Another extract from the site:
"Another class of drugs frequently used to treat young children for ADHD, as well as other disorders, is the tricyclic antidepressent group (TCAs), which includes drugs such as Elavil. TCAs initially provided a longer-acting agent for ADHD than Ritalin and reduced the need for repeated dosing (before the introduction of an "extended-release" form of Ritalin).7 The tricyclic category of drugs is also associated with cardiac problems, as well as tinnitus, seizures, increased ocular pressure, vomiting, diarrhea, and anorexia. Particularly troubling with this class of drugs is the risk of tardive
dyskinesia, a disabling, irreversable neuromuscular disorder which appears after years of drug treatment.8 If these drugs begin to be administered at preschool ages and continue to be taken throughout the school years, the risk of tardive dyskinesia is greatly increased..."
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/10/17/tardive-dys kinesia-jury-victory-of-16-million/ "Tardive Dyskinesia Jury Victory of .6 million
On October 15, 2005 a Virginia jury delivered a .6 million verdict in a tardive dyskinesia case, Sylvia Jones v. Jeffrey Alan Margolis. The amount was especially large considering the small town setting of Tappahannock in southeastern Virginia. Also, the defendant was a well-known internist in the community.
In 1982 when she was twenty-one years old, her original internist placed Sylvia Jones on Triavil, a combination of the neuroleptic perphenazine (Trilafon) and the antidepressant amitriptyline (Elavil)...."
curus38644.6787152778
This post should be in the forum pertaining to CHILDREN or PARENTS of children.
Please post in the appropriate forum in the future.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Curus, I believe there's an 'alternative' forum here. Or do you simply post inflamatory material here because you're pigheaded?
http://www.asfar.org/zine/2nd/drugs.html
The Drugging of Children
-Lisa Freeman
The subject of psychotropic medication prescriptions for preschool children has received its fair share of attention in the mass media since last month's publication of two simultaneous articles on the topic in the Journal of the American Medical Association.1,2 The news coverage has primarily focused on the prescription of methylphenidate (Ritalin) to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 2-4 years old, a prescribing practice which more than doubled in frequency from 1991-1995. But there are several aspects of the literature on this subject which have not been reported in news "sound bites", and which are worthy of mention.
Psychotropic drugs other than psychostimulants (like Ritalin) are also being prescribed to large numbers of toddlers, often in combination with other drugs.
In a sample drawn from Michigan Medicaid data, out of 223 children aged three years old and younger who were diagnosed with ADHD, about 60% were given a prescription for psychotropic drugs, and nearly half of those were prescribed two or more drugs.3
Aside from Ritalin, one of the most frequently prescribed drugs appears to be
clonidine, an anti-hypertension medication initially used on children to alleviate the insomnia or other sleep disturbances often caused by Ritalin and other ADHD medications. However, clonidine is now used by many doctors to treat sleep
disturbances alone, or for aggressive or defiant behavior with or without accompanying ADHD (although its effectiveness for this use is unproven and seems to be in doubt).4 The usage of clonidine by preschool children increased more than any other drug reported in Zito et al., despite the severe side effects that may occur even when used by adults. Allergic reactions, cardiac abnormalities or failure, drying of membranes (including eyes), nausea and loss of appetite are some of the side effects listed in the Physicians' Desk Reference5 and reported in medical literature. Withdrawal symptoms can be extreme, and fatalities have been reported to have resulted from children missing a single dose.6 ..."
"...The use of medications to alter our thoughts, feelings and behaviors is controversial. Questions can be raised about whether personality differences among individuals, even when they may cause conflicts or interfere with an individuals own goals and desires, might have advantages that are not immediately apparent. One can point to famous scientists, artists, musicians and writers who suffered from psychological disorders, and wonder whether they would have been as creative or brilliant had they been treated
with modern medicines. On the other hand, there is no denying that many individuals have found psychotropic drug treatment to be enormously helpful in reducing their unwanted symptoms. The decision should be up to the individual patient.
In the case of pediatric medication, the choice is not made by the patient. The initial complaint to the doctor, the choice of the drug, and the assessment of its effectiveness are all made by people other than the patient. If a drug is being used on a child for lifesaving or critical health purposes, the decision is obvious. But when a mind-altering drug is given to children, without consent, in order to make them behave the way we would like, it deprives them of the only thing they can truly be said to own:
themselves. "
Insulting pigs will get you noplace