An old column but still interesting.
Blowing Away Algebra Two
A Price For Drugging Our Kids?
Regarding the recent wave of killings by students in high school:
Might the reason for these shootings, just possibly, be Ritalin, the amphetamine-like drug used to pacify millions of fidgety boys?
Yeah, I know. Wild idea. But I'm not the first it has occurred to, and something is sure going on.
We've all wondered, unless we're dead or crazy, why kids in high school have taken to blowing away their classmates with guns. The premier example is the shootings at Columbine, but there have been many others. Why do boys, often from fairly ordinary families, decide to kill the kids in Algebra Two?
The media usually blame guns. (Ever look at the average SATs of students in journalism schools? You wouldn't be surprised.) Whatever one's views of guns, they aren't responsible for the wave of shootings. Guns have been around for centuries, and these shootings didn't occur. Something new is involved.
Another explanation is that divorce, and the advent of unrelenting anti-male propaganda in the schools, have left boys puzzled, alienated, and hostile. They therefore commit multiple murders. This doesn't really make sense. Killing a dozen people isn't a plausible response to being told that Sojourner Truth is more important than Isaac Newton. It's psychotic behavior.
What, then?
Well, depending on whose figures you like, something like twelve percent of boys in grade school and high school take Ritalin for what is called Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD. This means that they fidget, throw spitballs, and disrupt class. Whether such a condition in fact exists in a medical sense may be questioned. When I was a kid, acting up was called "being a boy." Dumb boys, who couldn't keep up, and smart boys, who were bored, particularly did these things. Now these kids are doped with Ritalin to keep them passive.
This is new. Like the shootings.
Ritalin is speed. It's a stimulant--specifically methylphenidate. It's like crystal meth, dex, Ecstasy, and so on. Stimulants in large doses can produce psychotic behavior. They alter brain chemistry. Odd: We tell kids that drugs are bad, and then give them speed.
In the mid-Sixties, I was a very young, very dumb kid in Istanbul, then a point of congregation for young travelers going to India. Countless kids met in the hostels of Sultan Ahmet, and did drugs. A favorite was--yep--Ritalin. Kids took it in large amounts, and discovered The Crash: The foul, angry, despairing depression when the beast wore off. Ritalin. The stuff your kids are on.
There are sites and stories on the Web which allege that the Columbine killers and the rest were on Ritalin, and that the pharmaceutical companies have gone to great lengths to keep this little fact from coming to light. The reason is said to be that a lot of money in profits is involved. Further, sez me, the legal liability, if Ritalin were implicated, would be about seven times the manufacturer's net worth. According to the stories, the medical records of the killers are routinely declared confidential.
True? I don't know. In a lot of years in journalism I've heard companies accused of all sorts of things that didn't happen--defense contractors who were said to be selling $600 toilet seats to the military, that kind of thing. Conspiracy theories are a dime a gross, and most of them are absurd.
But in this case the explanation fits, as nothing else does. The drug is of recent advent in the schools. So are the killings. The literature of pharmacology notes that heavy use of stimulants, including Ritalin, can produce violent behavior. For what it's worth, kids in high school are well known (ask your sprats about it) to sell Ritalin to each other.
What proportion of the killers were on what drugs? How many if any boys respond psychotically to long-term use at moderate dosages? I'd like to know. I don't know how you get around confidentiality of medical records. On the other hand, any parents who refused to answer the question might reasonably be assumed to have something to hide.
One thing is for sure: Something not yet understood is going on. Walking into a class room and killing--bang, brains all over the walls--is not what boys normally do when they get bad grades. If it were, half the male population would be in Leavenworth. We've all had problems as kids. Adolescents have been moody and depressed as long as there have been hormones.
And it isn't television. You don't watch Clint Eastwood splatter away some miscreant and then go kill half a dozen kids.
Maybe it's not Ritalin or any other of the drugs we routinely feed to kids. But I want to know it isn't.
Parents Need to be Cautious About Psychotropic Medications for their Children
By Marilyn LaCourt
It's not a secret that our children are over medicated for psychological problems. In the most severe cases, medication may be the only alternative, but parents need to carefully weigh the advantages of prescribed drugs for their children against the disadvantages.
