ADHD meds

http://www.7perth.com.au/view/today-tonight-articles/2006032 8194556/'

This has been all over the media over here all week about the adhd meds

Has there been commotion in the states about ADHD meds lately?

Lisa

xoxo

Hi Lisa, your kids are cute. Yes in my state this has been allover the news, plus a few other medicines they are throwing in.

I have not seen this on the news in TX, but then again I don't watch the news all that much.  

I absolutly agree that parents MUST be made aware of potential side effects for ANY medication they are going to give to their kids, but this seems more like an attempt to villianize ADHD meds rather than help people.  I feel for the mothers interviewed, what happened to their children was horrible, but at the same time it seems that this is not just a problem with the medication but how it was prescribed (not enough dr oversight) and used (not enough parental education and awareness).  I don't think my DS could get by without meds, they are a godsend for us, but we made an educated decision to medicate, aware of the side effects.

---Steps on Soapbox---

Medicating kids is serious business and parents have to treat it like that, do their homework and watch their kids closely.  These are not vitamins we're talking about, these are real medications that are designed to help our kids. There are plenty of things about ADHD meds that require careful attention, from making sure you have an accurate diagnosis (because there are diseases that can mimic the symptoms of ADHD but not respond positively to treatment with stimulants like bipolar) to not getting the right med (plenty of kids don't respond to ritalin, that's why they have other med options).

Also, I love that the first interview (after the affected parents) was this <<Shelley Wilkins from the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), an organisation established by the Church of Scientology which opposes the use of drugs to control ADHD, claimed to have identified 400 cases of side-effects.>>  Yep, they'll provide some balanced, well researched information.

i totally agree. It just seems to me to be scare monegring in the media.Watching that interview on the current affairs show the other night made me so angry, as it only inflames the negative attitudes a lot of people already have towards adhd kids. My son takes ritalin LA but we only put him on it after trying other options that didnt work.I dont know about any1 else but I for 1 am sick to death of having to defend our very well informed decision to put our son on meds.If he had diabetes or asthma no1 would think twice about giving him meds for that but because of the stigma society puts on ADHD people think that we 'drug' him because we cant be bothered with his bad behaviour at all when nothing could be further from the truth & I have no doubt that if my son did not have his ritalin he could not function.I am sick of others who have no insight into just how much emotional duress goes everyday into raising a adhd child and how much extra time & energy it takes out of you,think they have the right to judge.Obviously that tv show & reporter have a lot to answer for.It really drives me nuts too when people say " Oh but hes so well  why does he need the meds for " .the reason he is doing so well is BECAUSE of the meds LOL

Thanx for the vent everyone:)

sorry forgot to add something to my last post LOL

ritalin affects every child differently and from what i can gather what these mothers were saying about their sons are maybe cos they had their sons on wrong meds? dont know just a theory

lisa

xoxo