Long term effects? | ADHD Information
Is there anyone out there that has taken medication for adhd from childhood????? Ok if not: anyone know where I can reasearch the long term effects of these meds for adhd? Let me explain: we are 'not' wanting to medicate our son; but we may have no other alternative. I just wonder about the long term effects...any/all help on this subject would be most helpful for us. No, I was serious! I'm way to
distracted to go to all those theres myself, and not really interested,
anyway. As it seemed important to you, and I like knowledge, I figured
we would both benefit if you did a little summary like.
Anyway, I guess it proves we're both AD, eh? hehe
[QUOTE]anyone know where I can reasearch the long term effects of these meds for adhd?[/QUOTE]
PubMed would be the logical place to start:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
You could also try Google scholar (scholar.google.com). You likely
won't have access to any of the full articles, but the abstracts
might be informative. Try searching on strings like 'long-term effects
methylphenidate', etc.
If you want a summary in a nutshell, it's probably fair to say that
most drugs used to treat ADHD have a very favorable profile in both the
short and the long term. Methylphenidate (Ritalin) in particular, has
been widely used for about 40 years with very few serious adverse
events (e.g., heart attack) reported. (Keep in mind too that when
millions of people take a particular drug, it's inevitable that some people
will suffer nasty effects. For example, many people have died of
aspirin-induced hemmorhages, yet no one calls aspirin a dangerous drug,
because it's improved or saved far more lives).
There's even some emerging evidence that Ritalin may be good for
children with ADHD. Recent studies have shown that ADHD kids who take
stimulant medications are at lower risk of drug abuse and delinquent
behavior in their teens and into early adulthood. There's also some
very tentative work suggesting that methylphenidate may actually reduce
risk of some cancers in the long term. That's probably not anything
worth celebrating, since the reduction in animal and human studies is
insignificant in the bigger scheme of things, but it does indicate at
the very least that Ritalin certainly doesn't cause cancer. Overall, virtually every review I've seen of long-term Ritalin use suggests that there are no adverse effects.
The verdict on other (mostly newer) medications is still out
(particularly Strattera). At high doses, some of the amphetamine
compounds that make up Adderall have a neurotoxic effect in rats, but
it's not clear whether it occurs at the lower doses typically
prescribed for humans (probably not). Given the similarities between
ritalin and adderall it's probably just as safe for the long-term.
Still, since there are fewer studies out there, it might make sense to
go with Ritalin if you have a choice (assuming both drugs are equally
effective, which they may not be).
To sum up, there's very little evidence to suggest there's anything
dangerous about treating ADHD long-term with medication. The bigger
concern is over short-term side effects: many kids (and adults) simply
can't tolerate the drugs, and so have to go off them. If you can live
with the side effects without too much trouble, it's unlikely things
are going to get worse in future. While you can always try alternative
ADHD treatments, you should recognize that they're unlikely to work
nearly as well (if at all). Given the low risk involved, I can't think
of any good reason not to try medication as a first-line treatment
(which isn't a reason not to do other things as well, of course, e.g.,
eat right).
Hi Nuncle
Where is this research about Ritalin reducing the risk of some cancers in the long term? Do you have a link to any of the research? I thought the most recent research showed that Ritalin caused an increase in chromosome abnormalities which is associated with an increased risk of cancer.
The long term effects of these meds is something I am anxious about and if I can see this tentative work about Ritalin potentially reducing risk of some cancers it would certainly make me more comfortable taking the meds.
Mike,
An animal study to this effect:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=PubMed&list_uids=8545847&dopt=Citation
The authors found that while MPH slightly increased the incidence of
benign liver tumors, it decreased the incidence of several types of
cancer. But keep in mind that the doses used here greatly exceed those
commonly used in ADHD treatment.
Concerning the mutagenic effects of MPH you mention, those data haven't
been replicated, as far as I know. There's a recent study here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&a mp;db=PubMed&list_uids=12742508&dopt=Citation
That found no genotoxic effects of MPH at much higher doses than those commonly prescribed.
The only long-term study of cancer incidence in patients prescribed MPH is:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve &db=pubmed&list_uids=2571410&dopt=Citation
In 539 long-term MPH users, the incidence of cancer was significantly lower than expected by chance.
