did you give your kids Ritalin ? Adderall ? Strattera ?

[Buster T]

I have maintained from day 1 that ADD and ADHD are made up "diseases" and "disorders" brought on by lack of parenting. In the rare case a child is overtly distracted, I would NEVER drug my child into submission, drugging them into someone I thought they should be.

Anyway, here's the latest on the harm ADHD drugs (Ritalin) does to children ........ anyone who's fed their kids these drugs should be publicly stoned for putting their children at risk [:@] Remember - drug companies DO NOT CARE about your health - they care only only about making pills and selling them. If they kill a few hundred, or a few thousand, if the side affects range far and wide hey, maybe they'll have to pay a few million in lawsuits, but the profits FAR outweigh the costs. [:@]






http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/02/21/adhd.drugs.ap/index.html


Story Highlights
"¢ ADHD drugs ordered to include new guidelines about heart, psychiatric risks
"¢ Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera and all other ADHD drugs will include the advisories
"¢ FDA discussion includes reports of increased blood pressure and heart rate

[/align][/align][/align][/align]WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drugs prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will include guides to alert patients and parents of the risks of mental and heart problems, including sudden death.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it directed the manufacturers of Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera and all other drugs for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, to develop the guides. In May 2006, the agency told manufacturers to revise the labels of the drugs to reflect concerns about the cardiovascular and psychiatric problems.

Draft versions of the guides posted on the FDA Web site include discussion of reports of increased blood pressure and heart rate in ADHD patients, as well as cases of sudden death in some who have heart problems and heart defects. In adult patients, the reported problems also include stroke and heart attack.

The alerts also cover psychiatric problems, such as hearing voices, unfounded suspicions and manic behavior, of which there is a slightly increased risk in patients who take the drugs, the FDA said. The guides also tell patients and their parents of precautions they can take to guard against the risks.

Wednesday's announcement came roughly a year after two panels of FDA advisers recommended that the drugs include such patient medication guides. The announcement covers 15 drugs, including extended-release, patch and chewable versions of some of them.

Ritalin is manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and in generic form by other companies; Adderall is made by Shire Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Strattera by Eli Lilly & Co.

[Montana Bob]

ORIGINAL: Buster T

I have maintained from day 1 that ADD and ADHD are made up "diseases" and "disorders" brought on by lack of parenting. In the rare case a child is overtly distracted, I would NEVER drug my child into submission, drugging them into someone I thought they should be.

Well brother you maintain what you want, I had ADD as a kid and still have problems with focus and attention, and have taken everything you can think of as a child including intensive counselingand some as an adult.
The drugs helped, however as an adult I now self medicate by chain smoking and Coffee as I don't like the effects of the drugs. Is this any heathier than prescription drugs? Who knows.
I have learned to cope in my ownwayand am a succssefull busines owner.
As far as lack of parenting in my case is hogwash. Without drugs as a child I would have learned nothing in school and might be dead or in prison with the compulsion end of the disorder.
My parents did the right thing in raising me and thank god they sought professional help for me and the disorder.

[Fox72]

I believe these disorders exist, but are often over or misdiagnosed.

[BenGarrett]

Buster, prove that the side-affects of Ritalin or other ADHD drugs are any greater (or, for that matter, as great) as drugs necessary to treat heart disease, diabetes or any other ailment.

There are some kids who truly need to be on these drugs. Without them, they'll go through school with poor grades and wind up taking a job at whatever low-paying gig they can find when they graduate, and it has nothing to do with parenting. I've seen them.

Now with that said, I have also long-maintained that ADD and ADHD are largely a joke. I believe that the majority of the cases are misdiagnosed and Ritalin is too often used as a way to calm down children when the parents cannot control them, which is despicable.

What's worse, school systems encourage teachers to be suspicious of ADD/ADHD in students. I was an education major in college and our senior-level Kids w/ Disabilities class spent the majority of the semester on ADD/ADHD, over-emphasizing the "importance" of "detecting" ADD/ADHD. They would justify that, I'm sure, by saying that the emphasis was placed on the subject because it's a relatively new diagnosis. My feelings are that (if ADD/ADHD are covered by IDEA; to be honest, I'm not 100% sure whether they are or not) each kid diagnosed with ADD/ADHD not only will not have his or her scores factored in with the rest of the school's scores, but the school will also receive federal funding for that student. So not only can you put your discipline problems on the ADD/ADHD list to have them zoned out by medication, but you can put your students who are struggling on the list as well so that their test scores don't pull down your overall scores.

