![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gracey on September 25, 2001, at 10:59:13
Sorry if I offend anyone here, but prescription drug use in this country is of epidemic proportions. Pharmacutical companies seem to have a pill to squelch every human emotion,with the implication that what we feel is somehow not normal, and must be "cured" with medication. In reality, we are not being cured, but "chemically subdued". What follows next is that the meds will start to work against the body, creating a whole new host of behaviours or oddities, which must be treated with even more meds. A vicious circle created, meds to come up, meds to come down, meds to treat the aggression caused by one drug, another to treat the drowsiness caused by the one to treat the aggression, and so on and so on. We all know how it works. Now if you are an adult, and you feel that this route has helped to improve your life, I commend you for getting the help that you needed. NOW, try to put yourself in a child's place. A basically normal child, but Dx with ADD/ADHD. Placed on stimulants....Soon the meds are working against the body and there are new behaviours; aggression, anxiety, compulsiveness or impulsiveness....Drs. diagnose these new behaviours with fancy labels, OCD and ODD, and new meds are added to the mix. Nothing is taken away, so now the kid is on 3-4 diff meds, and is convinced that he/she is not normal and cannot be normal without these pills. The kid lives with nausea, constipation, ect...every day. He does not know that this is NOT normal, because his awareness of his body has been clouded by drugs for as long as he can remember. Finally, the combination of all of the meds wreak havoc on the poor kid and his bodily functions until the kid finally has a breakdown. His 3 week stay in the psych ward earns him some new labels, intermittent explosive disorder or bipolar, and some fancy new meds to try, with an admonishment to the parents for letting the kid get the upper hand...And so it begins again.....
This was my child, and 3 weeks after that hospital stay, I finally realized that she had been suffering for years with the damage caused by those drugs, and by what is referred to as drug-induced dementia. She was not crazy or psychotic, but the drugs made her seem that way. Not a single Dr. ever told me, or would admit it today, that they and their drugs did this to my kid. For those of you who say I should have known, my child was already developmentally handicapped, something I had no previous experience with. I trusted the docs and shrinks to have her best interests in mind. Never again......She had been on Mellaril, Risperdal, Tenex, Zoloft, Depakote, Pamelor, and others.All along, I thought SHE was getting worse, when it was the meds doing this to her. I was never told that this could happen, BUT THEY KNEW.
Posted by fluffykitty on September 25, 2001, at 12:31:12
In reply to overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 25, 2001, at 10:59:13
First let me say that Im really sorry to hear about the awful experience that you have had. I have heard similer stories so you are not alone. I think the problem is two or 3 fold. One is that doctors are not wizards and often do not really know what the problem is or how to "cure" which is why medicine is often referred to as an art more than a science. Some doctors are better artists than others. Second the drug companies are out to make money pure and simple and they push the drugs on the doctors to prescibe them. Some doctors give in and do it and others dont and just wait to see what the track record a drug makes before trying it. The thing is though if there was not money to be made there would be little incentive for the companies to make the drugs in the first place and for many people who are living better lives through chemistry, this would be really awful as well if they did not have that help.
The solution of course is for people to take the time to educate themselves about medicine and drugs to the best of thier ability as a layman to use that information for the benefit of themselves and thier children. To get as many opinions as possible before deciding what course of action to take and then trying various methods to see what works and what doesnt. Also important in this whole thing is to try and find the root of the problem, not just treat the symptoms. But of course we tend to trust doctors and professionals to know what to do and do the right thing but unfortunately this does not always happen.
I have a friend who is a really cool guy who as a child was diagnosed with ADD or whatever in high school and was put on meds to avoid being kicked out of school. He was turned into a good little doobie by the drugs. When he got to college and was in control of his own life, he decided he didnt want to be on the meds, that his parents and society were not going to tell him how he was supposed to be as a person or live his life. He found after stopping the meds that he could not focus on college classes and had to drop out. The thing is though he didnt really care because he didnt really want to be in college. He had other things that he wanted to do with his life and went on to do them. He is a much happier and more interesting person as a result.
