Did your Beauvoir ADHD kid get into STA / NCS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. You provide seat of the panty documentation--no data
2. Yes, I have read all the papers I posted for your review. There are several more if you would like to read them yourself.
3. Yes, the abstracts I posted for your review do suggest polypharmacy, overprescription and abuse for ADHD drugs in America
4. The documentation of these facts is not hysteria simply point of fact
5. I do not think that anyone would agree with your assertion " the incidence of non-medical use of ADHD drugs isn't very high"
6. No one here is getting worked up about narcotic drug abuse because that is not the topic under discussion tonight. In case you have forgotten the subject and issue concerns drugs for ADHD
7. Ritalin does get mentioned in today's front page article in the Washinton Post on oft-abuse of prescription drugs
8. Any pregnant woman in her third trimester will describe to you in detail what happens to her fetus/baby shortly after a sugar or caloric bolus. Enough said. This is not a personal attack just fact.
9. None of the above statements (1-8) are personal attacks.
10. In addition, the researchers of papers on ADHD are not attacking you personally

Do you have a child with ADHD and use a non-medicated approach to manage symptoms?

[Anonymous]

13:32 signing off. My kids' medication is wearing off and they require increased support at this time. Medications have made a huge difference in the quality of our lives and my kids' ability to learn. I'm sorry there are those who don't understand what it's like to live with untreated ADHD and the tragic outcomes it can have. Substance abuse/addiction are much more common in people with ADHD as is risky behavior (poor driving, teenage sex, etc.). It's taken a tragic toll on my family and as difficult as it is, there is comfort that my kids will be much less likely to follow the path my untreated siblings have.

Since you tend to personalise any discussions you misinterpret points other posters make. Posters recognise there are children disabled from ADHD that require medication for maintenance therapy and control. But, this unfortunate situation does not mean that researchers in the medical and forensic communities that detect upticks in overprescription and drug abuse are waging a personal attack on you. By the same token, when the medical community detects an abuse of antibiotic drugs (and emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria) in American communities this is not an attack on subjects who require antibiotics for a bacterial urinary tract infection or streptococcal pharyngitis. There are clearly individuals in the latter groups for whom antibiotics are life saving. It would be absurd to claim a personal attack for researchers or DCUM posters who express the opinion that antibiotics are overly prescribed and abused.

[Anonymous]

I am stunned by the citations PP is using, that have nothing at all to do with this thread. yeah, people abuse stimulants. Stimulants were abused long before ritalin was even invented and yes people abuse ritalin. HUGE news. I am confused about your point. If a person is prescribed a medicine by a doctor, it isn't abuse. It wouldn't show up in any of these studies as abuse, it would be considered treatment. I mean, plenty of people abuse vicodin but does that mean I was when I took it after some surgery?

And the rate of use going up is no surprise either. More people are being diagnosed with ADHD and treated for it. I think that is a good thing. I remember the bad old days and what happened to kids that weren't diagnosed.

More people are being diagnosed and treated for disorders like OCD and Tourettes as well. In the old days they thought the only people with Tourettes were the ones who blurted out things in public and they've come to understand that tics and throat clearing are also manifestations of the disorder and treat those as well. So if you have a child with Tourrettes whom you treat with meds, you must be faking it because the numbers have gone up?

You're just not making sense, PP, there's no coherence to whatever you're saying. And the thing about sugar is an old wives tale that has been debunked. Sugar does not cause ADHD.

I think there are two different people here. There's one person who thinks its fine to medicated people with ADHD but many people claim their kids have ADHD when they don't. How PP knows that this kids don't really have ADHD when they've received a diagnosis from a medical doctor, I don't know. Then there's the really insulting PP, who I think is different, who is saying things like its abuse and posting links about drug abuse that have nothing to do with what we're talking about. She's the one who is alarmingly hostile and fixed to this position I find incoherent.

[Anonymous]

Yet another opinion:

Doctors do not overdiagnose ADHD (I suspect doctors don't overdiagnose ear infections either)

Doctors do not overprescribe ADHD medications (I suspect doctors don't oversubscribe antibiotics for earinfections)

Schools (teachers and counselors don't label kids with ADHD [e.g, 'behavior and problem' issues] and then seek referrals to doctors) (I suspect parents don't lobby doctors for antibiotics to treat their irritable child tugging on their ears)

School age students don't use ADHD medications inappropriately

Hell, who really knows the truth?

