Has Ritalin Ruined My Life?

reply to post by MountainLaurel


Thank you.
I do have lots of sole to share. I moved out to the country to help him more we are now in the beginning stages of becoming self sufficient with garden and small farm.

We are fed up with eating things we can't pronounce. Maybe thats the real problem.

OP I feel your pain. I was also given ritalin as a child, and it brought out full-blown tourette's that has not since subsided.

ADHD isn't a disorder, it's a gift.

reply to post by enament

i think ritalin has it's place, but i question whether ADD is a real condition. OCD is clearly a real issue, it's viewable with fMRI's and such, but ADD is the clinical "disorder" that describes children not wanting to sit still in a classroom and listen to a teacher drone on.

how on earth did humans survive before government mandated education? the answer is wonderfully.

ritalin can be very effective if taken by someone with an actual disorder, it's useful in severely depressed patients who are unresponsive to SRI/SNRI medication (most likely indicating that there is an abnormality in the serotonin receptors, also seen in autism), it can help people on the autistic spectrum and those with sensory integration disorder, but it can be harmful if no problem exists.

reply to post by enament


Congratulations for telling your story - that takes courage. I agree with you. I am a Teacher and know that changing the system is going to be achieved but over a period of time and only when people come together for the same purpose. Part of your journey is obviously about evincing the fact that governments do not OWN Children - this is a very important aspect of your legal argument.

On a personal level I am making my own notes and am planning my own curriculum. If you try to make changes it causes problems so I am trying to be smart and to conduct my own research and to record it in an academic manner. I know many Teachers are swamped by government mandated paperwork and many just teach like they are a robot by remote control.

Children need to have their intellect stimulated when in a classroom and a Teacher bound by a strict government curriculum cannot be expected to stimulate their own intellect - let alone another!

As for the Ritalin - find a legal practitioner who is awake and aware and seek out their professional opinion on how to approach the legal aspects of your situation. As a person who likes to write - sit down and write out your life story - include everything you can recall about your Childhood before the Ritalin and every memory afterwards - right up to the current moment. It will be cathartic for you and extremely helpful for a legal practitioner.

You need to push through the legislation and make a stand - there is no book of instructions on how to do this - use your intellect and energy and strive for your own justice and others will join you. I don't believe you would be alone on your journey but by communicating out aloud you will learn of others who will feel the same need for justice.

You are now an adult so you can choose what you put into your body without interference from authorities. As long as you are not psychopathic and out of control and hurting other people or their property - you are not a threat to society. Be strong, prepare your case and the rest will follow - be prepared to fight the system!!

Much Peace...

reply to post by Deemo Diablo


I believe that too, but the real world isn't compassionate to our mental needs.For instance at work when something is explained I often require exact instructions and more instruction than most at work. This is sometimes thought of as incompetence since I want to make sure all instructions are followed thourally.

But those who know me know that I am a perfectionist. People sometimes get frustrated with having to provide more detailed instruction for me than most.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


I too believe that Ritalin has its uses but what I strongly disagree with is giving it to children incapable of making the dissension on there own. Unless severe cases warrant it.

The dangers of taking Ritalin at a young age is that a young child's brain is in its development stages and no one is really sure what introducing psychotropic drugs at that age will do to a developing brain. We are the guinea pigs.

reply to post by Amanda5


What really makes this hard is the age at which this took place and the length of time I was on it. It was about 29-30 years ago.I know how it made me feel when I was on it but I do recall being a very energetic kid and a lot more social.
I think I will do some more research about after side effects and find out more and present it in a thread at a later time.

I do have some known side effects as a result. I have only recently discovered that there are known side effects.
It really made me feel good to know now I am really not alone.

reply to post by enament

I think it's far more dangerous than anyone thinks.My son was diagnosed
with add back in the early 90's he was put on Ritalin as young children I would always
try the medications to see exactly what they would experience because I wasn't sure I
wanted to give them anything that would alter their mood.I wouldn't even give my kids
Dimetapp because they would act crazy.Well needless to say he didn't take the Ritalin and ended up just fine.

These are not harmless medications and am sorry you had to be subjected to mind altering drugs I'm not even
sure that any long term effects have ever been studied.There is something very wrong when you have half the students in school that are on these mind/mood altering drugs,parents/schools/medical community have become complicite in finding a quick fix for behavior issues that can be solved in other ways.

reply to post by MountainLaurel


I'm with you did you ever know anyone when you were in school that was on any of these medications?
In fact I believe what they give children today was the diet pills of our day and was soon taken off the market.
so what I'm seeing here is that they were too dangerous as a diet pill but ok as mood altering drug for children?

ADD meds can be a tricky thing. They can help you accomplish great tasks at a faster pace than those not on it.

That being said, it isn't worth it if it is making you depressed. I recommend getting off all the meds.