Kids can find themselves in a no-win situation when their doctor prescribes a drug for them and their parents sanction its use. They can't "just say no" to prescription drugs. When they comply with "doctor's orders," a diagnosis of mental illness and their use of the prescribed drug is documented in their medical records. This information can hurt them. Their medical records are not confidential. Our children's criminal records are more protected than their medical records.
The military has offered many career
opportunities to troubled teens, but does
not accept drug users.
It's not unusual for a troubled youth, an "at risk" teen, to hope for another chance at life by joining the military. Historically, the military has rescued many that might have lived a long life of regret if not for career or job training obtained in the army, the navy, or the marines. Today, the military will not accept known drug users into its ranks.
The military doesn't differentiate between the use of psychotropic prescription drugs and the use of street drugs. Even a teen who'd taken Ritalin for Attention Deficit Disorder at a very early age will not be accepted.
The youth from Columbine High School lied about his use of prescribed psychotropic drugs on his application form to get into the marines. That was a lie he would not have been able to get away with even if his parents hadn't told. If he had been using illegal street drugs he might have been able to get away with the lie, but lying about the use of psychotropic prescription drugs was a lie with no chance of success. His use of prescription drugs is documented in his medical record. The military isn't the only organization that has access to medical records.
Do we send mixed messages to
our children about drug use?
Perhaps we ought to take a closer look at the messages we give our youth about drug use. We teach them to say no to street drugs and we hold them accountable when they don't. We caution them about using legal drugs like alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. We put age restrictions on their ability to purchase beer and cigarettes. When it comes to psychotropic prescription drugs however, we make it very difficult for them to say no and we hold them accountable to take these drugs.
We need to ask ourselves some very important questions. Should children have the right to privacy about their mental health? Should they have the right to say no to prescribed psychotropic drugs? Are they capable of informed consent? Are they old enough to understand the ramifications of being diagnosed mentally ill, taking prescription drugs, and what goes in their records? Should they be held accountable for using prescription drugs when their parents, their doctors, their psychotherapists and their school counselors sanction the use of those drugs?
Marilyn LaCourt, a former marriage and family therapist with twenty-five years of clinical experience is the director of Communication Programs, LLC. She is the originator of the "Live and Let Live" Bully Prevention Program, and the author of the novel "The Prize: a novel about bullies and victims and what drives them", published by American Book Publishing Group soon to be available for purchase at //www.pdbookstore.com //www.bulliesvictimandchoices.com and //www.lacourt-m.com
SS got the violent tendencies from Adderall (a stimulant derrivative) used in the same way as Ritalin.
I have no "proof" but I think that the use of Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta have contributed significantly to our son's violent outbursts.
I cannot find the study to quote off hand... but the use of Ritilan and other stimulants in Bipolar children has been shown to cause psychotic episodes that last a life time. Bouncing the Bipolar disorder into Skitzophrenia or Skitzoaffective Disorder.
Where bipolar children/adults have an opportunity for very normal lives with the use of medication therapy, the skitzophrenic will always have episodes that will not respond to the medication therapy and flare even while the patient is on medication.
Children from families who have had a bipolar diagnosis in a first or second degree relative need to be VERY cautious when the child is diagnosed ADHD/ADD and medication is prescribed.
ADHD/ADD and Bipolar disorder mimic eachother in the young child and a difference in the two usually is not distinguishable until around age 14-16.
TM
my son's grades went through the roof, he is more sociable, he laughs more and his self-esteem is growing by the day. He was becoming more and more withdrawn before the concerta.
I tried everything under the sun for four years, and I finally realized that my son's grades, social life and self esteem were at rock bottom. In my case, this truly was a wonder drug.
We had the same experience when we started with the stimulant meds. We finally took him off them completely and started a homeopathic remedy in December.
Unfortunately, he is in a residential treatment center and I am unable to implement other alternative methods (such as dietary changes) and the homeopathic remedy works VERY slowly, so we've had to remove him from the homeopathic remedy and place him on a low dosage of a different stimulant so he can complete his treatment and come home.
