ADHD drugs

History of ADHD

1987: A revised version of the DSM-III, the DSM-III-R, is released. The subtypes are removed, and the condition is renamed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). What was previously called ADD without hyperactivity is now referred to as undifferentiated ADD3.

1991: In the 1990s, diagnoses of ADHD begin to increase. It’s not possible to know if this is a change in the number of children who have the condition, or a change in awareness that leads to increased diagnosis3. By 1991, methylphenidate prescriptions reach 4 million, and amphetamine prescriptions reach 1.3 million5.

Just started digging on this and I think the above quoted material is when the drugs really started to be pumped out for this, which is an interesting coincidence that mass shootings started to pick up there pace around this time as well.

ADHD is an interesting diagnosis; I was diagnosed while in the USAF and medicated it cost me my flight engineer job. This is interesting because technically I am protected by the American for disabilities act, yet I was fired for my disability.

According to the FAA its listed as a psychological problem, hence the firing of people in flying jobs once they are medicated. At least in my experience in the air force I was not told you are no longer a FE until I started taking the medication. interesting timing I think, you would think they would say looks like you have ADHD sorry thats a DQ from flying. Could just be a coincidence I guess...

1975: A widespread media blitz claims that stimulants are dangerous and shouldn’t be used to treat a “dubious diagnosis2.” Benjamin Feingold advances claims that hyperactivity is caused by diet, not a brain based condition2. There is public backlash against treating ADHD with stimulant medication, especially Ritalin.

1978: For decades, a positive response to stimulant medication was considered evidence that a child had a mental disorder. Judith Rappaport, a researcher for the NIMH discovered that stimulants have similar effects on children with or without hyperactivity or behavior problems – adding to the controversy around stimulant medication2.

yet in the 1970s studies showed kids were just reacting to stimulants, and there was a push back against stimulant usage on kids. But now in the 2000's we have a fist full of different stimulants kids can get for different health problems.

Some ritalin side effects:

Signs of blood flow problems in the fingers or toes
Unusual wounds on the fingers or toes
Fast/pounding/irregular heartbeat
Mental/mood/behavior changes
Uncontrolled muscle movements
Sudden outbursts of words/sounds that are hard to control
Vision changes

Nervousness
Trouble sleeping
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Dizziness
Nausea
Vomiting
Headache

I was put on Concerta, supposedly a better version of Ritalin, almost identical side effect list, anxiety, trouble sleeping and rapid mood changes and sex drive suppressed in just a few weeks of taking it. I threw the bottle out and told the doc to pound sand I had already lost my dream job, and I was going back to a job I did for 5 years with no issues so why take a drug that was not agreeing with me.

Point to this ramble not sure, but how many of these kids have been on something for years that has side effects that can affect your sleep, your anxiety, and your mental health.

Since we really got to dishing out pills for everything in the 90's onward are we now starting to see the result of all those drugs that we were not sure about the long term effects.

yea yea I know millions had them there haven't been millions of mass shooters, yea I know the thing is no drug ever made has had the exact same effect on each person that has taken it. So if only 1% or less had extreme reactions after long term exposure, it starts to look a lot more reasonable.

I posted the clip on another thread kinda in jest but the more I think on it... G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate is sounding more prophetic to my paranoid ears.

ETA: wonder how many other drugs came out through the '90s that we didnt ask any serious questions about.

I know first hand how devastating these drugs can be, with two grandsons that took them all throughout their childhood.

Life is tough enough without chemically messing up their minds and bodies, and from my experience with many, many kids who've had their entire lives messed up it's my belief that medicating kids is 99% of the time lazy parenting.

