Study: Jump in anti-psychotics for kids troubling

[UpInArms]

http://www.chicagoredstreak.com/output/health/cst-nws-psy17.html

Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs -- in many cases for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proven to work, a study found.

The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold between 1995 and 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children in the mid-1990s to nearly 40 out of 1,000.

<snip>

The findings are worrisome ''because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don't know if they work,'' said lead author Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

The increasing use of anti-psychotics since the mid-1990s corresponds with the introduction of costly and heavily marketed medications such as Zyprexa and Risperdal. Packaging information says their safety and effectiveness in children have not been established.

...more...

[bemildred]

1. Like ferrets, we eat our young.

Didn't I read a while back that our infant mortality rate reversed decades of decline and started to rise again?

[TAPat]

2. It's Big Pharma and their pushers -

My friend's sister is a pusher (salesperson) for one of the Big Pharma Phirms - Prozac and the like.
Now everyone in the extended family is on some mood altering crap or another, including my friend... :silly:

[Cobalt Violet]

4. And the doctors who are paid off to prescribe them.

Scum! Drug your own kids you idiots.

[PinkUnicorn]

6. And the parents

No one wants to actually solve or deal with root causes of problems as its 'too hard', they're 'too busy' so they go for the quick fix they have 'seen on TV' instead of actually solving the problems.

Johnny is depressed because he's 100 pounds overweight? No problem! I'll give him some antidepressants!
Suzie wants to go outside? Obviously hyperactive so I'll give her some sedatives!
Kath cries all night? Dear me, give her some vallium.
Mike is bored in his maths class? Tsk tsk, give him this, this and this.

It's a vicious circle. Anti-p drugs are advertised. Parents dose their kids up on them, the kids become screwed up mentally, parents demand more drugs to fix the problem, pharmaceuticals see a market and advertise their latest drug....

[thinkingwoman]

18. and the schools

insisting all kids behave and learn the same way (quietly and without dissent), while overlooking bullying by fellow students as well as teachers and administrators.

[wordpix2]

22. also, these meds have spawned lots of biz for doctors and psychiatrists

also, for "psychoeducational evaluators" who put the kids through a battery of tests to determine what their learning disabilities (if any) are.

[n2doc]

3. Much of the country is on pharma drugs

I suspect that , if you looked at the 33% who still support dumbya, one might find the proportion in that group much higher. I guess we have to start them out young on tranks (or the equivalent), so we don't actually have to pay attention to them while raising/teaching them.

[Ilsa]

5. We've seen increases in autism, and for some kids, the anti-psychotics

really help. My young son's aggression was way over the top without the Risperdal. It has also worked well in combination with some other meds to help control his severe hyperactivity. So some of the increase is related to an increase in these diagnosis.

Also, I believe doctors are identifying bipolar and other psychiatric problems earlier. The kids' problems were probably blamed on bad parenting or it being an unruly child. Once they get on the meds, they are much better. Maybe 40 out of a 1,000 is about right for the prevalence of these psychiatric disorders. Does anyone have the statistics on this for adults?

Please don't throw the baby out with the bath water on this.

[Mend]

7. you are so right.

I am a child psychiatrist faced with problems in behavior we didn't see 20 years ago. Last week I had a mother call because her 10 year old son was holding a butcher's knife to her....she can't control him, there are no more in-patient units, and the family therapy that is needed will take time to work. Do I calm this kid down with some Seroquel or do we wait six months and hope the talk therapy works before he hurts someone.

[Ilsa]

8. Thank You!

I appreciate you backing me up on this. People freak out when I show them my son's medbox, or tell them that his meds are like a typical housepayment before insurance. They don't understand that we wouldn't be able to live with him, and he wouldn't be able to concentrate and learn, or even get good sleep, if it wasn't for these meds.

Several years ago he was 6 years, 8 months old. I begged his psychiatrist for a trial of Strattera because Adderall and Ritalin didn't work for him. She agreed, but only becasue he is so much alrger than typical for his age, and his 7th birthday was jsut around the corner. Within five days I wasn't having to clean poop out of his underwear any more (usually 2-3 times a day). It was such a sugnificant change that it felt like someone had given me uppers. His focus improved immensely.

Granted, I know some people medicate their kids so they don't have to teach them how to behave, but we weren't able to teach him how to behave until he had the meds.

[DemExpat]

10. There will always be a place for good medications,

its the incredible increase in usage that is so frightening and foreboding, IMO.