We're watching him very carefully and at ANY sign of a personality change for the worse (or other side effects), he'll be taken off the meds again immediately. As soon as he's out of treatment and home, he'll be taken off of them and we'll go back to the alternative methods.
He's only 11.
[em]Lucky
Lead your life so you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.
- Will Rogers[em]
that they do not TREAT the underlying disease/deficeit. They mask the symptoms so that a child or adult can "function" under a given set of circumstances.
Attention Deficeit with or without hyperactivity is a "basket of symptoms" that can describe a myriad of diseases and disorders.
Heart disease and parasites can create the same symptoms. And no amount of Ritalin, Adderall, Cyclert (linked with liver failure in children), Clonadine (linked to several deaths when combined with Ritalin), Concerta or any of the other drugs are going to help... they may actually HURT, as in the case of heart disease/defects which will cause the person's health to deteriorate over time if untreated.
Toxins build up over time, but can cause the ADHD symptoms. Do we want to continue to allow the toxin build up instead of curing it?
As NCP's we often find ourselves fighting an up hill battle about CPs drugging our children when we have not been part of the process. The family history these overworked pediatricians take is often one sided or sadly lacking on the NCP's side of the family. (Peds docs see 200-500 patients a month - not conducive to complex diagnoses).
I advocate for a complete work up with looking for all other avenues before "settling" on an ADD/ADHD diagnosis. Often times children are suffering from a combination of easily treated conditions. ADHD is not its own disease (like epilepsy) and is the name of a grouping of symptoms. Doctors and scientists have no specific physiologic proof that ADHD exists. And the medications do not treat any specific biological defeciency. It masks symptoms so that the person can function under set circumstances (concentration in a "quiet" or calm manner under the authority of another person). It makes them good little followers (just what adderall was orignally designed to do -- make good warriors, the ultimate obedience -- march blindly into battle.) Oh, sorry, getting onto a tangent.
Did you know that in a recent study, 7 out of 10 doctors could not detect a 6mm hole in the heart by listening (it's audible when you know what it sounds like)? That is enough to create ADD symptoms with ocassional ADHD periods. This is a DAY procedure to fix, even for children and yet parents often settle for these masking drugs for YEARS instead of playing detective, finding the underlying cause and eleminating it if possible.
I understand that dealing with the symptoms on a day to day basis can be EXHAUSTING. Sometimes the drugs or another remedies are the only tool available. Sometimes the drugs are causing the escalation of the problem over time. I suggest reading a book bny Sydney Walker III, MD called "The Hyperactivity Hoax". It will get you thinking about what other underlying causes there could be and dealing with them first before determining with your doctor if these medications are right for your child, which are not FDA approved for use in chidlren under a certain age (I thnk it is 8).
That's terrible. I am so sorry to hear that your little man is having such a tough go of it.
I hope he is able to heal..
:(
ADD or ADHD, in turn, has a parasite or heart disease? Of all the twists I have ever heard, this one takes the cake. Please tell me where you studied medicine and what kind of medical practice you have.
AND as one of those parents dealing with the issues that we have dealt with and are STILL dealing with these issues, ANY AND ALL possibilities need to be examined. And I think that is 4H's point.
[em]Lucky
Lead your life so you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.
- Will Rogers[em]
And as one of those parents dealing with the issues that we have dealt with and are STILL dealing with these issues, I would hope that short of an MD or at the very least firsth and clinical research studies, would refrain from posting such things as a genuine example.
It's troublesome and worries me that so many parents have gone through medical procedure after prodedure, test after test, and finally realize that the very thing they have been fighting, is the very thing that is going to work for their child. So many of us because of the taboo on these drugs, delay actually trying our kids on these things, and set them back in their education and development because of beliefs like this. I know...as I was one of them.
It irritates me that so many people truly believe that parents have a little trouble with their child and set off to the Dr. Office, demanding drugs for ADD/ADHD. From what I have seen, quite the opposite is true! So many of us fight and fight it, only to discover that we bought into the lie that we are lazy or bad parents because WE had a child that couldn't learn in a normal school environment.
