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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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Coma Man's Words
May Not Be His

Experts doubt Houben's 'facilitated communication'

Nov 25, 09 2:28 AM CST
Boy With Asperger's
Lived in NYC Subway 11 Days

Runaway vanished underground

Nov 25, 09 3:00 AM CST
If Sushi's Your Turkey Cure, Steer Clear of 'Ex-Lax Fish'

Anal seepage among pitfalls of escolar, aka white tuna

Nov 24, 09 10:42 PM CST
Biggest Loser Loses Sight of Contestants' Health

Fasting, dehydration, hospitalization daily reality of reality show

Nov 25, 09 10:44 AM CST
SAYS POLL OF AMERICANS

Doubt Rising on Global Warming

But majority still believes in it, wants action

Nov 25, 09 9:50 AM CST
Vast Ocean
Once Covered
Half of Mars

Valley network points to rainy, humid ancient planet

Nov 25, 09 2:05 AM CST
Coma Doc Checking
Dozens of New Cases

Belgian searches for more victims of 'locked-in' syndrome

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Lose Weight: Do a Puzzle

Mental puzzles can help you shed a few pounds, says brain trainer

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New Erectile Dysfunction
Cure: Shockwaves

Researchers say it could provide a longer-term fix

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WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER

India, DC,
Hollywood Mix
at Obama Shindig

GOP, Dems rub elbows with movie stars, media types

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Gas Fumes
May Pump Up
Road Rage

Study finds link to increased aggression in rats

Nov 25, 09 5:24 AM CST
NEW BOOK

Cancer May Have Killed FDR

Possible deception in 1944 election raises lots of what-if questions

Nov 24, 09 2:11 PM CST
Fallout From Hacked Climate Change Emails Intensifies

Scientists worry backstabbing could derail emissions agreement

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|NEXT STORY »

Teen ADHD Drug Abusers Suffer Serious Side Effects

Posted Aug 24, 09 9:30 AM CDT|

(AP) – Calls to poison control centers about teens abusing attention-deficit drugs soared 76% over eight years, a new study shows, highlighting the dangerous consequences of prescription abuse. The calls were from worried parents, emergency room doctors, and others seeking advice on how to deal with side-effects of ADHD drugs, which can include rapid heartbeat and extremely high blood pressure. Four deaths were among cases evaluated in the study.

The study analyzed Poison Control Center data from 1998 through 2005, over which time the number of ADHD drug calls rose from 330 to 581 yearly. Overall, 42% had moderate to severe side-effects, and most ended up getting emergency-room treatment. Kids take ADHD drugs to get high or increase alertness, often unaware of risks. "They say, 'It's FDA approved, how dangerous could it be?'" says one anti-drug advocate.

A bottle of Ritalin sits on the counter of the Post Haste Pharmacy And Surgical Store on June 16, 2003 in Hollywood, Fla. (Getty Images)

The number of kids abusing ADHD drugs is on the rise. (Shutterstock)

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31 comments

VIEWING:

2-bits
Aug 24, 09 10:19 AM CDT

The risks are pretty mild when taken as directed. Ritalin will fuck you up though. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

2-bits
Aug 24, 09 10:46 AM CDT

Speaking as someone who has used Ritalin (and other ADHD drugs) as directed.

| 0 minutes ago

Derni
Aug 24, 09 10:37 AM CDT

All drugs have psoitive and negative effects-students and the family have to weight the benefits-and of course selling them or giving them to friends is not the thing they should be doing ..but we know abuse exists. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

emilywsussman.net
Aug 24, 09 11:01 AM CDT

It's hard on the ol' heart. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Janne
Aug 24, 09 11:05 AM CDT

It's time to get rid of the myth that Ritalin, Concerta and so on, are "medications". They are not. What is called ADHD is not a disease: everyone who gets the info about ADHD being a "chemical imbalance" in the brain, should ask for the test for this; should ask for the normal level of the transmittor substance being said to be lacking; should ask for the level of the transmittor substance in the specific case (own or for the child). They would then get to know there is no such test, there is no "normal levels", there is no "abnormal level" in the case being talked about. And of course Ritalin and other drugs have the same effect on everyone. And research (not US) says clearly that 25 percent of children given ADHD drugs wound up abusing drugs. The "protecting effect" is just more false PR from Big Pharma. Reply

-4

IN RESPONSE:

2-bits
Aug 24, 09 11:16 AM CDT

Your information is wrong. It may be one of the most overdiagnosed conditions in America, but it's out there. There are other factors for determining a diagnosis. This stuff also saves lives.