>proportions. Pharmacutical companies seem to
>have a pill to squelch every human emotion,with
>the implication that what we feel is somehow not
>normal, and must be "cured" with medication. InThis could be seen as some sort of evil conspiracy or simply as I stated above.
Also remember that some of these human emotions being squelched are the desire to kill one's self or worse and in that case its not such a bad thing. The human body is like a machine. When all its self regulating systems are in working order, then you dont tend to pay any attention. However when the system gets out of whack, doesnt work right in some specific way, then there is more harm done by not trying to fix it then letting it fail or get worse and worse until it breaks down.
In the case of this and human emotions, its the process of rebalancing them so that a person can function and FEEL their more pleasing emotions and living and dealing with the not so pleasant ones. In the case where drugs do squelch and "zombify" a person, I think then the person knows the drug isnt helping and would try something else. All of our emotions are useful and tell us something, allow for intuition and a weather report so to speak so to stamp them out completely would be like cutting off your tongue to spite your face. Who wants that? On other hand who can live in a hurricane all the time when just a little rain and sun will do?! :)And as for the machine analogy, while its easy to fix a car, the complexity of the human body is a far different matter. Doctors these days in 100 years will be regarded as no more than witch doctors working with stone knives and bearskins.
As a child I had really bad temper problem so my parents took me to a doctor who put me on Stelazine then some other drug called Trilifon. I didnt take it for more than a year. It helped but I went to live somewhere else so once I was taken out of the environment that was causing all this I didnt need it anymore because my temper problems went away.
Good luck!fk
Posted by petey on September 25, 2001, at 12:44:54
In reply to overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 25, 2001, at 10:59:13
> Sorry if I offend anyone here, but prescription drug use in this country is of epidemic proportions. Pharmacutical companies seem to have a pill to squelch every human emotion,with the implication that what we feel is somehow not normal, and must be "cured" with medication. In reality, we are not being cured, but "chemically subdued". What follows next is that the meds will start to work against the body, creating a whole new host of behaviours or oddities, which must be treated with even more meds. A vicious circle created, meds to come up, meds to come down, meds to treat the aggression caused by one drug, another to treat the drowsiness caused by the one to treat the aggression, and so on and so on. We all know how it works. Now if you are an adult, and you feel that this route has helped to improve your life, I commend you for getting the help that you needed. NOW, try to put yourself in a child's place. A basically normal child, but Dx with ADD/ADHD. Placed on stimulants....Soon the meds are working against the body and there are new behaviours; aggression, anxiety, compulsiveness or impulsiveness....Drs. diagnose these new behaviours with fancy labels, OCD and ODD, and new meds are added to the mix. Nothing is taken away, so now the kid is on 3-4 diff meds, and is convinced that he/she is not normal and cannot be normal without these pills. The kid lives with nausea, constipation, ect...every day. He does not know that this is NOT normal, because his awareness of his body has been clouded by drugs for as long as he can remember. Finally, the combination of all of the meds wreak havoc on the poor kid and his bodily functions until the kid finally has a breakdown. His 3 week stay in the psych ward earns him some new labels, intermittent explosive disorder or bipolar, and some fancy new meds to try, with an admonishment to the parents for letting the kid get the upper hand...And so it begins again.....
> This was my child, and 3 weeks after that hospital stay, I finally realized that she had been suffering for years with the damage caused by those drugs, and by what is referred to as drug-induced dementia. She was not crazy or psychotic, but the drugs made her seem that way. Not a single Dr. ever told me, or would admit it today, that they and their drugs did this to my kid. For those of you who say I should have known, my child was already developmentally handicapped, something I had no previous experience with. I trusted the docs and shrinks to have her best interests in mind. Never again......She had been on Mellaril, Risperdal, Tenex, Zoloft, Depakote, Pamelor, and others.All along, I thought SHE was getting worse, when it was the meds doing this to her. I was never told that this could happen, BUT THEY KNEW.