I would love to see this turned around. I know I tried everything for years. I tried diet modification, exercise...had him tested for EVERYTHING you can imagine...and low and behold, two weeks on this medicine, my little boy went from a struggling C student to suddenly enjoying school, and making friends. My son had the best report card he has ever had since he started school this school. He made 4 "A"'s and 2 "B"'s...he NEVER had a report card like before. His self esteem went through the roof.
I also find that MOST parents went down the same road I did, and the success rate for these kids is off the charts. If I had to do over again, I could only wish that hype like I was a lazy parent, or that I hadn't explored every medical possibility would have been written off sooner, so my son could start down the road to good grade, happiness and wonderful self esteem.
I am using those as examples.
Other similar conditions that create the SAME set of symptoms in children are Tourette's syndrome, depression, heavy metal poisonings, pica, caffeinism, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, brain injury (both permanent and/or temporary), concussion, chronic dehydration, malnutrition (the American diet is atrocious), vision problems, and in some very rare cases poor parenting, to name a few. Shall I go on?
What I am saying is that sometimes parents, in an effort to help (and fix) their children, put them on these medications without much forethought. Some CP's use them to give their child an edge or to make them more compliant ( I have seen both, with the latter being the case with SS). Some parents try everything else, never suspecting the problem is not psychological or behavior based, but instead part of another disease process. By the time some parents give in and allow the medication they are just relieved that the medication works and their child is able to have some sort of "normal" life. (About where you are, huh?)
Children can react negatively to any number of interior or exterior stimuli. Things in an otherwise "normal" range can be toxic for an individual child. The parents know the child better than anyone, They may have the answers, but do not know what to ask or tell the child's doctors. In the case of divorce, the problems get worse as there are increased communication problems.
We did some experimenting with SS's diet during one medication break one summer. We severely limited SS's carb count. At over 22 grams of carbs he was out of control. Below that he was on task, had no memory problems and was a joy to be around. DO I think that Sugar was his problem? No, not necessarily. He could have subclincal diabetes (as it is on both sides of his family) but with the lower carbohydrate count, he was getting other things (higher fiber vegetables - and therefore higher trace elements), he drank more plain water, and it may have been addressing a deficiency in his body. It could have been addressing ONE PART of what was causing SOME of the symptoms and he was able to handle the rest on his own. Since then we have discovered, part of his inattention was a previously undiagnosed visual tracking problem.
As for where did I study medicine, AMEDDC&S, and OHSU. Why, where did you?
DO I have my MD, NOPE! (No dough = no complete education.) Do I study independently what I am interested in? YES MA'AM! And I do not stop at just the PRO-drug or Anti-drug sites. A CHADD website is not going to give me unbiased information, and neither is a site that is down on ALL medication.
Any child with a decrease in the flow of water, oxygen or nutrients to the brain can display the classic ADD/ADHD symptoms. Kids with not enough sleep can have inattention problems or be squirmy in an effort to stay awake and alert in class. Kids can compensate well for a long time then go own hill rapidly.
Do me a favor, take something and wrap it around your neck just tight enough to cut down on say, 25% of the blood flow (not a poor joke, just an experiment). After several minutes you should notice a lack of concentration, a feeling of restlessness, irritability, etc. A constricted blood vessel in a child may create the same symptoms and no amount of Concerta is going to fix what could become life threatening over time even though the symptoms are alleviated.
Now that your child is at a current stable level, use this time to further investigate the cause of the symptoms. You may find he suffered a minor brain injury at birth and nothing except these medications will work. You may find nothing for years. You may never find the culprit.
I advocate that parents treat the underlying condition(s), not just the symptoms, and that's all I was saying. (And Lucky should know, we had this discussion about 3 or 4 years ago and I haven't chaged my stance.)
Your post just seemed way out there to me...
Sorry no MD here either, just an MS in Analytical Chemistry. I have been a Mom for about 27 years, and have been through pretty much every kind of thing you can imagine when it comes to my children.
I only wish that people wouldn't promote the thought that many parent's with children that are out of control or have difficulty in school are lazy and rushing to their Dr's to get meds...cuz it just ain't so!
I'm female.
And just because you are a responsible parent does not mean that every parent is... According to a study done about 12 years ago (I'll try to find it and post the specifics) the incidence of children being diagnosed ADHD/ADD for the first time within 4 years of their parents' high conflict divorce is 20 times the national average for all other classifications combined. Interesting fact, considering most ADHD children are male and most CPs are female.