IN RESPONSE:

Scrambles
Aug 24, 09 11:51 AM CDT

Youth is correct, your information is wrong Janne. You are no better than Tom Cruise stating that psychiatry is a pseudo-science; go to med school then get a psychiatry degree then feel free to spout off your opinions on amphetamines; until then, please spare us your "expert" opinion.

IN RESPONSE:

wwwonderer
Aug 24, 09 1:59 PM CDT

I sorta agree with Janne. ADHD was called sit-down-and-shut-up when I was growing up. I think we are 'diagnosing' too many diseases now days., since ONLY (FDA-approved) drugs can treat disease, It seems like many Drug companies would have the potential to increase profits by 'treating' more diseases. Not to belittle anyone's suffering, but what is restless leg syndrome?

IN RESPONSE:

Spydiggity
Aug 24, 09 2:54 PM CDT

youth is not right. scrambles is not right. the term "chemical imbalance" is based on completely false science. if there was an imbalance, there would be a way to physically test for it. the simple matter is that shrinks make billions in the prescription drug game and it has nothing to do with their desire to make you well. The sad thing is, every year they come up with new things to say is wrong with ppl and then prescribe these ridiculous medications for them. then every so often, one of them grows a conscience and sets out to prove something is just made up. This was done a few years ago with dyslexia. Turns out...there's no such thing. big pharma just wants us taking their expensive drugs, and shrinks are all too happy to write a prescription and tell you to come back in a month for another 80 dollar/20 minute visit. You don't have ADHD, you're just lazy. you don't have dyslexia, you're just stupid. You don't have restless leg syndrome, you don't suffer from depression due to a chemical imbalance, and you aren't bipolar. these are all made up.

-5

IN RESPONSE:

2-bits
Aug 24, 09 3:04 PM CDT

Are you serious? Dyslexia is made up? You're on crack. Maybe you should provide some evidence, because that's a pretty outrageous claim. Neither of us defended the term "chemical imbalance." If you want to know, there is difference in the brains of people with ADHD and people without it. Thing is, most people never take that step. They just see a psychologist who nods his head and says "Yep, ADD." You can read about the neurology here in very simple language. http://www.adhd.org.nz/neuro1.html.

IN RESPONSE:

Cegorach
Aug 24, 09 6:57 PM CDT

"You don't have ADHD, you're just lazy. you don't have dyslexia, you're just stupid. You don't have restless leg syndrome, you don't suffer from depression due to a chemical imbalance, and you aren't bipolar. these are all made up."---- I... I almost don't know what to say. The fact you said seem to think these people are making up shit for money is kinda... stupid. Never mind all those people who do see things upside down or backwards, they are just stupid. Never mind the kid who can't pay attention in class, he is just lazy. Never mind that weird growth on your neck, you have been hexed by a wizard, and there is nothing we can do for you. ---Spydiggidy, you seem to want to stay in the dark ages, where nothing can change, and everything that doesn't conform to your narrow minded preconceived notions are "just some people trying to get more money" Well, when it comes to AD(H)D, you are completely full of shit. From personal experience, I know you have no idea what you are talking about. I am a smart guy, but I don't do so well in school, yet on standardized tests I excel. I had a very mediocre High School GPA, and my college GPA was pretty bad. Now, at the beginning of the year, I started taking ADD meds, and what do you know, I got a 3.85 (but that doesn't matter, because I am stoopid). Also, my roommate (who has ADD as well) is majoring in BBMB and he informed me not too long ago that there is, in fact, evidence to show that ADD is a disease, a genetic one no less. I don't remember the specifics, but it amounts to too many redundancies in the DNA at specific places. -- Now, if you would, please put your helmet back on and make sure to steer clear of all the sharp corners near you.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Aug 24, 09 9:55 PM CDT

@wwwondere - Restless Legs Syndrome: A gene related to it was just recently identified and it is hereditary. Restless legs syndrome is a condition that produces an intense, often irresistible urge to move, flex and/or tense up the legs and is a major cause of insomnia and sleep disruption. My mother has had it as long as I can remember. My brother and I used to massage her legs for her quite often. Over the years, it got worse and to the point where she could not go to sleep. It seems to start typically in the evenings. My mother is not way overweight, either, so I don't think that has anything to do with it. Both my sister and I have it, although not to the degree my mother has and I hope it never gets that bad for me. I have never heard my brothers mention having it and do not know the extent to which men are affected versus women. I cannot explain the sensation other than that I have an irresistible urge to constantly stretch my legs over and over until it passes. It pretty much sucks although there are far worse conditions to have that I am grateful I do not have, so I count my blessings.

