretty busy this month so its gonna take some time to go through the two books to find the data I need to fully respond, but I WILL respond. In the mean time, I’m curious. Of everything that has been posted, you have only objected to one thing I said, though its pretty much a sub-topic. So do you agree with all the information I have put forward about ADD/ADHD? Coco

PM Sent. D

WS Gainer Exits... SOOOO MUCH FUN!

Example 1: Agreed, but nothing is impossible. One thing that helped me focus and channel my energy and need to constantly be moving when seated, rubbing stones. It helped control fidgeting and other problems cause by medication. May not work for everyone but there are many different things that can be done for a variety of associated problems. Same as figuring out the best way a person is able to learn and retain information, as i talked about previously. As well as taking more breaks. To this day, when studying, i often do not study for more than 20 minutes without taking at least a 5 minute break. Example 2: Ahhhhhhhhhh, not so much. When the PFC is not functioning properly, during concentration activities; attention span, perseverance and critical thinking are drastically diminished. Because of this, when the mind wanders, it wanders away from the activity at hand to more stimulating thoughts, like skydiving. It does not help you to elaborate, think outside the box or increase creativity... it hinders it, cause you're not even able to focus on basic aspects of the activity. And secondly, children with add/adhd tend to have difficulty with flexibility and often have enormous difficulty working with others. Example 3: Not unless the activity is psycostimulating or the individual has an increased or overactive cingulate (extreme overactivity - OCD) where they get stuck on thoughts or behaviors. As talked about above, student skydivers learning dive flows or packing. Both very interesting to a new skydiver, but anything that requires concentration that is not psycostimulating will decrease functionality. D

Care to elaborate? D

Nope, work full time in an Emergency Room and a full time student as well. I’m just as busy as anyone else, which is why I am just now responding. My extensive response is from OCD, not from ADD. Trust me, you don’t want my brain. It was difficult for a number of reasons. For one, HAVING add, my brain shuts down while trying to concentrate, just as I explained before. I’ll give you a decent example. Just the other day I was having a heated discussion with someone at work. Midway through making my point, poof, blank. Couldn’t remember a damn thing I was talking about. “Wait wait wait, stop, hold on. Give me a min.” Took me a good 30-40 seconds, because I had to go back over the whole thing in my head to get back to where I was. Without the OCD and the speed at which my brain functions, it would have taken much longer. Imagine that problem with exams full of complicated word problems or learning those dive flows at the dz. Additionally, if it were not a topic that I had constantly been thinking about, it would have been even more difficult to structure my response. Those with add, including myself, often have difficulty structuring verbal communication, for many different reasons. Two of which, we just can’t find our words, or our brains are processing faster than we can talk. Similarly why those with the disorder have to print instead of writing cursive. My cursive looked like one jumbled mess so I only print, and no amount of practice ever helped. Secondly, I initially tried to argue just what you had posted. It made absolutely no sense so it was impossible to effectively discredit. I found the article but had the same problem with the ridiculous claims from the author. It took a great deal of time trying to understand where he was trying to come from, though he was wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I had to re-read that stupid shit, as well as reading my own response over and over to make sure it sounded the way it did it my thoughts. I called you an idiot because your post essentially mocks ADD, and me, through voicing that you felt diagnosis of the disorder was as simple as an online test at WebMD. And yes, those were your words, because nowhere are those words posted solely or in any combination. Type “Give the ADHD test at WebMD a try” into Google. You get nothing. If I’m wrong, then post a link. If you made that post after two minutes of research on a serious subject like this, posted for entertainment and for a laugh, then you are not only an idiot but a fucking asshole for wasting people’s time. It’s all good though. I’ll just ignore you in the future, and your words will be sure to show the jackass that you are. Skydivers with disabilities is not the place. Go fuck off in Bonfire if you wanna mess around and push people’s buttons. Same as if you went and started posting nonsense in the Women only forum, when you’re a man. I have posted in there before but I was always respectful and serious unless it was a joke of good taste. Not the place for you to screw around, or they’d ban you. And your joke was neither funny nor in good taste. DFWAJG, I am SO glad you chimed in. “I think I know what I am talking about.” Hahaha! This is gonna be fun. I was hoping someone like you would enter the conversation. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to start replying till after the 19th. Got a big exam that I have to study for, I’m writing this post as I take breaks. Plus there are quite a few things I will be pulling from two of his books. I remember what was said, but I'd like to quote exactly. I'm looking forward to seeing your responses. So it’s Dan, ey? Are you on a first name basis? Why don’t you call him up, I’d love to have a chat with him. I'm extremely fucked up, I’d keep him on his toes. Grin………… Coco Spelling