:hug:

DemEx

[DemExpat]

9. So, if modern society sees more mental and emotional

problems we don't try to create a healthier, supportive environment for children, and put the growing numbers of disturbed kids on drugs?

I'm of the school of (also) trying within reason to modify the environment to the child instead of the child to the environment. Meds is a one-way and one-sided approach that I do not at all support.

My son had some problems in his early teens, (also with violent obstinance) and I am certain that now a doctor would put him on some kind of medication. I am so glad that we slogged it out interpersonally (with guidance from a child psychologist) and didn't seek help medically.

Its a fine line, I know, and each case is unique, but I still much favor working it out personally and in the family (with guidance) than resorting to any kind of meds. Meds will calm things down, but that's about all IMHO.

DemEx

[Ilsa]

12. My son can't talk this out.

His brain doesn't handle communications very well, leading to frustration, etc. His speech therapist and I have worked to help him understand and communicate better, but the meds help his brain understand and express more.

Meds don't just "calm things down." Sometimes they help brains function better so the person is able to learn. A child has to be able and ready to learn before learning happens. Only one of my son's medications helps him relax and sleep better. He was sleeping only about six hours a night, and that was hwile we tried Feingold diet, GFCF diet, etc.

If our society has more kids with ASD diagnosis, you can bet the meds are going to help alot of them.

[Ilsa]

43. BTW, my child is in an extremely supportive environment.

My son's teachers and therapists comment how fortunate he is to have us for parents because we are willing to do so much for him, both in terms of psychological therapy for all of us and the special therapies he needs. We're looking at having to move eventually to meet his special educational needs. My husband and I have pretty much given up everything extracurricular as a couple to meet his need for stability.

My problem is that people assume that an anti-psychotic (and others) drug can't be used off-label for children with other problems.

[DemExpat]

46. Once again, this thread is about the obvious trend

to prescribe medication for an increasing number of kids with behavioural problems, not criticising individual parents for their choices.

Everybody sees the increase in problems - but many of us do not see medical science as having the answers to environmental/societal/parenting factors to help kids. Certainly some, but not the numbers you see in studies and around us in our children's classrooms.
One class in our elementary school had over half of the boys on Ritalin....if that isn't a sign of something very wrong, then I don't know what is - and I don't believe it is all with those boys.

A psychiatrist friend of ours (with 3 kids) told me that he believes that schools are not good environments generally for boys - they need much more running around/adventure/play to be happy and healthy, in his humble opinion.

DemEx

[Ilsa]

52. You may not think it is not about criticizing parents who make that

very difficult decision, but some replies have made statements about it never being the answer, blaming the doctors, etc. To me, that smacks of rigidity of thought. I've seen sweeping condemnations for the off-label use of meds in kids on this board without regard to those who have had no other choice. And believe me, our choices are almost nonexistant if we want to keep our children living at home.

[Carni]

11. Not trying to argue to be obnoxious

But what I do find appalling is the fact that I keep hearing tales from friends about "school psychologists" and teachers initially diagnosing children as having ADD, ADHD, possible Bi-polar etc etc on and on and then shuffling the kids into *the system*

I just went through a horrendous problem with a substitute teacher at my kid's school who was labeling my daughter as "out of control bla bla"

This substitute was long term in the classroom because the regular teacher had a baby (the sub was there for like three months) Getting to the point the sub was an inexperienced, inept disgrace to the teaching profession IMO

There is one very large female bully in the class who hassles all the other kids.

My daughter who granted doesn't back down to anyone and has an opinion about everything, got herself in the bullies radar and said bully started beating my daughter up on a weekly basis while the substitute was looking the other way.

The sub started to actively dislike my daughter in the midst of all this because my daughter told her she didn't know how to control the bully, OR run a classroom (granted that wasn't too smart on my daughter's part but when the sub would tell the bully to go to the office the bully would say no and the sub would do nothing/she couldn't manage the kid and we are talking 4th grade here)

To make a very long story short after talking to the sub several times about her handling of the bully, I had the audacity to go over the sub's head and talk to the Principal...after I did that suddenly my kid "was brilliant but can't focus.. may not belong in the classroom bla bla bla" (per this 24 year old sub who is still in college and can't even make a 4th grader to go to the office)

I told her in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't be buying that particular piece of swampland.

Since the regular teacher has returned my daughter's so called behavioral problem in the classroom seems to have disappeared and the bully has been suspended twice (the last suspension was for a month)

I guess my point is...what if I had taken that substitute teacher's lead and let her take us down the path of a so called disorder?

