Posted by alohashirt on February 9, 2006, at 23:09:15
In reply to FINALLY! Stimulants will be investigated, posted by AC75 on February 9, 2006, at 21:18:24
> As someone who has taken Concerta for 3.5 years now -- and with a lot of trepidation as to its long-term effects -- I am thrilled that finally an FDA panel has shocked the system into what will surely be further study.
>
> I have told every psych I met -- when they assure me these drugs are totally safe -- that I'm not convinced. Sure, stims have been around since the 1950s, but for most of that period they've been used on kids for some years at a time. The phenomena of adults like me being told that we can take stims till we're 70 is all new, and never been studied.
>
> I KNOW my heart beats faster. I KNOW it feels a little irregular when I run. I KNOW it dehydrates me (by increasing frequency of urination). Every time, I've been told this is all "within the normal parameters."
>
> Well, I'm glad someone blew a whistle that caught some attention. While I'm not looking to get off Concerta, I DO want a LOT more further study. After all, there are 3 million of us on this stuff!!The level of hysteria/fear around ADHD meds is not reality based. It's just another instance of the "drug paranoia" that had my mother and her peers terrified that LSD dealers were "hooking kids on drugs" by persuading them to lick stickers. Urban myths suceed because people enjoy being terrified.
Lets put this in perspective:
1. The stimulants are better researched than almost any class of medication.
2. "Totally safe" is a chimera and not the issue. Like everything, it's a numbers game. It is hard to estimate the likely fatality count attributable to ADHD but conceivable that it could be much higher than 7 in 3 million per annum. Remember that aspirin and aspirin like drugs kill 1000x as many people as are suspected die from stimulants!
3. If you take the FDA numbers and compare the to the AMA's stated leading causes of death in 2000 its clear that stimulants are safer than toxic f*rts from cabbage afficionados:tobacco 435,000 deaths; (18.1% of total US deaths),
poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6%)
alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5%).
microbial agents (75,000),
motor vehicle crashes (43,000),
firearms (29,000)
illicit use of drugs (17,000)
NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin) 7600
stimulants FDA suggest 6 or 7I'm not saying "stimulants are safe", but I do think the fear and hysteria make it hard to seriously clearly examine the issues and form a reality based view of the situation.
poster:alohashirt
thread:608122
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060205/msgs/608172.html