Before these drugs became popular to make zombies out of kids, these ADHS children were known as 'high-energy' children. If you didn't keep them busy, you could be assured they'd find some mischief to get into. A strict regime, with activity to burn off their excess energy until they developed better coping skills worked wonders.
Few parents are willing to put that effort in now days when they can just hand them a pill and a cell phone to keep them from disrupting life or adding more work for them.

a reply to: nugget1

I agree, already had the talk with the wife drugs are the absolute last resort cause odds are my son will have it, cause I have it and the wife said even though not diagnosed she checked off most of the symptoms as well.

Some kids need it most do not.

a reply to: Irishhaf

We're looking at a tough case with ours.

He copes well most of the time, and we keep him active. But he has dysgraphia, and when he gets frustrated with that, the anxiety and ADD get him so upset he will do things. He never lashes out at others, but he has bitten himself. The frustration and anxiety push him to those limits when the handwriting issues get him upset.

a reply to: ketsuko

I absolutely believe some kids need it, most should figure out how to deal with it over time and can get off the drug some will need it forever.

There are just to many bad parents that want the kid to sit there and shut up, I have caught myself a few times this week with my son, the wife is away for the military and little man is raising hell and I just want him to sit and be quiet for a few mins.

figure this weekend we will try hiking trails again if they have dried out a bit and go for an hour each day. I am just not a big fan of needing waders while hiking.

I was in school through the 90s, and I remember the school nurse being given free reign to not only diagnose children, but also hand out the ADD drugs like candy.
Once hooked, the parents had almost no choice but to go out and get an official prescription.

My wife, now in pharmacy, says this never happened... But she's been on those drugs for some thirty years now.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Believe me, we've done everything we can. He's in martial arts, and everyone there is super supportive. It's a great atmosphere and a family one. We work and work and work with his teachers and school every year. We work and work and work with him.

Mostly, he controls himself very well.

But it's the issues with the other learning issue. The two compound, and as he gets into more intensive schooling, the writing demands are only going to get worse. We have him in counseling and seeing a psychologist. We're hoping to avoid meds as much as possible.

I have ADHD and on Ritalin. I got so used to taking it in the past few years they had to up the dosage. Seems like at this point I need a higher dosage again.
I've had this condition since I was a kid and was using an over the counter alternative (ephidrine) when i was 17. Taught myself to play bass guitar using it. I keep myself occupied as much as I can. I'm 49 now.
As a kid I couldn't pay attention in school, got picked on by other kids and teachers, got bad grades, and graduated high school by the skin of my teeth.
I have the Ritalin side effects mostly weight loss and headaches. I learned from others on prescription stimulants to take protein shakes, multi-vitamins, potassium and eat good meals to gain the weight back. A little CBD helps too.
It works for me, but I could probably use something better.

a reply to: Irishhaf

I cannot speak on the ADD stuff....
But if you were part of a USAF flight crew (like the crew that would fly or be on call for AWACS)....you would not be allowed to take a Tylenol w/out permission and if you had headaches that required a prescription, you would no longer be allowed to be a part of the flight crew.
So, I am not surprised that one taking prescription ADD meds would not be allowed to. They are super strict on that stuff for flight crew. Most prescript meds have all kinds of crazy side effects for many people.

a reply to: lordcomac

I graduated in '91 and was starting to see that also.

its crazy in retrospect how few people ever said anything especially after the outrage in the '70s.

a reply to: ketsuko

I know it sucks, got a friend one of his has to be medicated or she is that bouncing off the walls unable to sit for a class. Sounds like yall are doing it right and I wish you absolute success.

My brother, when he was in elementary school.....in the mid-80s....was told by teachers - well my parents were told - that he had ADD. ADHD did not exist back then. They said he really should be on meds - I believe all there was at the time was ritalin. My parents refused and went to the family doctor for his opinion. After some testing, it was discovered that my brother was just BORED and not being challenged in school. So, they put him in the next grade and suddenly the alleged ADD issues went away. Eventually he graduated HS early and is now super successful in his life.

