Medicated for life

[Misfit]

Local Boy

I have a sister who is now almost 37 years old, and I am writing this without her permission and entirely from my own perspective. She was, while in elementary school, diagnosed as being ‘hyperactive’ , the syndrome that preceded A.D.D., I suppose. Children for thousands of years have been more prone to run around and play rather than sit still and be quiet, but once someone came up with a name for it, it became a disease. I suppose in another 20 years it will be called something else, maybe Sit Down and Be Quiet You Rambunctious Knothead Syndrome (or S.D.B.Q.Y.R.K.) . My point is that, from my understanding, coming up with exotic names for common human conditions was very much in vogue when we children of the late 80’s were being pushed through the python of government schools, and my sister was an unfortunate victim. I remember her being sent to psychiatrists and counselors and specialists. I remember her being put on Ritalin or ‘speed’ as it was called. It was explained to us that the ‘speed’ would slow her down and help her to focus. If that logic doesn’t qualify as witch-doctorism masquerading as science, I don’t know what does.

 

[glhs837]

I know a young man who at about age 16, after playing this medication game since the age of 6 or so, flat out told his mother that enough was enough, from here on in, he would only be medicated as he chose.........and has been a much happier young man for it, he's 21 now, and much happier than he was back then.

 

[Dakota]

Local Boy

I have a sister who is now almost 37 years old, and I am writing this without her permission and entirely from my own perspective. She was, while in elementary school, diagnosed as being ‘hyperactive’ , the syndrome that preceded A.D.D., I suppose. Children for thousands of years have been more prone to run around and play rather than sit still and be quiet, but once someone came up with a name for it, it became a disease. I suppose in another 20 years it will be called something else, maybe Sit Down and Be Quiet You Rambunctious Knothead Syndrome (or S.D.B.Q.Y.R.K.) . My point is that, from my understanding, coming up with exotic names for common human conditions was very much in vogue when we children of the late 80’s were being pushed through the python of government schools, and my sister was an unfortunate victim. I remember her being sent to psychiatrists and counselors and specialists. I remember her being put on Ritalin or ‘speed’ as it was called. It was explained to us that the ‘speed’ would slow her down and help her to focus. If that logic doesn’t qualify as witch-doctorism masquerading as science, I don’t know what does.

Many years ago, they did not know the dangers of Ritalin, but now, there is evidence that has shown those placed on Ritalin have a tendency to become addicted to hard drugs later. I would really think long and hard before ever putting a child on Ritalin. In fact, I simply wouldn't do it. There are many other methods out there. My youngest is ADD by not hyperactive. I have him on a high protein diet, no sugary sodas and no video games during the school week. It has helped a great deal.

 

[acommondisaster]

My sister in law and her husband were rotten parents. Their motto was "find something wrong with the kid and then blame all his bad behavior on the affliction." They felt it got them off the hook as parents, if the kid was bad, it wasn't their lack of parenting, it was his (insert syndrome here). If they couldn't get a diagnosis, they'd go find another therapist.

When I saw my nephew at age 15, he was a raging mess. I mean a punch holes in the walls, push people and toddlers out of the way, kick doors in, walk out into the middle of a busy street kind of mess. When they finally got him to take all of his meds, he was passed out in a lawnchair 15 minutes later. To me, that was an indication that he was on too many meds and that he needed more help. My SIL insisted that he had to have them all to survive.

Finally, he was taken from the home. He was put into a group home and taken off all meds. They gave him responsibilities and showed him that there were consequences and rewards for his actions. It was a long road, but he's an adult now, living on his own, paying his rent and bills and saving up for a car. He still has to see a professional and he's closely monitored, but he's finally a functional human being.

I'm not saying your sister is your parent's fault, but there have been a lot of therapists who make a living off of labeling kids, and it gave parents a reason for a child's behavior, rather than a solution for the behavior.

 

[skilletGirl]

Just putting in my own opinion based on personal experience. ADHD is absolutely a real thing that has to do with chemicals In the brain. Putting a young child on stimulants is a terrible idea but say after the age of ten if they're showing signs then look into some non-stimulative meds that help it. BUT at least from personal experiences ADHD is a living hell. It's a tornado of thoughts rampaging through your head at a million miles an hour. It is literally impossible to do anything productive. After being put on vyvanse, a medicine like adderall or Ritalin, the racing thoughts stopped, most anxiety went away, and I'm still a fully functioning person. I'm not just sitting in a chair passed out. So while I agree that some are over medicated I just wanted to throw in that ADHD is a serious disease and if a preteen and older has it, it needs to be treated more than just "being hyper"

 

[vraiblonde]

Just putting in my own opinion based on personal experience. ADHD is absolutely a real thing that has to do with chemicals In the brain. Putting a young child on stimulants is a terrible idea but say after the age of ten if they're showing signs then look into some non-stimulative meds that help it. BUT at least from personal experiences ADHD is a living hell. It's a tornado of thoughts rampaging through your head at a million miles an hour. It is literally impossible to do anything productive. After being put on vyvanse, a medicine like adderall or Ritalin, the racing thoughts stopped, most anxiety went away, and I'm still a fully functioning person. I'm not just sitting in a chair passed out. So while I agree that some are over medicated I just wanted to throw in that ADHD is a serious disease and if a preteen and older has it, it needs to be treated more than just "being hyper"

I agree.

