Washington Post:
Children taking stimulant drugs such as Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are several times as likely to suffer sudden, unexplained death as children who are not taking such drugs, according to a study published yesterday that was funded by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Mental Health.
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On the other hand, kids and adults with ADD/ADHD who remain unmedicated are much more likely to self medicate with alcohol, cocaine, pot, etc. They are also more prone to accidents, divorce, social rejection and depression.
So not taking a Stimulant isn't the answer either. It is an entirely personal decision.
I had a difficult childhood because of what would now be diagnosed as ADD (there was no name for it back then). I was way behind in spoken language and speech therapy simply wasn't working. I had a whole mess of problems, and my mind was basically all over the place. My parents -- and therapists -- were at a complete loss on how to help me.
Then one therapist suggested Ritalin. So my parents decided to try it. The difference was like night and day. I breezed through speech therapy. It did not solve all my problems, but the improvements were so dramatic that my folks decided to keep me on the drug. My mom gradually weaned me off of it over several years. It did not make all my problems go away, but my mom swears it made a great deal of difference in my life.
I believe that Ritalin is recklessly over-prescribed and that the drug needs strict controls, but I would be sorry if they banned such drugs outright because they can help some people. I'd want to know more about the circumstances of the deaths before making a final judgment; it could well be that the risks just aren't worth it.
But I just wanted to stand up for my parents, who made decisions they felt were in my best interests based on evidence and observation. They were in no way "barbaric and ignorant" for giving me Ritalin. And anyone who so insists can bite
me.
(Somehow the last word got cut off.)
Most parents do what they think, or what they're told, is best for their children. And the priesthood of smocks and stethoscopes occupy a position of unnatural power in that decision making process. But just because you were "helped" by this drug, it doesn't mean that there weren't other pathways that were less potentially dangerous. What if you found out subsequently that something in your environment - mold perhaps, which crosses the blood/brain barrier, or a food alergy - could have been eliminated from you life and your issues resolved? Or some natural, less toxic substance could have been substituted ??
That's the problem with the "pharmacology as solution" belief paradigm. It's usually the first answer the medical profession comes up with, rather than the last resort.
8
You haven't a clue about ADHD do you?
It's hardly about hyperactivity and fidgeting children. It's about inability to focus, to control impulses - it comes with a host of other issues, executive function deficits sometimes gross and fine motor issues and other learning disabiliti
Great post. It's clear from many of the comments that a bunch of assumptions and generalizations are still being made about ADHD and Ritalin.
It's a shame that so much high handed judgment goes on about these issues. We damn children with ADHD or call it a fake diagnosis whilst we celebrate Autism with World Awareness Day and Awareness month annually.
Cannabis taken in food would be a safer choice for children for ADD than speed.
In this link, read an interview by Keith Olbermann with Dr. Claudia Jensen:
http://can
I'm a huge supporter of the cannabis movement, and I won't disagree with you that this might be safer. In fact, in that aspect, you are 100 percent right. Despite safety, how would this benefit the children? I think giving a young child with ADHD marijuana would only compound his problems.
Cannabis is a hallucinogen. Ritalin is a stimulant. They effect different parts of the brain and have different effects.
Eli, maybe if you ate a hellacious amount of pot you might hallucinate, but in my long experience, this has never been observed.
According to Dr. Jensen, in the interview with Keith,
"When they ingest those cannabinoids or cannabis compounds, for example, marijuana, it lasts a lot longer. They can get all the way through the day with a single cannabis cookie or piece of toast with cannabis peanut butter in the morning before school. They don‘t have to get stoned. It‘s dose-related. But they do get the benefit of being able to focus and pay attention, not be impulsive, not be angry, be peaceful and relaxed and pay attention in school, which helps them get better grades, which is the important issue."
That's absolutely ridiculous! Regardless of how safe or dangerous you think psychostimulants are, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that cannabis improves attention deficit disorder in children. The effects on their mental health would be disastrous. At the very least it would slow them down because marijuana impairs learning and memory, but hey, its not like those are important for academic achievement. Marijuana also appears to disturb brain development, as shown by many studies of those who smoke it when they are 11-14.