I know a number of families and they say their kids have ADHD. I also look at their kids diets. Nothing but junk food...sugar and caffeine...and lots of RED DYES (and other dyes) in their foods. This is a huge part of the problem. But God forbid you tell a parent or an adult to change their diet....you will have committed a major sin.

a reply to: ditchweed

I feel you on the school, its weird high school barely a c average.

many years later went to college for a course I was not working in the field and graduated with a B for my bachelors, and an A for my Masters.

Wish I knew what changed over the years.

a reply to: shaemac

Absolutely correct, bad diet and in many cases lack of exercise leads to high energy kids being drugged and its despicable.

I am afraid what will happen (like I guess every parent is) when mini me goes to school in the fall for the first time, and he gets fidgety.

As far as my aircrew position yea it was on awacs, though it was not a PRP position, we could medicate for a cold and such.

the Rivet joint on the other hand had much stricter guidelines due to what their mission was.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
a reply to: ditchweed

I feel you on the school, its weird high school barely a c average.

many years later went to college for a course I was not working in the field and graduated with a B for my bachelors, and an A for my Masters.

Wish I knew what changed over the years.

Interest, would be my guess.
By the time you're in third year college, you're taking classes your care about, instead of "social studies" and "history" where you memorize useless names long enough to take the quiz.

The man that created the ADD disease for BIG Pharma has admitted that it was a made up disease. Big Pharma was even paying schools $1,000 for each kid they trick the parents into a prescription of Adderall. My son was told he had ADDHD. He was just a kid with a lot of energy that needed to learn to harness. We gave him alternative ways to deal with his energy and changed his diet a bit. He became a straight A student with no attention problems.

Guess it depends on which end of the spectrum kids are.

I wasn't diagnosed til 50. Can't say I regret my life but knowing how well the meds calm both the speed of my brain, as well as the emotions, I do think I'd have done much better if I'd both known about it and had the chance to use the meds. Everything I ever did was too intricate, too complicated, so in the end I achieved nothing but a repeating sense of failure.

I'm not really pleased about going into old age living pay cheque to pay cheque, no pension because I couldn't keep jobs and had to work for myself doing physical labour with all the glamour that comes with that. These are things I didn't think about young but it has had a negative effect. With the meds I can actually make it through a whole day of work. Others will mock this but I used to only be able to do about two hours max before crawling the walls and needing to do something else. The meds gave me a small win before it was too late.

That said, my kids have a milder form of it and I'm glad they weren't medicated in childhood. They have the option now, under their own steam, if they feel the need to look into it. Not a fan of meds for kids, though they can work, simply because not all kids are able to articulate side effects or have parents that will respect how they feel on the meds and work to find improvements.

I was given Ritalin and Dixarit , and at some point my parents wanted me off the meds because and i quote because this line stayed with me forever.

"He does not act like our boy anymore "

Working full time changed everything , it gave me a extra outlet for all the energy.

Because of my own experience i am not a advocate for putting children on medication.

I do not blame my parents , especially my mother was under a lot of stress when we where young from depression and anxiety.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
a reply to: ditchweed

I feel you on the school, its weird high school barely a c average.

many years later went to college for a course I was not working in the field and graduated with a B for my bachelors, and an A for my Masters.

Wish I knew what changed over the years.

A certain number outgrow it during puberty, when the brain rewires. One of my sons did. He was insanely hyperactive and gregarious to a fault. Failed all the way through school til the principal gave him the ultimatum to stop wasting their time or quit. I thought he had quit as he and his buddies then partied for half a year. Suddenly, he announced he was going to college to become an electrician. Within a year he changed into a quiet, serious man with a good enough attention span to finish college and keep his jobs.

Interest is definitely part of it, but so is the rewiring of puberty and growing maturity.

a reply to: igloo

With the meds I can actually make it through a whole day of work. Others will mock this but I used to only be able to do about two hours max before crawling the walls and needing to do something else.

I was seriously mentally ill years ago , with the help of a psychologist and medication wich i still use i got my act together.