I am reminded of an English teacher I had in middle school, who used to say "Reading is Fundamental" when she was asked a dumb question. Lets take a look at your link, shall we? In the very first sentence it refers to an MTE, as an important part of the clinical assessment process. In keeping the wiki theme, you can convieniently click on the word, assessment. A psychiatric assessment is a process of gathering information about a person, from a person. Shall we go back to the beginning? A psychiatric assessment is no different than asking a patient what their symptoms are. A patient could say, “I’m depressed”. Many individuals have no external stimulus to cause this state. Deficits in Serotonin or abnormal functioning in certain brain structures can be accounted for the problem (brain injury is a big problem). Making a diagnosis solely based on symptoms will produce uncertain, and often negative outcomes. Only a diagnostic tool, such as a SPECT scan looks at the actual functionality of the brain. Similarly with kidney stones, CT scans check for stones and urine tests are done to check for blood. These are diagnostic tools. Continuing the wiki theme, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beck_Depression_Inventory The Beck Depression Inventory, created by Dr. Aaron T. Beck, is a 21-question multiple-choice self-report inventory that is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring the severity of depression. The development of the BDI was an important event in psychiatry and psychology because it represented the shift of healthcare professionals' view of depression from a Freudian, psychodynamic perspective, to one guided by the patient's own thoughts or "cognitions". However, the BDI suffers from the same problems as other self-report inventories, in that scores can be easily exaggerated or minimized by the person completing it. Psychiatrics listen to symptoms, and then they make diagnosis without knowing how the brain is actually functioning. Sorry buddy... you are the one that is sadly misinformed. The only psychiatrist I have read about who uses a diagnostic tool for evaluation, is Dr. Daniel Amen. If any others do as well, its after reading his research. D

I would love to hear how you think ADD is an advantage. The article sure didn't say, can you? D

