NHS Spends £1million a month on Ritalin

This report, from a UK tabloid newspaper claims that the NHS spends 1 million a month prescribing Ritalin, the drug used to treat ADHD

THE NHS is spending £1million a MONTH on a drug to calm unruly children, figures show.

Controversial drug Ritalin is given to kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — ADHD.

Doctors write 7,500 prescriptions a week for the pills, which cost around £200 a year per child.

Kids with ADHD suffer short attention spans, are disorganised, talk too much and interrupt.

ADHD diagnosis is based on behaviour.

The most prescriptions in a year are at Wirral, Merseyside, with 25 for every 1,000 people.

Some critics question whether ADHD exists.

TaxPayers’ Alliance spokesman Blair Gibbs said: “If parents were allowed to discipline children, taxpayers wouldn’t have to fork out for drugs which turn our kids into drones.”

But Andrea Bilbow, of the Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service, said we are not prescribing ENOUGH Ritalin.

She said: “Thousands are unaware that their children may have a treatable problem.” She said ADHD could lead to psychiatric problems and crime if not treated.

Ritalin can also be given to adults with ADHD or narcolepsy.
www.thesun.co.uk...

Article also in the times,
www.timesonline.co.uk...

This is quite disturbing - 7,500 prescriptions a week!
Are there really that many sufferers of ADHD? or is this another "wonder drug" being pushed by pharmaceutical companies - like Prozac etc

www.ritalindeath.com...

www.ne.essortment.com...

adsg.syix.com...

www.newideas.net...

www.psychtreatment.com...

There some who claim that ADHD does not exist - I'm not qualified to comment on this, but there are plenty of people who insist it's a myth

www.pbs.org...

www.adhd-report.com...

www.adhdfraud.org...

Whether it exists or not - it's rather worrying to see so much money spent on a drug that has been shown to have dangers.

I have said it before and I have said it again. Ritalin is the MOST overprescribed drug for children EVER!.

So much so there has to be a conspiracy behind it.

The bottom line is this as a parent, you should NEVER NEVER NEVER let a GP place your child on ritalin. It does have its uses, but that use should be only prescribed after carefull evaluation BY a specialist.

I agree with FredT here, Ritalin is overprescribed and given to young children who most often do not actually have ADHD. One of the main chemicals in Ritalin is Methylphenidate, which I have always had reservations about. Methylphenidate is essentially a dopamine inhibitor, which increases the level of the dopamine in the nervous system and brain by blocking certain transporters that carry it between the synapses. It bears striking resemblance to the way in which Methamphetamine controls the brain as well. Crystal Meth acts in a similar way whereas it essentially increases the release of dopamine in the early stages and then, because of the overload of dopamine in the body, it begins to shut down certain neurotransmitters thus requiring more Crystal Meth to produce the high. Comparisons between the two can be drawn; check this out for more information on these drugs:

Meth and Meth

There is a strong potential for misuse and addiction with this drug. Used sparingly and in the right circumstances Ritalin can help certain individuals, but there are consequences to its use as well. As with most drugs...sometimes the side-effects can outweigh the effects of the drug itself.

Some medications seem to become popular at certain times - I just wonder how much this has to do with the pharmaceutical companies "pushing" them.

In the UK we have seen a few that I mention from personal experience;
Amoxil 250
Valium
Prozac

Amoxil 250 was doled out in the late 70's/ early 80's for lots of minor infections - we're seeing the results of this in strains of new "super-bacteria".

Valium was doled out for everything from bad backs, muscle spasm to anxiety - causing addiction and severe withdrawals for many.

Bad experience with Prozac - made me very moody and aggressive - and I know quite a few people who had really bad times taking it.

So I'd say, medicate only if absolutely necessary, and then only for the shortest time possible.

Originally posted by budski
Bad experience with Prozac - made me very moody and aggressive - and I know quite a few people who had really bad times taking it.

Prozac is still very popular. It tends to be referred to by its' medical name (fluoxitine), as the word prozac now has a bit of a stigma attached.

I think that ritalin can be an easy way for people to cover up their faults as bad parents. Children can be difficult, even more so with the lack of norms and routines present in todays' society. Without these stabilities, children become easily distracted and difficult to control. This is not a medical condition of the child. It is a lack of structure by the parents. Instead of trying to make changes in the family lifestyle, it is easier to put a name to the behaviour and prescribe a tablet. The situation is no longer the fault of the parent, it is the fault of the 'condition'.

Over here, valium is now known as diazepam in an attempt to cover up the problems that people had with it.

When I had anxiety attacks due to depression, I was prescribed valium, and although I wasn't given a large dose, I still had to be weaned off it after 1 month of treatment, which caused more problems than it was supposed to have fixed.

GP's are sometimes far too quick to jump on the bandwagon of new "super-drugs" - I just wonder if there is some collusion between the NHS and the drug companies.

Originally posted by FredT
I have said it before and I have said it again. Ritalin is the MOST overprescribed drug for children EVER!.

So much so there has to be a conspiracy behind it.

The bottom line is this as a parent, you should NEVER NEVER NEVER let a GP place your child on ritalin. It does have its uses, but that use should be only prescribed after carefull evaluation BY a specialist.

And it's not hard to see them. I have a couple. I find it offensive that the people (indirectly of course), through the government are making money for Big Pharma - they gain the most out of this situation. No-one had ADD when I went to school. It was called boredom and acting on the boredom.

The fact that I despise the most though, is getting children hooked on 'pills' and 'pill culture' at such a young age. The War on Drugs is designed to eliminate the competition - interpret that as you will.

Originally posted by deessell

Originally posted by FredT
I have said it before and I have said it again. Ritalin is the MOST overprescribed drug for children EVER!.

So much so there has to be a conspiracy behind it.

The bottom line is this as a parent, you should NEVER NEVER NEVER let a GP place your child on ritalin. It does have its uses, but that use should be only prescribed after carefull evaluation BY a specialist.

And it's not hard to see them. I have a couple. I find it offensive that the people (indirectly of course), through the government are making money for Big Pharma - they gain the most out of this situation. No-one had ADD when I went to school. It was called boredom and acting on the boredom.

The fact that I despise the most though, is getting children hooked on 'pills' and 'pill culture' at such a young age. The War on Drugs is designed to eliminate the competition - interpret that as you will.

Good point and one everyone should be aware of.
I wonder if because psychiatry is such an unusual field - not often any organic symptoms, usually rely on observations - that this is why it has been targeted by the drug companies - to the detriment of all.

The again it's a tactic used by many corporations - identify your target, hook them young then you have a lifetime of sales for each person you "infect"

Originally posted by budski

Over here, valium is now known as diazepam in an attempt to cover up the problems that people had with it.

Actually diazepam is the actuall name of the drug. Valium was a trade name. Now that its off patent they simply use its actual name to avoid copyright infringment

Its in the benzodiazapine family which also includes Versed (Midazolam) and Ativan (Lorazepam)

Fair comment,
I found this as well about ritalin - it's a bit old, but covers the salient points
www.add-adhd.org...

Also found this
web4health.info...

Seems to me, that if you aren't perfect they want to label you ADHD at the moment - it'll be something else in a few years - the psychiatrists are more interested in keeping the gravy train going than in curing people.

Further to this, I found this a while back,

Ritalin rise leads to ADHD probe
Health chiefs are to investigate the care of children suffering from hyperactivity after a 10-fold increase in the use of Ritalin in Scotland.

New figures show prescriptions for the controversial chemical have risen from 69 per 10,000 in 1996 to 603 last year.

Full story:
news.bbc.co.uk...

Says a lot, does this.