Chris Davis tested positive for amphetamines. (25 Game Ban)

[ChuckS]

Btw, a poll with two choices that make Chris Davis look like an ass is kinda of stupid. What if he really felt his ADHD/ADD was harming him so much he felt he had to take it to calm down and focus again?

That should be a valid answer for the poll, the fact he was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD and he saw it harming his ability.

I personally think that is a cop-out and sounds like something that would come out of the mouth of a public relations agent representing Chris Davis. If the ADHD/ADD was that serious of an issue the guy would have applied for and been granted his exemption.

[O's84]

Varus, give me back my Davis!

[Bradysburns]

Hate to jump in so late - but if CD had a prescription, I would say it was legit. If not, he was abusing it. Simple as that. I don't judge - either way, it sucks for him. People don't do this kind of stuff because they're bad people. All the holier-than-thou judgement kind of makes me sick. The only question to ask is what's the solution... what's in his best interests and the team's best interests.

[BradyBunch]

I personally think that is a cop-out and sounds like something that would come out of the mouth of a public relations agent representing Chris Davis. If the ADHD/ADD was that serious of an issue the guy would have applied for and been granted his exemption.

MLB gave him a TUE at Texas, when he came to Baltimore they took the TUE away. MLB just took it away as if they was his personal doctor. Sorry, MLB knows as much about treating and diagnosing diseases as the NFL knows how to handle off-field issues. MLB had to look tough on the "abuse" of Adderall and flat out rejected cases without hearing (doubt you know that) despite have a "Doctor's note from personal and team doctor. So if your a player and you find out your teammate Troy Patton was denied, what are you gonna do? Davis had to find another method to control his ADD/ADHD. That only works so long for people and the first thing a ADD/ADHD person is gonna do is seek the prescribed drug that helped them before and probably most of their life.

[El Gordo]

MLB gave him a TUE at Texas, when he came to Baltimore they took the TUE away. MLB just took it away as if they was his personal doctor. Sorry, MLB knows as much about treating and diagnosing diseases as the NFL knows how to handle off-field issues. MLB had to look tough on the "abuse" of Adderall and flat out rejected cases without hearing (doubt you know that) despite have a "Doctor's note from personal and team doctor. So if your a player and you find out your teammate Troy Patton was denied, what are you gonna do? Davis had to find another method to control his ADD/ADHD. That only works so long for people and the first thing a ADD/ADHD person is gonna do is seek the prescribed drug that helped them before and probably most of their life.

Do you have a source for all this? The only thing I've read is that Davis said he had the exemption last year but didn't have it this year.

[olehippi]

Do you have a source for all this? The only thing I've read is that Davis said he had the exemption last year but didn't have it this year.

Ken Rosenthal on Fox Sports this evening said that Davis got MLB authorization to use Adderall two years ago, not last year, then made a snarky off-the-cuff remark about his big season last year being unaided and his huge drop off this year.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Do you have a source for all this? The only thing I've read is that Davis said he had the exemption last year but didn't have it this year.

He said in the past, not last year.

[Frobby]

If your kid is Schizophrenic put them on drugs. If you kid is having trouble concentrating in school don't give them drugs. What is insane is loading up a kid on drugs because he is being a boy. There are things you can do to help your kid concentrate better. Natural diet, no sugars like Apple juice, get plent of exercise, don't give them video games, limit tv to an hour a day, talk to them, make them read books every day. Every foster kid I had was raised by drug addicts but all of them that stayed more than a couple of weeks got their ADHD, aspergers, low iq diagnosis go away when they lived with us.

What is really ignorant is putting kids on anti depressants when their is no proof that kids with depression do better on drugs than off drugs.

And BTW I have a degree in Psychology among others.

But don't listen to me for advice with your own kid that is your decision.. Imam just some guy on the Internet.

I'm going to give you my personal perpective on this, and then go back to MLB and Chris Davis.

