this is a thread i started in the shroomery. I am very adamant about voicing my opposition to psychopharmaceuticals, so i bring it here for a little discussion and knowledge....
This link below, is a very short question with a very short answer, please read, because it bothers the hell out of me.
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/therapist/849.htm (http://www.mhsanctuary.com/therapist/849.htm)
The question doesnt really bother me nearly as much as the response does...
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No one knows what meds work with what kids. In addition, no one is really
sure why certain meds work at all. If Adderol is not working for your
child, change the med. It's not an either/or...it's a bit of a crap shoot.
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gotta love medical doctors and crap shoots when it comes to giving your kids drugs!!
Adderall is an amphetamine and has some really great side effects like :
Potentially serious Adderall side effects include:
- allergic reactions (closing of the throat; difficulty breathing; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; hives)
- hallucinations, abnormal or confused behavior
- irregular heartbeat and/or very high blood pressure (accompanied by a severe headache and blurred vision)
Less serious but possible Adderall Side Effects:
Restlessness or tremor; anxiety or nervousness; insomnia; headache or dizziness; dryness of the mouth or an unpleasant taste in the mouth; impotence or changes in sex drive; diarrhea or constipation.*
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According to the Los Angeles Times, the California Association of Physicians and Surgeons, and even the Center for Diseases Control’s own admission, well over 100,000 people in this country die each year from “properly†administered prescription drugs. This is absolutely shocking! One study has shown that more than two million American hospitalized patients suffered a serious adverse drug reaction (ADR) within a 12-month period and of these, over 100,000 died as a result. Likewise, roughly 36,000,000 adverse drug reactions are reported annually, resulting in more than 33.6-million admissions or hospitalizations all from drugs that the FDA has pronounced “safe effective.†Sources for these statistics can be found at: http://www.cancure.org/medical_errors.htm (http://www.cancure.org/medical_errors.htm). The media is not doing a very good job of reporting this ADR crisis. Instead, we hear the constant media drumbeat about the dangers of firearms, which are currently politically incorrect yet represent a miniscule fraction of the deaths in this country. Doctors who want to politicize gun deaths should clean up their own glass houses first. The real crisis is the failing health care or more accurately described as the sick care system. There are numerous reasons for this crisis. One reason is that conflicts of interest represent a very real problem for public servants and those entities which have relationships with various government agencies. Numerous researchers have reported that the FDA receives money from the very entities it is suppose to be regulating and one consequence of this is the suppression rather than advancement of disease cures. Consider the following: “According to a USA Today study, more than half of the experts hired to advise the government on the safety and effectiveness of medicine have financial relationships with the pharmaceutical companies that will be helped or hurt by their decisions. These experts are hired to advise the Food and Drug Administration on which medicines should be approved for sale, what the warning labels should say and how studies of drugs should be designed. The experts are supposed to be independent, but USA TODAY found that 54% of the time, they have a direct financial interest in the drug or topic they are asked to evaluate. These conflicts include helping a pharmaceutical company develop a medicine, then serving on an FDA advisory committee that judges the drug. The conflicts typically include stock ownership, consulting fees or research grants. Federal law generally prohibits the FDA from using experts with financial conflicts of interest, but according to the article, the FDA has waived the restriction more than 800 times since 1998.†(1) The corruption of undisclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies by supposedly unbiased researchers along with the staggering cost involved in bringing new drugs to market, which conveniently eliminates competition from all but the cartel heavyweights has been sparingly reported in the mainstream press. Consider one exception to this silence: In the book a “World Without Cancer†by G. Edward Griffin. Griffin describes the politics of cancer therapy, in which he blows the lid off the all powerful international chemical and drug cartel that has dominated the direction of health care since early in the Twentieth Century in the United States. Griffin argues that not only has the Rockefeller-Farben cartel (2) been instrumental in fostering chemical based drug treatment as the basis for health care and they have been the dominant adversary against safer non-drug treatments. If Griffin is correct, who is the FDA protecting and serving? Clearly, not the consumer! It should be noted that pharmaceutical drugs have absolutely no nutritional value, and at best offer temporary relief of symptoms while doing nothing to address the root causes of disease. Additionally, pharmaceutical drugs should be used very carefully because of the