Due to demand by foreigners staying in Georgia, I have added an English page. All references to "Georgia" on this page refers to the country of Georgia.
The English version of this article usually lags behind the Georgian version as I don't have lots of time to translate.

What is ADHD?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inappropriate.

ADHD has many different causes: several different genes, diet, environment, etc. Although no one knows the exact reason ADHD exists, there are many theories, but talking about them is not why I made this website.

Regardless of the exact reason, today, all of us are subjected to school form a young age, required to attend for hours every week day, being required to pay attention at all times, doing homework, memorizing text (carefully reading) and as an adult, 8-14 hours of work (that has to be done with attention), and concurrently quick learning of new material for purpose of career advancement. For reasons mentioned above, ADHD is considered a disorder and is a real problem.

ADHD is characterised by many symptoms, but, because ADHD has been most studied in children, the name only focuses on attention deficit and hyperactivity, as these are the most easily noticeable symptoms in children. This is why, the name of this disease can be misleading and a person with ADHD can have attention deficit without hyperactivity. The symptoms still last into adulthood and some are manifested differently from children.

The most noticeable and problematic symptom that is noticeable in all age group is lack of attention control. In practice, this means, academic success is very difficult, one very specific example, "reading comprehension" (one of the national exams), is either difficult to do or impossible in the short time given, as this requires reading boring text while paying attention.

Approximately 2.2% of the global population has ADHD. Different age and race groups have differing amount of percentage of ADHD. In Georgia, I don't know how much people have ADHD, but if we calculate 2.2% for the Georgian population (3.97 million people), we get 87 thousand people in Georgia.

ADHD is recognized as a disorder by The World Health Organization. In ICD-10 Disease Database ADHD is, F90.0, F90.1, F90.2, F90.8, F90.9.

How to treat ADHD?

ADHD is caused by a deficiency of specific neurotransmitters in the brain, norepinephrine and/or dopamine, and is treated by using medication. Medicines that are not available in Georgia for an unknown reason.

There is a non-medicated solution, "therapy", but it is often combined with medication. The main purpose of therapy is to deal with minor problems that medication cannot deal with.

Therapy without medication is not an effective treatment for ADHD symptoms. It is a very long process, meaning, many visits to the psychiatrist, which is a huge waste of money, while the medication (stimulant) works in half an hour. This non-medicated "therapy" cannot correct the imbalance of neurotransmitters by itself.

According to one article "The view that attention deficit can be overcome by willpower is as cynical as advising a blind person to see by changing their lifestyle."

The equivalent of blindness for this "therapy" would be to help the blind person live with his other senses (hearing, smell, touch, etc.), but the main problem would not be solved. This will simply be an attempt to avoid the problem.

At the bottom of the page I have listed alternative ways to deal with ADHD that are less effective than medication. In other words, "they are better than absolutely nothing".

Other sources of information.

I am not a doctor, nor a psychiatrist, so, bellow I list other sources that go more in depth about ADHD.

English:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - Wikipedia
• What is ADHD? | CDC
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - NHS

Georgian:

• ADHD საქართველოში - მკურნალი.გე
• “მშველის წამალი, რომელიც აკრძალულია” - როგორ ცხოვრობ საქართველოში, როცა ADHD გაქვს? - რადიო თავისუფლება

Russian:

• Синдром дефицита внимания и гиперактивности - Википедия

English (YouTube videos):

What medication do we need for ADHD, what do and don't we have available in Georgia?

ADHD medication is split into 2 groups, stimulants and non-stimulants. In this table, I only added the most common medication.

Stimulants: (NDRI, Norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor)

Substance	Brand names
Methylphenidate	Ritalin Concerta
Dexmethylphenidate	Focalin
Dextroamphetamine	Dexedrine
Lisdexamfetamine	Vyvanse
Mixed amphetamine salts	Adderall Mydayis

Non-stimulants: (NRI, Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor)

Substance	Brand names
Atomoxetine	Strattera Amatrix
Viloxazine	Qelbree

To put if briefly, there is practically nothing.

Only Atomoxetine is registered, with "Amatrix" and "Strattera" brands.

Amatrix is a Turkish made medication, (has not been made cheaper like other Turkish medication imported into Georgia,) and in fact, is only available in useless doses, 10 mg / 25 mg, This is why it approximately costs 565 GEL per month, 80 mg a day, (28 pills, 10 mg = 70.71 GEL, x 8 = 565.68 GEL). Even in these useless doses, it's hard to find, and you have to run around the city to get enough for a month.

Strattera is relatively newly registered and I can't find it anywhere.

The problem with Atomoxetine and other non-stimulants are, it takes a few weeks for it to have any effect, they have terrible side effects, and even if someone can cope with these side effects for few weeks, the result is going to be very small. This is why, Atomoxetine is not a first-line treatment for ADHD. First line would be the stimulants.