WOW! Your post is so utterly ridiculous that I’ve had a hard time responding. Lets start out with a song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrjwaqZfjIY Firstly, who cares what it is called! Call it SDPCP - Super Duper Prefrontal Cortex Problem. I really could care less. The fact is there are thousands of imaging studies done by Dr. Amen showing what I explained previously, ADD is real. Secondly, ADHD is not just a hyper child with short attention span who can’t seem to get schoolwork done. ADHD is characterized by persistent short attention span, distractibility, disorganization, procrastination and most importantly, problems with forethought, judgment and impulse control. It’s a little more complicated than you think. There are plenty of people who are very energetic and have short attention spans for school/job related work that do not share the other characteristics, and therefore would not be classified as having ADHD. More so, Dr Amen classifies ADD/ADHD by six different types. Of those types, Type 2: Inattentive ADD; includes the primary ADD symptoms plus low energy and motivation, spacey, and internally preoccupied. It is more common in girl and these are quiet kids and adults, often labeled lazy, unmotivated, and not that smart. Very different from the symptoms generalized by the public about the disorder. Not to mention your own quoted MD on ADHD, wrote on its occurrence in young females. http://www.deficitdeatencionperu.org/principal/girls-with-adhd.html - Just like how men and woman show different signs of a heart attack, there are differences between the sexes in ADD/ADHD. She says it’s real too, though there are many things I disagree with in her piece. Aight, here we go... “Letting others speak for you” didn’t do you ANY good. Your source selection is downright pathetic! (https://lists.aktivix.org/pipermail/ssf/2006-March/001512.html). Posted on a mailing list and originally in the New York Times, which is a dying newspaper as of recent statistics. An article that is over 2 years old stating one idiotic psychiatrist’s thoughts on the usage of medication, how learning should be structured to overcome it instead and that it was actually an evolutionary benefit in the hunter gather time period. Stupid BS. And nice job of only using parts of the article, not posting the URL, and then taking those parts out of context. Unfortunately I guess I have to go over the entire article... No argument there. The medications that are prescribed for the disorder are rough! I was on Ritalin for many years and switched to Dexedrine for a short period of time before I stopped the use of medication. Suffered from loss of appetite, weight loss, insomnia, head aches, irritability, ticks (like constantly cracking my knuckles or moving while seated), and others. It was pretty undesirable. Zanaflex, Adderall, Adderall XR, Strattera are just as bad. But the risk of death is actually low... Death has been caused from pre-existing cardiac arrhythmias and not that they create one or cause cardiac arrest. A simple EKG can be done prior to the start of medication to ensure safety. Whatever... Umm... not really... that is if you read more about it. Those with ADD/ADHD do not have an attention surplus... and a Google search brings up a bunch of BS. As I explained before, “ADD is a physiological abnormality within the prefrontal cortex. During generalized activity this portion of the brain is unaffected. However, upon activities that require concentration, this portion of the brain shuts down.” This would not be an advantage in the hunter-gatherer era! Think about impulse control and critical thinking when sneaking up on prey. Concentrating on the prey and needing to slowly sneak up behind it. That activity would be hindered if the PFC were not functioning properly. Already covered this. Wrong! It affects every aspect of an individual’s life, including family, friendships and intimate relationships. It is more often negative... or can even destroy them. Think of the impulse control and critical thinking that comes with a relationship. Conflict-seeking behavior is also a problem with this disorder. Causing chaos and conflict is another way that individuals feed ADD. Just like self-medication with Nicotine, THC, Cocaine, and Amphetamines, conflict acts as a psycostimulant that feeds the brains dysfunction. What a bunch of BS! To be impulsive would be to get angry and without forethought (ding ding) or thought about consequences (ding ding) punch someone in the face. Neither impulsivity nor being spontaneous deals with the fight or flight response that is programmed into the primitive parts of our brains. Wrong again! Context driven? Not so much... I absolutely love science, have always found it fascinating and enjoy studying it! However I still had enormous difficulty learning the information whether it was biology, chemistry, astronomy... whatever. Or currently, on my own time, I am reading about physics and string theory. I still have to re-read information more than the average person does to fully retain it, regardless of its difficulty, and regardless of how interested in the information I am, or if I am learning in the “context” easiest for me. Or the skydivers talked about in this thread, learning dive flows and how to pack. These are quite interesting, especially for a new skydiver, hands on activities however they continued to cause difficulty. That is because any activity that requires concentration and focus can cause the individuals PFC to shut down leading to deficits in functionality. And that isn’t even looking at the possible other brain structures that could be exacerbating the problem. Like I said before, a simple EKG can be done prior to the start of medication to ensure cardiac safety, as that is the major concern with the medications. And isn’t that what the FDA is for? There are three ways that people learn. There are Listening, Seeing, and Touch/Experience learners. And yes, you can have a combination. It would be wonderful if that were possible, but not all subjects have that ability. Teachers already utilize computer labs with interactive learning tool and games, Cable In The Classroom and other things like classroom Jeopardy games. But there will always be reading to do, bookwork, and word problems, especially if you wish to attend college. Students need to learn their own means for studying and adapting to overcome difficulty with learning. There are plenty of examples I could give, including things I did myself. For those things that students have difficulty with, like test taking. Accommodations are available for things like additional time. Or during high school lecture, I was allowed to have a tape recorder, because I retained very little. In college I didn’t even bother listening, I just showed up and then read the book. It took a much greater deal of effort on my part, but I did fine. It’s not a context driven disorder! Go ahead, search attention-SURPLUS disorder in Google. See what you get. Grin. “Shaking Head” Not even gonna bother... You actually brought up the self test on WebMD? Idiot. Did you look up attention surplus on WebMD too? What did you find? Over diagnosed? Sure has been, because of stupid General Practitioners and shitty Psychiatrists who don’t understand the disorder or how to properly diagnose it. Or they are looking to appease pushy parents who read about it in a book and “self-diagnosed their child”. Society is also abusing SSRIs like Prozac. Do you think that depression is bullshit too? Many people shouldn’t be on them either, but there are equally many who respond beneficially and need them. And then of course there are the negative repressions of “trying a different med till you find the one that works.” A commonly horrific practice in the field of psychiatry, which often leads to worse outcomes. A better option is often a natural SSRIs, like St. Johns Wart. Again, this type of brain function was not beneficial in “cave man” times. As well as medication is not a means of compensation. It is a means of keeping the brain functioning correctly. Should Turrets patients who experience loud or distracting involuntary tics suck it up and learn how to deal with it? I don’t think a medication that stops or reduces the severity of those tics is compensation either. They both correct improper neurochemistry. Turrets is an equally problematic genetic brain function disorder also documented with SPECT imaging. So you have gone from first calling ADD bullshit, to taking a pathetically written article in a shitty Newspaper out of context to try and show it’s a cop-out for bad parenting and improper learning settings, and finally to a self test on website that the majority of physicians despise and wish it didn’t exist (“Well on WebMD it says I have appendicitis… No, ya don’t.”) A society of the self diagnosed. Which is even more pathetic considering that the majority of parents today don’t even give their child with a fever Tylenol or Motron before considering a trip to the ER at 3am. “Did you give them anything?” “Umm No.” DUMBASS! You can’t cure stupidity... My opinion... is that I think you need to do a little more research before you voice YOUR opinion. Here, a good book to start with. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Change-Your-Brain-Change-Your-Life/Daniel-G-Amen/e/9780812929980/?itm=1 D

