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Finnish Doctors Are Prescribing Video Games For ADHD
Daniel_Stuckey writes "Ville Tapio runs a private psychiatry center in Helsinki, and psychiatrists had told him they were reluctant in particular to hand out drugs for patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD drugs are psychostimulants, they are frequently abused, and kids can be prescribed them young and kept on a regimen for years. Tapio had an idea to do it better. His alternative? Getting people with mental health concerns to play video games. They're special video games, of course — ones that can change how your brain works, with a technique loosely termed gameified neuroplasticity therapy."
That's like prescribing vodka to an alcoholic.
It worked for ... SHINEY RING!!
*runs off*
Sorry boss, my doctor says I need to medicate every 2 hours while I'm awake.
As though there aren't a lot of people with mental health concerns playing videogames all day...
Must not be Pac-Man or Space Invaders they're playing if they're trying to fix an attention deficit.
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
Are there any of these games available as an app or free download?
oldhack: "Security is a waste of money until shit hits the fan. 5 minutes later, it becomes waste of money again. "
How do you tell the difference between an introvert and an extrovert in Finland? A Finnish extrovert looks at your feet instead of his own when talking.
The OFF-TOPIC / FLAMEBAIT moderators took this case, it's their jurisdiction.
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
But rather a diagnosis. I'm a 27 year old Finn and despite many visits to several doctors, got my ADHD diagnosis just last month. Before that they had just said I was depressed. Yes, since I was a small child.
After the diagnosis. my psychiatrist prescribed me medication straight away. He didn't even ask me for my opinion. And this is public healthcare we are talking about. They go apeshit if you try to get sleeping pills let alone medicine that are considered drugs like Concerta.
Also I call BS on frequent abuse of medicine like Concerta in Finland. It's so expensive and pharmacies make sure that you don't buy more any sooner than you are supposed to have used up all of your medication. It's easier and cheaper to just buy something off the street.
I've never been so focused on anything in my entire life like i'm currently focused on GTAV
Could this be a sinister plot to sell more copies of Angry Birds? "It's not just a game, it's medication." Soon doctors in Finland will be prescribing the game and your health insurer will be required to cover it.
Jews on the golf course? I thought Jews weren't allowed in most country clubs.
nothing improves your concentration like an hour playing tetris. I can still hear the song in my head. for best results, play it on an original game boy.
After the diagnosis. my psychiatrist prescribed me medication straight away. He didn't even ask me for my opinion. And this is public healthcare we are talking about. They go apeshit if you try to get sleeping pills let alone medicine that are considered drugs like Concerta.
Question about your doctor, or rather, the pens he has in his office: they don't happen to have Janssen Pharmaceuticals logos on them do they?
In my nation, America, it's not uncommon for physicians to happily prescribe whatever the drug rep he's cheating on his wife with tells him to; I wonder if Finland is similar in any way.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Here in the US, you just say "I have a child..." and the doctor hands out a script for Adderall.
After reading TFA, I can say it's nice to see a national healthcare system that actually takes ADD and ADHD seriously. Here in the USA, it seems (to me) that there's a lot of "misdiagnosis" of the malady, as if American physicians are more concerned about paychecks and drug rep kickbacks than actually treating the illness.
Not sure if it's still as much an issue today as it was 5-10 years ago, but there was a time when US doctors prescribed Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs to any and every half-assed unruly child, rather than doing any medical or science-based testing to determine if they were indeed ADHD sufferers.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
sorry, but playing sega cd is EVERYONE'S right, and that is more important than playing golf or buying bmws.
I don't know what drugs you're taking, but I think you should stop.
Studies have found that kids with ADHD are much more likely to become addicted to video games. Does this count as an addiction to prescription medicine? Hmm....
As another Finn I can add that it would be pointless as soon as there's a generic alternative. The public health care system mandates that the pharmacies inform you if the same drug that has been prescribed exists as a generic alternative and if you want to change to it because it's cheaper. Usually people do since the subsidy you get is much less if you want a more expensive option, if there's no difference from a medical POV. This is the case with normal prescriptions. I myself have had a chronic condition (epilepsy) for 15 years (a rare and difficult form that 1 in 100 epileptics have) and I get the "original" drug all the time since with any chronic condition the drug expenses are limited to 3 € each time you buy them (regardless of the amount but the max is three months needs). And no matter what drugs you buy, as long as they have been prescribed by a doctor, there's a limit on how high your annual expenses can be (if you have more than 550 € in annual drug expenses, the system pays the rest). Thus I'm not so sure pharmaceutical companies would benefit from influencing doctors to prescribe their drugs unless they're so new that the patents are still valid and generics don't exist.
