Are American teens over-medicated?

[missyob]

I dont know if adhd is overdiagnosed but this pisses me off. How can you people sit there and judge others?

You dont know what it is like. You dont understand the frustrations we go through. I am not crazy, I dont enjoy taking drugs, but at the same time they help.

The drugs dont change the person that I am. They help my mind function a little more normal.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I am not going to argue this point with all of you. What I am going to say is that for me and 2 of my sons the miracle of modern medicine has helped us live fuller lives.

~ Missy

[zootm]

Hey, I'm not saying they're bad for you. I'm not saying you shouldn't take them. I'm explaining why, despite the fact I have depression, I don't take medication, since there's a lot of very "pro-medication" views here. Thought it would be interesting to throw in my differing viewpoint.

The overdiagnosis of ADHD is a known issue, there was a lot of comment in the media about it a few years back (there was even an episode of South Park about it, heady heights indeed).

[shakey_snake]

Easy Missy.
My Youth minister has ADHD.
I understand what it can be like, because he's never taken meds for it and sometimes it can get to him. But, most the time it isn't noticable, because he's learned to control it by himself. From what I understand, he struggled a lot to over come it when he was younger, because he had it real bad. But his parents were determined that it was something he could over come, and he has.

Now, I'm just trying to show counter points becasue I do think perscritions are over diagnosed, especially for people with real minor cases of depresion or add or adhd

I graduated high school with 250 kids and probably 50 had been diagnosed with one of the three and on perscriptions for most their lives.

[protegechris]

You're never going to understand a condition unless you have or have had it.

[mysterious_w]

Seen an interesting Tv show a few weeks ago, following a TV chef trying to make our cheap school dinners healthy. (Everyone in the Uk will know of it)

One family agreed to try it on their 9 year old, cutting out the chips and sugar and having lots of veg. instead.

They then remarked it was a miracle, that he never had trantrums anymore and was so much better behaved.

Now, obesity rates are higher in the US than here so I assume generally diet is poorer. I wonder if you banned the kids from the Sugar Cereals and McDonalds for a week and made them eat veg instead what would happen.

[mark]

ADD sucks. Makes me an annoying little shit. Course, maybe im just an annoying little shit anyway.

[ScorLibran]

Originally posted by zootm
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.

Then you've never had severe depression.

Originally posted by shakey_snake
My Youth minister has ADHD.
I understand what it can be like, because he's never taken meds for it and sometimes it can get to him. But, most the time it isn't noticable, because he's learned to control it by himself.

Then he's never had severe ADHD.


Think "degrees", people. There is a wide range of how a medical condition can affect different people. If you can "beat it" without medication, then you never had it tough in the first place. I've seen firsthand how hard the battle can be for someone who is very smart, has a lot of willpower, and yet who actually has a severe instance of such a condition.

If you can beat it without meds, then you never needed the meds in the first place. And for most people with ADHD that I've known, this is exactly what they did...try to beat it without medical assistance. Usually for years. Some of them did beat it...the ones only mildly affected by the condition (or didn't have it in the first place). The ones who suffered a much stronger instance of the condition had to take meds.

To hear people say "yeah, I had depression/ADHD/etc., but I 'beat it' without meds"...this only tells me they either didn't have what they thought they had, or had a relatively minor impact from it in the first place.

I'm not just blindly defending Missy because I care about her...I've held this argument for years before I ever met her and her kids, and it's based on many, many people I've known with these types of medical conditions.

"This happens too much in the US" isn't a valid argument unless you're bringing case studies to the table. Some people really need medication. Some don't need it and don't take it. Some don't need it but are mistakenly diagnosed and prescribed. You'll have all types of these scenarios all over the world. The best that can be done is to handle each case, one-by-one, to make sure the best solution is being pursued, and to correct the situation when it's not.

Originally posted by mysterious_w
Seen an interesting Tv show a few weeks ago, following a TV chef trying to make our cheap school dinners healthy. (Everyone in the Uk will know of it)

One family agreed to try it on their 9 year old, cutting out the chips and sugar and having lots of veg. instead.

They then remarked it was a miracle, that he never had trantrums anymore and was so much better behaved.