toxicity factor also known as the LD50 rating. LD stands for "Lethal Dose" and LD50 is the amount of a drug, given, which causes the death of 50% of a group of laboratory test animals. Also, it is well known that drugs can damage the liver and kidneys. Do not forget, as sited above, adverse drug reactions are responsible for over 100,000 deaths each year plus the pain and suffering for those lucky enough to survive an ADR. The way to good health does not necessarily include the ingestion of toxic chemicals. Likewise, the reason for disease is not that we are deficient or lacking in deadly debilitating pharmaceutical drugs. In many cases, disease is the result of nutritional deficiencies and the resulting weakening of the immune system. The recent ongoing attempt to abolish and subvert the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which brought a measure of freedom back to consumers, in regards to their personal choices in the area of nutritional supplementation, should raise the ire of everyone who is concerned about their own health. This is an example of the pharmaceutical cartel and their political cronies within and along side of the FDA at work. Never forget, America is about freedom, especially freedom to make informed decisions concerning our own health care information, services we choose, our choice of treatments and products that we believe to be beneficial for our own health and wellbeing. See the National Health Freedom coalition web site (3) 36,000,000 adverse drug reactions and 100,000 deaths annually is a crisis!**
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* http://www.prescriptions1.net/adderall/ (http://www.prescriptions1.net/adderall/)
** http://www.drugtestspot.com/links/adder ... -test.html (http://www.drugtestspot.com/links/adderall-drug-test.html)
It is time to stop the passive all-to-common "i agree that some drugs are overprescribed" comment and realize that we are putting children on amphetamines. This isnt some joke. Seriously, sit back and say that outloud to yourself.. "we are allowing children to be prescribed amphetamines". Why is it that even obese children cannot be put on prescription weight-loss pills (also amphetamines) , yet can be put on Adderral?
(there are two more posts.....)
look, ill even go back and strike the symptoms, and even the figure of deaths. That isnt my point. Nor was I attempting to say that 100,000 deaths every year are caused by Adderal.
ignore all that if you want to.
but, amphetamines....given to kids... come on, how in the fuck can you possibly justify that in anyway? I cant even find a reference to an age limit that children can be put on Adderal. Amphetamines and methamphetamines are a shedule 2 drug in the US, this is in the same category as phenobarbital, opium, morphine, methadone, cocaine, PCP, nembutal, and a huge list of other ridiculously powerful drugs.
It doesnt matter if you are giving a child a very low dosage. How many years would i be in jail for giving a 5th grader cocaine? there is very little chemical variation between the two.
This isnt some fringe group digging up facts, and ignoring others. I would love to see some positive facts and statistics from similar credible sources that I have posted. Im not arguing that Adderal doesnt work for its intended purpose. Im sure it does just that, but at what cost? would you give your child cocaine every morning just so it could read a book? Dont you think that there are alternative ways of dealing with this? Do you think that we have exhausted all possible venues of dealing with this?
No, not at all... most parents let the television babysit their kid as they gorge themselves on sugar and hardly any nutritional foods. Go read some of the "ask a therapist" websites where moms and fathers have written things like "is 4 years old too young to put my daughter on adderol?". Most parents are jumping at the chance to drug their children into submission, especially when it has the big american stamp of moral approval from the "doctors".
Also, being a kid is all about learning your boundaries and being uncontrolable, that is what kids do, this is why they are kids, and not considered adults with jobs and bills. They are supposed to be carefree, wild, unabashed and inquisitive, not some drugged out chill bookworm. Being a kid is all about talking out of turn, interrupting people, asking embarrasing questions, and being an all around misfit.
These parents are like people that got a puppy, and it was so cute, and fun to play with for a little while, until it started shitting in their closet, eating their shoes and barking; but that is what puppies do! but by that point, they want a well adjusted , fully trained and obediant adult dog.
This is what people are doing to their children, drugging them into premature adulthood, taking away all their childness. It is a selfish and malicious thing to do, and I say "eat my ass with a spoon" to any parent who willingly puts their child on amphetamines.
(last one.... thanks for reading this far!)
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Phluck said:
look, ill even go back and strike the symptoms, and even the figure of deaths.
What symptoms? You listed off the potential side effects, but you didn't provide any evidence that they happen often enough to actually be an issue. Lots of drugs have potential side effects that might seem quite shocking, but many of these side effects occur so rarely that they aren't a real issue. If peanut butter were a drug, they'd probably list "swelling of the throat, death" amongst the side effects.
