Millions of kids today are on meds for conduct disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, mixed manias, social phobia and of course ADHD .
But according to new data from IMS health in a Wall Street Journal article, just as many kids are being treated for non-psychiatric conditions that are often "adult diseases."
Since 2001, high blood pressure meds for kids have risen 17 percent, respiratory meds 42 percent, diabetes meds 150 percent and heartburn/GERD meds 147 percent. Fifty percent of pediatricians also prescribe kids insomnia drugs according to an article in the journal Pediatrics.
In fact, 25 percent of children and 30 percent of adolescents now take at least one prescription for a chronic condition says Medco, the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, making the kid prescription market four times as strong as the adult in 2009.
Why? Well one reason is the pediatric population is suffering from "middle age spread" just like the adult population from too many calories and too little exercise. Over a third of U.S. kids are overweight and 17 percent are obese -- which for a 4-foot-10 inch child would be 143 pounds. Obesity predisposes children to diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal disorders.
But another reason is the direct-to-consumer drug advertising on TV which began over a decade ago. In between ads for M&Ms, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Oreos, Hershey's Milk Chocolate and Doritos, kids and their parents saw $108 million worth of ads for Prilosec, $100 million for Claritins and $91 million for Zocor in 2000 -- when the national "epidemics" of GERD, "seasonal allergies" and "statin deficiencies" began.
Consider statins like Lipitor, the world's top selling medication, which was approved for U.S. children in 2008 and recently in a chewable form in Europe. In addition to known risks of liver dysfunction, acute kidney failure, cataracts and muscle damage, they can enable bad eating. 2010 article in the British Medical Journal.
"Plenty of adults down statins regularly and shine off healthy eating because they know a cheeseburger and steak can't fool a statin," writes Dr. Michael J. Breus on the Huffington Post. "Imagine a 10-year-old who loves his fast food and who knows he can get away with it if he pops his pills."
And asthma/allergy drugs? Long-acting beta-agonists or LABAs found in Serevent, Foradil, Advair and Symbicort sometimes worsen asthma, causing asthma-related intubation and death. (Right, exactly what they were supposed to prevent! ) And who is at the highest risk for harm and death from the drugs? Children 4 to 11 years old!
And then there's GERD in babies.
Even though the approximately 71 times a day that babies spit-up is considered perfectly normal and does not damage the esophagus, the number of GERD prescriptions for babies has recently quadrupled writes pediatrician Darshak Sanghavi. The drugs don't treat baby reflux but they "may increase brain bleeds and gut damage in preterm infants as well as the risk of food allergies in older infants," says Dr. Sanghavi, author of the bestselling book "A Map of the Child" Oops.
Since the pricey "Purple Pill" heartburn drug Prilosec debuted over a decade ago, followed by Nexium, proton pump inhibitor drugs (PPIs) that switch off stomach acid producing cells, have become veritable "purple crack" say U.S. doctors.
And even though heartburn is not a valid indicator of GERD -- it can exist without esophageal damage and vice verse -- and PPIs are often prescribed for intestinal tract pain where no hydrochloric acid even exists, half of all hospital inpatients are now put on PPIs writes Dr. Sanghavi. (The head of Medicaid and Medicare admonished AMA doctors in 2003 "You should be embarrassed if you prescribe Nexium, because it increases costs with no medical benefits.")
Known to increase the risk of bone fractures in women and cause heartburn and reflux when patients try to quit, PPIs can cause headache, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, diarrhea and increased risk of community-acquired pneumonia in children say medical sources.
Why are so many meds targeted to the child patient?
"Children are known to be compliant patients and that makes them a highly desirable market for drugs," says former pharma rep Gwen Olsen author of "Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher." "Children are forced by school personnel to take their drugs, they are forced by their parents to take their drugs, and they are forced by their doctors to take their drugs. So, children are the ideal patient-type because they represent refilled prescription compliance and 'longevity.' In other words, they will be lifelong patients and repeat customers for Pharma."
There is also "clinical laziness," says Dr. Sanghavi. "Nexium is over-prescribed for the most banal of reasons: It's less work to write a prescription and pretend the problem is solved."