Gracey,
How could you have known? When we take our children to the doctor, we trust that they know what they are doing! This is nothing for you to feel guilty about, you were just trying to help your child. I have found so many times that doctors make mistakes and they don't want to admit it. This certainly happened in your case. You thought that your child was being helped and it ends up that they were harming her more. I'm so very sorry that you and your family had to go through this. It must have been really horrible! My daughter was also diagnosed with a.d.d. and was put on Ritalin. It made her anxiuos and she did'nt feel well, so we took her off it. After reading your post, I'm relieved that she reacted adversly to it or who knows where we'd be today!I do have to say though, some people really do need these meds. to help them them live a "normal" life. (Whatever that is!) I know sometimes I wonder if these drugs are helping me or making me worse! Before I started taking them, I would cry alot. Now that I'm on them it seems I have more symptoms to deal with. I feel NO emotions now! I feel "foggy", anxiuos and get alot of headaches. So, I don't know. They help in some ways, but there are side-effects to deal with. I just wanted you to know that I feel bad that you and your family had to go through this. How is your child doing now? I hope better! I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Take care!
Petey
Posted by stjames on September 25, 2001, at 16:00:23
In reply to overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 25, 2001, at 10:59:13
A basically normal child, but Dx with ADD/ADHD. Placed on stimulants....Soon the meds are working against the body and there are new behaviours; aggression, anxiety, compulsiveness or impulsiveness....Drs. diagnose these new behaviours with fancy labels, OCD and ODD, and new meds are added to the mix. Nothing is taken away, so now the kid is on 3-4 diff meds, and is convinced that he/she is not normal and cannot be normal without these pills. The kid lives with nausea, constipation, ect...every day. He does not know that this is NOT normal, because his awareness of his body has been clouded by drugs for as long as he can remember.
James here.....
BS and inflamitory. I was that "normal child" in first grade, with a LD and a IQ of 150, despite the fact I was failing school. I did not understand anything they were saying till they put me on stims. What a world of difference ! I had none of the side effects you mentioned and 20 years later have only good effects from the wise and informed choice my parents made to medicate me as a child. To deny me medication would of been abuse.
James
Posted by Elizabeth on September 25, 2001, at 17:48:37
In reply to overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 25, 2001, at 10:59:13
If someone had offered me stimulants for depression/ADD when I was a kid (say, 6 or 7 years old), I would have jumped at the opportunity. Of course, I was an odd duck, and I probably would have gone and read everything I could find about the disorders and the medications, too. The importance of making an informed decision can't be stressed enough.
BTW: stimulants are very safe, especially compared with neuroleptics, tricyclic antidepressants, etc. It's not reasonable to lump them together as though they were all essentially the same.
(Not going to bother trying to argue with value judgments, except to note that your post is full of them.)
-elizabeth
Posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 10:32:55
Elizabeth,
We cannot always assume that stimulants or any other drugs are safe. The largest percentage of psychotropic drugs have never been tested on children, including Ritalin. Studies, maybe, but that is hardly the same thing, nor is it used as a method of approval for children under FDA guidelines. When it comes to these types of meds, children are simply "guinea pigs". I only began to seek out these facts AFTER the final breakdown of my daughter.
Each individual reacts differently to meds, so there probably are some who benefit. But, too often, instead of diagnosing an adverse reaction, such as the OCD or aggression, and removing the offending drug in replace of something more suitable, Drs./psychs simply diagnose it as evidence of further mental deterioration, requiring more medication. The parents follow along in blind faith, never knowing of the abundance of negative information on such drugs and the behaviours they can induce. The info is out there, but it is not something you will find on your prescription insert.
As I stated previously, as a consenting adult, if you feel this route has improved your life, I think thats great. I am speaking up for the children. My child could have died from what she went thru, and I owe that to her, to speak out.
Posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 11:00:45
In reply to Re: overmedicated, posted by stjames on September 25, 2001, at 16:00:23
> A basically normal child, but Dx with ADD/ADHD. Placed on stimulants....Soon the meds are working against the body and there are new behaviours; aggression, anxiety, compulsiveness or impulsiveness....Drs. diagnose these new behaviours with fancy labels, OCD and ODD, and new meds are added to the mix. Nothing is taken away, so now the kid is on 3-4 diff meds, and is convinced that he/she is not normal and cannot be normal without these pills. The kid lives with nausea, constipation, ect...every day. He does not know that this is NOT normal, because his awareness of his body has been clouded by drugs for as long as he can remember.
>
> James here.....
>
> BS and inflamitory. I was that "normal child" in first grade, with a LD and a IQ of 150, despite the fact I was failing school. I did not understand anything they were saying till they put me on stims. What a world of difference ! I had none of the side effects you mentioned and 20 years later have only good effects from the wise and informed choice my parents made to medicate me as a child. To deny me medication would of been abuse.
>
> JamesJames,
No need to be so defensive. I am glad that yours was a positve experience, but unfortunately, many are not. I feel that people need to be aware of this. As for BS and inflamatory, is it your intention to shut me up? Do you work for the pharmacutical giants?
What I have said here is true, in my case. I have also been in contact with countless other people who have had similar experiences. However, the Drs./psychs, the pharmacists, the drug companies....they are not informing the patient/consumer of the very real dangers of these medications, especially in children, who are still in the growing stages both mentally and physically.
The use of behaviour drugs in our children is skyrocketing out of control. We can it explain that in one of two ways. Either we are becoming such a dysfunctional society that are children are being damaged by that...Or, the drugs used to treat what seems to be a small problem, are creating even more, at a much more serious level. Why do some children with ADD/ADHD dx go on to also acquire even more labels, such as bipolar, oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive/compulsive disorder???? If you can truly say that you believe the drugs have nothing to do with it, then you must believe that we are a seriously messed up society, instigating mental illness at an alarming rate.
Either way, something must be done for these kids. There are other options. What about therapy? Does anyone even DO that anymore, or does it only come in pill-form?
Posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 11:04:18
In reply to Re: overmedicated, posted by petey on September 25, 2001, at 12:44:54
> > Sorry if I offend anyone here, but prescription drug use in this country is of epidemic proportions. Pharmacutical companies seem to have a pill to squelch every human emotion,with the implication that what we feel is somehow not normal, and must be "cured" with medication. In reality, we are not being cured, but "chemically subdued". What follows next is that the meds will start to work against the body, creating a whole new host of behaviours or oddities, which must be treated with even more meds. A vicious circle created, meds to come up, meds to come down, meds to treat the aggression caused by one drug, another to treat the drowsiness caused by the one to treat the aggression, and so on and so on. We all know how it works. Now if you are an adult, and you feel that this route has helped to improve your life, I commend you for getting the help that you needed. NOW, try to put yourself in a child's place. A basically normal child, but Dx with ADD/ADHD. Placed on stimulants....Soon the meds are working against the body and there are new behaviours; aggression, anxiety, compulsiveness or impulsiveness....Drs. diagnose these new behaviours with fancy labels, OCD and ODD, and new meds are added to the mix. Nothing is taken away, so now the kid is on 3-4 diff meds, and is convinced that he/she is not normal and cannot be normal without these pills. The kid lives with nausea, constipation, ect...every day. He does not know that this is NOT normal, because his awareness of his body has been clouded by drugs for as long as he can remember. Finally, the combination of all of the meds wreak havoc on the poor kid and his bodily functions until the kid finally has a breakdown. His 3 week stay in the psych ward earns him some new labels, intermittent explosive disorder or bipolar, and some fancy new meds to try, with an admonishment to the parents for letting the kid get the upper hand...And so it begins again.....
> > This was my child, and 3 weeks after that hospital stay, I finally realized that she had been suffering for years with the damage caused by those drugs, and by what is referred to as drug-induced dementia. She was not crazy or psychotic, but the drugs made her seem that way. Not a single Dr. ever told me, or would admit it today, that they and their drugs did this to my kid. For those of you who say I should have known, my child was already developmentally handicapped, something I had no previous experience with. I trusted the docs and shrinks to have her best interests in mind. Never again......She had been on Mellaril, Risperdal, Tenex, Zoloft, Depakote, Pamelor, and others.All along, I thought SHE was getting worse, when it was the meds doing this to her. I was never told that this could happen, BUT THEY KNEW.