Let me tell you where I'm coming from. I'm 57 and the only drug I take is one baby aspirin a day, which my doctor told me to start doing once I turned 50. I avoid going to the doctor like the plague, and usually will only go in for something if it hasn't resolved itself in a couple of months and my wife has hounded me to the point where going to the doctor seems less unpleasant than continuously hearing how I need to go see a doctor. So needless to say, I am not predisposed to solve my kids' problems by giving them drugs.

However, two of my kids were diagnosed with ADD. It wasn't just that they weren't concentrating in school. They were having trouble staying on task 24 hours a day. They were exhibiting behavior that was irritating to teachers, parents and friends. And the various things we tried to get them to change behaviors weren't working. (By the way, my wife and I were both psychology majors and my wife took a master's program in education and taught for a while.) Eventually, for my daughter, a doctor suggested trying Ritalin. My wife was a little reluctant, and I was very reluctant. But eventually my wife decided we should try it and prevailed on me to go along. We tried the Ritalin, and not only did it not fix the problem, it made it worse. Then the doctor suggested Adderall. I wasn't anxious to go the drug route again after the failed Ritalin experience, but we went with it. Bingo, the problem was solved. We still had to stay on our daughter a bit to keep on task and do what she needed to do, but at least she was capable of it.

When my third child (a son) started showing the same symptoms, we were a little less reluctant to try a prescription, but I'd still say we weren't anxious to do it. Eventually we did put him on Adderall, and it worked for him too.

When my daughter hit college age, she decided on her own that she thought she could succeed without the Adderall, and eventually weaned herself off it. My son just started college, and we'll see what he does.

In both cases, I think the drug had some side effects -- appetite suppression for sure, and it may have stunted their growth a little, too. Both were tall for their age before they started taking Adderall, and ended up being average height. So, I'll always wonder if they would have been taller if we hadn't put them on the drug. In my daughter's case, she was pudgy before going on the medication, got quite thin while she was taking it, and has now gotten pudgy again now that she's off it. My son is also pretty thin and doesn't eat much.

My point is, these decisions aren't easy for parents. I have a good friend who has two kids on medications and I've always felt he and his wife didn't do enough to discipline and set limits for their kids, and instead went to drugs unnecessarily (or at least, prematurely). But who am I to say that, knowing the decisions my wife and I had to make?

OK, enough on that. As to MLB, it's pretty obvious that players are getting their doctors to overprescribe Adderall. Use of the drug among major league players is four or five times greater than in the general population. So while it's nice to say that medical decisions should be between a person and his doctor, something is clearly going on there, and if MLB has decided to be more stringent in granting Therapeutic Use Exemptions, I support that decision. I don't know why Davis stopped applying for TUE's, by my presumption isn't that he forgot to do it or decided he didn't need or want one. More likely, it became harder to get the exemption and he realized it was unlikely he'd receive one if he applied. But, I'm plainly just speculating on that.

Anyway, it is what it is. I'm very annoyed at Davis, but not morally offended. I'm glad the suspension is coming in a season where he isn't hitting very well anyway, and at a time when the team is within days of wrapping up the division title. It's a bummer that he'll miss the ALDS and at least some of the ALCS if we make it that far, but the O's can fill in with Pearce, Young and others and I don't think they'll feel his absence all that much. Any fear that the news would disrupt the team's focus pretty much evaporated with yesterday's doubleheader sweep. The team is moving on, and so am I. Play ball!

[mdbdotcom]

I don't know how doctors are supposed to decide whether or not an athlete's "need" for Adderall is therapeutic or abusive.

Athletes are already physically enhanced (naturally and through a great deal of work) compared with the general population. Should they be able to take drugs that don't affect their physical performance but do improve their ability to focus and "slow down the game" to a point commensurate with their physical abilities? Or, should they receive treatment only if they are unable to function well in society without it?

I don't know the answer. I don't have to be able to focus well enough to distinguish a 92 mph fastball from an 89 mph slider. Baseball players do. That's their "normal."

Again, I'm not apologizing for Davis or any other player who breaks the rules. I just think the whole amphetamine issue is not as clear cut as we'd like it to be. I suspect the only solution will be to eliminate therapeutic exemptions and ban all amphetamines. That would make the issue clear, but it also would likely take a lot of very good ballplayers out of the game.