This has been known for years, also that t he majority of kids being "diagnosed" by teachers not doctors, or that the prescriptions rise during summer breaks... makes you wonder about parents.
I have a very active, creative son and some days it just takes all of my strength, but we must face that our children are not getting what they deserve, good nutrition, ample room to play and be themselves.
My grandson is ADHD and takes meds. In the summer we cut the dosage by half. He is the most creative person I have ever seen. He was doing origami in the first grade (very hard and requires fine motor skills). Everyone of his teachers has told us he will someday be famous for his inventions. Having said that, he has no personality when he is on the meds, but is obnoxious when he is off them. As for the suicidal thoughts, this is NOT a side effect of ADHD meds. That comes with anti-depression meds such as prozac.
Pharmaceutical drugs are ALL very danerous. ALL OF THEM.
They are almost always unnecessary, due to effective natural alternatives and dietary supplements.
The pharmaceutical industry is the worlds biggest scam.
There are very few alternative medicines & dietary supplements that have been proven effective by scientific evidence (although there is little funding for research). Plus none of them are regulated so its a bit hard to call them safe. They aren't necessarily any safer or better. Try to treat someone with actual ADD (most diagnosed probably don't) with natural alternatives. You might be able to improve cognition and memory but by no means solve their problems. And untreated ADD usually results in serious frustration, feelings of low accomplishment, low self-esteem, and when they get to be late teens & adults, major depression.
"There are very few alternative medicines & dietary supplements that have been proven effective by scientific evidence ... "
Well ... yes and no. The fact is, nobody runs long, expensive placebo controlled double-blind studies on natural substances because no pharmaceutical company can benefit from it. You can't put a patent on pot.
Look what was done with Triptophane. As soon as a man-made equivalent was developed, the natural substance was outlawed. The pharm/medical industrial complex is not driven by cures - natural or otherwise. It's driven by profit - and profit is a perverse incentive. I costs many millions of dollars to get any new drug past FDA approvals, so the only way to guarantee that's it's worth the trials is to know that, if it works, you'll have an exclusive patent for years to recoup your loses.
The problems are systemic and don't serve the public very well at all. Thus the health care cost debate.
My husband is friends with a guy who, if he were a kid in school today, would be put on Ritalin so fast.
His mind is always going about ten different directions. And yet he is a very successful innovator who has created lots of green technology using solar and geothermal power. Would he be able to do this if his brain was damped down with drugs ? I doubt it.
Kids need more physical outlets. Not just running around on the playground but also patterned physical activities which strengthen mind-body connections. Dance, gymnastics, sports, etc. Drumming (small hand drums are not expensive) is a great group activity for kids and lots of fun, energizing and focusing.
But our schools don't offer this. They just 'teach to the test'.
Damped down with drugs? That guy doesn't have ADD. He wouldn't be able to be a successful inventor if he did. And if the drugs are at a correct dose (they are generally prescribed at too high a dose), they lead to much higher academic and professional achievement, patients feel much better about what they can do with their potential unlocked, etc.
This information has been know for years. This isn't new news.
Don't take drugs, any drugs, unless they are absolutely necessary.
Whatever is wrong with you, with rare exceptions, it's not caused by a shortage of that drug.
Instead, the drug is just masking the symptoms, and probably also causing some ugly side effects.
First try a healthier lifestyle. For kids with ADHD, no artificial food dyes, cut back on sugar, caffiene, and create a peaceful, predictable home environment with a regular schedule and predictible, supportive parenting. Also try deep breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation.
No matter what the problem is, a heathier lifestye is going to help. And even if you need drugs, you may need less if you transition to a healthy life style.
The drug companies would like everyone to be hooked on their products. Problem is, their products are making us all sick, backrupting us (while making them rich) diminishing quality of life in the longer run, and even killing us.
Some people do need medications, and if you need them take them. But if you don't, let them keep their poison, and take control of your own health and life through small changes every day leading to a healthier long-term lifestyle.
Amphetamines were sold over the counter in the USA, until the 60s' when they were switched to prescription sales only. At that time the pharmaceutical companies, just switched their sales to Mexico and South America, knowing that they would smuggled into this country illegally.
The pharmecutical companies next trick was to change the names of these drugs. These drugs cause severe disfuntion in the brain, what people see when they believe the drugs are working, is actually the brains disfunction and shut down.