IN RESPONSE:

Spydiggity
Aug 27, 09 3:22 AM CDT

you all refuted my claims, but you didn't even bother to look it up. especially dyslexia. it has been proven to be false science. simply type it into google or youtube and you'll see the studies. Dyslexia is not real. and you all just disagree with me because you or your children were brain dead students and needed some excuse to prove that you're actually still special. and when dyslexia came along, you were all too happy to accept it as the explanation for your sub part intelligence.

-2

IN RESPONSE:

Spydiggity
Aug 27, 09 3:29 AM CDT

people are all too happy to be pathetic victims. and love looking for excuses. this took me 30 seconds to look up. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6031033294208468907 In fact, psychology as a whole is almost completely a fake science. this took 8 seconds to find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqaptRYjhq4 do some research before you display your complete disinterest in truth.

-1

| 0 minutes ago

schmidtkoff
Aug 24, 09 11:31 AM CDT

…abuse typically involves crushing and snorting the pills - this occurs in treatment facilities for adolescents all across america. …from 1998 to 2005…an 86 percent rise in ADHD medicine prescriptions for kids aged 10 to 19, from about 4 million to nearly 8 million during that time. do we honestly believe that >8 million kids have adhd? adhd drugs are frequently given with anti-psychotics coupled with diagnoses with bipolar, the new catchall diagnosis. if bipolar was in fact an accurate diagnosis, the most benign "drug" to manage would be lithium. not with the newer anti-psychotics, most of which are NOT recommended for children under 18. as with adhd is the diagnosis for bipolar a result of the true diagnoses? or the press of the big pharmas? just watch. in 20 years or so we will see the effect of these drugs pushed on our children as the first generation anti-psychotics saw the irrerversible neuroleptic disorder of tardive dyskinesia in former mental hospital patients who were dumped onto our streets in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Scrambles
Aug 24, 09 11:53 AM CDT

it is probably over prescribed because its easier (in the minds of many parents) to give their kids a pill rather than work with them or allow them to regularly work with a psychologist/psychiatrist

| 0 minutes ago

Janne
Aug 24, 09 4:04 PM CDT

About the biochemical imbalance again. I refer to the statement (YouthWithoutControl): "If you want to know, there is difference in the brains of people with ADHD and people without it. Thing is, most people never take that step." Just ask for a test proving this and you will find out there is none. Reply

-2

IN RESPONSE:

Cegorach
Aug 24, 09 7:04 PM CDT

Thank you for your great pearls of wisdom. Why listen to doctors who babble on and on about decreased dopamine receptors, and overloads of biochemicals, because you obviously know all there is to know.Now, if you would be so kind, provide the proof that you are a scientist or a doctor, so we know that you are speaking from a true scientific background, or just spewing what you think is correct. I know I am not a scientist, but I at least have experience on my side, as I am a sufferer, and I can vouch from experience that they work.

IN RESPONSE:

Cegorach
Aug 24, 09 7:21 PM CDT

Oh, and from http://www.genome.gov/ -- "Why is ADHD considered a neurological condition? Brain images of children with ADHD may show differences compared to children without ADHD. For example, in some children with ADHD certain parts of the brain are smaller or less active than the brains of children without ADHD. These changes may be linked to specific brain chemicals that are needed for tasks such as sustaining attention and regulating activity levels."

| 0 minutes ago

Chilblain
Aug 24, 09 7:50 PM CDT

Janne, You say "And of course Ritalin and other drugs have the same effect on everyone" This is absolutely untrue. When I was prescribed Ritalin in the 8th grade back in 1983 ( well before its rise in use ) it had calming effect on me and a profoundly positive effect on my ability to focus. A few years later when my highschool buddies without ADD would take one their response was the opposite. They got hyper and wouldn't stop talking. Ritalin is certainly over prescribed and not for most kids who are prescribed it, but it was a huge help for me as a teen. In adulthood I just didn't like the side effects ( increased heart rate) and found other treatments. Vyvanse is amazing and really helps me. It also can't be abused. Also, I'm pretty sure that more 25% of all kids abuse drugs at one time or another. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Chilblain
Aug 24, 09 7:53 PM CDT

Also to clarify I had/have ADD. No "H".

