Death from Ritalin the truth behind ADHD

A sad story I wanted to post. The story makes me sad because these people are friends of our family, so we knew them personally. I don't know why I didn't post it sooner, but sometimes tragic events like these you kind of blank out.

www.ritalindeath.com...

Our fourteen-Year-old Son Matthew died on March 21, 2000. The cause was determined to be from the long-term (age 7-14) of using of Methylphenidate a medication commonly known as Ritalin.

Matthew took 10mg of Ritalin three times a day; he was taken away from us for one week for testing by the court. They said they would be doing organic testing. We found out this was never done. When he got home we were court ordered to give him 20mg three tines a day.

For the last year of his life he was taking 20mg of Ritalin three times a day.

The Certificate of Death under due to, (or because of) reads, Death caused from Long Term Use of Methylphenidate, (Ritalin). According to Dr. Ljuba Dragovic, The chief pathologist in Oakland County Michigan, upon autopsy, Matthew's heart showed clear signs of small vessel damage, the type caused by stimulant drugs like amphetamines.

The medical examiners told me that a full-grown man’s heart weighs about 350 grams and that Matthew's heart weight was about 402 grams.

[edit on 4-3-2007 by Realtruth]

I am so sorry for your friends, my boys took ritalyn and adderall for
several years and we finally just took them off of it because of the side effects we saw. I think our school systems are not equiped to deal with kids who have adhd. They are so tuned to the grade point average and promoting the kids that get really good grades. The truth is what works for them does not for kids with adhd. And there are alot of kids who are left behind without an adequate education because they "can't keep up".

Thanks Realtruth,

First, I would like to share how sorry I am about this loss. A hyper active child is a child with true imagination and energy. To have a special child die as a result of the prescription drug cartel is a tragedy to the entire country. This is my warm up post, I will lay down the real deal when it comes to children on drugs legal/illegal. The problem with kids today, or should I say the problem with parents today.
I think, I qualify as an expert since I was forced to take ritilan against my will for over seven years. If you are thinking about giving your kids ritilan, don't! I still have not forgiven my parents for it. I am going to make coffee and will come back and lay down the problem and solution to this madness.

Again realtruth my condolences.



[edit on 5-3-2007 by rich1974]

The Perfect Storm

The cause of ADHD from an ADHD perspective. Why are so many children on psychiatric medication? The answer lies in a systematical breakdown of institutions, and perfect storm of corruption, medication, family, society, and sleep. A perfect storm of variables is causing this, and the children are just showing symptoms of sickness that doesn’t rest with them, it rest outside the child. The doctors are just fixing the symptom with drugs and the society never addresses the underlying problem.

The Hyper, Tired and Depressed

There are two distinct problems going on here, one is Hyperactivity and tiredness, the other is depression. The depression is America’s self esteem problem caused by our children going to school in a jail like setting. I have seen first hand the abuse children have to put up with, everyday of their school lives. I must stress mental abuse, it is systematic. Nothing is ever done about this because there are just too many students per adult or teacher. These are the kids who snap like the columbine shooters, others grow to adults carrying wounds from their American school experience they never recover from. If an adult were to treat a child the way the school system allows by default other children to treat other children, the adult would be spending twenty five to life in a state prison for child abuse.

Depressed Child Causes
Self esteem
Mental abuse
Failure of parents and/or officials to curb such abuse

Like any worried parent you take your child to a doctor, your doctor explains your child is depressed, and writes a prescription for a powerful psychiatric medication. This is treating the symptom of the depressed instead of the cause of the depression.

Hyperactivity is caused by several key factors. These factors are large classes, lack of stimulation and individual attention, physical exercise, homework, and sleep. Sleep is a huge factor when children show behavior problems, especially junior high, through high school. Children and young adults need a great deal more sleep then they get. I would sleep around twelve hours a day at that age and could sleep more. These kids when sleep deprived go on hyperactive rampages, and act out uncontrollable. The more tired they are the more hyper they will act. The school system is designed around adult’s schedules and not children’s. The large amount of homework and full schedules forced on them by over achieving parents leave little time for the proper amount of sleep and recreational activity. These children are not little yuppies motivated by greed to have such a burden forced upon them, their kids.

Children diagnosed with ADHD are very intelligent and imaginative. They require lots of attention, and there is nothing wrong with them. They need to burn off energy, and this play time is needed for growth and balance. Children are waking up at the crack of dawn, their parents are getting them ready for school, the child then goes to school all day were he/she is sitting at a desk most of the day. The child is then expected to go home and do the required two hours a day of homework. By the time he gets home and does all this it is well into the evening, and no time for the child to be a kid. Why don’t the adults try and go to work eight hours and then come home and work another two hours, five days a week. Do you think you would get burned out? I would point out schools are getting rid of physical education altogether due to budget restraints.

Other institutional problems are the school curriculums; they are stuck in age of the past. Today’s kids are high tech, and learn by a more hands on approach. These children grow up with all this technology and then go to school, where the school is behind almost twenty years. This causes school to be boring and unenlightening. Once the child becomes bored he/she will act out, and become a behavior problem. The technology problem is societal; the society is greedy and self centered. The government can spend trillions waging war but the schools get hardly anything. The parents are not much better obsessed with possessions and the appearance of wealth, failing to donate technology to help out were governments have failed.

Hyperactivity & Tiredness Causes
Sleep
Overworked
Lack of recreational time
Outdated school system or technology
Lack of personal attention

As a concerned parent you take your child to a doctor because of the behavior problems. The doctor treats the symptom of hyperactivity with powerful psychiatric medication, never addressing the cause of said hyperactivity.

In conclusion the problem is not the children. The problem is the system and the parents who collectively are equally as guilty.

Rich




[edit on 5-3-2007 by rich1974]

[edit on 5-3-2007 by rich1974]

I am going to say this study is the big load of crap I have ever heard. I read this article in complete disbelief.




USA Today Article on Antidepressants are safe

I am the mother of 2 boys who are/wre hyperactive. Each manifested differently. One with body activity, the other figiting with objects. I have read and you can research this, that elements of vaccines are to blame for damaging the child's nervous system. My husband was in the Air Force, and when I took the kids for their shots, I got them too. I believe they affected me too, altho to a much lesser extent. Today, many years later, I should be retired, but I am a workaholic. Can't sit still for long, must be doing something.

A doctor put the youngest on Ritalin. It only took a few days to see that it made him worse. I refused to continue it. I had been reading about vitamins, and I put him on a "formula" that I found in one of my books. (ANd darn, I don't know what I did with it). They were B vitamins. In a week he was a noticably different kid. No more tapping fingers or feet etc.

There are stats that tell us that every year about 200,000 people die or are seriously harmed by the med/pharma industry.

I feel outrage that a court can mandate that a child be given drugs for such a condition, which is certainly not life threatening. I'm all for sending that judge to prison and dosing him with Ritalin.

rich1974,

I believe you are right on the money. My daughter went to private school where there is still recess and P.E. as well as art and music. It seemed to me that we had much fewer problems then did the public schools. We also had smaller classes. The goal being 25 kids per class or less. We also had after school sports and other activities. I've always believed that plenty of sleep and time to play are essential for healthy children.

Realtruth,

I'm so very sorry for your loss. I hope by bringing this out in the open for so many to see that you will prevent other children from going through this hell. It is outrageous that courts can order parents to medicate their children in this case to death.

Galloping Hordes, I absolutely agree with everything you just said.
I, too, am outraged that a court has the ability to prescribe medication. What the hell does a judge know about meds?

REal Truth, thanks for posting this. I am sorry for yours and your friends loss, this is a tragedy.