I want to stress that these data shouldn't be taken too seriously:
there is really very little research out there looking specifically at
long-term carcinogenic effects of MPH (though what data exists is
negative). And certainly, one shouldn't conclude it's a good
thing to be on Ritalin or Adderall! The point is just that there's
really no substantive evidence to suggest that there's a significant
risk associated with taking MPH for the long-term at therapeutic doses.
nuncle38585.7874537037I read at how to learn.com that these meds don't prove any long term effectiveness.These kids struggle cause things just get harder as you go. She has se kids at home and that's her experience. My experience in my case meds made little difference either.Disabilities are in our genetics so I can't change that. [QUOTE]I read at how to learn.com that these meds don't prove any long term
effectiveness.These kids struggle cause things just get harder as you
go.[/QUOTE]
I really don't know why you'd take the word of a website selling a
product called 'Instant Learning' over hundreds of published
peer-reviewed scientific articles spanning several decades. There's no
question that stimulant medications work for ADHD. Do they work for
everyone? No. Will the same medication work in all cases? No. But
clearly it's foolish to disregard the mountains of evidence (not to
mention the testimonials from any number of people on these boards)
indicating that stimulant medications are highly effective in both the
short and long-term, with a relatively minimal side effect profile. The
issue in this thread is not whether medication is effective or not in
the long term, it's whether it's safe or not. The former is a
non-issue; the latter is still an open question, though to date the
safety record of stimulants is very good.
[QUOTE=oldmember]I read at how to learn.com that these meds don't
prove any long term effectiveness.These kids struggle cause
things just get harder as you go. [/QUOTE]I
may be taking this way out of context, but I'm incapable of digging
back to see where this thread started. ADD moment. But these meds
aren't designed to produce long term effectiveness unless they are
taken long term. Except for Strattera, their 1/2 life is measured in
hours. The LA and CR stuff is extended b/c it's slow release of the
active, not a prolonged active.
If things are not properly diagnosed, treated, and managed, things may
get harder with time. If properly done, they get easier. Even without
meds, adolescents and adults have learned survival coping mechanisms,
that give the appearance of the disorder fading, but a genetic
deficiency remains such, unless gene splicing is done. And we're not
technologically there yet for humans.
It's my experience and contention that properly identified, treated
with meds, coached, managed, trained and supervised, ADHDs have the
potential to change the world again. Somewhere around here's a list of
famous historical figures with ADHD, such as Lincoln, Edison, Da Vinci,
Hornor, etc. Peter the Apostle and David the King were, also. God know
what He's doing.
In good hands, an ADHD will change the world. I'm feeding 50% more
people melons due to a pgr I helped develop. I save lives as a
volunteer EMT. I open eyes, and rescue white rabbits stuck in their
boxes...
We are seeing a allergie Dr. in october for a natural route. I want the correct supplement amounts for him. I can bairly afford this either. Ins. is hopefully going to cover most of the appt.nuncle wtote:
It's up to the reader to evaluate. A link to an abstract on PubMed doesn't mean you can necessarily trust the data reported. That said, publication in virtually any peer-reviewed journal indexed by PubMed probably makes a study a better source of information than the proclamations of self-pronounced experts elsewhere on the web (including these boards
It is absolutely up to the reader to evaluate as when doing research, one must not only consider the content but also the source of information. Self proclaimed experts can also be found in the media and telelvision land as well. Perhaps what I should have said is that IMO, its a more reliable source of information and I certainly have never or would ever adivse anyone to beleive what they read to be accurate or true as its all up to the individual to decide.
You
must be kidding right? There's NO way I can give you 'any'
summarization on this matter just yet...however the links are very
informative I have been to them and bookmarked them so I can return
when I actually have the time to really READ without being interrupted.
I'll certainly give you my input once I've looked over all of the
'very' informative information. But one thing: I really thought that
link
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
was a bit complicated. I mean I actually had to 'sign up' to be able to
do anything there and honestly for me to take the time to sign up for
things is VERY rare indeed. Again: thanks for all of your input (which
I again will add that it seems that it's WAY over my head). Thank so so
so so very much for all this reasearch...now I shall have to do my part
and of course read it. *wink* Thanks again.
Hi I am Paul's mother,
Seeing as you've read alot on this subject, can you summarize for us
your findings? Like in an Abstract? Would you mind including positive
and negative study counts?
Thanks.
David
[QUOTE]
Hi Nuncle.....the articles you cited are from a very accurate source of information.[/QUOTE]
Well, PubMed only indexes
articles in biomedical journals. Saying it's an accurate source is kind
of like saying a library is an accurate source. There are lots of good
articles to be found, but also lots of bad ones. It's up to the reader
to evaluate. A link to an abstract on PubMed doesn't mean you can
necessarily trust the data reported. That said, publication in
virtually any peer-reviewed journal indexed by PubMed probably makes a
study a better source of information than the proclamations of
self-pronounced experts elsewhere on the web (including these boards).
Hi Nuncle.....the articles you cited are from a very accurate source of information.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks Nuncle that information is very helpful.
I have been pretty concerned about long term effects of meds since I read the article about the mutagenice effects of MPH. The information you have provided certainly helps to ease my worry about taking meds long term. The possibility that Ritalin may decrease the risk of some cancers is very interesting.