Methylphenidate, Amphetamine, Dextroamphetamine are in a list of narcotic drugs. While this is also the case in other countries, the difference is, the doctors there can prescribe it when they think their patient needs it and the patients can purchase them normally with their prescription. In Georgia this is not the case.

Abroad, in North America, in EU, in Turkey and in other developed countries, these medications are available by prescription. In Georgia, you can not find these medication, doctors can not or will not prescribe it and you can't find it in any pharmacy.

For more information about ADHD medication, have a look at this Wikipedia page.

Those who want to check which medications are registered in Georgia can have a look at this page: http://apps.ssa.gov.ge/recepti/Camlebi

To put it briefly, there is a very less effective medication out there, atomoxetine, and we don't even have that.

Why was this page created?

In USA, (and other developed countries) they have been taking ADHD seriously for the past 50 years. Also, in USA, having ADHD is considered a disability. In Georgia, nothing is happening in this regard, and it's entirely possible nothing will happen for decades to come, if awareness for this problem is not raised.

This page was made out of necessity. The goal of this page is to raise awareness about ADHD in the Georgian Healthcare System, because in Georgia we definitely need the first line medication for ADHD and push for change.

What are we asking for (in detail)

To prevent any misunderstandings, bellow I list everything we are asking for: (everything listed is important)

• Through doctor's prescription, availability of at least 1 ADHD stimulant medication
  • It must be able to be prescribed to all ages (children and adults)
  • It must be in stock at all times
  • It must be available for a reasonable price
  • It must be available in the dose and release duration combinations to be practically useful in all situations
    • This means, the availability of both short-acting and long-acting variants and in practically useful doses
  • Because ADHD practically requires daily medication, doctors should be free to prescribe it every month and indefinitely.

What can cause a push for change?

Previously it was written here that this was within the competence of the Ministry of Health and I encouraged our readers to write official statements, but in February 2023, I received a response from the Ministry of Health to the official statement I wrote months prior. Bellow is my translation, (original statement available on the Georgian version of this page):

My assumption was that, based on the official statements, the Ministry of Health would have the initiative to negotiate with importers and wholesalers. It seems strange to me that a patient has to beg importers and wholesalers for a pharmaceutical they require.

I am currently looking for the next course of action according this response. There is no progress from my side on the issue at hand. If you have any ideas, contact me on the email provided at the bottom of this page. If you know someone who is involved in pharmaceutical business, please show them our page.

Regarding the last paragraph, it does not work. You can bring in a maximum 31 days supply in your luggage with appropriate paperwork, which seems to be convenient only for people travelling into the country for a short time, but not for those who reside here. You can't import it by ordering it, the stimulants seem to be exempt for some reason.

Alternative solutions

Ever since I made this page, I have gotten several responses from our readers for alternative solutions to treat ADHD. You'll find them bellow.

Different methods or combinations of methods may or may not work for different people. Picking only one method may not bring much results without combining with another.

Diet and Supplements

Keto Diet and Carnivore Diet

Both Keto Diet and Carnivore Diet have lots of positive effect on physical and mental health. I have gotten a response from a reader who has benefited from a Carnivore Diet and can freely read/work for 8 hours. In his own words, "Thanks to this diet, I have 100 times better concentration than a healthy person."

OMEGA-3.

OMEGA-3 can help 1/3 of ADHD havers, because they have a specific gene. The best results come after 3 months.

Nootropics (Not recommended)

Please don't try these without consulting with your doctor first. Combination of the following 2 nootripics:

• Citicoline
• Piracetam

Other medication (Not recommended)

Medication that was made for a different purpose but has some effect on ADHD. Please don't try these without consulting with your doctor first.

• Modafinil - They sell this https://an1.ge/Home/About#, this is very recent.

(We have no relation with an1.ge and just mention their existence)

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Phenibut

Incompetent "psychiatrists" prescribe Phenibut to patients visiting regarding ADHD. This substance is dangerous, it is not regulated in Georgia, it causes dependence, has the worst withdrawal among any substance known to man. If you unfortunately already started using it, please see the quitting instructions linked bellow and contact your doctor if you do not understand something.

https://old.reddit.com/r/quittingphenibut

Map

Source

About this page

This page is made by a private individual who has no relations with any company. The creator of this page is neither a doctor or a psychiatrist. Nothing on this page should be considered medical or legal advice. If you need a medical advice, consult a doctor. The information provided on this page is my opinion, as a result of a large amount of research. I am not responsible for how you make use of the information provided here.

This page is frequently updated and mistakes are corrected as soon as they are found. If you find mistakes, please contact me.

If you would like to get in touch, help fix mistakes on this page, share your experience, ask questions, or if you can plan a better strategy to reach out goal, join our Discord server!

Other than that I have a private e-mail [email protected] and Twitter.

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