Prescribing of hyperactivity drugs is out of control

New Scientist ^ | 31 March 2006 | Peter Aldhous

[Halls]

I can't believe some of your statements here about ADHD meds. I agree they are overused and children who shouldn't be on them are, but some kids actually do need them and have better lives because of it.

My 8 year old son has ADHD and is on Strattera which is a non stimulant, however it is for ADHD. My son get all the love and attention I can give him and than some. He also eats his vegeteables, fruits, and sweets he only eats now and than. Heck, he turns down birthday cake at his brothers party last month, that is how much he doesn't have a sweet tooth!

I have ADHD and in was untreated. If I could go back and do it all over again I would have medicated, but there were no drugs existing at that time. My son had inherited my learning disabilities and my ADHD. I know exactly how it feels and what is going on in my sons head, I have been there. It is a hard thing to see him suffer everyday and his poor self esteem be affected the way it has been. I ask myself what kind of mother would I be if I didn't help my son? I will do whatever it takes.

So before people here think it is all about just giving your child attention and you must not be giving them enough attention I say that is rediculous! It has nothing to do with that!! I am a stay at home mom by choice so that I can go almost everyday to my sons school and eat lunch with him and play on the playground with him. I also go on every field trip, an involved with every school function he is in, and never miss a beat!! Is this a child that is not getting enough attention from his mother and father? My husband when home spends all his time with our boys outside playing sports, cars, whatever he can!

ADHD is real and I'm sorry there are few here who just think children need to eat less sweets and get more attention at home to be cured. I've done both and continue to do both and my son still has suffered. I hope and pray no one has to go through seeing your child beg for help the way I have seen my son beg!

[PleaseNoMore]

We are no Ozzie and Harriet, that's for sure, but my son has all you mention. We have what some have described as the picture perfect family life. My son has both parents in the home, get lots and lots of love them they get more. They are disciplined, we attend a great church, we are finacially sound, my husband and I get along so there's no tension there, my family eats together every morning and every night. We are balanced in that the kids are not overextended in sports and such. We discipline our kids accordingly. You get the picture?

Of my 4 kids, my youngest is the one who struggles with academics. It's not that he is incapable of doing the work, he just has a problem staying on track and finishing what he starts. He gets lost with long sets of insstructions. He tends to wander mentally when a task exceeds certain amounts of time. Because of his inability to stay on task he gets frustrated and acts out behavior wise.

I believe there was ADHD in the olden days. It wasn't nowhere near as "common" as it is now. Those kids then were the daydreamers or the slackers. Looking back, I believe my brother had ADHD, and it is possible I did too. I know kids are energetic and sometimes hyper and believe it is normal for them to be. The difference in then and now, of course, is kids aren't allowed to expend the energy they need to expend. I do allow my kids to "be kids". At what point do I say this is more than normal "little boy energy" and see there is a problem?

[servantboy777]

You are absolutely correct. It is very real. It's so easy to sit back and JUDGE other people while never experiencing it for yourself.

Living with a child with ADHD is painful, frustrating, physically and mentally taxing. You love them, you discipline them, you give them a good moral upbringing, provide educational support, pshcological support and attempt to find medication to correct the endocrine imbalance.

You have probably tried every method known to man I'm sure. It is not an issue of discipline. It is often an issue of a chemical imbalance in the brain.

God bless you and good luck with the post, your fixin to get flamed by all sorts of people who think they know whats best for YOUR child.

[PleaseNoMore]

Ah, I have found a kindred spirit, lol. Two years ago I would have been one that told you your son needed a whop on the behind not medication. Now, I completely understand. I haven't medicated my son and still don't know if I will but I believe there are wonderful parents who wouldn't do anything to harm their child who see there is no other option for the time being.

[tsomer]

Here's another long, but worthwhile read:

http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/null.html

[tsomer]

Yep, I'm with you.

When the anti-drug crowd finds an authority who isn't a certified quack, I'll listen.

"Whip his ass" therapy does not work. I know this well.

[cyborg]

what a joke...they've been trying (unsuccessfully!) to discredit him for years. Never going to happen!

[Malacoda]

Attention All Parents:

Your child IS NOT suffering from a lack of Ritalan in their little body. That IS NOT the problem. Try cutting down the amount of sugar and junk food the kid eats.

...and then applying your palm briskly to their hind end until the object is blushing pink when infractions occur.

