Ritalin and other Medications for kids?

Do you think it's OK to have kids as young as 5 years old on medications that are suppose to 'relax' them because the are hyper or have been diagnosed with ADHD? I have first hand knowledge about what this drug in particular does to kids and it's terrible! I don't think for one, that kids as young as 5 years old should be put on medication to calm them, aren't 5 year olds suppose to be somewhat hyper and energetic? I've also heard of deaths caused by this medication and yet they still prescribe it and people still think it's perfectly safe to put their kids on it, because the "doctor says so."

So what do you all think? Do you know anyone that has been on this medication or something like it? Did you see the drastic change in them? Do you think it's right or wrong? Please tell me all that you know and have seen and heard..
Sincerely,
Magestica

I was on Ritalin for years until I refused to take it anymore. I started taking it when I was nine. I was so focused on school and learning, that I couldn't interact with the people around succesfully. Now, I'm certain I do indeed have ADHD, but I think there are better ways to solve a chemical imbalance than turning your kid into a zombie.

(That came out a little strong, but I hate that Cr@p.)

There are possibly some children who due to brain damage or severe psychological conditions, need to be on medication to calm down their behaviour, but I get the impression that ritalin is prescribed as a blanket cure-all in the same way antidepressants and sedatives have been.

I sometimes think more attention should be paid to the family environment and diet of these children first. Many of the kids I have seen with problems have unstable families where discipline is poor and haphazard, and terrible diets full of sugar and additives. I know what I'm like moodwise after too much sugar and bad food!

I was once a potential victim for this junk myself. My teachers and my school principal insisted that I take the drug ritalin when I was in 1st grade. They had called my parents and I into the principals office for a meeting one day and they suggested that they ask the doctor for a perscription to this drug. My mother being miss know it all on these matters flat out said, "No way!"

I praise her for her good judgement in these matters. She knew the dangers of these drugs and feared that I would ever have to take them.(Even if I really needed them.)

My best friend in 1st grade was on it and he didn't seem to be any better off than I was. In fact he was worse. He got into so much trouble with his parents and with his teachers that it was appalling. As time went on I would learn that almost every kid on ritalin was no different. Most were off the wall, crazy, running around jackoffs or they were depressive, lonely and disturbed. That is what they did. Kind of like a bipolar kid. They just bounced back and forth between the two extremes. They never actually got any better. Not to mention most of those kids were trouble makers and had many problems dealing with their inner most pressing emotions. Often they exibited hissy fits and emotional breakdowns. Some were even ominously violent as well.

Not to mention, many who took these drugs did what Darkhowling did. They stopped taking them and either hid them or sold them to those that wanted them. This only made the parents even more angry and the problems of the child that much more pressing and menacing. So I would have to deplore this drug greatly.

I think that kids like me that had ADHD could get over it. They could use their energies in the right ways if taught to do so.

The medical industry has a pill for everything. I personally believe the only reason this is so is because they have a desire to profit off of our lack of will to solve the problems we could probably face and handle on our own. They want to drug us and keep us as slaves to their indoctrinated meds. That will allow them to become rich and us to become weak. That is something we must avoid at all times if possible.

Did Socrates children have these meds???

No.

Cause they didn't need them. They had a good father who knew how to take care of them. So let us not allow Lilly to be mommy here. Let us allow mom to be mom, not ritalin.

(Just one man's opinion, nothing to take seriously.)

I hope that helps.


Love,
Abraham

[Edited on 6-7-2003 by Abraham Virtue]

some really good points and arc took the words right out of my mouth, but much more eloquently. When I was 12-13 a psychologist recommended to my parents that I should be put on ridalin due to being extremely hyper...I dont know I wasnt really paying attention....what were we talking about...ohh yeah...well, my dad wasnt having it, gave me a few belt a** kickings and that set me right straight. It's all a big lie to get you to spend more money when you could spend half the effort putting that into your family and be much better off. I think some of it has to do with bad parenting...these days parents are more interested in what's going on with celebrity boxing than with their kids.

reminds me of the South Park episode when all the kids think they have ADD so they get to go to special classes and be on drugs. Well, a specialist comes in, and says "it's easy to cure these kids of not paying attention....just watch.." he then proceeds to shake the kids and scream at them saying "PAY ATTENTION" guess you had to have seen it

LOL...that's great, haven't seen that one.
Abraham is right, You only need to have the willpower to correct the disorder yourself. Sure, I still have days where I can't concentrate for beans, but I also have a new characteristic that I'm sure I wouldn't have if I had kept taking ritalin; thesuperb self-control required to kep my wilder tendencies in check. Its hard to lose your cool, do stupid stuff when you exercise proper self-control. My generation has grown up with quick fixes for their problems, and only know how to react to things.