IN RESPONSE:

Cegorach
Aug 24, 09 8:04 PM CDT

Don't forget Adderall (which is an amphetamine)... that has a calming effect on me, unlike the obvious side effect it would have on most people

IN RESPONSE:

Chilblain
Aug 24, 09 8:17 PM CDT

I couldn't stand the way Adderall made me feel, but I'm glad that it works for you.

IN RESPONSE:

Reblink
Sep 1, 09 3:25 AM CDT

I totally support this. I have ADD as well, and quite honestly, my school years were miserable. I started on Vyvance a few years ago; my grades have risen ten-fold. This, alongside learning about my condition and how to manage it, has improved my life in countless ways. To hear someone dismiss the condition as a falsity (although in my book, the use of the term 'big pharma' automatically discredits you completely) is startling.

| 0 minutes ago

Snarfeh
Aug 24, 09 10:15 PM CDT

Adderall is the reason I was laid off last May. The owner of the company took it and not under prescription. He abused it. He became paranoid and started exhibiting huge mood swings. When I started working for him, I was highly impressed with him and would have jumped off a cliff for him back then. I loved my job. He was charismatic, smart and damned good at his business. We were making incredible profits. But over the years, he took all that shit to stay "up" to run his business and stayed "up" so much, he ran it into the ground. On the flip side, my ex's sister took it under prescription and went from having to take summer classes to catch up her grades to being on the Dean's List by the time she graduated from college. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Laugh
Aug 25, 09 4:18 AM CDT

Yep, one of Adderall's "side-effects" is excellent grades. For many in the competitive scientific community a god sent, and weighed against the rewards reaped, heart problems, high blood pressure, etc. are small sacrifices.

| 0 minutes ago

zentenai
Aug 25, 09 6:04 AM CDT

As a person who actually has ADHD, and takes his medication responsibly, this is heartbreaking. These kids are turning the disorder into a complete joke. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Janne
Aug 25, 09 10:38 AM CDT

1. (To 7ru7h above) The biochemical imbalance and ADHD: No I am not a scientist but I can recognize what is scientifically proved when I see it. It's quite easy to see that a person has diabetes, you can test in different ways; diabetes is a disease. That's not the case for ADHD, which is not anything you "have": it is something you do. It is a set of unwanted behaviours and that's all. You can easily verify the truth in my statements, just ask to get the ADHD test confirming that you have a biochemical imbalance. And you will find out there is no such test. 2. About the statement that Ritalin and other ADHD drugs have the same effect on persons labelled ADHD and persons without that label. Let's consult one of the great authorities in the ADHD area Judith Rapoport (NIH): "These drugs have the same effect in healthy and ADHD kids. Amphetamines seem to improve anyone's attention-whether they have a problem or not. Whatever the task is, you do it better. Football players and racehorses have known this for a long time." (As inteviewed in the book Selling Sickness, Moynihan/Cassels) What Rapoport (a strong proponent for ADHD drugs) is talking about is the drug induced fixation that Ritalin and other ADHD drugs cause. It's a matter of dose - lower doses and it is called "concentration", higher doses and the effect is more obvious, a person can sit with some senseless activity for a long time totally fixated. In both cases it is a toxic effect on the brain. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

zakweinberg
Aug 25, 09 12:30 PM CDT

They have a prescription drug out called stratera, which isn't amphetamine based, but insurance companies make it difficult to obtain because its so expensive. Check it http://oletoday.com/wordpress/2009/08/adderall-ucsbs-favorite-study-drug/ Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Janne
Aug 25, 09 4:24 PM CDT

At least one good thing done by the insurance companies - you should know that 115 persons have been reported as having died in connection with Strattera treatment since 2002, 48 of them children. Can be good to know. Reply

-1

| 0 minutes ago

Reader83542260
Sep 30, 09 3:18 PM CDT

Teens are now experimenting more on prescription drugs, over the counter drugs and any other substance that gives them high. Due to changing high school variables in couple of years, we now observe more teens towards Rx abuse. This blog specially written on "High School and it's Variables", here on http://parentingteens.com/blog/high-sfchool-and-its-variables/ , rightly said that this is the daunting scenario that we have today. We are aware of it, the government is aware of it, law enforcers are aware of it but still the nagging problem persists and threatens the fragile future of our youth today. Numbers don’t lie. Nearly half of all high school seniors in America have experimented with illegal drugs and about three quarters have tried alcohol. The problem should be addressed now with more stringent measures and from different fronts. It should be a collective and conscious effort from the government, school administrations and more importantly the parents. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

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