One in four US kids on chronic medications

[ShawnD1]

Won't somebody please think of the fish!?

On topic, I've been saying this for a while. People are over medicated for everything across all age groups. Even for things that should be simple, minor cough/cold, minor head ache, sleep aides, etc.

Either that or people of the past are not medicated enough.

My dad was telling me a story about how he was really tired and he fell asleep while driving and ended up in the ditch. I was like LOL WHERE WAS YOUR ADDERALL.

It also seems like a lot of older people should be on anxiety medication. They go completely insane thinking the blacks are going to rob them, the young whipper snappers are going to yell at them, the "marxists" (refering to obama) are going to confiscate their savings if kept in a bank account, jews on wallstreet are going to take their 401k. Seriously, take some chill pills already. It's not normal to be that fucking crazy.

 

[moshquerade]

I read children's medical histories every day. One in four might be a bit high for what I am seeing, but maybe more like one in ten in my area. Still, too many are on meds for ADD, ADHD, etc., and instead I would like to see their parents take parenting classes.

 

[ShawnD1]

I read children's medical histories every day. One in four might be a bit high for what I am seeing, but maybe more like one in ten in my area. Still, too many are on meds for ADD, ADHD, etc., and instead I would like to see their parents take parenting classes.

As a person who works with teeth you probably have a lot of fucked up stories.
"he brushes his teeth then he drinks a can of coke before bed"
*teeth are completely destroyed*

 

[shortylickens]

The day congress allowed prescription medication to be advertised was the start of a huge downward spiral in American society.

Rich people have the most expensive diseases, and the U.S. is still a rich country compared to the rest of the world.
We talked about this issue a lot in economics class.

 

[moshquerade]

As a person who works with teeth you probably have a lot of fucked up stories.
"he brushes his teeth then he drinks a can of coke before bed"
*teeth are completely destroyed*

actually.... it's child abuse some of the shit I see. I always liken it to if you had that much infection present on the kid's arm or leg and you didn't get it taken care people would be outraged, but yet... it's a dental infection in their mouth and people will just let it go like it's nothing.

some parents need to be slapped silly. D:

 

[mjrpes3]

As schools turn into testing centers, is it any wonder kids have an attention deficit? They hate that shit. And when kids realize the shit is mandatory and path they have to take to be "successful" in life, they get depressed.

So drugs are the answer to our attention deficit and depressed children.

 

[TraumaRN]

I'll say as a nurse I see a disturbing number of kids on ADD drugs or various other anti-depressants/psychotics. And young kids too.

I dont know who to blame, the parents who insist there is a problem with their kids or the doctors who prescribe the shit.

 

[moshquerade]

I'll say as a nurse I see a disturbing number of kids on ADD drugs or various other anti-depressants/psychotics. And young kids too.

I dont know who to blame, the parents who insist there is a problem with their kids or the doctors who prescribe the shit.

both!

 

[ichy]

It couldn't possibly be because we have polluted every square mile of our country with permissive allowance and lax regulations of poisons and toxic substances, many of which are proven to interfere with development of the nervous system and brains of animals (as well has humans).

Its true that we know quite a bit about how any one particular chemical can affect developing brains or nervous systems, but we don't know jack shit about combinations of them that appear together.

i.e. we do LOTS of research on how chemical A (alone) can affect development, but have almost NO understanding of what chemical A + B + C does (because nobody looks at that).

And so the solution is to take even more chemicals?

Seriously, look at how many fat kids there are nowadays. Lack of exercise probably does far more harm to them than anything else.

 

[sdifox]

If true that is really fucked up.

 

[ichy]

As schools turn into testing centers, is it any wonder kids have an attention deficit? They hate that shit. And when kids realize the shit is mandatory and path they have to take to be "successful" in life, they get depressed.

So drugs are the answer to our attention deficit and depressed children.

In schools back in the day kids got beaten if they didn't get the answers right. Sounds a lot more stressful than today's easy standardized tests.

I still say the problem is lack of exercise and opportunity to work out aggression. We need more PE and more competitive sports (the kinds with winners and losers, none of this everyone's a winner crap). Kids aren't meant to be inactive.

 

[sdifox]

I know I am going to sound like an old fart, but when I was going to elementary school, the first thing we did when we got to school was to clean the school. windows, tables and floor. Then we had lunch/recess where kids go nuts running around. It was kind of hard to find time to get fat.

 

[NFS4]

http://www.noob.us/humor/south-park-the-best-treatment-for-add/

QFT

 

[xanis]

I'll say as a nurse I see a disturbing number of kids on ADD drugs or various other anti-depressants/psychotics. And young kids too.

I dont know who to blame, the parents who insist there is a problem with their kids or the doctors who prescribe the shit.

I could be crazy, but I swear I've heard of kids in elementary and middle school being on antidepressants...

 

[shortylickens]

I could be crazy, but I swear I've heard of kids in elementary and middle school being on antidepressants...

My parents made me take prozac in the 5th grade.
And that was 1990.

 

[ShawnD1]

My parents made me take prozac in the 5th grade.
And that was 1990.

Does it actually work?

Sure seems like a lot of people are given prozac and other SSRI antidepressants for no reason. SSRI drugs are for people who are prone to panic and anxiety disorders. SSRI drugs usually make people chill out and stop worrying, be less neurotic, be less obsessive, be less compulsive. When they are given to depressed people who are already chill but have problems with motivation or desire to do anything, it often makes their condition worse.