If the pharmaceutical industry couldn't prescribe mood altering and behaviour modification rubbish for children with the full support of their parents and teachers, then it couldn't do such wondrous things as Prozac and anti-psychotic drugs for them later, could it?

Volume sales depend on early instilled habits.

It's the pharmaceutical equivalent of McDonalds.

The truth of the matter is that certain medications work for certain people. True ADHD kids have highly unique brainscans. With these kids, it is thought that the Ritalin (or other stimulant) acts to stimulate a portion of the brain which is normally underactive. This underactive part of the brain happens to control our attentional skill. Stimulate it, more attentional skills.

So anyways, it really isn't designed to make the kids look like hyperkinetic amphetamine addicts. A true ADHD kid on Ritalin is either not ADHD or is experiencing a negative side effect of the medication. Properly medicated kids with ADHD appear calm and focused.


I believe that ADHD is incredibly overdiagnosed (STILL), but not as much as it was in the 1970's - mid 1990's. Yes, it is unfortunate that these kids are all put on 1 drug, they deserve more attentive doctors!

Research still needs to continue. There are horror story side effects to virtually EVERY medication (particularly those used for psychiatric & behavioral purposes). But there are also success stories, which DO happen. I have seen kids in the worst shape (running around classroom, throwing & ripping books) turn into gifted students, due to proper treatment.

That treatment might be psychotherapy, medication management, or both! It differs for every single child. Always get a second opinion. Doctors can be wrong too.

Yes, the drug companies have a real stranglehold on us. And they actually send out representatives to most medical environments to hold free lunches, while they give you free BRANDNAME pens, clocks, towels, you name it... all you have to do is sit there and learn about their drug. Doctors need to do their own research on these drugs AFTER they leave the room. Drug company lectures often give you research funded by that very same drug company. Got to maintain objectivity and remember that: "it isn't about my convenience, it is about the patient's life!"


The important thing is that we are much better off WITH these drugs because they are all designed to help a very small segment of the population. And used appropriately, they DO. You should all be pushing for the end of the "paternalistic" medical model. This dethrones the doctor from God's chair and puts him/her in a collaborative position.

No i dont agree with giving children medication to relax them is a good idea.

All forms of medication have their side effects......and just to quiten a child or so they say''relax'' them is a bad idea!

A child is a child and will behave like one......having a child sit there and do nothing is not a normal child!
When a child is sick he/she is quiet and withdrawn and you know that he/she is not feeling well!
When a child is all get up and go then you know a child is simply acting like a child should !

Antibiotics are the same......too much of it is prescribed and it simply does do nothing but kill all Good and Bad bacteria and lowers your own fighting immune system!
Bacteria lives in your gut and having antibiotics will destroy the good bacteria that is needed in fighting the bad ones!
Although antibiotics does help in certain cases when it is needed it should never be given on many occassions to a child!
Vitamins are another Big issue with children......if the child eats good healthy food then 'vitamins' are a waste of money and time.......the body only uses what it needs and the rest ,should I say...goes down the drain!
You can actually overdose children with vitamins and other medications.
A boy of 13 yrs old in Australia died of an overdose of 'Paracetamel tablets' .......
helen

Excellent reply You MUST be a doctor or atleast affiliated with the medical field. I can see your point completely, as can I see others who disagree-such as myself-with use of drugs for kids/people in general. There is always going to be 2 sides to it, no matter how much we learn, it's never truly enough to bank on. But when all is said and done, it's ultimately the choice we as parents make for our children, but our choice depends on the medical field/doctors by about 85%. It's easy to make a decision before discussion with a Dr.(believe me, I know this from experience) but the moment you step into their realm/office, you become someone else, who basis your decision on their knowledge/words/ethics/experience and most importantly "trust". You put your life or someone elses-being your childs-into their hands, so in a way they do become "*Godlike*...I am by no means saying I personally know more or less then doctors who have earned their degree through years of knowledge and study, or experience..but I have studied medicine-especially mind altering ones-and I've simply come to the personal conclusion that I... 1)would never put myself in any position or my childs, to have to sit in front of a Dr. and let him pursuade me into some drug alternative and 2) I cannot agree with drug alternatives no matter what the statistics show.

