Are American teens over-medicated?
 

I do not take any medication, and as far as I know I don't know anyone in my school that is taking pills for depression, insomnia ADD etc. (Just good ol' fashioned weed and alcahol seems to be the thing)

Yet several times here I've heard members comparing the medication they're on, the benifits of Ritalin over Prozac etc.

It seems like America is playing a very risky game here giving all us kids mind-altering drugs. Does anyone else think so?

I disagree with you.

2 of my children have adhd and take a low dose of meds. It took me years to agree to put them on the medicine and the only regret I have is that I did not do it sooner.

The meds help balance out the natural chemicals in their brain and allow them to function better.

I know people that over medicate their children but the decision I have made for mine I feel has been the best.

I'm just wondering, I'm no expert on ADHD, but I know diet plays a big part in it.

If they are on a low dose of meds, maybe instead of that they could change their diet, more veggies and little sugar or something.

but Missy that's because you probably think more rationally than most people in the States. I've spoken to Americans in my college about this before and they say that, yes, people do take medicines there even at the slightest observation of anything wrong, or even as a preventative measure when it is unnecessary. It seems to me that people in the US in general put a lot of trust in medicine, too much.

Have to agree with Wolfgang.

Personally i haven't taken any medication in the last 5 years.
(yep not even a painkiller) I believe that anything that came by itself will also leave again.

I watch what i eat and drink, plenty of fresh air and exercise.

I think they are under medicated. I say dope them up and keep them quiet! :)

All americans are over medicated, and they all think they need the latest, most expensive drugs.

Then they bitch about the rise cost of health premiums and medical costs.
The same goes for surgeries.

All I take is Zyrtec for my allergies, and I get allergy shots every week too...

I can't expect my allergies and eczema to just calm down by themselves...

Thats why nature would have killed you a loong time ago, midnight.

Say you get a Migrane.


Sure, you know it will leave on its own. Does that mean you should stop your whole day and agenda because you don't believe in painkillers? What if you lose your job because you're off of work? What if you've got obligations that MUST happen today? why not take that painkiller to funtion normally throughout the day? Because it's "Wrong"?

because it fucks up your stomach.

Then why didn't I die the past 16 years prior to starting out on my meds and shots? :rolleyes:

Taking an Tylanol (sp) when you get a headache? I've never ever heard anyone I know complain about thier stomach when they took a painkiller; if it fucks up your stomach you're probably taking it wrong.

Well, start looking for it.

It's one of those things you'll find all too common if you look for them.

My bad, it's antibiotics that fuck up your stomach. But taking pills in general... I don't like it. It's not natural. Drugs are poisons, they're just not poisonous enough to kill you, but they are to kill whatever's bothering you. Taking poison, even in small doses, is not good in my eyes.

?? Stomach aches?

Define poison. We can eat yogurt. It has an enzyme that kills bacteria in your mouth. Must be poison. Almost anything can be considered a "poison" to atleastt one creature. There are "poisons" all over the place in nature. Go step outside. There's probably a poison within 5 feet of you.

Most people just want a quick fix rather than trying to fix the underlying problem, and most doctors seem to be all to willing to provide that quick fix.

I'm an insomniac, and have had problems keeping a regular sleep pattern for the last 10 years. I've been prescribed temazepam and a few other drugs (cant remember their names) which didnt help much at all. Never once was i asked about my diet or lifestyle (which wasnt all that great). I've recently made some massive changes (good diet, more excersise) and i've been sleeping much better. I still find it difficult to keep a regular sleep pattern, but doing that has helped more than any medication i've been on.

Also, back in 1997 i started having anxiety attacks. I was prescribed ducene (found out later it was valium), which helped for a month or two, but then it became less effective. Eventually i found a really good doctor who decided it was best to take me off it rather than prescribe a higher dosage, instead trying to teach me how to relax my mind with positive thinking, and i'm really thankful for it. Coming off that was really hard though, and for a while i was worse than i was to begin with, but 6 months later i was back to normal. If not for him, i'd probably still be on medication.

In certain cases, i think the use of medication is justified though. I know of a few kids with ADD whose parents tried everything - diet, excersise, herbal remedies etc. without seeing much improvement, but once they went on medicaiton they were like totally normal kids. So it really depends on the individual case as to whether or not medication is the best way to go.

I only take medications(Tylenol ect.) when I get a bad headache. Most of the time, the Tylenol does help alleviate the headache alot.
I know alot of people, though, that take prescription medications on a daily basis due to various medical issues that they may have.