I think that is an issue more at private clinics as doctors in national healthcare don't really have much to gain for prescribing one drug over another except in some special cases. I have come across situations where doctors prescribe the most expensive medicine available, but pharmacies are mandated to give you the cheapest generic brand available if you ask them to.
As a fellow Finn that has had to use the public system a lot, I must say that my experience has been somewhat different. A couple of questions:
Were you offered therapy? Therapy is the preferred option even if it's more expensive since all drugs have side-effects.
And do you have any other conditions? I do and I have also been diagnosed with ADHD but ADHD drugs are very, very tricky to prescribe since if you take any other drugs at the same time, you can get some really fucked side-effects (heart failure, seizures, convulsions etc.). Thus the doc really needs to be sure there's no other option. Some sleeping pills also fall into that category. So if you have difficulties falling asleep the first option should be melatonin.
The pharmacies have clear regulations that they follow and there's nothing strange about those. Three months at a time. And considering that you're not the one paying for it (more than nominally), it shouldn't come as a surprise that they only give you an amount that you won't resell.
As somebody with mild ADHD and who just happens to be a gamer I was exited by the headline. That is until I saw that these games aren't really games, at least not the kind any self-respecting gamer would choose. Bummer dude.
It has always amazed me how people who are diagnosed with ADHD manage to sit and play video games for hours on end. Yet for some reason, activities like listening to someone speak or learning a new subject seem like impossible tasks for them. This approach seems to make sense since it takes one of the few tasks these people seem to be able to focus on and uses it to rewire their brains to allow them to concentrate better on everyday activities.
It has to be Supertetris for the PC. I am SuperADHD, I played that game an average of a couple hours a day for 2 years. I managed to get 2.1 million points, took me almost a week playing 6 to 8 hours a day. Called them up and told them and there was a 45 second laugh on the other end of the phone, cause they knew how long it took to get that score. They also said that they had never seen a score higher than 1.7 million, which I was stuck on for almost a year. This 1992-93.
It sounds like you live in an evil country where your government looks after the citizens. In more democratic freedom loving countries such as my beloved United States the government naturally looks after the rights of the domestic corporations and foreign powers who control it's debt, while selling its citizens lottery tickets. This is the proper way to run a country. I feel sorry that you have to live in a despotic regime like Finland. Maybe we can use the power of the WTO to liberate you from your despotic regime. Then we can get you set up with a system of insurance companies and malpractice lawyers to ensure that you have the best health care in the world (just like the USA)
Therapy is not recommended to me because I am old enough to know how to live with my condition as I have formed coping methods already. We are going to discuss other options at later time however.
I have no other conditions diagnosed that are related.
My doctor is also aware of all the medication I am using and there shouldn't be a problem. My medication was one of the first things he checked before even the diagnosis actually. I understood it was to check that none of my medication are causing the symptoms.
And when it comes to sleeping pills, I have gone thru all the steps. From literal guides "how to fall asleep" to melatonin. Didn't work. Probably because I have ADHD. ;) According to my doctor, I should be able to fall asleep more properly without sleeping pills after I start taking ADHD medication. I sure hope so.
I was also in the understanding that you only get one months prescription at a time unless you have very good reason for it. I guess your doctor is more lax? And last I checked, I pay most of my medication, not the tax payers. Well, unless I go over the limit of 600 or so euros a year. Then most of it falls to tax payers.
Honestly, you seriously sound like you don't know what you are talking about.
Shows what is possible in a country with a functioning health care system.
Actually it sounds like a great idea.
This has been going on for almost 20 years now. I had ADD as a kid and when I was 11 my parents sent me to a biofeedback clinic where I would sit in a dentist chair and concentrate on a pac-man. If my brain waves were in the ideal range the pac man would move through the maze and I would gain points. The speed at which he moved accelerated so the longer I was able to 'focus' the faster he would go through the maze and I'd get a higher score.
I'm sure the technology must be much more precise these days and the games have probably gotten a lot more interesting to look at but they all essentially are based on the same principle.