[Anonymous]

I am stunned by the citations PP is using, that have nothing at all to do with this thread. yeah, people abuse stimulants. Stimulants were abused long before ritalin was even invented and yes people abuse ritalin. HUGE news. I am confused about your point. If a person is prescribed a medicine by a doctor, it isn't abuse. It wouldn't show up in any of these studies as abuse, it would be considered treatment. I mean, plenty of people abuse vicodin but does that mean I was when I took it after some surgery?

And the rate of use going up is no surprise either. More people are being diagnosed with ADHD and treated for it. I think that is a good thing. I remember the bad old days and what happened to kids that weren't diagnosed.

More people are being diagnosed and treated for disorders like OCD and Tourettes as well. In the old days they thought the only people with Tourettes were the ones who blurted out things in public and they've come to understand that tics and throat clearing are also manifestations of the disorder and treat those as well. So if you have a child with Tourrettes whom you treat with meds, you must be faking it because the numbers have gone up?

You're just not making sense, PP, there's no coherence to whatever you're saying. And the thing about sugar is an old wives tale that has been debunked. Sugar does not cause ADHD.

I think there are two different people here. There's one person who thinks its fine to medicated people with ADHD but many people claim their kids have ADHD when they don't. How PP knows that this kids don't really have ADHD when they've received a diagnosis from a medical doctor, I don't know. Then there's the really insulting PP, who I think is different, who is saying things like its abuse and posting links about drug abuse that have nothing to do with what we're talking about. She's the one who is alarmingly hostile and fixed to this position I find incoherent.

Eureka. Brilliant. I suggest you submit these findings to NEJM or JAMA for fast track "peer"-reviewed publication.

[Anonymous]

If a person is prescribed a medicine by a doctor, it isn't abuse.

New poster here. But some of the studies did talk about abuse of prescribed meds. Just because something is prescribed does not mean it can't be abused.

When I read the abstracts, I thought it was interesting/shocking how many of them talked about abuse even by kids who are appropriately prescribed meds. Also the paper that said that when ADHD case files were reviewed a large percentage of kids were found to be overprescribed meds (in the sense of them receiving an inappropriate {too large} dose). Do parents not find this concerning?

I have seen the research linking unmedicated ADHD with alcohol/drug abuse and depression in later ages. But I have to wonder how many kids in the DCUM demographic are underdiagnosed. I always thought the underdiagnosis tends to happen in populations underserved by medical care: low income, minority, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:32

Thank you for your post. It was a hard decision to medicate our child but it was even harder watch him struggle academically and socially in school. It has made a huge difference in his self esteem and confidence in his abilities. Contrary to what some posters believe, we did not do it to get to Harvard, get extra time on SAT's or make sure he made the travel team. We just wanted him to be able to go to school, learn and come home happy every day.

ADD isn't enough to get extra time. Slow Processing Speed is the ticket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GAMING the system (e.g., PSAT/SAT prep, educational consultants, accommodations for tests and exams, year round sports camps and individualized coaching) while foolishly pretending and lying to others their special children don't get tutoring, don't prep for exams and score 99.9% or 2400. When these pansied and doted over kids fail to get into Ivy then start incoherently bitching and moaning their child's bought seat was stolen by a minority, athlete, from the sticks or the hood. Keep on popping those pills.

This was the post I was referring to.

[Anonymous]

My DC with ADHD does not get extra time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. You provide seat of the panty documentation--no data
2. Yes, I have read all the papers I posted for your review. There are several more if you would like to read them yourself.
3. Yes, the abstracts I posted for your review do suggest polypharmacy, overprescription and abuse for ADHD drugs in America
4. The documentation of these facts is not hysteria simply point of fact
5. I do not think that anyone would agree with your assertion " the incidence of non-medical use of ADHD drugs isn't very high"
6. No one here is getting worked up about narcotic drug abuse because that is not the topic under discussion tonight. In case you have forgotten the subject and issue concerns drugs for ADHD
7. Ritalin does get mentioned in today's front page article in the Washinton Post on oft-abuse of prescription drugs
8. Any pregnant woman in her third trimester will describe to you in detail what happens to her fetus/baby shortly after a sugar or caloric bolus. Enough said. This is not a personal attack just fact.
9. None of the above statements (1-8) are personal attacks.
10. In addition, the researchers of papers on ADHD are not attacking you personally

Do you have a child with ADHD and use a non-medicated approach to manage symptoms?