I find it crazy how many things you can be medicated for.

basically: if your body is feeling bad you can get medication to fix it.

...yet all of the drugs that make your mind feel good are illegal :igor:.

I completely agree with Missy. Her kids take a low dose of ADHD medication, and they're wonderfully behaved when they do. And the fact that they need it at all isn't anyone's fault, it's just the nature of their physiology. Before we had medications like the ones her kids take, they would have just been classified as "badly behaved", which would be entirely unjust.

If every parent were as smart and conscientious as Missy, then there would be no parents overmedicating their children.

When you say "headache", if you're still referring to a migraine, then know that most migraines are debilitating, and the likes of off-the-shelf Tylenol doesn't touch them.

As a matter of fact this morning I felt a migraine coming on and took the Maxalt that my doctor prescribed (basically a newer and better form of *******). Even after 4 hours it didn't touch it, so I took Panlor SS instead (a strong narcotic painkiller). People who take that kind of thing when they don't really need it are who I'd consider "overmedicated", and can tend to give those of us who DO need it, and only take it as such, a bad name.

Excedrin (sp) migrane does wonders (I get bad migranes all the time, and this just knocks them out of the sky).

Although, I looked at the ingredients, and it's just a ton of pain killers and some caffiene (to bring it into effect faster).

Well, you can go as far as that with my statement. You wouldn't feed off aspirin. The point is drugs aren't good for you. They'll cure you and save you from pain, disease or discomfort of some other sort, but in the end they aren't good for your health.

define "Good for you." hell, I read somewhere that using a public toilet gives you a better chance of getting aids (so it's technically bad for you).

I mean, it's being paranoid saying that painkillers hurt you bad enough to give you more pain than it's relieving.


Not everything that's not good for you is bad for you

I've heard other people say Excedrin Migraine works for them too. Different medications affect different people in different ways. Excedrin Migraine has no effect on my migraines, nor does Tylenol (Acetominophen). Advil (Ibuprofen) does a little, but has a nasty rebound affect on me (but not on other people I've talked to). Aleve (Naproxen Sodium) is the best of the off-the-shelf pain meds for me, but I know people it doesn't work on at all.

When I get the first indications of a migraine, I try Aleve. Then Maxalt. And then only if nothing else worked after a few hours I'll go to the hard stuff. Other people have different formulas that work for them.

OK then, forget it. I give up. I'd just rather take drugs only as a last resort, not as soon as I notice anything remotely wrong with me.

Yea, Same with me; I'm not going to take something if I don't need it to function normally (in most cases it's a severe injury or headache that keeps me from working).

I've been on medication for around 10 years now for adhd and bipolar.. now I'm down to just bipolar medication but this is the way I see things.

Apparently doctors have a certain "standard" of normal behavior. My personal belief is that the way a person acts is part of their personality and giving them medicine to make them act differently is like telling someone they need a new personality..

I dont believe it has anything to do with changing your personality or who you are.

I have adhd also. I remember as a child my brain would be so scattered. I would try to concentrate on one thing but my brain would be thinking 10,000 things all at the same time. I was never a trouble maker kid, I would just do impulsive things and cause chaous. My brain never slowed down, I would lose things, forget things ect..... It was not that I was stupid, It was just that I could never focus on anything. My room was always messy and my parents did not understand me. No one wanted to admit there may be something wrong with my brain, so I was labeled a rebelious child. My mom would spank me and punish me for being so messy and forgetful. If they had only known that it not all my fault - that my brain did not function the same as others I would have had such a better childhood. I take wellbutrin for mild depression and for adhd. It helps my brain be able to focus better.

If I had cancer and had to take medicine to stay alive I would not hesitate to. So, if the meds I take now help me to "stay alive" mentally why not? It does not change the person that I am, it just helps me be more in control of my thoughts and actions.
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I wish tylenol helped my migraines. They are so severe that I have to take meds. I hate taking narcotics but when the pain is so great that I literally want to bang my head on the wall because I cant take the pain anymore I am greatful that I have them.

Hugs,
~ Missy

I do worry about the over medication of children. Unfortunately, a lot doctors and teachers (yes, teachers) have become too quick at labeling a child with ADHD, etc and thus starting the cycle.

*deja vu... we had a similar thread last year I think...*

Anyways, I've got depression, but I've yet to try medication. I don't want to unless I think it's getting to be too much for me and my family to handle. And I think it's getting to that point. I've talked with a doctor before and he would just like to put me on a low dose for a couple of months. My personnal life has been absolutely crazy for the past couple of years, and I'm just tired of the mental turmoil. The doc believes that first you try therapy, then if that doesn't help, start with low doses of drugs.