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I have the same problem w/ being cold all the time. Everyone's always telling me if I gained weight I wouldn't be so cold (I'm on the skinny-side too, 5'6" 102lbs), but I highly doubt that's all there is to it. For some reason, I just don't have very good circulation & I've noticed this even more since I began taking Adderall (an amphetamine drug used to treat ADHD) a year ago. It constricts your blood vessels, which naturally slows down circulation. My mom has the same prob (w/ being cold).
here is the link http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugth ... 73039.html (http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugthread.php/t-273039.html)
Unfortunately, this sounds all too familiar to me I am 21/F, 5'6" and only 105 lbs. I am always FREEZING!!! I honestly think part of it does have to do with body fat (or a lack of in our case). But I also have kind of low blood pressure & I smoke (quitting January 1st) so obviously my circulation isn't what it could be. Do you know where your blood pressure normally hangs around? Because if it's low, it can definitely be causing you to feel cold. Feeling cold doesn't have to mean there's anything medically wrong with you though. All the women in my family are the same way, but are healthy otherwise. Do you smoke? Also, are you on any meds? That could also be a factor. I take Adderall (amphetamine) for ADHD and since I started the drug I've been feeling colder than normal. Well, good luck trying to stay warm and remember you are NOT ALONE!!!
]http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugthread.php/t-236199.html (//http)
I have been on Strattera for four weeks now. For the first week, they practically put me to sleep. My doctor kept me on the childrens dose for two weeks because of this. Those side effects did stop after about a week. However, the side effect that has not gone away is the constant pressure in my bladder. I constantly feel like I have to urinate, but cannot. As far as good effects. Nothing. I still have all my ADD related problems. I am scheduled to see my doc again in about a week. He already told me if I feel no better at that point, he will switch me to Adderall. His concern is that Adderrall and Ritalin cannot be taken for the rest of your life becuase they are amphetamines. However, you can safely take Stratterra, as far as we know, for the rest of your life. Give it a try. It does work for some people. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like I am one of those people.
http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugth ... 02820.html (http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugthread.php/t-302820.html)
He basically asks me a couple of questions - all of which I answered "high" for and, best on what else I had told him, said well it sounds like ADHD and he prescribes Adderall 20MG. So I take it and the first day or two I felt good - really attentive and aware. But as the days have worn on, I feel more hyper than anything. And, ironically, I feel like I have more ADHD than ever before. I am figidy, scatterbrained - can't remember a thought or two out in work, find myself not finishing tasks I am assigned to.
http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugth ... 01907.html (http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugthread.php/t-301907.html)
I have been on Adderall for about 7 months and recently stopped. I know what you are experiencing and it know doubt sucks! My withdrawls seemed to last about a week. I had major, big time depression. I was sooo tired and had no motivation to do anything! I had some left over Ripped Fuel that I started to take just to pull me through, it definitely helped. It would have been better to taper off the Adderall instead of quiting cold turkey. Tapering helps with having real bad withdrawals. In my case I really didn't have a choice. I will never do that again. I plan to restart my meds in the next couple of weeks. Also, I am eating like crazy! I am not overweight but I hate putting on extra pounds.I have already gained about 4 pounds since I have been off Adderall. I am not tall, so 4lbs on a petite person feels like a lot.
http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugth ... 01886.html (http://www.drugtalk.com/adderall/drugthread.php/t-301886.html)
Is that enough for you? I just got tired of copying and pasting the miltitude of people complaining about Adderall and its side effects on an ADD forum. This isnt some fringe group. This isnt some ploy or ruse, this is actual people with actual symptoms, and many of these people arent alone, they have very many other people who understand the symptoms they are having, because they have them as well.
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but, amphetamines....given to kids... come on, how in the fuck can you possibly justify that in anyway?
Because it's not really a problem. You have no data or anything to justify the idea that it's causing a huge problem. You're basing your objection on the idea that it SOUNDS bad, not that there are actually any problems.
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nope, no problems at all right? These arent new side effects, these arent something unique to Adderall, these are consistent problems and side effects of any amphetamine. You try to make it sound as if there is Adderall, and then there are amphetamines, when in reality, there is no difference.
Phluck, you are a stout evoluntionist (i think) and a very scientific person; can i ask you what the evolutionary purpose would be of a 40% increase in ONE YEAR! IN 1996 of people who "need" anti-depressants? or the constant, and never once declining (i dare you to prove this wrong) rate of children who are "afflicted" with ADD/ADHD?
