Now as far as the undertones of this post, OP, it is something that tends to work me up in a way that I don't get worked up unless it's a debate over Breastfeeding/Not Breastfeeding or anything involving the top childhood debates that go on which infuriate me. I believe wholeheartedly that there is a place for ADD or ADhD medications.
Ritalin I know for sure (not sure about the other medications) is not only used to treat ADD or ADHD, but also in the treatment of Narcolepsy and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am personally not a sufferer of the hyperactive aspect that sometimes accompanies ADD, I am at the other end of the spectrum.
My own Dr. was really at a crossroads when choosing to put me on Ritalin. My symptoms were not classic ADHD, they were close to ADD, but most importantly they looked a lot like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Without going into personal medical information I'll sum it up by saying, I could not finish anything I started and I could not get out of bed.
Within a few days of being on Ritalin, the clouds cleared. I was no longer in La-La-Land in my mind, I could organize my thoughts and priorities, and most importantly I had the energy to get out of bed and accomplish them. If I do not take my medication, I do not get ill or crave it. I simply sleep 20 hours a day and don't accomplish much. I daydream and fall asleep randomly throughout the day, in the middle of working on important things or even while at work. I'm like I was before the medication and that is all.
I was terrified to start taking it, I had a pre-conceived notion that it would turn me into a crackhead, but it didn't. Would I put my child on it? If his only other option was suffering through the childhood that I did in which I tried so hard to make good grades and to pay attention in school but failed over and over again, then I most certainly would. If I could have the years back where I dropped out of class after class and extended my college experience much longer than it should of been because I could not focus, I would in a heartbeat.
To sum up my opinion on this matter, I think that the shortage is something that needs to be corrected for all of us who need this medication in order to function in the society we live in. Now I am not saying it isn't over perscribed, or given to those who don't need it. I am sure it is like all other things (antibiotics to name one big one), but I just wanted to make a case for those of us whose lives have been changed for the better by ADD medication.
Thanks for the info OP, glad to see I am not the only one having trouble finding this medication.