Some parents are just not well informed. The book I sufggested helps a parent to speak intelligently with their child's physicians to avoid possible misdiagnoses.
that my 7 yo SD was recently diagnosed with ADHD and has just started taking Staterra (sp?). It's too soon to tell if it's having a negative or positive affect on her.
I find the study you referenced very interesting. My DH and his ex had a very bitter divorce. They pretty much tolerate each other now but it still gets heated at times. SD was not quite 2 when they separated. Who knows how much she "remebers" from this time. I do know that she has told us things her Mommy has said about DH, such as how he has a bad temper and when he gets mad he throws things. This statement was made after SD heard her Mom arguing with DH about CS. When I was preggers with our DD, SD asked DH if he loved me more than he did her. The reason for this question? Mommy dearest told SD that DH loved me more than he did her (SD) and that he would love the new baby more than he loved her (SD). It's a truly sick person that would tell their child such a thing.
Anyway...I say all this to say that SD has always had trouble making and/or retaining friends, she has limited social skills, gets frustrated easily, highly emotional (she either gets very mad or she cries at the drop of a hat), don't even THINK about teasing her...she thinks you're being mean to her on purpose, she has NO sense of humor and, like her Mother, everything is someone elses fault.
DH's ex re-married in July of 2001. In September of last year ex and SF separated and are divorcing. SD had behavioral problems in 1st grade and again this past school year. Come to find out SD has had these same problems since kindergarten. It wasn't until she hit elementary school that we were kept in the loop on schoolwork, etc.
I really believe that with the nasty divorce between DH and his ex and the current situation between ex and SF that SD is in for a very hard life. I personally don't think the medication is going to solve the root problems. SD is seeing a psychologist for abandonment issues/depression regarding the current situation with SF, but I think even that is putting a bandaid on an arterial wound. DH has met with the psychologist once. I really feel that this treatment needs to be expanded to include ALL of us because that's the only way we can help SD cope with both losses.
All children are different. I think the bottom line to knowing whether medicaiton is the right choice is knowing our child(ren) and then standing up for their rights if we feel like the root cause is not being addressed.
but it is a Father's rights board and your name is not revealing of your sex! Please excuse my mistake....;)
If you are going to post facts, please don't post a study that is 12 years old.
It's not accurate for today. I went in with a group of people from three counties, totally about 120 kids. At least 100 of the children had been through a minimum of 2 years of testing, both medical and educational....before they ended up on meds...just like my son.
I think there is a new, more educated parent out there, and I don't think doctor's are nearly as willing to write scripts without looking deeper.
BTW, I am both a CP and an NCP. Being NCP is what led me to this site about 6 years ago. My son's ADD didn't start as a result of the split. It was always there and noted by his pediatrician when he was only 6 weeks old. She pointed out some things that would eventually become very pronounced. And we were together until he was 4.
He wasn't diagnosed until 1st grade, but I knew there were problems LONG before that.
The first clue was during my pregnancy. Most parents are soo excited when baby moves!! NOT ME. I was overjoyed when he stopped, even if only for a few minutes.
He has been on different meds at different times, but Adderol is working the best, he is now 21.
I am also an adult with ADD. When I was in school, I was lazy, forgetful,
never worked up to my potential,....and on and on and on.
When I look at my son, I see myself all over again. And feel so sorry for him. But for now its working, and he has NEVER had vioent outbursts from any of the meds he's been on, but then he was never on Ritalin, because after a 4 week blind ritalin/placebo test no one could tell which was the ritalin and which was the placebo.
Now my grandson who is 13 months old is showing signs of ADHD as well. Hard to believe? He sleeps for 3-5 hrs a night and takes between 1 and 3 20 minute naps a day. I know that most of you think that all babys are very active, but his one NEVER stops. My heart breaks for him and my son everyday because so many people are uneducated about ADD.
Sorry this turned into a "story of my life" but I can also totally relate.
and I put the meds off for my own son due to the taboos on the drugs and waited until he was in the 4th grade to let him try it. I hate it that I waited so long.
Thanks for sharing that.