Did you have panic attacks in grade 5?

 

[shortylickens]

Does it actually work?

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?

 

[yhelothar]

The article linked in the OP is absolutely on target in that while ADHD is real, the diagnosis is not well defined enough.

While it's true that certain genetic variations have been mapped out to be highly linked to ADD, research also shows that lack of proper socialization and long term engagement in impulsive behavior may wire the brain to be characteristic of ADD, that is with a poorly functioning prefrontal cortex, or the planning/impulse control part of the brain.

So while ADHD may have a genetic basis, it also has a parenting/socialization basis as well. It may seem reasonable for those with the genetic mutation to receive medication, but clearly those with ADHD due to the latter reason seems unreasonable.

 

[ShawnD1]

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?

You seem like a very emotional person. I'm guessing yes the SSRI did help.

The article linked in the OP is absolutely on target in that while ADHD is real, the diagnosis is not well defined enough.

If by not well defined you mean the definition is almost 100% wrong. ADHD should be defined as a condition where people can't pay attention even when beaten with a belt. Instead, people are labeled ADHD simply because they don't want to pay attention. There's a big difference.

Expectations of kids are weird. Why does any parent think a kid should like school? I'm pretty sure 99% of people hated school. A lot. Then when their own kid doesn't like school "omg he has some disease that makes him not want to listen to a bunch of stupid shit nobody cares about!!!"

 

[yhelothar]

You seem like a very emotional person. I'm guessing yes the SSRI did help.



If by not well defined you mean the definition is almost 100% wrong. ADHD should be defined as a condition where people can't pay attention even when beaten with a belt. Instead, people are labeled ADHD simply because they don't want to pay attention. There's a big difference.

Expectations of kids are weird. Why does any parent think a kid should like school? I'm pretty sure 99% of people hated school. A lot. Then when their own kid doesn't like school "omg he has some disease that makes him not want to listen to a bunch of stupid shit nobody cares about!!!"

Well I have little doubt that people with the genetic polymorphism can pay attention when forced to with a belt, but they are clearly born with a supreme disadvantage in their impulse control that can be helped with medication.

But the problem is that the diagnosis has no distinction between those with the polymorphism and those without.

 

[Monster_Munch]

I think this is inevitable when you have a for-profit health care system.

 

[purbeast0]

i was in the asthma camp growing up, but i still use advair pretty much daily, although i have definitely outgrown my asthma somewhat.

 

[waggy]

Thank the schools. The vast majority of referrals for ADHD are from teachers, principals, or counselors.

this is the big issue. Also having reports of schools FORCING kids on it for no better reasons then to keep the in the seat?

I have no doubt that ADHD is real. but not to the extent that many say it is.

 

[ShawnD1]

i was in the asthma camp growing up, but i still use advair pretty much daily, although i have definitely outgrown my asthma somewhat.

I had asthma as a kid too. Constantly out of breathe for no reason at all. I was skinny and agile, so it wasn't a weight thing. Eventually it just went away and I stopped having asthma attacks.

this is the big issue. Also having reports of schools FORCING kids on it for no better reasons then to keep the in the seat?

Can you blame them? They tell the kid to sit down and shut the fuck up, and he doesn't listen. They tell the parents to teach their kid how to sit down and shut the hell up, and they don't listen. Finally the teachers lose it and say enough is enough, either you put this kid on drugs or we're going to expel him for being an annoying retard.

Fitty years ago they would just beat the hell out of the kid until he shuts up. Drugs would not be used unless beating the shit out of them didn't work. For people who have real mental problems like autism or bipolar disorder, discipline with a belt doesn't work but drugs often do work.

 

[SirStev0]

Shens! You can never have too much Adderall. That shit is fucking awesome.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpeqCzIfFis

Interestingly other than vasoconstriction, Cocaine and Adderall have incredibly similar mechanisms of action.

Stat sounds believable. I know lots of young people who are on medication. I take medication for chronic hypoglycemia, gf's sister is on thyroxine since thyroid was removed, lab partner from engineering project was on thyroxine as well, another engineering classmate was on some kind of depressant because his heart beats way the hell too fast, another class mate was type 1 diabetic.

It doesn't add up to 1/4, but those are only the medications I know about. People usually don't talk about medications they are taking.

Yeah people don't understand that this statics isn't really saying a whole lot. As someone asked earlier 6months of a PPI is probably considered chronic. Most health issue do require some chronic medication.

Thyroid disorders are very common. Type 1 diabetes is pretty significant. Your engineering friend was probably on a beta blocker of either A-fib, SVT, or Flutter.

As far as ADHD meds go, as I posted earlier, that is being much more lead by the schools than parents. A lot of schools won't let problem kids back in until they have been evaluated by a doctor. And if meds aren't started most schools new policies is that the kid is sent home. They dont even bother punishing kids anymore.

Anyways. Pick on Adderall all you want but it isn't really "doping" kids up. It just helps them focus.

Most reports back we get after starting them on the drugs aren't that they are behaving more or are less mouthy and bad. There are whole different drugs for that. We start hearing things like better grades and the ability to actually do 2-3 things at once.

The drugs don't change Behavior which most of the public assumes it does.


Newer more specific drugs for ADHD are out there too. Concerta, Focalin, Vyvanse are all options out there each with different advantages and disadvantages.

And most of them are in extended release form so it isn't like 7 year olds are popping them to get messed up.

With that said, College kids snorting them is a different story all together and see my post above for why.