Honestly answer this in your own opinion: does Adderall cure (not treat) ADD/ADHD?
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Your argument isn't "look at all of these problems that this is actually causing", you're just saying "C'MON! IT'S AMPHETAMINE! THAT MEANS IT'S BAD!"
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come on... it is amphetamines. This is what the german government, our government (and many others) give to their adult soldiers so that they can fight for days on end. Governments love to dispense amphetamines because it increases production. This is oine reason why marijuana is illegal, is because it decreases production. Cocaine used to be prescribed to people, xtc used to be prescribed to people..... all under the guidance and admission of psychiatrists.
Think about all the drugs that are legal in the united states, and you will find the overwhelming majority of them are speed: caffeine, nicotine, and amphetamines. Beer is on this list as well, but remember that it was outlawed for a very long time, and is highly regulated and illegal for use outside of recreation, while these other speed drugs arent at all!
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... and why is it bad? Because it's ampetamine!
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please list some of the great things amphetamines have done for our society outside the usage of war.
How many years would i be in jail for giving a 5th grader cocaine? there is very little chemical variation between the two.
Actually, they aren't really chemically similar at all.
http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_chemistry.shtml (http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_chemistry.shtml)
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ampheta ... stry.shtml (http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/amphetamines/amphetamines_chemistry.shtml)
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cocaine and adderall are amphetamines... which have both been prescribed by psychiatrists and MD's..... how many years would i get for giving a 16 year old amphetamines?
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Im not arguing that Adderal doesnt work for its intended purpose. Im sure it does just that, but at what cost?
Exactly. What cost? You tell me. Where is the evidence that Adderall is actually causing serious problems? Not evidence that it can cause problems in certain people if abused... evidence that it IS causing problems.
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ask and you shall receive...
Canadian regulators have suspended sales of the once-daily version of Adderall, a popular drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Health Canada said the drug carries a risk of sudden death in children. Later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory about the drug.
"Health Canada has suspended the market authorization of the product due to safety information concerning the association of sudden deaths, heart-related deaths, and strokes in children and adults taking usual recommended doses of ADDERALL and ADDERALL XR," the agency said in a statement.
Health Canada said its decision came as a result of a review of safety information provided by the manufacturer, which indicated there were 20 international reports of sudden death in patients taking either ADDERALL or ADDERALL XR.
"These deaths were not associated with overdose, misuse or abuse. Fourteen deaths occurred in children, and six deaths in adults. There were 12 reports of stroke, two of which occurred in children. None of the reported deaths or strokes occurred in Canada," the agency said.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2 ... erall.html (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/adderall.html)
and to top it all off, i have a copious amount of links to read about sudden death, heart attacks in children and such caused by adderall.....
http://www.drugintel.com/drugs/adderall.htm (http://www.drugintel.com/drugs/adderall.htm)
http://pediatrics.about.com/b/a/145729.htm (http://pediatrics.about.com/b/a/145729.htm)
heart murmers for christs sake!
FDA issued a Public Health Advisory to notify healthcare professionals that Health Canada, the Canadian drug regulatory agency, has suspended the sale of Adderall XR in the Canadian market. Adderall XR is a controlled release amphetamine used to treat patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Canadian action was based on U.S. post-marketing reports of sudden deaths in pediatric patients. FDA is continuing to evaluate these and other post-marketing reports of serious adverse events in children, adolescents, and adults being treated with Adderall and related products. Adderall XR is approved in the United States for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 6-12 years old with ADHD, and Adderall, the immediate release formulation of the drug, is approved for pediatric patients with ADHD.
http://www.jurdy.net/20050219154015.html (http://www.jurdy.net/20050219154015.html)
6-12 year olds! please attempt to justify to me in any way possible, why it is ok to give 6 year olds (remember the legal age for coherence and morality is 7!) amphetamines? i would love to hear it...
so i leave you with this tidbit of info....
In 1971, there were 31 amphetamine preparations being distributed by 15 pharmaceutical companies. Legal production was over 12 billion pills a year......
since 1971, i am willing to bet there has been atleast a 10% a year increase in the production of amphetamines disguised as remedies and the diagnosis of people with ADD/ADHD.
Dont you get it? the government, FDA, and pharmy corps are preying on the greatest human flaw: the inability to take responsibility.