Our local school system is renowned for high standardized test scores, and for going to any measure necessary to achieve those scores. A pediatrician from a Knoxville pediatric group, which sees children from all of East Tennessee, said that he sees more possible ADD/ADHD cases referred from that very small school district than from any other school district in East Tennessee. That's a travesty and an outrage.

Now I'll agree with you on your assessment of parents IF they're giving Ritalin to their children because they cannot control them. But don't make the mistake of failing to realize that there are kids who truly do have an attention problem and will not achieve what they're capable of achieving without these medications. Too often, you start criticizing parents without any experience of what you're talking about.

[david m]

my kids take Hershey's....in both solid and liquid form.

that's about it.

well, the occassional Smartie.

[Red Lion]

ORIGINAL: Fox72

I believe these disorders exist, but are often over or misdiagnosed.

Bingo! You are correct sir. ADD and ADHD are common disorders, but do get overdiagnosed or incorrectly diagnosed. Some symptoms ofADHD, for example include impulsivity and inattention, which could also be attributable toan anxiety disorder orhypomania/mania for that matter.
Most drugs used for treating ADD/ADHD are stimulants, except Strattera, not a stimulant. Drugs are tested on adult populations and not children. There is tons of research that any Insurance company, MD, etc.. can access to prove thatstimulant meds are very effective in treating ADD/ADHD, so even if someone disagreeshuge amounts are present.
Childrenwill usually require a change in stimulant meds every so often, as their growing and changing bodies will reduce effectiveness.
I would give my child a stimulant, such as Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta or even an older med like Dexedrine if necessary, but would beattuned to how my child continues to reacte to it.
As far as side affects, every single prescribe and over the counter drug has the potential for side affects. Some serious and some morebothersome, such as stomache ache is not taking with food. Every person reactes differently.
ADD/ADHD is underdiagnosed inmany adults though, as it supposedly did not exist 25 years ago.

[Buster T]

Well brother you maintain what you want, I had ADD as a kid and still have problems with focus and attention, and have taken everything you can think of as a child including intensive counselingand some as an adult.
The drugs helped, however as an adult I now self medicate by chain smoking and Coffee as I don't like the effects of the drugs. Is this any heathier than prescription drugs? Who knows.
I have learned to cope in my ownwayand am a succssefull busines owner.
As far as lack of parenting in my case is hogwash. Without drugs as a child I would have learned nothing in school and might be dead or in prison with the compulsion end of the disorder.
My parents did the right thing in raising me and thank god they sought professional help for me and the disorder.

Montana Bob Without drugs ......... I'm sorry, I don't buy it. You've said that without drugs (that you didn't like the effects of) you wouldn't have made it, but then turn around and say you don't take them anymore and cope in your own way.

That tells me that the drugs cured nothing. Whatever problems you have/had, the drugs didn't do anything to fix the cause of it.

Yes, sometimes it isnt cut and dried, I'll agree. But you proved my point that the drugs ? They cured nothing.


Fox72

I believe these disorders exist, but are often over or misdiagnosed.

extremely overprescribed - why ? Money

BenGarrett

Buster, prove that the side-affects of Ritalin or other ADHD drugs are any greater (or, for that matter, as great) as drugs necessary to treat heart disease, diabetes or any other ailment.

Did you read ?

First of all, do we (as a society) pump millions of kids full of heart disease, diabetes and other ailment drugs every year ? No - ADD and ADHD drugs are new to the market for the most part, the long term side affects aren't known.

I hammered my brother and his wife (now x-wife) on them giving Ritalin to their oldest kid. I typed up pages of the dangers the child was in. His x-wife hated me for it, because it squarely put the blame of the reprecussions on her shoulders, because I gave her the information on what exactly Ritalin and the other drugs were.

They gave them to him anyway, and it was an utter failure. I wonder if he has heart problems ? Psychiatric problems ? Who knows ?

Thats the trick with drugs - there are always side affects. For an adult to take them and assume the responsibility is one thing - to give them to a child when the long term affects aren't known ?