[srh523]

Can we get both as a poll options..... these adhd med are narcotics.... people need to understand the drug before laying judgement.

[UMDTerrapins]

Gonna regret responding to this, but I'll do it anyhow having seen Frobby's post. I'm 44 years old and wildly attention deficit.....always have been. When I was young, I was the ultimate frustration......clearly a very smart kid, but always labeled as an underachiever. I had NO focus and lousy grades, but I was labeled as having personal issues because everyone knew I was capable of much more. There was no ADD or ADHD awareness at the time. I wish there had been. Just reading a book is and was an adventure. Trying to read even a single page commonly requires 3, 4 or 5 passes because your eyes pass over the words, but your mind can't focus on even a few sentences in a row. You say the words in your head, but they go nowhere. School was always a morale crushing experience. It can't help but screw with your self image when the underachiever label follows you for your entire youth.

My life massively changed when I got out of school. I became a workaholic, found great success and finally lived up to and exceeded the "potential" label that had always been a source of frustration. My success blossomed because I created a niche for myself that played to my strengths. Attention deficit issues are pretty fascinating, but I never had a real appreciation for them until I tried medication.

At age 38 I was prescribed Stattera. It was a shocking experience to see what life is like for people with "normal" attention. I had laser focus. I could stay on one task all day. It was amazing. But after a while I realized that what I had gained also came with a loss. What had been a key to my success in the business world was my heightened ability to multitask like nobody else I had ever encountered. I couldn't do one thing for long stretches, but I could juggle a dozen with surprising ease and enjoy challenges that overwhelm others. I own a small/medium sized business. I bounce from minute to minute from CEO to CFO, IT, engineer and then finally my actual primary job responsibility (being vague intentionally). I love my work.

What Strettera taught me was that my attention deficit experience was very profound and very real. I got a chance to look through a "normal" mind for a while. What I discovered is that while I had an amazing gain in one part of my business life, I lost a lot as well. I made the choice very quickly to not continue medicating for my attention issues. My mind has always been exceptionally capable, but in a very unique way. I've come to appreciate that the gifts outweigh the shortcomings, as an adult. As a kid, I really would have benefited by having at least a diagnosis that explained why I had so much difficulty with studying, classwork and tests. I assume with the importance placed on grades I would have been very eager to take medication to assist my difficulties in high school and college.

I've heard a number of people over the years say the same things about ADD and ADHD....it's an excuse for lazy people, it's over-diagnosed. While I can't say that those claims aren't sometimes untrue, I take HUGE exception with people who say it's a made up condition. I overcame my failings in school by basically donating my 20's solely to my career. I have no regrets, it paid off. But it was a personal journey that I wouldn't wish on a kid today. There are now tools and awareness to treat the associated problems, and that's progress.

Hope I don't sound braggish or self-important, but it's hard otherwise to properly explain the extremes of failure and success that I experienced because of my attention deficit issues.

We are all wired differently. I have autosomal dominant compulsive helio-ophthalmic outbursts (ADCHOO), as do a lot of people. It makes you sneeze when your eyes have to quickly adjust to bright light (walking outside on a sunny day will make me sneeze 100% of the time). But who cares....it's a quick sneeze and it's over. We all have special quirks, but some of them have a far more profound effect than others. The cerebral experience that you have day to day is often not the same as the person standing next to you. Unless you recognize that truth, it is easy to dismiss things like ADD or other even more serious mental health issues. I've also been very close to several people with serious mental illness and it's scary.Makes ADD look very small in comparison.

How these meds apply to baseball and getting an edge is a whole other story. I'm not qualified to speak on that. But in modern sports, if there's an edge to be had, there will always be athletes willing and eager to push the boundaries. It is what it is.

[tntoriole]

For those who may want to know more about this disorder, here is a useful summary link from Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adult-adhd/basics/definition/con-20034552

[Frobby]

To UMDTerrapins - I never knew ADCHOO had a name. I definitely have that. And I enjoy a good loud sneeze -- I've sneezed so loud it set off our security alarm (which goes off if the windows are vibrating a certain amount). I appreciated what you wrote about ADD, your experience on medication, and your decision to go off the medication even though it was working. These decisions aren't easy, and they are highly personal.