Still didn't answer the question!

[Anonymous]

I have never had my very active and spirited boys evaluated by any school psychologist or neuropsychiatrist. Therefore, they do not sport any label or diagnosis of ADHD and consequently are not on any prescribed or unprescribed (over the counter) medications.

This fact is irrelevant to the issues raised by poster 7:34 and some of the other posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never had my very active and spirited boys evaluated by any school psychologist or neuropsychiatrist. Therefore, they do not sport any label or diagnosis of ADHD and consequently are not on any prescribed or unprescribed (over the counter) medications.

This fact is irrelevant to the issues raised by poster 7:34 and some of the other posters.

How do your very active boys do in school? Do they attend a competitive private? I am really interested as many posters claim that their children need medication to perform in school and you seem to be arguing against this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never had my very active and spirited boys evaluated by any school psychologist or neuropsychiatrist. Therefore, they do not sport any label or diagnosis of ADHD and consequently are not on any prescribed or unprescribed (over the counter) medications.

This fact is irrelevant to the issues raised by poster 7:34 and some of the other posters.

How do your very active boys do in school? Do they attend a competitive private? I am really interested as many posters claim that their children need medication to perform in school and you seem to be arguing against this.

None of us are claiming our children need medication to "perform." They need it to function. PP says her son doesn't have ADHD so I don't know why their experience or school is relevant to the thread. My sense was that PP was not arguing from personal experience but rather from her opinion (based on . . . lots of myths).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never had my very active and spirited boys evaluated by any school psychologist or neuropsychiatrist. Therefore, they do not sport any label or diagnosis of ADHD and consequently are not on any prescribed or unprescribed (over the counter) medications.

This fact is irrelevant to the issues raised by poster 7:34 and some of the other posters.

How do your very active boys do in school? Do they attend a competitive private? I am really interested as many posters claim that their children need medication to perform in school and you seem to be arguing against this.

None of us are claiming our children need medication to "perform." They need it to function. PP says her son doesn't have ADHD so I don't know why their experience or school is relevant to the thread. My sense was that PP was not arguing from personal experience but rather from her opinion (based on . . . lots of myths).

I see your point, I should have said function--but I also wonder is she thinks your kids are "very active and spirited" but were labeled ADHD inappropriately, otherwise, why would someone spend so much time looking at research on ADHD and medication?

[Anonymous]

How do your very active boys do in school? Do they attend a competitive private? I am really interested as many posters claim that their children need medication to perform in school and you seem to be arguing against this.

We are lucky they are doing very well academically. The younger is an angel per K and 1st grade teacher (not at home though, he's got them fooled ... high emotional intelligence) The elder has spent is fair share of time in the Principal's office and reprimanded by teachers having a tough time curbing his athleticism and intelligence. He works multiple grade levels above his group, is an avid reader, a superb athlete and a mischievous boy who, in restrospect, probably wasn't challenged in classroom.

You are flat out any allegations or arguments in reference to your children. Reread the abstracts to gain more understanding of some of the issues raised by experts, other posters and myself. These are clear. These references were provided (at your persistent request) to support findings not an argument about your children, their diagnoses and their medical therapy.

Several investigators have reported on the rising epidemic of ADHD in this country. Some have even cited overprescription of ADHD drugs. Some have cited occasional ADHD polypharmacy. Other investigators have cited abuse of ADHD drugs by kids and adults. No one of these experts have claimed your children are inappropriately medicated and neither have I or any other poster. None of the authors, including I, would be so presumptive to make your alledged claims without a complete history, physical and pschosocial examination of your children. I recommend you check with you own physicians for counseling and advise on these matters.