Not acceptable IMO.

There are some kids who truly need to be on these drugs. Without them, they'll go through school with poor grades and wind up taking a job at whatever low-paying gig they can find when they graduate, and it has nothing to do with parenting. I've seen them.

Are you serious ? You think giving these drugs to kids turn them into super genius kids ? Remember, there are always side affects. Grades might go up, sometimes, maybe, but what is the price you're paying for it ?

Look, there is NO SHAME in a kid trying hard and getting a C average. Everyone isn't a 4.0 kid. Blue collar jobs is a proud job, hard work and honesty is admirable.

Now with that said, I have also long-maintained that ADD and ADHD are largely a joke. I believe that the majority of the cases are misdiagnosed and Ritalin is too often used as a way to calm down children when the parents cannot control them, which is despicable.

exactly

Now I'll agree with you on your assessment of parents IF they're giving Ritalin to their children because they cannot control them. But don't make the mistake of failing to realize that there are kids who truly do have an attention problem and will not achieve what they're capable of achieving without these medications. Too often, you start criticizing parents without any experience of what you're talking about.

per Wikipedia these are common symptoms of ADD / ADHD .......

symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control, and distractibility.[

Now tell me if EVERY kid in the world isn't the above ? All kids are - mine are, all my friends, every kid I've ever met.

The beauty of the above, is that because every kid has energy, is forgetful, doesn't have an attention span and is distractable, that the ADD / ADHD frenzy can be assigned to ALL kids - its a money making machine for drug companies to convince parents their kids aren't bad, its just a "disorder" that needs medication !

Its pathetic.

Yes, I hold parents accountable.

[kevin1]

I never saw the need to drug my kids when they got a little froggy, I just gave them something different to focus on and the problem promptly disappeared.

[BenGarrett]

Did you read ?

Yeah, I read it. Now go find any prescription medicine bottle and read the warnings with it. Find one that doesn't have a "slight" risk for serious side effects.

First of all, do we (as a society) pump millions of kids full of heart disease, diabetes and other ailment drugs every year ? No - ADD and ADHD drugs are new to the market for the most part, the long term side affects aren't known.

Um, if they're diagnosed with those diseases, yes. What rock have you been living under? Do you seriously think Ritalin and associated ADD/ADHD drugs are the only prescription meds are kids are taking?

Are you serious ? You think giving these drugs to kids turn them into super genius kids ? Remember, there are always side affects. Grades might go up, sometimes, maybe, but what is the price you're paying for it ?

Look, there is NO SHAME in a kid trying hard and getting a C average. Everyone isn't a 4.0 kid. Blue collar jobs is a proud job, hard work and honesty is admirable.

LOL. Now I'm remembering how futile it is to debate with you. You make quantum leaps to conclusion.

Of course Ritalin doesn't turn kids into geniuses. It doesn't make them smarter. What it does do is improve their ability to stay on task so that they can have a chance to make better grades. If kids aren't staying on task because they're being kids -- I've never known a kid who could pay attention to what the teacher was saying when it is 2 p.m. and the sun is shining and its 60 degrees and he knows fish are jumping in the creek -- we are failing them as a society by pumping them full of drugs, I'm 100% in agreement with you there. But you have to realize that there are some kids that do have a problem. I've been in and around classrooms enough to see it.

Also, we're not talking about the difference in making C's and A's. We're talking about some kids who have failing grades because they can't stay on task. Without medicinal intervention, they have no hope of making it to the next grade, let alone getting an education that will allow them to make something out of their lives. I know because my brother was one of them. My parents were like you; they didn't believe in this ADD foolishness. The rest of us made good grades and got our ass busted when we made failing grades. But getting his ass busted never worked for my brother. When he was in the 8th grade and on the verge of being held back another year, they finally broke down and took him to the doctor. We made fun of him unmercifully when he was put on medication, but his grades improved dramatically. It didn't turn him into a zomby, and I doubt he has many long-lasting psychological or physical problems as a result. He went on to do a tour in Iraq and is currently a law enforcement officer.

[Charlie P]

LOL. Now I'm remembering how futile it is to debate with you. You make quantum leaps to conclusion.

Double lol, Sometimes you just have to say "your totally right" and get on with your day.