It concerns me that maybe some of these kids are being put on drugs that they might not actually need and then consequently are developing problems due to the drugs?

I know there are real cases where mental illness is present, but I don't like some of the experiences I and my friends have had with our children and the system over the last five years.

I am VERY LEERY.

[Ilsa]

13. Apparently you have a child that can speak and understand.

I am talking about the increase in diagnosis of children with special needs who clearly need medication help. I pray every day for being able to talk with my child and to be able to reason and work things out, but my prayers are falling on deaf ears. The meds are the only miracle we've had.

I was more than happy to get assistance from my son's school in setting up what he needs. And I can only hope we can continue so my other child can have a reasonably "normal" life, instead of having to sacrifice his childhood for his brother's behavior problems.

BTW, I don't let Teachers diagnose my children. That is only done by qualified doctors and specialists in pediatric behavior. If a teacher had told me that about my child like your child's teacher, I wouldn't have accepted it either.

People are too willing to undermine the role of meds when they are needed and helpful, trying to make others feel guilty about using them, when they could benefit from them. It's more "blame the parenting" instead of taking a scientific and medical look at what is happening.

[Maddy McCall]

17. No one is undermining the role of meds...it's the overprescribing of them

that's the problem. Especially when the diagnosis comes from a teacher or school administrator instead of a doctor.

[Ilsa]

21. Yes, but are you going to tell me or another parent who is living

this life that we can't have the meds we believe our children need? Who is going to pick out the ones that are getting their meds unnecessarily? It is up to the parents and the doctors, is what I am saying.

Yeah, they probably get over-prescribed. My point is that there is a huge increase in mental health disorders, many of which I believe are congential and caused by environmental factors. I'm not going to tell another parent whose child has been helped by a med that they shouldn't be on it.

[Maddy McCall]

26. You can have whatever you want. Don't take it so personally.

But I think you need to your list of contributing factors: "The growth of big pharma's influence over what doctors prescribe." It's as much a factor as congenital and environmental factors.

[Rex]

39. Must be the chemical your son needed.

:hug: My heart goes out to you, I know what it is like to change adult diapers on a daily basis. IMO, some DUrs don't seem to understand how the brain works. Our brains operate in a chemical wash. Some people have a mixture of chemicals that don't add up to what is needed for the brain to work properly. That's when we add another chemical to try and restore balance. Unlike a computer, humans cannot just replace bad memory or a harddrive when it fails. Doctors have to try different medications to find that one chemical which is missing or will fix an inbalance. Sometimes there is no 'cure' and sometimes it seems like a miracle when the right drug is found.

[Maddy McCall]

16. You fucking rock, Carni.

:yourock:

My son was punitively "diagnosed" with ADHD by a teacher who hated ME. I tried to get him switched to another classroom, to no avail.

The bitch even had the audacity to take him out of the classroom for "testing" without letting me know anything about it.

All punitive, because I filed charges against the PE teacher who abused my son.

Your post was dead on.

Today, my son is homeschooled and happy.

[Ilsa]

23. Would you let a teacher diagnose your kid with cancer?

Of course not. And neither would any reasonable parent let a teacher diagnose their kid with a mental disorder. Anybody who does is plain-out-of-it, and certainly not in control of their own life.

[Maddy McCall]

27. I wouldn't let a doctor who spends 15 minutes with my son diagnose him...

either. Especially when these doctors receive bonuses and vacations for meeting the prescription quota.

[Ilsa]

32. 15 minutes? How about three months of visits, inventories

from me, my husband, and teachers going back to his Early Childhood Intervention records? And my prenatal record and his birth history. Nothing at all "off the cuff" about the way a responsible doctor prescribes a mediation.

[Carni]

33. This sub didn't like me either by the end of the deal

She talked down to me, interrupted me, or talked over me the whole time she was on the phone with me...after trying to politely interject a few times and getting talked over-- I finally said "do you talk to my daughter like this? Not allowing her to get a word in edge wise and talking over her? Because if you talk to her like you have been talking to me, then I think I can tell you what 90% of her problem is--there's no respect being shown by you, so why should she show you any especially when she is getting punched and shoved around and you won't do anything about it!"

Since the regular teacher has returned I have found out that one set of parents actually pulled their son out of this class and school and they put him into another in the district because the classroom was so out of control...the boy was a little guy and the bully was berating him on a daily basis as well.

I don't understand why the woman didn't just suspend the bully and restore order to the mutinous classroom.

Honestly if I had to deal with that woman (the substitute) every day I probably would have been more obnoxious than my daughter supposedly was...she was a real TYPE! arrgghh!