Maggie Kozel, M.D.: Little Pharma: The Medication of U.S. Children
Kathleen Reardon: Before You Medicate A Child And Before You Don't - A Few Thoughts
Consumer Updates > Giving Medication to Children
ADHD Medication: Can Your Child Go Without? - US News and World Report
Are the LABAs, PPIs, statins, and bisphosphonates synergistically toxic to the heart?
"Deficiency of magnesium causes increased irritability of the nervous system with tetany (spasms of the hands and feet, muscular twitching and cramps, spasm of the larynx, etc." The FDA adds irregular heartbeat and convulsions to the list of potential symptoms.â€
The statins are known to have pleiotropic untoward effects because they inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol, at the level of HMG-CoA reductase. Cholesterol is essential for all of the steroid hormones along with a number of coenzymes, e.g. CoQ10, and vitamins, e.g. D3.
http://www.cvpharmacology.com/cardiostimulatory/beta-agonist.htm
http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146%2Fannurev.pharmtox.45.120403.095748
http://www.pharmgkb.org/search/pathway/bisphosphonate/bisphosphonate-pd.jsp
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/168/8/826
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-fda-magnesium-20110303,0,2188199,print.story
Are patients often prescribed antiresorptive agents, PPIs, LABAs and statins, in combination? Actually, yes, it's fairly common. I expect that their toxicity is synergistic and pleiotropic, e.g. cardiotoxicity and mitochondrial disorders. The "double whammy", so to speak, courtesy of your favorite xenobiotic dealer.
Disclaimer: this is purely my opinion and not in any way intended as medical advice, nor should it be construed as such.
Gong Li, Altman Russ B, Klein Teri E. "Bisphosphonates pathway" Pharmacogenetics and genomics (2009)
PMID:20023594
http://www.pharmgkb.org/do/serve?objCls=Pathway&objId=PA154423660
To make up for the broken link, here’s a “bonus†link to a very thoughtful book review titled, “Book Review: Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You!†by Paul Maher, MD, MPH
http://healthjournalclub.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-review-fat-and-cholesterol-are.html
Here’s another “bonus†link to a very thoughtful article titled, “Sulfur, Obesity, and Glucose Metabolism†by Dr Stephanie Seneff. Upon reading this article, one might come away with the conclusion that the statins may not be the miracle that pharma extolls them to be.
http://healthjournalclub.blogspot.com/2010/10/sulfur-obesity-and-glucose-metabolism.html
http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/sulfur.sep1.html
Underreporting of SAE’s is a big concern with ALL marketed drugs. The LABAs are a case in point. I am concerned that patients on LABAs who die “cardiac-related†deaths are not being reported. That is why ALL CAUSE mortality and morbidity needs to be meticulously databased by an independent entity for ALL marketed drugs. So too does SURVIVAL. Quite often, Black Warnings completely skate around the most relevant statistics, all-cause mortality and survival. For example, if a respiratory drug is really causing primarily cardiac-related deaths, and the only statistic that is captured is asthma-related deaths, the net effect on drug safety may be completely missed.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June06/Salpeter.COPD.kr.html
“Previous studies have shown that patients with COPD build up tolerance to beta-agonists' bronchodilator and bronchoprotective effects after regular treatment compared with the first dose. While beta-agonists may reduce symptoms through bronchodilation, the researchers believe they also promote bronchial inflammation and sensitivity by reducing bronchial protection without any warning of increased symptoms, which can then lead to a life-threatening response. In the trials that were analyzed, only two patients out of 4,036 who took anticholinergics died of respiratory causes, while 12 of 3,845 participants in the placebo group died of respiratory ailments. When patients inhaled beta-agonists, there were 21 respiratory deaths out of 1,320 patients and eight respiratory deaths out of 1,084 participants in the placebo group.â€
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-fda-magnesium-20110303,0,2188199,print.story
I wonder if long-term PPI treatment results in any other mineral deficiencies. If I recall correctly, a number of dietary minerals are absorbed in the upper GI tract in a pH-dependent process. If one’s upper GI tract is chronically alkalinized by PPI treatment, perhaps other minerals might be malabsorbed, too. This might explain the increased risk of bone fractures in women.
