Adderall is an effective treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a sharp rise in US prescriptions over the past two decades has sparked concerns among researchers about rare but serious side effects.
In a striking new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Thursday, a team led by psychiatrist Lauren Moran of Mass General Brigham in Boston found that individuals taking high doses of the stimulant face more than a fivefold increased risk of developing psychosis or mania.
"We were just seeing a lot of people coming in without much of a psychiatric history, developing the first episode of psychosis or mania in the context of using prescription stimulants," she said.
When the Food and Drug Administration became aware of such cases in the 2000s, it added a warning to the drug's label -- but relatively little research had been done to quantify the rates of side effects or how they related to the dosage level.
I bet most of these kids dont need any medication in the first place.
Reading this though, brings back memories. My son was born in the 70's, he slept badly from the start. When he was around 8 months he was literally wide awake most of the night, and lively in the day too. The district nurse suggested I take him to the doctors, she thought he may have a condition (little known here at that time) called infant hyperactivity. The Dr saw him, put her head in a book, and declared he did indeed sound hyperactive, she prescribed a drug called phenergan to be taken at night. The first night I gave him a teaspoon, he slept like a log, all was well for a couple of weeks, then it didn't work....the Dr upped the dosage, then that didn't work, and I wasn't happy that it was prescribed so freely anyway.
Soon after we went on holiday (in this country) son was well, but by this point his hyperactivity was off the scale. He would be up most of the night, and in a small hotel this wasn't ideal, so OH would be driving him around at 3 or 4 in the morning trying to lull him to sleep. After a week or so we took him to a local Dr's....she also prescribed phenergan, said she gave it to her own son, and because eventually he got used to it, she just kept upping the dosage, and he always slept well.
I threw the bottle away and never gave my son the drug again.
I think hyperactivity is now often diagnosed as ADHD, God knows what harm these more advanced drugs are doing long term to kids.
-- Edited by Syl on Friday 13th of September 2024 12:17:45 PM
I bet most of these kids dont need any medication in the first place.
Reading this though, brings back memories. My son was born in the 70's, he slept badly from the start. When he was around 8 months he was literally wide awake most of the night, and lively in the day too. The district nurse suggested I take him to the doctors, she thought he may have a condition (little known here at that time) called infant hyperactivity. The Dr saw him, put her head in a book, and declared he did indeed sound hyperactive, she prescribed a drug called phenergan to be taken at night. The first night I gave him a teaspoon, he slept like a log, all was well for a couple of weeks, then it didn't work....the Dr upped the dosage, then that didn't work, and I wasn't happy that it was prescribed so freely anyway.
Soon after we went on holiday (in this country) son was well, but by this point his hyperactivity was off the scale. He would be up most of the night, and in a small hotel this wasn't ideal, so OH would be driving him around at 3 or 4 in the morning trying to lull him to sleep. After a week or so we took him to a local Dr's....she also prescribed phenergan, said she gave it to her own son, and because eventually he got used to it, she just kept upping the dosage, and he always slept well.
I threw the bottle away and never gave my son the drug again.
I think hyperactivity is now often diagnosed as ADHD, God knows what harm these more advanced drugs are doing long term to kids.
-- Edited by Syl on Friday 13th of September 2024 12:17:45 PM
Adderall is an effective treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a sharp rise in US prescriptions over the past two decades has sparked concerns among researchers about rare but serious side effects.
In a striking new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Thursday, a team led by psychiatrist Lauren Moran of Mass General Brigham in Boston found that individuals taking high doses of the stimulant face more than a fivefold increased risk of developing psychosis or mania.
"We were just seeing a lot of people coming in without much of a psychiatric history, developing the first episode of psychosis or mania in the context of using prescription stimulants," she said.
When the Food and Drug Administration became aware of such cases in the 2000s, it added a warning to the drug's label -- but relatively little research had been done to quantify the rates of side effects or how they related to the dosage level.
My memory might be off, but I feel like I read that kids in the US are medicated at 7 times the rate off kids in Japan.
Many of these medications cause all sorts of problems. They are also far more commonly given to boys..
Do you know the main cause of childhood deaths in Victorian times was the universal use of opiates such as Laudanum in products with names like Calmative Syrups? Rich and poor used them without realising it slowly killed their kids. Nothing much changes does it?
Adderall is an effective treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a sharp rise in US prescriptions over the past two decades has sparked concerns among researchers about rare but serious side effects.
In a striking new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry on Thursday, a team led by psychiatrist Lauren Moran of Mass General Brigham in Boston found that individuals taking high doses of the stimulant face more than a fivefold increased risk of developing psychosis or mania.
"We were just seeing a lot of people coming in without much of a psychiatric history, developing the first episode of psychosis or mania in the context of using prescription stimulants," she said.
When the Food and Drug Administration became aware of such cases in the 2000s, it added a warning to the drug's label -- but relatively little research had been done to quantify the rates of side effects or how they related to the dosage level.
My memory might be off, but I feel like I read that kids in the US are medicated at 7 times the rate off kids in Japan.
Many of these medications cause all sorts of problems. They are also far more commonly given to boys..
Do you know the main cause of childhood deaths in Victorian times was the universal use of opiates such as Laudanum in products with names like Calmative Syrups? Rich and poor used them without realising it slowly killed their kids. Nothing much changes does it?
I'm not surprised.
And think of the damage done to those who survived.
No matter what you think about a deity, creator or evolution, it's hard to believe that our species is so poorly created or evolved, that large percentages of us need this much chemical intervention while in our youth.