The problem is that most kids that age don't care about wanting to learn how to focus better. They just have fun being who they are naturally. These kinds of programs work really well for adults and younger people with a great deal of motivation to change / practice their 'focusing' ability but as an 11 year old, I got really bored doing this and eventually I started falling asleep in the chair half way through every session. Program was a wasted on me but I applaud my parents for wanting to try to help me without medication.
The Blade Itself
I have had a rare and hard to treat form of epilepsy for 15 years so I have had to experience everything in the system - including taking part in a medical trial - so I know a thing or two even though I'm not a doctor. And because I'm not a doctor, I don't state this for a fact but some things you say are strange:
There are numerous ways therapy can help you if you have ADHD and/or depression so when you're saying it's "not recommended", I simply don't believe you. You didn't mention your job situation but if you're unable to work, a plan is made together with your doctor, therapist(s) and the job centre for how to put you on track in the work force.
Other medications are not checked just to see if what you call symptoms are side-effects, they're checked to see if a combination of pills that are otherwise "harmless" won't cause some other side-effects when combined. In my case the options are severely limited because I need three different pills to live a normal life. For instance most pain killers are too risky for me since they can cause problems with my other pills.
I'm sorry about your sleeping problems and you probably know that you must start calming down a couple of hours in advance, reduce lightning (and close the curtains during the summer) and go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
The duration for which I can take pills has nothing to do with the doctor. All the doctor does is to prescribe pills for whatever time he/she deems it necessary for you but the pharmacy can only sell you pills for at most three months even if the doctor prescribes them for longer. I have a prescription for one year at a time but the pharmacy imposes that three months at a a time limit. If your doctor prescribes you pills for a shorter period of time than that, I guess he/she wants to have an appointment with you to find out how you're doing before prescribing more. Other than deciding the total, the doctor has nothing to do with what you can get from the pharmacy at a time. The only other thing that comes to mind is that if it's possible to misuse the pills you've been prescribed, a shorter limit than three months may apply but that would be something I'm unaware of.
And last I checked, I pay most of my medication, not the tax payers. Well, unless I go over the limit of 600 or so euros a year. Then most of it falls to tax payers.
This I take issue with. Check your pharmacy receipt again. Especially how high the subsidy percentage is and be grateful. The 600 € limit (must've been raised from 550 € which it was a few years ago when I exceeded it) is absolute. Anything over it is covered as long as you do the paperwork right (you didn't mess that up did you?). And if you're low income or get welfare subsidies the limit is lowered for you. Because I only pay less than 3 € at a time when I buy my pills even though the total cost of my medication per month is 2680 € people who whine like you do really aggravate me. Note: The 3 € is once your condition has been diagnosed as chronic and not temporary - then it's added to your health insurance (KELA) card so the pharmacy knows it. Until then you need to pay more. Before my condition was under control and I had an uncertain future that would've been a completely impossible expense for me as a student with retired parents to pay, I would've been SOL without the public system - what private system would lend money to a seriously ill person to pay for medication in the hopes that he one day can start earning and pay it back? Now, however, I pay much more than that in taxes per month since I - thanks to the system helping me to a normal life and graduate with a very valuable degree - have a high-paying job, I'm very, very grateful that we have such a system. I'm very far from a leftist and the stupid financial decisions of low-income people aggravate me tremendously (so much that I'm considering entering politics) but I do thank the system for giving me a chance. That's something I would n
It's like exercise for your brain, and a great waste of money! http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/04/brain-games-are-bogus.html?mobify=0
If by 'ADHD' they mean a BRAIN DISORDER.
'ADHD' is a set of OBSERVED BEHAVIOURS which quite clearly are caused by EVENTS in the person's life, or in their past.
Hilarious. The stupidity of people nowadays knows no limits - they can't even THINK about the most basic thing and see through it.
There was a game called "Tranquility," which I believe is now defunct. It was designed to promote a state of mental focus. I played it for a while, some years ago, and really enjoyed it. I miss that game.
You can see a demo of it here on YouTube.
I would think in the beginning you will only be able to do this in the Doctor's office and then on top of that how many times and a week and how often? It would be nice to be able to take the device home and upload results to your Doctor to review and then in return download new games/settings recommended from your Doctor. While I am hopeful, we won't see this in the US for a very long time.
Don't worry, it's going down hill with all the new laws, that'll make sure that no one will have any fun. Just work, taxes, shitty plastic cars and jogging as a hobby.
Refer to the last portion of the video for the information on treatments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3d1SwUXMc0