ADD and ADHD are real disorders but I also think it becomes a fad and parents use it as an excuse for lack of parenting, like ACD said. It's easier to drug a kid into complacency rather than discipline him or - horror! - accept the fact that he's a little boy who is prone to rowdiness. When Larry's youngest was 8 or 9 some dumb teacher tried to tell us she might be ADHD, which was just ridiculous - she was (and is 10 years later) dreamy and artistic, which we had no intention of drugging out of her, sorry Teach!

Seeing a kid who was "diagnosed" with ADHD by some dummy and then seeing a kid with real ADHD, you absolutely notice the difference.

 

[Bann]

Methylphenidate is highly controversial, that's for sure.

It's important to make educated decisions when medicating anyone, particularly your own child. Absolutely, there has been a lot of overdiagnosing and misdiagnosing of ADHD in young people. While this medication CAN be habit forming, that is usually from over use. It is most certainly NOT prescribed in doses that high.

Believe it or not - methylphenidate, the generic name for Ritalin, is one of the longest and most researched medications being used for children. (been around since 1944, licensed for use in ADHD in 1955, 1st presecribed in 1960)

ADHD and some other conditions are believed to be linked to sub-performance of the dopamine, norepinephrine, and glutamate processes in the brain, primarily in the pre-frontal cortex and peripheral cortex, responsible for self-regulation functions, leading to self-regulation disorders compromising the sufferer's attention, self-control, behaviour, motivation, and executive function; methylphenidate primarily works by reducing the reuptake of dopamine, adenodopamine and norepinephrine which improves the levels and utility of these neurotransmitters in the brain. Methylphenidate possesses some structural and pharmacological similarities to cocaine, though methylphenidate is less potent and longer in duration.[2][3][4]

Making blanket statements that a certain type of medication or drug is dangerous without providing facts is not particularly helpful. Everyone can give their own anecdotal evidence as to how this medication affected a child of theirs, or someone they know. It's not always reliable evidence, though, as they are always so many variables.

I think it's always important to know what the medication is supposed to do, how it works, and why...

Pharmacology
3D space-filling model methylphenidate molecule

Methylphenidate is a benzylpiperidine derivative. It also shares part of its basic structure with catecholamines and phenethylamines.

Methylphenidate primarily acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Methylphenidate is most active at modulating levels of dopamine and to a lesser extent norepinephrine.[13] Similar to cocaine, methylphenidate binds to and blocks dopamine transporters and norepinephrine transporters.[14]

While both amphetamine and methylphenidate are dopaminergic, it should be noted that their methods of action are distinct. Specifically, methylphenidate is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor while amphetamine is a dopamine releasing agent. Each of these drugs has a corresponding effect on norepinephrine which is weaker than its effect on dopamine. Methylphenidate's mechanism of action at dopamine-norepinephrine release is still debated, but is fundamentally different from phenethylamine derivatives, as methylphenidate is thought to increase general firing rate, whereas amphetamine reverses the flow of the monoamine transporters.[15][16][17][18] Moreover, MPH is thought to act as a releasing agent by increasing the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, though to a much lesser extent than amphetamine.[19]


Methylphenidate has both dopamine transporter and norepinephrine transporter binding affinity, with the dextromethylphenidate enantiomers displaying a prominent affinity for the norepinephrine transporter. Both the dextrorotary and levorotary enantiomers displayed receptor affinity for the serotonergic 5HT1A and 5HT2B subtypes, though direct binding to the serotonin transporter was not observed.[20]

Methylphenidate may also exert a neuroprotective action against the neurotoxic effects of Parkinson's disease and methamphetamine abuse.[21]

The dextrorotary enantiomers are significantly more potent than the levorotary enantiomers, and some medications therefore only contain dexmethylphenidate.[citation needed]
ADHD and stimulant dynamics in general
Main article: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder#Pathophysiology

Studies confirm that biological and genetic differences of the kinds predicted by low arousal theory are clearly visible in ADHD sufferers, and have been confirmed both genetically and by in vivo scans of ADHD sufferer brains. MRI scans have revealed that people with ADHD show differences from non-ADHD individuals in brain regions important for attention regulation and control of impulsive behavior.[22] Methylphenidate's cognitive enhancement effects have been investigated using fMRI scans even in non-ADHD brains, which revealed modulation of brain activity in ways that enhance mental focus. Methylphenidate increases activity in the prefrontal cortex and attention-related areas of the parietal cortex during challenging mental tasks; these are the same areas that the above study demonstrated to be shrunken in ADHD brains. Methylphenidate also increased deactivation of default network regions during the task.[citation needed]Methylphenidate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I know people scoff at Wiki as a source - but they do compile info pretty well and site all their sources.