Posted on 11/23/2006 6:09:55 AM PST by shrinkermd
...Bottles of psychiatric medications fill the shelves. Stephen, 15, takes the antidepressants Zoloft and Desyrel for depression, the anticonvulsant Lamictal to moderate his moods and the stimulant Focalin XR to improve concentration. Jacob, 14, takes Focalin XR for concentration, the anticonvulsant Depakote to moderate his moods, the antipsychotic Risperdal to reduce anger and the antihypertensive Catapres to induce sleep.
Over the last three years, each boy has been prescribed 28 different psychiatric drugs.
“Sometimes, when you look at all the drugs they’ve taken, you wonder, ‘Wow, did I really do this to my kids?’ ” said their mother, Tricia Kehoe of Sharpsville, Pa. “But I’ve seen them without the meds, and there’s a major difference.”
...Last year in the United States, about 1.6 million children and teenagers — 280,000 of them under age 10 — were given at least two psychiatric drugs in combination, according to an analysis performed by Medco Health Solutions at the request of The New York Times. More than 500,000 were prescribed at least three psychiatric drugs. More than 160,000 got at least four medications together, the analysis found.
Many psychiatrists and parents believe that such drug combinations, often referred to as drug cocktails, help. But there is virtually no scientific evidence to justify this multiplication of pills, researchers say. A few studies have shown that a combination of two drugs can be helpful in adult patients, but the evidence in children is scant. And there is no evidence at al
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(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Of course if these kids were not being medicated and they ended up going on a murdering spree (a la Columbine), these same people would be saying, "Where were the parents? Why weren't these kids getting the help they needed?"
It sounds as if the father is under the impression that the meds should be taking the place of parenting skills. Pretty indicative of our society's attitude toward meds.
No, EVERY time you look at your kids, you should be saying "How COULD I do this to my kids?"
Part of the "hyperactivity" trend in children is just the educational establishment trying to make children be passive and doped-up. Also, our grandparents worked when they were children (did chores on the farm or whatever) and that used up a lot of energy. People older than 40 were involved in sports, bicycle riding, etc. as children and that used up some energy. In the last 25 years or so children have been very restricted in the physical activity they are allowed to do. School sports are out because of political correctness and liability reasons. Most children cannot run around the neighborhood because it is no longer safe. So children have all this excess energy that is not given a constructive outlet. They are, essentially, physically constrained and given a steady diet of violent "entertainment" so it is no wonder there are so many problems.
I was a hyperactive kid and a bipolar adult. I was unmedicated as a child but was, for a time, heavily medicated as adult. With exercise and diet, I was able to get completely off meds.
I haven't been on a murder spree. Don't you think your comment might be a rather poor generalization.
Excellent points.
Take those kids out of public school.
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What a country.
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DUH!
Eric Harris (of Columbine) was on Luvox when he went on his spree
You are so right. I have 3 boys, 16, 15, and 9. All three are bundles of energy. My youngest will literally crash and burn when it's bed time and the minute his eyes open he's at a dead run. It breaks my heart that so many kids are so restricted. It's like they are busting out of their skin. My kids play organized sports and even when they are home they are outside, riding bikes, shooting hoops, playing hockey. Who is prescribing all of this medication? My pediatricians will not prescribe any such drug. I brought my oldest in for migraines, he wouldn't prescribe Imitrex or any migraine meds because he felt there was not enough research on the effects of these meds on children. And I also don't understand how this generation of kids have so many mental issues.
Very few do. But when they do, break out the where-were-the-parents-why-wasn't-the-kid-getting-help crowd.
If the phrase "murder spree" upsets you, then substitute assault, truancy, delinquency, or any other juvenile crime that grabs the headlines.
Where I live it is safe but the kids ride electric and gas powered scooters. Kids almost never play unless they have uniforms and are driven to a playing field mostly for soccer but T-Ball is also played.
The kids here are also over weight and lazy. I just don't know if things will ever get better given that is seems the parents allow this to happen.
Here's one potential reason for the mental issues. I go to church with some folks who have a foster child who's on so much and so heavy medication that when they have to change this kid's meds, they have to put the kid in the hospital and wean the kid off one before putting him on the other. My understanding is that the kid was a crack baby.
What happened to the good ol' days of my youth, when we used to mix our own...sigh...
IIRC almost all of the past killing sprees by students have been conducted by kids on psychiatric meds.
The kids at Columbine were being medicated.
What's your point? That he was getting the medication he needed, or that the medication produced his aggression?
Was Dylan Klebold on anything? What, therefore, can we conclude? Anything?
My point is that a discussion of the serious problem of over-medicating our children is further confused by suggesting that the failure to do so has anything to do with Columbine or murder sprees.
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