>
>
> Gracey,
> How could you have known? When we take our children to the doctor, we trust that they know what they are doing! This is nothing for you to feel guilty about, you were just trying to help your child. I have found so many times that doctors make mistakes and they don't want to admit it. This certainly happened in your case. You thought that your child was being helped and it ends up that they were harming her more. I'm so very sorry that you and your family had to go through this. It must have been really horrible! My daughter was also diagnosed with a.d.d. and was put on Ritalin. It made her anxiuos and she did'nt feel well, so we took her off it. After reading your post, I'm relieved that she reacted adversly to it or who knows where we'd be today!I do have to say though, some people really do need these meds. to help them them live a "normal" life. (Whatever that is!) I know sometimes I wonder if these drugs are helping me or making me worse! Before I started taking them, I would cry alot. Now that I'm on them it seems I have more symptoms to deal with. I feel NO emotions now! I feel "foggy", anxiuos and get alot of headaches. So, I don't know. They help in some ways, but there are side-effects to deal with. I just wanted you to know that I feel bad that you and your family had to go through this. How is your child doing now? I hope better! I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Take care!
> PeteyThanks for your reply, Petey...Its nice to know that there are people who care about theses issues as I do. Its important for all of our children
Posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 11:59:08
In reply to Re: overmedicated, posted by fluffykitty on September 25, 2001, at 12:31:12
> First let me say that Im really sorry to hear about the awful experience that you have had. I have heard similer stories so you are not alone. I think the problem is two or 3 fold. One is that doctors are not wizards and often do not really know what the problem is or how to "cure" which is why medicine is often referred to as an art more than a science. Some doctors are better artists than others. Second the drug companies are out to make money pure and simple and they push the drugs on the doctors to prescibe them. Some doctors give in and do it and others dont and just wait to see what the track record a drug makes before trying it. The thing is though if there was not money to be made there would be little incentive for the companies to make the drugs in the first place and for many people who are living better lives through chemistry, this would be really awful as well if they did not have that help.
>
> The solution of course is for people to take the time to educate themselves about medicine and drugs to the best of thier ability as a layman to use that information for the benefit of themselves and thier children. To get as many opinions as possible before deciding what course of action to take and then trying various methods to see what works and what doesnt. Also important in this whole thing is to try and find the root of the problem, not just treat the symptoms. But of course we tend to trust doctors and professionals to know what to do and do the right thing but unfortunately this does not always happen.
>
> I have a friend who is a really cool guy who as a child was diagnosed with ADD or whatever in high school and was put on meds to avoid being kicked out of school. He was turned into a good little doobie by the drugs. When he got to college and was in control of his own life, he decided he didnt want to be on the meds, that his parents and society were not going to tell him how he was supposed to be as a person or live his life. He found after stopping the meds that he could not focus on college classes and had to drop out. The thing is though he didnt really care because he didnt really want to be in college. He had other things that he wanted to do with his life and went on to do them. He is a much happier and more interesting person as a result.
>
> >proportions. Pharmacutical companies seem to
> >have a pill to squelch every human emotion,with
> >the implication that what we feel is somehow not
> >normal, and must be "cured" with medication. In
>
> This could be seen as some sort of evil conspiracy or simply as I stated above.
> Also remember that some of these human emotions being squelched are the desire to kill one's self or worse and in that case its not such a bad thing. The human body is like a machine. When all its self regulating systems are in working order, then you dont tend to pay any attention. However when the system gets out of whack, doesnt work right in some specific way, then there is more harm done by not trying to fix it then letting it fail or get worse and worse until it breaks down.