[wordpix2]

19. In CT, teachers are NOT allowed to "diagnose" ADD, LDs, only refer child

to specialists who can. The long term sub should be referred to the principal for a talk so she knows she's not to engage in diagnosing.

[davsand]

29. Lazy or lousy teachers with no medical degree.

My kid had a conflict with her first grade teacher a couple of years ago. Frankly, I also had a conflict with that teacher. She was just EVIL to those kids. Out of fourteen kids in that classroom I know of at least SIX that were scared to death of that woman and the parents had all been in multiple times to discuss the problems with that teacher.

Mu husband and I both (together) met with that teacher three different times to try and get to a resolution and the negative behaviors escalated every time. We tried to stay positive, but none of it helped. The third trip in I told the teacher that my kid was afraid of her and afraid to come to school and that was simply unacceptable. At that point the teacher launched into a long discussion about how "un-educable" kids are today.

Finally, it got to the point that my kid came home in tears begging me not to make her go back to school. We had regular nightmares and some very real signs of depression in a little kid.

I hit my break point and had a "chat" with the school administrator that was less than cordial. I explained to him that from that day forward I was going to make it my mission to SIT in that classroom or else I was gonna have to call Dept of Children and Family Services (our state child protection agency) and file complaints against that teacher with 24 years of experience in that district.

After that conversation, I went back to First Grade for "a while" and actually got phone calls from other parents thanking me for doing it and offering to take turns with me.

At that time, my kid's after school care was with a lady who'd left a job teaching Special Ed and started an early learning center/after school program in her home. She knew my kid extremely well, and she told me point blank that my kid was about as normal as it gets--that she'd observed no behavior, attention, or learning issues EVER in the two years she'd been staying there. In fact, she commented that my kid had a wonderful attention span for that age...

What I realized about an hour into my first day observing in that classroom was this First Grade "devil" is not only a lousy teacher, but she really just doesn't like kids. What REALLY pissed me off was her attempts to tell me that my kid was ADD/HD when I knew damn well she wasn't. Further, that same teacher attempted to tell me my kid had "medical" issues like "restless leg syndrome" or possibly autism, and a host of others. I asked her at the time where her medical degree had come from.

Things were pretty ugly there for a while because that teacher just didn't appreciate my presence in the room. However, there was not word one she could say about it.

We made it to the end of the school year and my kid got away from that teacher. We'd had no issues before and none since.

Now, I defy anyone to TELL me that teacher had any business trying to make a judgment about medicating ANY kid.

After living thru that with my kid, I will say without reservation that I seriously feel that any parent would be negligent NOT to have their kid screened by outside educational professionals or behaviorists before they EVER make a trip to the Doctor's office--unless THEY have seen the behaviors at home or in family life. Do NOT trust the say so of some teacher unless you have seen it too!

Just my two cents.



Laura

[Carni]

38. If my kid's teacher hadn't been a sub I would have done same

There are some wonderful teachers and my daughter has had several (thank god)
but there are also some really bitter jerks running around copping attitudes and making some kids miserable.

I had one sadist teacher myself when I was in the first and second grade (we unfortunately had to have the same teacher for two years--why I have no idea)

I talked a lot and she would stand me in front of the class with masking tape over my mouth 4 days out of 5 for like an hour at a stretch (this was back in the early 70's when stuff like that flew)

My parents tried to get me into another class but the school would not budge.

If I ran into the woman today on the street I would probably have to restrain myself from resorting to physical violence against her person!

Yes, regarding your post if you are told your child is ADD or whatever don't just go to who they refer you to...get an outside opinion from a Dr that has been researched and recommended by someone other than the school system.

[bleedingheart]

36. once again....more sweeping generalizations...

teachers don't prescribe drugs...Doctors prescribe drugs.

The doctors that prescribe drugs for children are either pediatricians or pyschiatrists and they do so only after a great deal of evidence to support that need. Typically the children who are prescribed drugs they don't need are those whose parents have really pushed for it.

For years I said I would never use medication for my son, but his Asperger's Syndrome and depression became so severe that I had to do something. After 4 months of medication my son has improved greatly. He received meds after TWO YEARS of therapy with no drugs.

In your case I think it was political, subsitutes typically want full time jobs. They don't want to make waves if they don't have to and they will do anything not to come across as a problem...either to the buly's parent or to any other parent...but in this case it sounds like it all got out of hand.

However that said, I have seen a great number of obnoxious uncontrollable children and in fact it is hard to find kids that are actually good play dates for my children since so many are spoiled rotten brats.