I wouldn't call curing a simple sugar imbalance a "miracle". It's a happy ending to a mild nutritional issue, but not a miracle. It's not like the kid had ADHD.

[bgesley]

The paradox of the overdiagnosising of ADHD is that, sure, maybe the kid doesn't have ADHD, maybe he really is just undisiplined, but I'll tell you one thing, diagnosing the kid incorrectly with ADHD and putting him on ritalin could very well be the most beneficial thing for him. Also keep in mind that it isn't just children who are being diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Assuming that the undiciplned children are misdiagnosed but the undiciplned adults aren't doesn't make any sense to me.

As I said earlier my brother has ADHD, he's always had it, ever since I could remember. You can also tell when he's not using his meds, the difference is between Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. However my dad on the other hand has just recently been diagnosed with ADD. Here is a guy with the a very organic diet and incredibly intelligent (UCLA, CAL, and a few others). The problem is both of them, tho of the same blood, are two completely different people both with the very likely possibility of having ADD. I even thought for awhile that I might even have it (my sister couldn't have ADD if you injected it into her veins, she's solid) but I became comfortable that its probably because I'm just lazy.

I should at least get tested tho..thuroughly.

[mark]

doesnt ritalin have the exact opposite effect when no needed?

edit: BTW, mine isnt that bad. Theres no H, and the main problem, besides being an arse, is difficulty concentrating in school and stuff.

[mysterious_w]

I don't concentarte in school, my mind wanders in every lesson, and I can't concentrate

It's because school's boring, not because of ADHD.

[bgesley]

Originally posted by mark
doesnt ritalin have the exact opposite effect when no needed?

never heard of that, but I don't see how its chemically/biologically possible. It might render a different effect (but I doubt it) but I sincerely doubt taking ritalin would make your mind wander even more if you were not diagnosed with ADD.

[Print]

Drugs are good

[bgesley]

I'm reporting anyone who says "Drugs er bad mmmk"

[mark]

"Drugs er bad mmmk"

[psyfive]

Throughout highschool I didn't take so much as an asprin. The only prescription I used was my eyeglasses. Right now I take the occasional headache pill to help with well headaches.

[missyob]

I am sorry. I did not mean to get so passionate about this.

People say change your diet... discipline more.... I did all of that.

You just dont understand unless you live with it..................................

[zootm]

Originally posted by ScorLibran
Then you've never had severe depression.

That's what I said. In fact, my post gave a fairly similar viewpoint to yours. You certainly didn't counter it in any way.

I've met people with serious depression, and yes, they should be medicated. In fact, I know at least 2 people who would have either killed themselves (they both tried, a number of times) or have to be on constant watch without medication. The argument here isn't that medication has no purpose, rather that it is used more than it should be. I know a lot of people are jumping to "defend" medication, but it is not being criticised where it is necessary.

At least not by me.

Originally posted by mark
doesnt ritalin have the exact opposite effect when not needed?

Yes that is true

[xzxzzx]

Originally posted by squakMix
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).

Caffeine potentiates the action of adrenaline, which reduces pain. Caffeine by itself can be effective against headaches.

Originally posted by mark
doesnt ritalin have the exact opposite effect when no needed?

No, actually, it has the exact same effect when "not needed", which gives rise to illegal use. It's somewhat like a hyper-strong caffeine. Caffeine still improves your ability to concentrate.

Originally posted by missyob
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.

... that is not the "worst" thing that can happen.



I think concentration can be learned, and often the biggest block to concentration is diet and environment. Note that ritalin (as an example) will increase one's ability to concentrate regaurdless of cause.

In the world of programming, there is much said and discussed over concentration, because it is an essencial to that kind of work - and personally, I have learned ways to concentrate far more intensely and far more easily over the past couple of years. I hear meditation is often highly beneficial, and it's something I'd like to try.

Ever find it hard (or impossible) to concentrate when you're hungry? Your blood sugar levels are low, so it's not suprising. Something a "simple sugar imbalance" can easily cause.

I've more to say, but... at risk of sounding hypocritical regaurding past things I've said, perhaps it's better that I didn't offend anyone.