> In the case of this and human emotions, its the process of rebalancing them so that a person can function and FEEL their more pleasing emotions and living and dealing with the not so pleasant ones. In the case where drugs do squelch and "zombify" a person, I think then the person knows the drug isnt helping and would try something else. All of our emotions are useful and tell us something, allow for intuition and a weather report so to speak so to stamp them out completely would be like cutting off your tongue to spite your face. Who wants that? On other hand who can live in a hurricane all the time when just a little rain and sun will do?! :)
>
> And as for the machine analogy, while its easy to fix a car, the complexity of the human body is a far different matter. Doctors these days in 100 years will be regarded as no more than witch doctors working with stone knives and bearskins.
>
> As a child I had really bad temper problem so my parents took me to a doctor who put me on Stelazine then some other drug called Trilifon. I didnt take it for more than a year. It helped but I went to live somewhere else so once I was taken out of the environment that was causing all this I didnt need it anymore because my temper problems went away.
> Good luck!
>
> fkThanks for your reply, fk....I do realize that we cannot do away with all meds. Also, I understand the situations where meds are appropriately needed for intervention, in the case of someone who is suicidal or a danger to others, ect..Those who truly need the meds should have access, but I also believe that there should be stricer monitoring, required therapy or behaviour modification options, and complete information provided to the patient/consumer.
My daughter was on several different drugs which I found out later were NOT recommended for children. No one told me this, not even the pharmacist, and you know the first thing they ask you for is a birth date when filling a prescription.
My daughter was in such bad shape when all of this happened that many people were trying to persuade me to put her in a residential treatment facility. She was very violent and suffered countless psychotic episodes each day, which required me to hold her down until these episodes would pass, sometimes 40 min. or longer. At 7yrs old, this was not easy, as she weighed close to 100 lbs due to the weight gain from the drugs. It was a nightmare....she could have had the starring role in the Exorcist, no exaggeration.
We monitored her every move when she was released from the psych ward, and finally put 2&2 together on our own. She had started to have medical problems approx. 1 year into a particular drug, which we had questioned at the time, but our concerns were fluffed off. For 3 more years, we dealt with this medical issue seperately, while she remained on that drug and others were added, to treat the ever increasing behaviour issues.
To make a long story short, we realized that her behaviour problems and her medical problems would flare at the same time. Of course we knew this long before, but we finally quit listening to the docs who said that a connection between the two was not possible. We knew it was possible because we witnessed it.
A year into that particular drug, my daughter's bowels began to dysfunction. This was not a condition that existed before that time, and she has had numerous tests and exploratory surgery to rule a cause, and have found nothing, no sign of disease or abnormality. A year into that med was also when her behaviour went out of control. Whatever has occurred here has caused her digestive system to be so screwed up that she cannot move her bowels normally, and her waste material is toxic to her. The slightest indication of "non-movement" can put her into a psychotic episode and send her back to the psych ward. It is a DAILY battle, even after one year off of the drugs. I am taking her back to the Ped.GI on Friday, the first time he has seen her since her breakdown. I am expecting him to help me finally piece all of this together, and determine whether the damage is permanent.
Posted by stjames on September 26, 2001, at 12:00:09
In reply to Re: overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 11:00:45
kids. There are other options. What about therapy? Does anyone even DO that anymore, or does it only come in pill-form?
James here....I have done thearpy, but as this, in my case, is a medical problem it requires a medical treatment.
james
Posted by fluffykitty on September 26, 2001, at 12:14:52
In reply to overmedicated-elizabeth, posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 10:32:55
Have you seen this? Just found it.
http://www.familyeducation.com/whatworks/review/front/0,2562,1-9124-16_-1463-1,00.html
http://www.familyeducation.com/
Posted by SalArmy4me on September 26, 2001, at 13:41:00
In reply to Re: overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 11:59:08
Which drugs did she take that are not recommended for children?
Posted by PaulB on September 26, 2001, at 15:46:30
In reply to overmedicated, posted by gracey on September 25, 2001, at 10:59:13
I am sorry to hear about your experience and hope your child is feeling better. It is a serious issue you raise I thought and also I thought you got some interesting replies. I feel I can relate to the problem of side-effects caused by one drug, creating further problems. In my case I was prescribed an antidepressant and for a short while made me not feel very well at all.