Take a Breathe of Air, my Friend. You have purpose in this World, do not let a cloudy mind bring you down. You just haven't found your purpose yet. When you do, the depression will lift like the rain clouds after a storm. And you will see the sun.


We all will see the sun..

I'm not able to watch the vids right now.

I really do think Ritalin is a bad drug to put kids on. I feel for you that you are realizing it might have ruined your life.

Some kids are indeed too hyper and can be annoying and the parent or teacher cannot cope, so it is them who wants this drug. Because a teacher has patience issues they blame the child, label them ADHD. It isn't right.

Overall I think its a normal, healthy thing to be an inquisitive child. Children who are too quiet and not animated come across as awkward and really boring to me. Of course I'm not into kids who are destructive, smashing toys across the room, hitting other children but that stems from something else entirely. They most likely weren't born with it.

You can't expect everybody to share the same interests. Not all teachers have the knack to make a topic engaging where you will listen. I suggest they learn skills on how to deliver a lesson better.

When I was in school. I could never pay attention. I wasn't put on Ritalin though. I was never hyperactive, just can't pay attention to boring things. School is mostly boring at that age.

I'm an adult and can't sit still in boring situations. I fidget. I'm sorry I cannot sit like a statue made out of stone. I can't and I won't., If I need to itch my face or adjust my body for comfort I will. That's all it means when I fidget. I'm exercising my right to move my body.

I have a very low attention span. It might be set to zero its that low, but if I'm listening to something interesting I'm the opposite.

reply to post by enament

As far as I know its your parents that are liable as guardians but suing my parents is not an option.

As a child I wasn't given a choice the choice was made for me.

i have been warning of it for years.... kids that were prescribed cruddy RXs will be prohibited from gun licenses when adults...because they had mental/social problems in the Pharmaceutical culture that prevailed from the 70s up till the present.

unfit to own a firearm...then possibly unfit to even vote, perhaps reven to operate a vehicle, if still prescribed those psychotropic meds


by the way... were you ever considered 'disabled' because of the Ridalin RX... i think it may just be pop culture myth that many welfare-queens made sure that their kids got prescribed those ADD & other hyper-activity drugs so they would get a fatter gov't checks all 8 or 10 years of education before the kids dropped out and joined gangs for their chance to get some personal Bling.... just wondering if the Ritalin army of youngsters are part of the 14 million on SS Disability that both Rush and Biden harp about

reply to post by enament


I think it is insane drugging kids, my son was just like you and they kept wanting something done, I said no he is just a very energetic mischievous boy totally normal kid! he turned out fine, that stage rarely lasts and if it does these people become our great athletes, climbers and such.

My stepfather a child psychologist (now passed) followed a bunch of children on Ritalin, he was convinced it was very harmful. he found many of the boys he followed ended up in jail as adults He felt the stuff should be outlawed..

reply to post by TWILITE22

So how did you feel when you tried Ratlin. I still remember how it made me feel. It is really quite depressing remembering how I felt on it. Eventually my mom listened to me when after persistently telling her I did not like them.

reply to post by truthinfact


I have herd that meditation can actually work well for ADD and ADHD. I have been working on changing lots of things in my life to alleviate the symptoms. Meditation is something I have been wanting to try it again haven't done it in about 16-17 years .

reply to post by violet


There are times I actually feel immobilized I know there are things that need to get done but there are times I actually fear doing them. It goes far beyond procrastination. I literally have to force myself to do it.

The thing is I have heard that Ratlin actually causes depression and other long term problems. I have been chronically depressed ever since I took Ratlin in grade 1-2 . I wish there was some sort of advocacy group to turn to for advice

reply to post by St Udio


I just had a crazy thought. So in the U.S. you cant get a gun license if you took Ritalin ? Is that true?

If so those who are prescribed Ritalin are usually the rebellious type, the type who don't follow the rules type of people, Independent,outspoken,people who question authority.
Is that a conspiracy?

Originally posted by Char-Lee
reply to post by enament

 

I think it is insane drugging kids, my son was just like you and they kept wanting something done, I said no he is just a very energetic mischievous boy totally normal kid! he turned out fine, that stage rarely lasts and if it does these people become our great athletes, climbers and such.

My stepfather a child psychologist (now passed) followed a bunch of children on Ritalin, he was convinced it was very harmful. he found many of the boys he followed ended up in jail as adults He felt the stuff should be outlawed..

Its real bad since drug company's market to teachers with cleaver advertising. Whats real bad is the way they skew statistics to entice parents to drug there kids.. Claiming it will get there kids A+ on there report card. And solve every problem your kid has. B.S.

Psychotherapists monkeying around with kids ruins lives. When you're a kid, and have been told to question your own mind's behavior, that is where the ruining happens.

So you get put into this chemical restraining system to trim down your personal energy for the sake of the classroom's energy levels. It's always for the classroom, to fit in. You feel introverted because you are, because of the chemical restraints.