I cant get enough of people trying to pawn their problems off on the scapegoat that is chemical imbalances. "oh, dear me, im a tard, but it isnt my fault! i have ADD!", "my child isnt stupid, it just has ADD". Everyone wants an excuse for their shortcomings and psychiatry (along with the FDA and pharmy companies) have given them just that.
Do you think it is just a huge coincidence, and perfectly ok that 54% of the FDA advisory board which passes the OK on government regulated and prescribed drugs is financially connected with the very same companies it is regulating? do you not see any ethical discrepencies here? do you not see the potential for the abuse of societies trust?
The pharmaceutical industry is the wealthiest, biggest lobbying, and most widespread industry in the world, beating out petroleum, and cosmetics. If the FDA were so great at making unbiased and solely scientifically supported decisions about drugs given to people, then why has vioxx, celebrex, Fen phen, phenylpropanolamine (which is foud in Acutrim®, Dexatrim®, Robitussin®), Naproxen, Ephedra, Baycol, Rezulin (which killed thousands of diabetics), Propulsid (an anti-heartburn medication which killed 70!) and lotronex (which killed as well, those who were afflicted with IBS, better known as irritable bowel syndrome)ALL BEEN PULLED AFTER THE OK OF THEIR USAGE AND SALES?.
Also! (dontcha love the also?) you have to love the "fast track" in the FDA. If I am correct, I think it is supposed to take 7 years of research and clinical studies before a drug is even approved out of the FDA. with fast track, as long as you can show an immediate need for the use of the drug, it can be approved in a matter of months. Many of the above mentioned drugs were approved for "fast track" as well as most of the anti-depressants and such. While this measure was supposed to be used only for things like: cancer drugs, Aid/Hiv drugs, and other highly debilitating illnesses where a certain drug could save thousands of lives if approved in time, it has been abused by corporations like Able, Merck and Pfizer thanks to the help of some millinos of dollars given to the advisory panels of the FDA.
Merck also has a very, very long history of marketing, lobbying, and profiting the sale of amphetamines dating as far back as manufacturing amphetamines for the Nazi's. They have always wanted to sell you amphetamines, and you have bought into it. They own America and will continue to do so until we start to wake up and realize that they are no better than any other drug cartel and are profiting from the mental and physical abuse of the WORLD.
QuoteMy little girl is 7yrs old and has been diagnosed with ADD, the passive
daydreamer type.
That's a whopper of an opening thread...maybe it would've been nice to start with just the linked Q&A, and your take on it, eliciting ours without that transplant from the shroomery: hard to take in all that text and respond thoughtfully, esp. for us passive daydreamer types.
Having said that, I do share your concern about psychopharmaceuticals being administered to children. I was a daydreamy kid, frequently at odds with a rigid educational system, perfectly content if left alone to my daydreams, disruptive and disobedient when shaken out of them too often: I had one 3rd grade teacher pick up my entire student desk, myself included, and drop it because I wouldn't respond when called. My parents were told I was a "slow learner."
Imagine their shock when the 4th grade achievment/IQ tests led to my being sent-off to a federally funded school for gifted children.
My point, a bit different from yours, I think, is that the drugs are being used to iron out individual differences. Our cognitive differences, imo, are as variable as our physical characteristics, and that's a good thing: a healthy culture has room for all that variability. That daydreaming little girl might make a wonderful singer, astronomer, painter, healer...shaman.
You cannot make Johnny fit in without trimming away part of who Johnny is. If Johnny is suicidally depressed or acutely schizophrenic, that can make sense. But I suspect that the surge in childhood psychiatric diagnoses is in part due to the "lens of means": we have the power to alter their "deficit" states, so we look ever more closely for them. The threat to cognitive liberty presented when "normal" is defined as "like everybody else" is profound now that we have the pharmucopia to enforce it. It is much easier to medicate an imaginative, daydreamy child than to offer a creative, challenging learning environment; the poor girl may simply have been bored by a mediocre teacher in an overcrowed classroom.
A better teacher--a rare good one from the "old school"--would have worked to find ways to make learning as attractive as daydreaming for that little girl, and would have looked for the positive gifts of imagination and creativity suggested by the daydreaming. Or perhaps that girl's teacher, in a society that valued education above war, would have had fewer students and richer resources of time and energy to devote to that girl.