[seleff]

40. Risperdol for eating disorder

My 17 yr old dd developed anorexia with an underlying depression. First SSRI (Zoloft) didn't seem to help, and I looked it up and saw that it is appetite suppressing. She was switched to Prozac and did a little better, may have been a function of time. Coming out of residential treatment she was still very obsessive with her eating rituals and behaviors, and at still only 90% "ideal body weight" she still was afraid of bingeing and becoming overweight. Her docs prescribed a modest dose of Risperdol which has been going about 8 mo's now. She's in school, doing sports (at 70% of her previous capacity) but it's still a day to day struggle. I always worry that with time on Risperdol she could develop a movement disorder. I'm a believer in the potential benefits of psych meds, but I also am wary of them in chronic situations because of the inexact science of behavioral health.

[Ilsa]

44. Yeah, those dyskinesias are a bitch. You can have a target

level of meds that seems to be balanced and working perfectly, and then that can start, so you have to shift gears again. It's alot of work requiring patience on the part of the parents and child/teen. We've already had to deal with dyskinesia.

[noonwitch]

15. I worked with a kid who was severely mentally impaired/Risperdol

She had been diagnosed originally with autism, because she had a lot of repetitive movements and no speech. She actually is brain-damaged, and very low-functioning. She was also hyper-sensitive to noise and other environmental factors, which led to the autism diagnosis.

Her doctor tried a lot of different meds to see which would work to help her focus. Adderal, Ritalin, etc., had absolutely no effect. Risperdol worked wonders with her. Even her dad, who was opposed to meds, had to admit that it was working very well. He was afraid that Risperdol would shut her down, like a lot of the meds that had been previously tried. It didn't.

[fshrink]

28. Psychiatric disorders'

all have life-time prevalence in the 1 to 5/000 range. As to kids' problems, and adults' problems as well by the way, you can pass the buck to genetics or to some form of medical illness, all you want, their life generated their problems. There used to be a time when agreement was that there was a genetic pre-disposition which was, or not, activated by the environment, which all studies actually supported. Now, since we're in the era of business-no-matter-what, this realistic balance has gone down the drain and the zeitgeist is allways exactly where the money is. It's also way easier to find an explanation in some external force than in one's own life. Just like "terrorism" is a very convenient explanation to avoid looking at our society. When you try to explain this to patients, parents as well, they get, of course, angry, and run to the nearest psychiatrist to get the pill that's gonna bring the behaviors down. Which it will, indeed. If anybody takes Zyprexa, Seroquel, Abilify or Risperdal, anybody will see a decrease in a number of behaviors. They act mostly on the dopamine and serotonin systems with various degrees of receptor specificity and everybody has those. They also act on abunch of other systems, including the histamine system (H1 mostly) which makes them good sedative, and everybody taking a sedative will be, well, sedated.

[Ilsa]

35. The only sedative effect we've observed is when he takes

a CNS depressant, clonidine. His SSRI and anti-psychotic may "sedate" him, but it is only to a range (and high end)of manageable behavior.

"their life generated their problems" -- how would you say that applies to ASD?

[fshrink]

42. I don't know. There are lots of

things we don't know. But trying to understand when *all* the grant money is funneled toward research that is likely to generate behavior- and symptoms-containing products begins to look like a lost cause. It makes helpful clinical work, which is already very difficult, nearly impossible.
Clonidine is in fact mostly an anti-hypertensive. Bizzarely analgesic, in some areas, as well.

[Kailassa]

47. If I don't take thyroxine, I get suicidal, lose concentation,

gradually lose my memory and, if I'm off it too long, I lose the ability to work and can't drag myself out of bed. Anyone seeing me like that, half asleep, crying continually and not knowing how I got that way would diagnose a psychiatric disorder. So do you, in your great wisdom, suggest I should not have the thyroxine, that I should change my lifestyle or attitudes instead?

If you agree that I should take my thyroxine daily to avoid getting like that, then please explain why you make an exception.

[bleedingheart]

37. Ilsa, most people don't understand your plight but would rather

make sweeping generalizations based on heresay and situations that do not apply.

When I was a kid any child who was not "normal" was labeled bad or retarded. That was it. The reason there were no separate diagnoses was that the retarded label was accepted as adequate. That was until parents with children with special needs realized that their children shouldn't be labled that way and doctors agreed.

Today I think that there hasn't been an increase in autism and other disorders as much as these children are finally getting the diagnosis that fits their specific situations. I also think that today we are lucky to have so many therapists who can work with these kids as well as drugs to perhaps make things better.