[will]

Originally posted by missyob
I am sorry. I did not mean to get so passionate about this.

People say change your diet... discipline more.... I did all of that.

You just dont understand unless you live with it..................................

missy i never ment to say that your kids are misdiagnosed.

Like i say, i knew someone with ADHD who i think that drugs were the right course of action for him, and I trust you when you say that it was right for your kids.

However, the sheer difference in number of cases between the US and the UK can't just be coincedence. There must be a reason why so many more kids are on drugs for ADHD in the uk than in the us.

Personally, i think this is because of misdiagnosis in the US, but I may be wrong.

[ScorLibran]

Originally posted by will
However, the sheer difference in number of cases between the US and the UK can't just be coincedence. There must be a reason why so many more kids are on drugs for ADHD in the uk than in the us.

Personally, i think this is because of misdiagnosis in the US, but I may be wrong.

I'm guilty of jumping to the defense of people being medically treated for ADHD as well, as I've known and been close to many.

When you refer to more people in the US than in the UK being treated medically for ADHD, I'm sure you're assuming a ratio per capita, right? And I'd agree that even per capita the number may be unusually high in the US.

Beyond that, though, not only might there be a higher rate of misdiagnosis and "over-treatment" of people who either don't have ADHD or who have marginal cases that should first be addressed with non-medical methods, but I wonder if there also is a higher rate of actual ADHD in the US because of genetics or environment or both.

It's something else to think about...misdiagnosis/mistreatment may only be one of several problems concerning ADHD. If there are more people per capita in the US who really do have this illness than there are elsewhere in the world, then that would be equally as alarming as over-medication in my opinion.

Originally posted by missyob
What I am going to say is that for me and 2 of my sons the miracle of modern medicine has helped us live fuller lives.

~ Missy

Are you saying not one but two of your sons have adhd too..?

[missyob]

Originally posted by Michgelsen
Are you saying not one but two of your sons have adhd too..?

Yes, 2 of my 3 boys has adhd. They say it is passed down from the parents.

I have adhd and so does their dad......... Poor kids. Only my son Dylan got lucky.

--------

Hey Will
I really got thinking about what you said about misdiagnosis. In my situation that is not the case. If it were the boys would be on higher doses and I would just throw my other son on meds for fun

We all live in a really fast paced society. The family structure as we knew it 50 years ago is no longer. Mom does not stay home with the kids rather she is out working/having a carreer/making money to buy more toys. The rate of single moms out there <raises hand> that have to work to support the family is greatly higher. If I had the resources I would definately stay home with the boys.

So because of that what we have is children that are unsupervised and parents that are so overworked and overstressed that they dont have the patience to deal with the kids. It is easier to feed them pills and have them zone-out to behave than deal with the real issues and let them be kids and make mistakes.

My ex-husbands brother is a prime example of this - Their son has adhd, but instead of making adjustments for this they have this kid so doped up on meds. He is so over-medicated that he just exsists. Sure he behaves like a little soldier but is that is what is best? My opinion, no way.

Years ago my sons and I did alot of therapy with a specialist for adhd. We learned behaviour modification along with other techniques to deal with the adhd. I guess it is easier for me to accept the boys adhd because I can totally relate with them. -- I understand the frustrations they go through and the questions they ask.

I am just so greatful that god blessed me with such great kids. I could not ask for better - Sure their rooms are a mess, and they lose stuff all the time and chores dont always go as planned, but I love them for the people they are and the adults they will become.............

Originally posted by missyob
Yes, 2 of my 3 boys has adhd. They say it is passed down from the parents.

adhd does get passed down onto the kids, but, as with almost everything, a great deal depends on the upbringing too. I don't know how much (50-50, or 30-70 or 70-30 or whatever) but it's true. (not saying you did anything wrong with the upbringing of your kids! They probably would have gotten adhd anyway, but maybe in a less severe form, who knows.)

Also, kids with adhd aren't dumber but they aren't more intelligent too. They are just normal if it comes to intelligence, but need a medicine like ritalin to be able to fully develop.

I know because my mother is a child/youth psychiatrist and obviously has a lot to do with children that have adhd, so I checked with her.