[mdbdotcom]

Gonna regret responding to this, but I'll do it anyhow having seen Frobby's post. I'm 44 years old and wildly attention deficit.....always have been. When I was young, I was the ultimate frustration......clearly a very smart kid, but always labeled as an underachiever. I had NO focus and lousy grades, but I was labeled as having personal issues because everyone knew I was capable of much more. There was no ADD or ADHD awareness at the time. I wish there had been. Just reading a book is and was an adventure. Trying to read even a single page commonly requires 3, 4 or 5 passes because your eyes pass over the words, but your mind can't focus on even a few sentences in a row. You say the words in your head, but they go nowhere. School was always a morale crushing experience. It can't help but screw with your self image when the underachiever label follows you for your entire youth.

My life massively changed when I got out of school. I became a workaholic, found great success and finally lived up to and exceeded the "potential" label that had always been a source of frustration. My success blossomed because I created a niche for myself that played to my strengths. Attention deficit issues are pretty fascinating, but I never had a real appreciation for them until I tried medication.

At age 38 I was prescribed Stattera. It was a shocking experience to see what life is like for people with "normal" attention. I had laser focus. I could stay on one task all day. It was amazing. But after a while I realized that what I had gained also came with a loss. What had been a key to my success in the business world was my heightened ability to multitask like nobody else I had ever encountered. I couldn't do one thing for long stretches, but I could juggle a dozen with surprising ease and enjoy challenges that overwhelm others. I own a small/medium sized business. I bounce from minute to minute from CEO to CFO, IT, engineer and then finally my actual primary job responsibility (being vague intentionally). I love my work.

What Strettera taught me was that my attention deficit experience was very profound and very real. I got a chance to look through a "normal" mind for a while. What I discovered is that while I had an amazing gain in one part of my business life, I lost a lot as well. I made the choice very quickly to not continue medicating for my attention issues. My mind has always been exceptionally capable, but in a very unique way. I've come to appreciate that the gifts outweigh the shortcomings, as an adult. As a kid, I really would have benefited by having at least a diagnosis that explained why I had so much difficulty with studying, classwork and tests. I assume with the importance placed on grades I would have been very eager to take medication to assist my difficulties in high school and college.

I've heard a number of people over the years say the same things about ADD and ADHD....it's an excuse for lazy people, it's over-diagnosed. While I can't say that those claims aren't sometimes untrue, I take HUGE exception with people who say it's a made up condition. I overcame my failings in school by basically donating my 20's solely to my career. I have no regrets, it paid off. But it was a personal journey that I wouldn't wish on a kid today. There are now tools and awareness to treat the associated problems, and that's progress.

Hope I don't sound braggish or self-important, but it's hard otherwise to properly explain the extremes of failure and success that I experienced because of my attention deficit issues.

We are all wired differently. I have autosomal dominant compulsive helio-ophthalmic outbursts (ADCHOO), as do a lot of people. It makes you sneeze when your eyes have to quickly adjust to bright light (walking outside on a sunny day will make me sneeze 100% of the time). But who cares....it's a quick sneeze and it's over. We all have special quirks, but some of them have a far more profound effect than others. The cerebral experience that you have day to day is often not the same as the person standing next to you. Unless you recognize that truth, it is easy to dismiss things like ADD or other even more serious mental health issues. I've also been very close to several people with serious mental illness and it's scary.Makes ADD look very small in comparison.

How these meds apply to baseball and getting an edge is a whole other story. I'm not qualified to speak on that. But in modern sports, if there's an edge to be had, there will always be athletes willing and eager to push the boundaries. It is what it is.

Thanks for posting this. As a solopreneur who graduated from the bottom 10% of his high school class (1971) with 700+ SAT scores, I totally get it.

[Can_of_corn]

OK, they fiddled around with names till they came up with one that sounded like a sneeze right? You are not telling me that ADCHOO is a coincidence.