Drugs change who we are, period. And often times, that person is changed by simply changing, uping the dose/lowering the dose or taken off completely, only to find that it caused side affects that are far greater then would be to for-go the medicine initially.

You do make some very valid points about how you've seen kids go from this to that..But my arguement is, could it have happen in the long run without the interference of medication/drugs? We can't know this, we can only pressume the medicine is what helped the child. One thing too, to point out, is that "most" doctors prescribe those medications in conjunction with therapy. So really, which one was it that helped? Also, the therapist will have the parents/teachers/role models change many lifestyles/ways even diet in that child. So after all these changes to include medication, which change brought on the *change* of the child? It's impossible to know, but most doctors will say it was all or mainly the medication..

Do you see the point I'm trying to make? Most here agree that it could be something as simple as changing the childs diet- which I've read and believe as well-that can help the child. Or even a certain lifestyle change at home or in school. Aslo, I find that most of the kids that do get medicated are around the same age. Coincidence? Kids go through some pretty alarming phases that can ultimately take a toll on parents with little patience..who by word of mouth or by instinct alone resort to the medical field for answers, when really the answers lie right there in front of their noses..right at home.
Magestica

...just keep the little hellion outa the doggies water bowl and she'll be fine Mags...

I certainly see the point you have made! In fact, a very structured behavioral program, proper diet, and adequate social & parental support are (in my opinion) important to try BEFORE considering medications.

The crux of the issue seems to consist of the following:

Behavior Therapy = Too much time required of the child's "professionalized" parents. Many don't want to be bothered with learning about behavioral conditioning and implementing it with their child.

Thus, many parents (particularly high SES) PREFER to medicate their children, just to avoid the inconvenience. In fact many of them demand certain psychostimulants that are advertised on TV and in magazines.

Added to this problem are the children who would be deprived of educational opportunities if they were not on the meds. The kids who have tried behavioral programs & they just don't work. Many of these children have comorbid psychiatric diagnoses which further complicate things. They also tend to show up more frequently in low SES families.

Given that medication is an efficacious treatment for ADHD, I think it needs to at least be addressed to the parents. It is their right to know their options. But it most certainly should not be the "magic pill". Non-chemical treatment options are just as important. We do not want to foist unpleasant side effects (both physiological & cognitive) upon developing children unless it is absolutely necessary.



The reason both are prescribed is because both treatment methods have been demonstrated (through research) to be effective. Is one really more effective than the other? That depends on the specific nature of each child's case. A "gradual" treatment approach is much more effective in this particular population. Sounds to me like those Docs need to get back in touch with current research

I think there should be more reluctance to prescribe psychiatric drugs in children, and they should be a little older unless they're absolutely out of control and nothing else is working. (I don't mean hyper, I mean suicidal or hurting others.) I don't doubt that ADD and childhood depression and all the others exist (heck, I was that messed up child), but they're being used as a first line of defense when they should be the absolute last resort when trying to help a troubled child.

I definately think we are in too much a rush to medicate our kids now adays. I remember back when I was in early elementary school, we had a quick recess in the morning, a longer one after lunch and another one in the afternoon. Later on, we ended up adding Physical Education.

Today in many schools they have gotten rid of P.E. completely and schools at recess (if at all) no longer allow kids to run around like wild crazed animals.

Kids have energy -- they have to burn it off somehow. Is it any surprise if they can't burn it off ourside of class that they have trouble concentrating during class?

I have friends whose child was diagnosed as having ADD by a teacher and the school nurse -- how qualified are they to make that call?!?!?! The school was not going to allow the child back in until they put him on medication. Luckily they fought back and threatened lawsuit and the school backed down.

For teachers and schools today it seems like they are taking the easiest course of action and that is drugging the kids.

When my cousin was 5, he was almost too much to handle. After the Ritalin, he was more like a "normal" child. I do think that docs tend to prescribe it in cases where it isn't necessary though... In my cousin's case however, it was greatly needed.....

I was put on ritlin when i was about 7 and was on it for about 4 or 5 months but had to be taken off of it because it caused me to go into convulsions. I believe that ADD and ADHD are real conditions but i do think it is over diagnosed, due in part by preasure from teachers, and parents who dont want to have to be parents. this in my oppinion is the real issue.