Some here know about the issues regarding my nephew. Only about a year ago was he diagnosed with mental issues. He's now 10 and starting meds to try and help calm his brain down. It's pretty bad, and my sister didn't want to put him on meds at first, she was worried about him being dependent on them for the rest of his life. But, my nephew's issues had gotten so out of control that for his own safety, she had no choice but to try meds.

I believe in the good of medications, but, it can be easily abused.

/me hops on ADHD bandwagon.

My brother has it, it can actually be quite debilitating. But the important thing is that all of these things require the person to go through tests (or at least a procedure in order to make a diagnosis). I don't think the US is over medicated as a whole but I do think that certain (legal) drugs are being overused, namely anti-depressants and muscle relaxers.

Something I've always thought is that kids or adults with ADHD may actually have a higher-than-average IQ many times, as it wouldn't seem like a person who wasn't so smart would have a mind that could "move so fast", so to speak. And also since I know you and your kids...as smart as you and they are, it supports my theory.

I don't know what it is but nowadays everybody seems to have adhd or at dyslexia...

Not offending anybody here, it's just that I notice.
As if they try to blaim something on their disorder...

I have about up to 7 people in my class ("year") with "dyslexia"! That can't be. I'm sure if all those people would have read much more in their childhood there would be only one at best.
And if you have trouble concentrating or are a bit quick tempered you suddenly have adhd...

I think it's the other way around. People who used to be classified as having bad behavior or being slow learners reaped the benefit of medical science finally identifying a root cause for disorders that cause these symptoms, and hence there are now medications that can correct them.

A person with ADHD who took an IQ test before receiving treatment and scored less than 100, with treatment might now score 120, for example. Would it be the medication making them "smarter", or just correcting a medical condition allowing their mind to focus for the first time in their lives?

500 years ago before cancer could be diagnosed, people would just die at a young age and others would just assume that it was the way things are...some people live longer than others. Then when medical science advanced, people had cancer "all of the sudden"? It too was the other way around...the unknown became known.

Good point, although I think there's more cancer nowadays because we made the world dirtier.

Although that's a factor, I suspect that cancer is less prevalent now than in older times.

Thanks for the kind words Chris. However you have also witnessed first hand the downfalls of adhd and depression also.

While our brain is thinking a million things at the same time <and yes, a high iq comes along with adhd> it causes us to lose things, forget silly things, not be able to finish a project because in the middle of it we are thinking of 30 other things to do, causes us to be messy ect............... It is not easy to overcome all of the downfalls that come along with it. As you and I know it was a main cause of the end of our relationship. You are very orderly and we are very chaotic.

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Shy, dont wait any longer. Get put on meds honey. You will not believe the difference it will make in your life. The worst thing that can happen is they dont help you at all and you stay the same.

All my life honey I struggled and it only got worse. I could not figure out why I felt the way I did. It was frustrating and made me cry. Just do it. The improvement in your life will be so amazing. You will be so much happier with yourself and in turn everything around you will improve also.

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As far as testing for adhd my boys went through months of testing. I did not take it lightly and refused to allow them just to be labeled. They went to medical doctors, phychologists, and therapists. They did paper testng, computer testing. I was involved in the evaulations and so were their teachers and whole school system. Everyone was behind me to help me and support me. I was in denial for a long time but in the long run I am so glad it all worked out.

Much Love,
~ Missy

I get the feeling that if my depression was medicated, people wouldn't know who I was any more. Fun. I do prefer to deal with it on my own -- although it sometimes consumes me, I feel that by beating it I've achieved something. I have a few other medical conditions that can be medicated, but I try to avoid it if I can.

Re: Are American teens over-medicated?
 

Yes they are over medicated.

I am confident that most cases of "ADHD" are really just a combination of a high suger/caffiene diet and lack of dicipline.

I knew one guy who took ritalin, and while I think he was a valid case for its use, I cannot accept that the large difference in cases in the UK and US is down to people in the UK not reporting or addressing cases of it.

I would go even further and say that the population of the US is overmedicated, esp. when it comes to painkillers. They have a tendency towards higher doses than we do here, purely because someone stoaked up on painkillers is going to recommend the doctor who perscribed them. This is evidenced by the larger number of people who end up addicted to painkillers in the US.

ADHD is probably one of the most wrongly diagnosed medical conditions about, right enough. Although it doubtlessly exists, there's a lot of cases where doctors have jumped to the conclusion of ADHD.