Psychiatry, the only medical profession that attempts to treat an organ they fail to even examine. If an individual comes into the ER with chest pain, the physician will listen to the patient’s symptoms, do blood work to look for markers indicating cardiac distress, and most importantly, view a 12 lead EKG to see the actual functionality of the cardiac muscle. If there were a problem, without knowing how the heart is functioning, how would the physician know which medications to give? It can’t be done, unless the goal is to kill the patient. Nor could proper treatment been administered for numerous other organs if only the patients symptoms were accounted for. ADD is not a psychiatric disorder, nor are the majority of neurological problems “they treat.” ADD is a physiological abnormality within the prefrontal cortex. During generalized activity this portion of the brain is unaffected. However, upon activities that require concentration, this portion of the brain shuts down. Shuts down? Yes... If your arm has no blood in it, it won’t work, same with the brain. Or if there were no blood flow to the occipital regions of the brain, you would not be able to see. Functions of the pre-frontal cortex... attention span, perseverance, judgment, impulse control, organization, self-monitoring and supervision, problem solving, critical thinking, forward thinking, learning from experience, ability to feel and express emotions, interaction with the limbic system and empathy. Pretty important... ey? Now, Dr. Daniel Amen is a psychiatrist... but he is also a clinical neuroscientist. Dr. Amen has been the leading innovator of SPECT imaging. SPECT imaging looks at blood flow and metabolism rates within the brain. A whole slew of problems can occur within a brain structure from either under or over activity. This imaging technology is far more advanced and beneficial than other technology used for these purposes. CT and MRI are purely anatomical and show nothing of substance (SPECT can also be used for bleeds and strokes just as a CT is used). EEG is extremely limited (but being used in other quite innovative ways – like controlling a computer through EEG mapping. If you were to map the impulses of the brain used to move the arm, you can create a prosthesis controlled through EEG mapping.). I have Attention Deficit Disorder, as well as extreme hyperactivity both in behavioral and thought process functioning. I was tested in the first grade, as well as given an IQ test where I had to stand the entire test because I couldn’t stop moving (scored quite well too). Not only that but I have quite a few other problems including OCD, repetitive fear based checking (and there are many different types). Any BASE jumper who has shared an exit point with me would know… because at its worst, it would take me 30 minutes to climb a 1k antenna (pretty fast), and an additional 40 just to check my rig, gear up, and be ready to jump. Example, when I checked my handle... 3 sets of 3. All of my rituals are in 3 sets of 3... it makes life very difficult at times… but quite comforting to know that Nicola Tesla was exactly the same. (If you don’t know who that is, I suggest you look it up. Sad how few do considering his impact on the world.) OCD is a PHYSIOLOGICAL abnormality in the Anterior Cingulate, which is the portion of the brain that acts as the gear shifter between thoughts. When overactive, OCD manifests and it is very common with ADD. As well as anxiety is associated with under or over activity with the basal ganglia. A problem Dr. Amen has himself, along with his children and mother who were scanned for his research in the beginning, and all have the same brain patterns. Don’t believe it? Need a better example? Well the United States Army has been utilizing Dr. Amen at the Walter Reed medical center to treat solders with traumatic brain injuries. Many soldiers would experience increased anger, violence, and other temper related problems after recovery. Through SPECT imaging, it was found that many of these solders had damage to the temporal lobe(s). It was also found unpon being scanned that many of the children who killed classmates and faculty in school shootings had temporal lobe problems. Change your Brain Change your Life is his most recent book. Talks about each of the different brain structures, their functions and their problems associated with over or under activity. As well has treatments... non-medication prescriptions, cognitive therapy, diet, and of course medications (natural and synthetic). Like St. Johns wart for depression... a natural SSRI. The medications given to those with ADD are psycostimulants... they increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. That is why it is often found that those with ADD self medicate with Nicotine, THC, Cocaine, and Amphetamines. They are all psycostimulants. I could go much further into medication and pharmacology but I simply don’t have the time at the moment. Medication is necessary for some... It won’t help you study if you don’t have it and can make think 10x worse for others... others like me. Psycostimulants worsen things like OCD. Crazyboy... Skydiving is an extremely psycostimulative activity. Problems with gear checking and dive planning are understandable… however the actual skydive... you wouldn’t forget to pull... Just like debussyschild said, “Super focused in freefall”, you would become more aware and focused. (That would be with or without meds) If you are forgetting steps to packing... either spend more time doing so and make a personalized systematic way to pack or get a packer. You should see me pack my BASE rig! Perfectly neat and the same every time. If you are messing up dive flows... keep them simple and small, and then work your way up. If you are unable to maintain altitude awareness, then don’t skydive. From your post, you sound like you are full of it... I don’t think you have ADD. You may just be a dumb ass... Like we say at the hospital almost every night... “Ya can’t cure stupidity..." Sorry bro! Mr17Hz - First of all, no individual “is” ADD. ADD is a brain function abnormality. You can only “have” ADD. Patrick Swayze isn’t pancreatic cancer... he HAS pancreatic cancer. My grandpa wasn’t Alzheimer’s, he had/developed it. As for your advice... yea, I could agree with that to a point. However... your second to last paragraph is completely false. Firstly, adrenaline (properly named, epinephrine) is not why functioning increases. Try dopamine, but I don’t have time to go into this fully... As well as under activity to the prefrontal cortex would return at the end of the skydive, or shortly after. Especially if packing is started, a non-simulative activity that requires concentration. Continued skydives would be needed to bring about the prefrontal cortex perfusion through pyscostimulation. ASTKU – You might wanna be careful with your words... If you had said that to me, in person, and didn’t take it back, I might just have a lapse in judgment from poor prefrontal cortex function and end up punching you in the face. That would be like saying, “Autism is bullshit, your kid is just retarded.” Don’t call something bull shit that you don’t understand. Would I describe ADD as a disability? Most definitely, but to a point. In grade school I had accommodations such as double time on tests. For example… word problems. The average student would read a word problem once or twice, maybe three times, understand it and answer. For me, it would require easily 10-15 times, usually 5 before I could even start to structure my answer. Without that accommodation, I would have easily failed the majority of my classes... I was successful, but I struggled through grade school... Got better in high school because with age I was better at controlling my focus without the need of medication. I have also found that I retain almost nothing from auditory learning. Lecture is useless to me and I will have taken over 90% of my Bachelors online at completion. Read a book, take a test... reading works best for me... Visual and hands on learning. And very near in the future I’ll be attending Medical School. L8er Coco Edit for Spelling

Well…I finished the video! Thanks again to everyone for the help. Sorry for the video editing “wuffo” questions. Thanks for the many Pm’s as well. Posted in BASE in SDM.com Coco

Web and dvd but just as a data file. I just want it to look clear, thats all... I openned a new project. No changes in any settings from default. Added all my media and edited. Then in the top right I click export then click (one of the options) To DVD or MPEG Quicktime Windows media Player. When it does its think it brings up, the nhext screen it asked for size, Modem, Broadband, LAN for size of vid. Then is says rendering.... Is there something I should be doing before this part? And why are some parts fuzzy after doing so? Not terribly fuzzy but not clear. The original file looks clear though. Coco]

To add, I can export it but parts of the video are a bit fuzzy even in dvd format. Coco

How do I do so in sections? Is exporting it the same as rendering? (Not to farmiliar w/ video editing terminology) I can export it into Quicktime, avi and mpg (dvd) mpg is the only one it looks good in but is 158mb. Also, Divx. Is that the best compression software out there? Coco