“Yes! Cheaper than chimpanzees! Gotta love Big Pharma for their cost-saving efforts, eh? This is yet another example of the mindset of Big Pharma and "scientific" researchers who put humans lower than animals on the value scale.â€
“Dr Jonas Salk, inventor of polio vaccine, exposed as criminal-minded scientist who conducted illicit medical experiments on mental patients†by Mike Adams on March 2, 2011.
http://www.naturalnews.com/z031564_Jonas_Salk_medical_experiments.html
http://imcv-wi.org/compare.aspx
it is sad to know that so many children are being drugged into complacency, because their parents are too lazy to parent and want a doctor to tell them something is "wrong" with their child, so that they don't have to take the blame.
i've had pretty bad ADD for as long as i can remember. i was never medicated. what happened to me in school? i learned to deal with the ADD, i learned to work around it and with it, and now, as an adult, i do not require medication to like many kids i grew up with do. when you start a kid on adderall at 6 years old, you are never giving them a chance to show you what they are capable of.
now we give kids pharmaceutical lobotomies, all for the sake of the parents' convenience.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/homeopathicSignalsFromDNA.php
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/electromagneticSignalsFromHIV.php?comment=1
Many if not most of the vaccines on the vaccine schedules are designed to be nanoparticulate drug delivery systems to cross biomembranes throughout the body. Neurotoxic metals, e.g. mercury, aluminum, borate, and fluoride, are being delivered across our biomembranes. Their toxicity is cumulative and synergistic. Inactive ingredients (aka excipients)? This is FRAUD. They are not inactive. It is willful deception of the public.
http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/data/48/4/662/DC1/13
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf
“I am no longer "trying to dig up evidence to prove" vaccines cause autism. There is already abundant evidence,.-..... This debate is not scientific but is political.-†– David Ayoub, MD
“The truth that vaccine policy is not about science or safety but about money and politics is finally seeing the light of day.†– K. Paul Stoller, MD, FACHM
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/newPathogenInRoundupReadyGMCrops.php
http://firedoglake.com/2010/05/24/bps-corexit-increases-uptake-of-endocrine-disruptors-in-fish-what-will-it-do-to-people/
“Injected detergents trespass on an immune process that holds life and death control over cells...â€
“Detergents and emulsifiers promote tumors and cause cells to leak or explode by weakening their walls, with no mechanism for regulating destructive activity. Detergents are used extensively in cell research precisely because of their ability to break cells open for further analysis. This catastrophically mimics the membrane attack complex (MAC).â€
http://www.sailhome.org/Concerns/Vaccines/MAC.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/luc-montagnier-homeopathy-taken-seriously_b_814619.html
1 singulair tablet each night to control his asthma.
Nothing more. Though of course we do have back up medications. That's my families experience nothing more nothing less, whether that can be applied to your situation I make no judgement I just know we can do without.
ps I did spend 3 years when he was an infant sleeping in the loungeroom next to him and massaging back to sleep every few hours. When I look back I actually reckon that helped ... though I didn't get any sleep for 3 years.
Cheers
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/24/dr_gabor_mat_on_the_stress
Fiona Taylor, from the Cochrane Heart Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, UK says, “This review highlights important shortcomings in our knowledge about the effects of stains in people who have no previous history of CVD. The decision to prescribe stains in this group should not be taken lightly.â€.....
Here medical education seems to be of;by and for drug companies.
Ah, but who is determining what the condition actually is, and whether or not medication is needed? GERD, asthma and type 1 diabetes are ALL linked with undiagnosed celiac disease and/or wheat allergy.
But doctors aren't looking for the root cause of the disorders--they are only writing prescriptions to control the symptoms. Meanwhile, the root cause is still there, doing even more damage.
In addition, we are now finding out that vaccine reactions can trigger autoimmune disorders.
Surely you can see that there is a vicious circle, where more and more medical interventions are deemed necessary, to "manage" the cascade of symptoms of the original problem as well as the side effects caused by the initial interventions.
Doctors don't seem to understand that the symptoms aren't the problem--the CAUSE of the symptoms are the problem.