I have read your threads in the parenting forum and I have to say that you have my admiration and respect.

[Ilsa]

45. Aw shucks, thanks. Yeah the sweeping generalizations about

drugs = evil, are annoying after awhile, especially when people assume all behavior can be cured with "better" parenting or a change in diet. (You can't imagine how much we've spent on therapy.) I haven't had a doctor yet who jumped on the prescription bandwagon first without sending us home with information to read first, and I'm a registered nurse.

I resisted meds for the longest time. Tried some really hard diets for all of us to stay on. My thought is that if the quality of life improves for everyone who was on the verge of running away or offing themselves, then it is probably a good thing. My son communicates better on his meds, too.

[Kailassa]

48. It makes me very angry, Ilsa, when I see people like you being

bullied by self-righteous idiots who think they know more about your situation than you do.

I have handicapped children myself, and get so tired of the presumption of other people who don't believe I'm capable of making a rational decision about parenting.

I'm strongly against drugs myself, except where they are really needed, but obviously, in your son's case, they are. What anti-all-drugs-anywhere people don't realize is that if more parents were like you, there would be fewer kids getting unnecessary drugs. It's not what the caring parents who do their own research do that's the problem, it's the ones who want their kid to have pills because their friend's kid does that are the trouble.

[phylny]

41. BRAVO Ilsa! n/t

[lovuian]

14. I know kids coming in and asking to be put on it cause its

the IN thing to do!!! We are literally a sick society!!!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

24. My ex-gf did that

Prior to starting law school, she decided that she needed Adderall (I think that was the brand) to get a leg up on the other students.

She studied up on what symptoms/what to tell the doctor on the Internet -- but it didn't matter. He put her on it the minute she asked for it -- no test, no nothing.

This was shortly before we split up.

[Ilsa]

31. Good for you that you broke up. She was a manipulator. nt

[wordpix2]

20. one of my students said, "The drug helps me focus but I could focus on

this pencil. I could focus on goofing around."

In other words, the student has to WANT to focus on the work at hand; otherwise, no amount of meds will work.

[Ilsa]

25. The reverse is true also. There are kids who want to

focus, but cannot without the assistance of medication and other adjustments, including the how the work is to be done.

[wordpix2]

30. I agree with that, too---sometimes meds work, true---& somethimes they're

overprescribed.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

34. BRAVE NEW WORLD. We have our SOMA now.

[autorank]

49. Wrong place for conspiracy. No love for Rx companies AT ALL.

First of all, a "pediatrician" is not the person whose opinion I'd value much on the use of psychotropics. Let me remind everybody of the pervasive use of psycho stimulants among children. Pediatricians are the primary source of this. Ironically, these psycho stimulants will trigger psychotic or manic reactions in children with an emerging disorder or with a strong genetic predisposition.

Second, 8.6 out of 1000 is less than 1% of this population. That's less than the expected rates of psychosis and pediatric bipolar disorder. The pediatrician can be as concerned as he wants, it's nothing like the numbers for psycho stimulants.

Third, pediatric psychosis and bipolar disorder (legitimate conditions where these drugs may be used), are not often diagnosed. In fact, there is a strong argument that they're often over looked or under diagnosed.

Psychosis and bipolar disorder have frightening suicide rates for the un medicated and untreated, approaching 15%.

Drug companies are utterly repellent IMHO but the drugs are not when used appropriately.

[file83]

50. THX1138

Why haven't you taken your medication?

[hedgehog]

51. What about the fact that more kids exposed to pesticides, PCBs, mercury,

other heavy metals, higher background radiation, household chemicals etc etc etc? Do you really think we can expose young brains to all those insults and not see some effects? It makes absolute sense that more kids with a genetic predisposition to develop brain disorders are in fact going on to develop those disorders and are requiring treatment. I just thank God every day that the drugs are available. My six year old was crying one day because she was afraid of what the voices in her head were telling her. Try telling me that she's on Risperdal because it's a fad!

[Mythsaje]

53. My ex has our oldest on anti-psychotics...

From what she says it's a very small dose to help him with impulse control...her way of looking at it is that it's a temporary measure to HELP him learn the value of impulse control. If I didn't trust her, I might be worried, but she's smart enough, and educated enough, to know what she's doing.

We talked about it, she explained the situation, and I'm okay with it. For now.

Now the REASON he has had emotional problems is another issue entirely, but that's one hornet's nest I'm not about to start kicking again.