When I used to work as a drug counselor in the early 80's, I used to run Meth groups. I would say that 80% to 90% of those in the group started out on ADHD, medication as child. A high is a high, by any other name. Stimulant users will use ADHD meds just as readily as any other type of upper.
Stimulant users are well known for their problems with depression - the down side of the up, anger, aggression, and sometimes drug induced psychosis.
However, recently it's been shown that ADHD, and ADD may be a result of the lack of fatty acids in the diet of children. This happened because we switched from grass fed meat to corn fed meat. Corn actually makes cattle sick, their not designed to eat corn, it can cause the e coli in their gut to mutate and pass nasty bugs to us. Grass fed cattle produce lots of EFA's.
I wanna ask, the people in these meth groups, when were they taken off the medication? A current study is studying teens that we're taken off the drug and the correlation with drug dependency. Preliminary results point out that people taken off these drugs before the age of 25 have a higher risk of drug dependency and suicide than those who do not.
Also, take the tin-foil hat off and don't worry about it, as you are not at risk. As someone who takes these drugs, I can show proof of how I am with them and with out them, and there is a huge difference.
D ang. Are you on them now?
I think your "tin foil hat" comment is uncalled for and terribly unoriginal. You can talk about studies all you'd like, but the truth is, depending on who's funding a particular study, the results can easily be skewed. According to the journal Public Library for Science, up to 34% of scientists have admitted to research fraud. This is important to know, because people like to fall back on science and research to prove or disprove points here.
http://www
I would be very skeptical of the claim that people taken off these drugs before the age of 25 are at higher risk of dependency and suicide. You have to understand how much money is involved here. The pharmaceutical companies would love to keep people on their drugs for as long as possibe, and as early as possible. It's just a matter of economics.
The "scientific industrial complex" is just as bad as commoditizing religion!
What a waste of an unlimited universe; reducing it to an aspiration to economic obesity!
Psycho Drugs for Children
http://www
Illegal drugs kill less than legal ones!
http://www
Aren't prescription drugs used more widely than illegal ones. The fact that they kill 300 more than illegal ones kind of illustrates how dangerous illegal drugs are?
300% more, just in Florida alone! Not to mention the fact that prescription drugs are supposed to heal, not merely get you high! This is no different than more people dying on the highways accidentally than people who die in a war zone on purpose. Therefore, statistically, it is safer to be in Iraq, and Afghanistan than to drive your car!
Predispositions allows us to see what we wish to see, despite facts!
" ... an expanding universe make us look fat"
Roy Zimmerman
While Big Pharma's tactics and business model is obviously reprehensible in many respects, the study didn't (couldn't) even attempt to *explain* the connection -- it merely checked for correlation.
Regardless, handing out heavy mood-altering and body-affecting drugs like candy is wrong. And American as apple pie.
I am not surprised at all by this correlation! I did tons of personal research on ADD medications after
it was strongly recommended I put my son on one. Might as well given him a line of coke!
Pediatricians hand these meds out like candy on Halloween! Our public school staff and ped insisted I put my son on ritalin from 1st grade through 5th grade. My son is dyslexic not ADD and we had 2 neurologists confirm that.
I pulled him out of public school (in a very affluent community no less) and put him in a specialized private school for dyslexic learners. We also changed pediatricians.
Today, he is thriving young man making a career in the USCG!
What parent allows this crap into their child?
Barbaric and ignorant.
"What parent allows this crap into their child?"
One that trusts the words of doctors? I'd like to think that thousands of doctors across the country/world have a better grasp on the situation that a guy that uses the handle "ColoradoDan"
Do you take the medication? Do you know anyone who has died taking it. Do you even know anyone with ADHD?
You should never just trust the words of doctors. I would like to think thousands of doctors across the world have a better grasp than ColoradoDan as well. But what I'd like to think and what I've come to LEARN are two different things. You need to understand that these "thousands of doctors", are constantly inundated with drug literature and huge incentives to push these drugs. Also, their medical education is not all encompassing. They are only taught allopathic medicine
speed kills
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First Posted: 06-16-09 01:26 AM | Updated: 06-16-09 01:36 AM