[John Robertson]

Agree with Halls. Had a "sprinter" daughter (meaning, she could burn brilliantly through any short-term project, but anything long-term would crush her) who was not formally diagnosed with ADHD until she was 20. The doc didn't just pull out a scrip pad. She was extensively tested.

Then doc starts talking to me, about me and my family history. Good grief, I and two brothers struggled like crazy with this back in the 50s. There is a hereditary component, and it was established then and there. (Looking back on my father's side of the family, there was a brother of his who was "no damned good, wouldn't stick to anything," back in the 30s. Poor bastard.)

Just because something is overdiagnosed doesn't mean it's nonexistent.

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><>Just because something is overdiagnosed doesn't mean it's nonexistent.<><

Exactly. I agree that it is overdiagnosed, but when you see your good-hearted child struggling for years and he comes home the first day he takes medication so excited because for the first time in his life, he was able to take notes. Somehow the information wasn't lost between his ears, his brain, and his hands. Our child, in particular, isn't a bad kid. He is a loving, mostly happy youth who has spent much of his young life grounded with no privileges because of perceived lack-of-effort on his part. The medication is not the sole answer, he still has to apply himself (which is challenging also!), but the immediate response to the medication drove it home to me that there IS a chemical imbalance that CAN cause SOME kids to have problems with concentration and retention. We don't WANT to medicate our child, but neither do we want him to be pushed aside as a kid who is just "destined to fail", like so many kids are. The medication DOES help him concentrate and retain information. Try not to judge until you've walked in our shoes.

[booann777]

You are so right that there are properly diagnosed and successfully treated ADD children and adults. One thing I may add it that all drugs, including psychiatric, should be managed by a specialist, in this case, a psychiatrist

IMHO, one of the reasons for these frightening statistics is the lack of a psychiatrist, instead a general practitioner, or anything but a psychiatry's has make the diagnosis and prescriptions. See a psychiatrist.

This would cut down greatly on the number of "diagnoses" and subsequent prescriptions. And the meds must be managed by the a psychiatrist as well. This is extremely important to avoid highly dangerous circumstances towards oneself, or others.

Let's not discount this illness's validity based on a majority of misdiagnosed cases.

best to you...

[AmericaUnited]

but the immediate response to the medication drove it home to me that there IS a chemical imbalance that CAN cause SOME kids to have problems with concentration and retention

Perpetual drugging DOES NOT CURE ANYTHING! Society today is just clueless. 99% of drugs treat the SYMPTOM but do not do anything to CURE the root problem. (And hello... the drug companies would really not want it any other way.)

[half-cajun]

Amen to you. My situation is almost exactly as you describe. I'll listen to those that don't believe it exists after they say the same thing after spending one week in my shoes.

[S0122017]

I agree that some kids need Ritalin or other neuromodulating drugs in the same way that diabetics need insulin. However, it is almost always prescribed to kids without any other therapy tried and without proper consultation. I personally suspect videogames and TV to be the main reason for ADHD.

The images on TV are quick, and cartoons often even quicker. Scientific study and common sense says that this rewires the brain so the child and sometimes adult can adjust, but then finds that it can no longer concentrate on anything that isn't flashing by at warp 10.

Horrible but true.

[John Robertson]

Good. Godspeed. Safe travel.

Now let me share something I've learned about ADHD medications: You don't have to take them for life. They can help you "learn" focus...so that, later, you can snap it on. Miraculous.

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><>Perpetual drugging DOES NOT CURE ANYTHING! <><

And I never said it did. In fact, you will actually READ my post, I said it wasn't the sole answer and we still work at getting him to apply himself. He is being assessed and enrolled in a learning center also, because he needs to learn skills to cope with his lack of concentration power.

I work in the medical industry, BTW, so you don't have to preach to me about most drugs treating the symptom and all the woes of the drug comanies. But if the root 'problem' is that my child is lacking chemicals in the brain that help regulate attention and activity (dopamine and norepinephrine),(just like he could be lacking an insulin-producting pancreas and thus be diabetic), then substituting a medication that would at least allow him to learn and retain basic skills for dealing with this throughout his life would be the logical thing to do.

I have full confidence that with medication and proper schooling/training, that our son will learn the skills needed be the successful young man he can be. You're not talking to a parent who is just tired of parenting and wants to drug her kid.

[AmericaUnited]

Sorry, you still have a 'drug' mentality.

[freepatriot32]

ping

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><>Sorry, you still have a 'drug' mentality.<><

Don't be sorry. *grin*