Ritalin Me This...

[teverton1]

[mrreowwr_kittty]

1. That's funny. And true. nt

[aquart]

3. Not even slightly.

Well, maybe for people who don't have ADD. But all it does for those who DO is add a filter that most people have normally...so that the clicking of a pen isn't all I hear in a classroom. It doesn't make a dull teacher more exciting...or negate the value of a good one. Or remove the need to study really hard.

I can't even imagine taking this stuff for fun. I never notice anything. Don't feel high. Just less irritable. When I stop it's other people who notice and remind me to take it.

Now that I can't buy a Sudafed without my passport, it makes me nervous that people are calling more attention to a drug that is already a nuisance to get.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. I know soooooo many young people that are on these meds it's not even funny.

Yes, there are people who legitimately need them but I just don't believe there are that many kids with ADHD. One doesn't have to be a Scientologist to be alarmed by what appears to be medical experiments being done on children who have no power to refuse them.

[aquart]

11. I agree. There's a lot of lazy, convenience prescribing.

But I also don't ever want to see disruptive kids in mainstream classrooms. Period.

I don't know what would have happened if I'd been diagnosed as a child. I wouldn't have faked the multiplication table for twenty years? Mostly, I expect I wouldn't have seemed prohibitively high maintenance in so many areas, personal and career. But I don't know.

I like not screaming. I like having an explanation why following instructions always seemed so much harder for me than others. Especially a list of oral ones. I like having strategies to keep from being overwhelmed by something as small as doing dishes. I like being able to explain what's wrong, instead of endless people saying, "You know what's wrong with you? You...."

But I would like doctors and teachers to be very sure of their diagnosis. Telling a child he is defective enough to require medication or any other remedial treatment is NOT a small thing. Nothing I have seen yet tells me anyone is taking that into account.

[Thirtieschild]

6. Thanks for pointing this out.

Our son needed Ritalin as a child but hated it, would pretend to take it and then spit it out, said it slowed him down too much. He now realizes that what felt like a slowing down actually allowed him to focus. He takes it as an adult; without it his life is pretty much chaos.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

8. How is his life on it?

Is he a reasonably productive person or is he like my bf's adult son, who focuses better on the computer games he spends several hours a day playing?

Not trying to be snarky or anything, it's an honest question.

[Thirtieschild]

15. He's 42 now and his life is much better with Ritalin than without

With it he's productive because he's focused. Without it his life is chaotic. For him, at least, needing Ritalin as a child says he would need it as an adult. I don't doubt that it's given when and where it's not needed, but when it is needed it's a blessing. Can make all the difference.

[Thirtieschild]

16. I wonder if the addiction to computer games is a sign of another problem

Our oldest son (not the one who needs Ritalin) is 50 and is addicted to computer games. In spite of scoring in the top two percent in intelligence, he works at a clerical job and spends the rest of his time playing World of Warfare. He has an addictive personality, major depression and, although he's never been diagnosed, has many of the symptoms of Asperger's.

[aquart]

10. I don't feel the slowing. I just don't feel raw.

If I don't feel raw, I don't fly off the handle because other people's endless nervous noises aren't driving me insane. And I can politely ask you not to rattle that goddamned cellophane instead of screaming at you to stop.

This seriously improves my interpersonal relations.

[Warpy]

2. That's unfunny and untrue

Yes, it's overprescribed to kids suffering from bad parenting. However, any parent whose kid is sent home with a note from the school saying he's hyperactive needs to get that kid evaluated by a child psychologist or neurologist who specializes in it.

When a kid needs the drug, he needs it so badly that he will ask for it if Mom forgets.

It doesn't make him high. It allows him to concentrate.

Stupid cartoons like this one will frighten already nervous parents into delivering us another generation of Republicans unable to concentrate on anything longer than a sound bite.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

7. Big Pharma has delivered us a generation of young people

Who can't function without meds and aren't functioning very well on them. Case in point (and this is one of *many* young people I personally know on ADHD meds) is my boyfriend's son. 19 years old, takes an Adderol in the morning and Clonodine at night to bring him down. No continued therapy, no behavioral modification of any kind to get him up from in front of the computer games. Other than taking a few classes at community college (good thing since it keeps him on his dad's insurance) he does NOTHING. Oh, and the meds that supposedly make him better able to concentrate in class don't seem to be helping him turn in his assignments on time so he's barely passing his classes. I realize this is one anecdote and plural of anecdote aren't data but I can think of 3 other young people I know, right off the top of my head, who are almost EXACTLY like him. Yes, I also know people who take these meds and are helped tremendously by them. But you yourself acknowledge that they are overprescribed to kids with bad parents. I don't think that's a rare occurence by a longshot.

[aquart]

12. The condition is genetic.

Why is your boyfriend a bad parent?

[Warpy]

13. Bullcrap

The point is that some kids can't function without the drugs, something that goes against your belief system but is entirely consistent with reality.

There is plenty of blame to go around for big pharma's price gouging and unethical advertising. However, they also supply a hell of a lot of medicine that a hell of a lot of people need to live longer and more functional lives.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

14. You have made a gross, and false assumption about my belief system, madam.

Insulin kept my diabetic father alive for 20 years. I myself turned to anti-depressants during a bad time in my life. I'm not a nut who doesn't believe in medication. I have said REPEATEDLY that there are legitimate uses for ADHD drugs. However, in my own observation, based upon people I know personally, there are some highly questionable ones as well.

[SIMPLYB1980]

4. Ritalin helped me in school when I was young.

It is over prescribed, but for some it makes a world of difference.

[monmouth]

9. My daughter was ADD, Ritalin was a lifesaver. Her grades, attitude,

and general demeanor greatly improved. We started with half a pill then graduated. No sugar in the diet. She finally would sit still, listen, had a good appetite and started to enjoy school for a change. She only stayed on it until around fourth grade, but she was a good candidate for it.