The doctors that I have seen have never over-prescribed me, that is to say, never taken the issue of drug prescribing lightly. I have been on relatively few drugs and sometimes in the past I wish I was given this, that or the other for depression and anxiety problems but now think overwise sometimes. I dont know?
Elizabeth wrote 'The importance of making an informed decision cannot be stressed enough' I agree and thats why I believe it so important to have a good rapport with your doctor to know that if a member of your family was not well you could honestly trust he/she to help them to the best of their capability.I keep thinking this kind of topic is excellent for psycho-social babble but your post concerns medication. I guess the two boards can easily overlap.
There are a lot of drugs available these days for different mental health problems. This, I think is problematic in terms of whether it is a good or bad thing. What draws me back again and again to psycho-babble is that it reminds me that each one of us is different, regardless of the diagnosis we have been given and there are people who can offer advice on what has really helped them and may well be a good option for somebody else.
I think there are many factors that can be taken into consideration before taking a medication though to assess whether it is really a good choice.
PaulB
Posted by Elizabeth on September 26, 2001, at 16:11:01
In reply to overmedicated-elizabeth, posted by gracey on September 26, 2001, at 10:32:55
> We cannot always assume that stimulants or any other drugs are safe. The largest percentage of psychotropic drugs have never been tested on children, including Ritalin.
Ritalin has been tested in children. I don't know what you mean by "testing" if you don't think that "studies" count. Ritalin and other stimulants have been in use for decades in childhood ADD, and more recently in adult ADD.
> Studies, maybe, but that is hardly the same thing, nor is it used as a method of approval for children under FDA guidelines.
Umm...what sort of information do *you* think the FDA uses in deciding whether a medication should be approved for a particular indication?
(From the labelling for Ritalin: "Methylphenidate hydrochloride is indicated as an integral proof of a total treatment program which typically includes other remedial measures (psychological, educational, social) for a stabilizing effect in children with a behavioral syndrome characterized by the following group of developmentally inappropriate symptoms: moderate-to-severe distractibility, short attention span, hyperactivity, emotional lability and impulsivity. The diagnosis of this syndrome should not be made with finality when these symptoms are only of comparatively recent origin." In other words, it's indicated for ADD *in children*.)
> As I stated previously, as a consenting adult, if you feel this route has improved your life, I think thats great. I am speaking up for the children. My child could have died from what she went thru, and I owe that to her, to speak out.
I first took psychiatric medication when I was 14. My parents and I gave our informed consent. And I felt it was helpful (certainly, it wasn't harmful). If anything, I wish that I'd been able to get help sooner. So, no, you're not speaking for "the children." Maybe you're speaking for one particular child, although I would be more impressed to hear about her experience from *her*.
-elizabeth
Posted by fluffykitty on September 27, 2001, at 11:43:51
In reply to Re: overmedicated » gracey, posted by Elizabeth on September 26, 2001, at 16:11:01
>
> I first took psychiatric medication when I was
>14. My parents and I gave our informed consent.
>And I felt it was helpful (certainly, it wasn't
>harmful). If anything, I wish that I'd been able
>to get help sooner. So, no, you're not speaking
>for "the children." Maybe you're speaking for
>one particular child, although I would be more
>impressed to hear about her experience from
>*her*.
>
> -elizabethWhen I was about 11 or 12 and this was in the early 70s, I began to experience symptoms of what is now called social phobia. Back then there was no term for this and no medication like Paxil or anything. So it got worse and I just fucking suffered through it. All through jr high and high school. It was HELL!!! I only wish that there had been medication back then that I couldve taken or that there was some medical definition so it couldve been treated. When I went to college I started seeing a psychoanalyst/psychiatrist to work it out. I was fortunate to be able to work it out via therapy and some xanax :). It was hard work but I forced myself to work it out and I did. It almost makes me agree that if people work it out themselves rather than relying on medication that it makes them better, stronger people but on the other hand I think that not everyone can do that and that why should people suffer when they could improve thier quality of life with medication?
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