Even in first grade, kids know the idea of fitting in, and the ones that don't fit are not good enough. So Ritalin is a performance enhancing drug, to engineer a kid into a student's role. Kids don't typically get the choice about what school to go to, like grown ups have a choice where to have a job. Their life is dictated to them.

Life is more than where one went to school, and report card grades, and what some dumb teacher said when you defied worshipping her for six hours a day. No if you want to get nasty and have self pity and blame some past history, you can blame the system.

It's like saying, has sugar ruined my life? Because I drank soda pop when I was a kid and bounced off the walls when mom took me out in public. What was the linchpin? No, maybe it was a stupid doctor trying to appease the school system. Maybe it was a parent that was trying to glamorize your future with exotic medication opportunities. Thinking they were going to raise a designer kid with the magical psychiatric industry, a carryover idea from the 1950s.

No, the clinging to images of the ideal way to behave is what is eroding your confidence to live. It's the assumption that you're defective in emotions, that maybe you let down society. It's the self-discrimination that's messing you up. Maybe if you stopped believing you were normal with a side of ADD/ADHD, and dropped the diagnostic baggage you'd get somewhere.

OP. You're post is like a sign to me. I've been thinking this for so long and I've been such an angry child since Ritalin and other equivalent drugs. I've gone through the same things you have, even the suicidal thoughts from around age 7 for me. I was such a cool happy kid before. People still loved me in school, but I was not like how I was before age 13. By about 13 I was damaged in the brain. I did things that have caused me depression. I truly believe I would be a much happier and successful person today if I had not taken these drugs. I feel lost and hopeless. Especially the past two years have been up and down, where I've considered not moving on. I don't know what to do. I feel sp angry and upset at my doctor, parent, teachers and pharm companies. Regardless, you're not alone. I'm here and I fee

Originally posted by enament

Hello ATS, I'm going to begin with a little story. When I was in late grade 1 my teachers in school had a hard time engaging my attention and I had boundless amounts of childhood energy. I had a hard time sitting still because of boredom. I had an even harder time paying attention to the things I found boring. I had all the classic symptoms described in the pharmaceutical industries literiture describing the description of A.D.D.

How did the classic symptoms of being a kid become the classic symptoms of A.D.D.?

So as a child I was told I had something wrong with me and that there was a magic pill that would solve all of my so called problems. Paying attention and squirming etc...(Schools are only usefull in teaching about 90% of kids the other 10% find it too boring and require more interesting subject matter to engage their interests.)

So my Teachers Doctor and parents were all telling me this would help my so called problem. As a child you put a lot of trust in those people especially your parents because they are suppose to know what is best for you and so you believe them when they tell you something. The truth is as a child you are easily manipulated against your will to do things you are told are in your best interest.

I as a child didn't like this at all. I didn't think I needed a pill, but I was told I had a problem and figured they must be right so I was placed on Ritalin. This is where I believe all my problems originated.

Ritalin made me feel like a zombie gave me intense headaches and caused me to be socially introverted I didn't play much with the other kids any more. I could have compared it to a lobotomy. To take the very essence of what makes a kid away from a child is a horrible thing. I was also given my daily dose of fluoride tablets at home and a fluoride rinse at school. The fluoride rinse at school was mandatory and you got in trouble for not partaking in it so most of us faked it.

I believe that Ritalin has caused permanent changes to my brain! I have twitches, I bite the inside of my cheeks when stressed out or nervous to the point where it bleeds and becomes ulcerated, and have suffered from a debilitating depression ever since. I don't think its normal for a child in grade 3 wanting to kill himself like I did. I have a hard time with life in general now everything is twice as hard for me. Doing average things for me is now a laborious task. The reward signal for accomplishment seems skewed. I have been on antidepressants twice. The first time was for almost 2 years the second time was for about 6-7 months.

Does early childhood use of Ritalin cause a life long dependance on antidepressants? I've read articles that claim it does. along with twitching and nervous ticks such as cheek biting and chronic depression.

Who do I sue for damages? It seems like a perfect crime to me. Do you sue your parents for being brainwashed by the pharmaceutical industry. Do you sue your doctor? Do you sue the Pharmaceutical industry?
As far as I know its your parents that are liable as guardians but suing my parents is not an option. As a child I wasn't given a choice the choice was made for me.

I always believed that Ritalin has caused permanent changes to me and now that I have seen documentation describing the after effects of Ritalin I am now convinced especially since all of the after effects describe my current problems. Ritalin in a early developing brain does cause permanent changes. But how do you prove it?
What could I have become if I was never given Ritalin?

Please ATS help me what do I do??

Here is some videos I think are relevant. Description found below.

This video is about the drugging of our children. It describes ethical issues about the drug industries pushing drugs on our children.

Description below.

This video "The War on Kids" describes how the school system is severely dysfunctional and makes comparisons between modern prisons and schools, And How children are over medicated with drugs which they can't be certain of long term effects.



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