Can you spell "medication," Billy? A study of prescriptions to toddlers, etc.

[Trippy]

I probably shouldn't do this, but it seems vaguely appropriate, given some of the comments made regarding adult depression so far:

Denis Leary: Life's gonna suck when you grow up

 

[takandjive]

Leary's an oddly brilliant guy. I had a childhood friend of his as a professor. Same sort of dismal attitude, also funny as hell.

 

[Bells]

ADHD exists, but it's grossly over-diagnosed. Easier to blame the mental health of your child than your parenting, I guess.

I actually agree with you.. Yes, I am afraid too C66.

There is this notion that every child needs to be perfect and perfectly behaved. If a child is boisterous (as most toddlers are) and misbehave and are uncontrollable (as some toddlers are), the automatic assumption these days is that the child suffers from ADHD. The percentage of children being medicated for ADHD is ridiculous.

There was a report a few years ago in Western Australia, that found that the rate of prescribing ADHD medication was getting dangerously high in the State.

An epidemic of over-prescription and misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be exposing thousands of children to unknown long-term side-effects of amphetamine-based drugs.

An alarming report into ADHD in Western Australia, released yesterday, found the number of prescriptions for Dexamphetamine to treat the condition had increased in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT between 1999/2000 and 2003.

The increase was greatest in Western Australia, and had reached nearly four times the national average.

Australia-wide, 12.5 prescriptions were written per 1000 people in 2003 compared with 44 prescriptions per 1000 among West Australians.

--------------------------------------------

http://www.ritalindeath.com/ADHD-Warning.htm

The frightening part of that article was the ages that some of the children were being prescribed medication for ADHD:

The committee estimated 11,500 children in Western Australia – some as young as 2 – were prescribed psychostimulant drugs, mainly Dexamphetamines for ADHD.

Some children using drug therapy were hospitalized for detoxification and reported episodes of psychotic behavior.

Two year old's? The mind boggles. As a parent of a 3.5 and a 2 year old, their antics (and there are many, many antics on a daily basis) in no way amount to ADHD or needing medication. Children that age will misbehave. They sometimes won't listen. Half the time, when playing, they won't even respond to anyone speaking to them because they are in their own little world. How can you prescribe drugs for ADHD in children who are so young? Children that age should not be needing detox for being prescribed medication that they did not need. They should never have needed to be prescribed the drugs in the first place.

It is as if the medication is being used as a parenting tool in many cases.

What gets me is that the signs reported to show that a child may have ADHD is, well, so broad:

What are the general signs of ADHD in children?

* the child is restless, overactive, fidgety
* the child is constantly chattering
* the child is continuously interrupting people
* the child cannot concentrate for long on specific tasks
* the child is inattentive
* the child finds it hard to wait his/her turn in play, conversations or standing in line (queue)

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/adhd/whatisadhd.php
​

Now apply that to a toddler?

If I were to go by that list, then both my children and every single other child I have ever known has ADHD. The article then goes on to define further:

The above signs may be observed in children frequently and usually do not mean the child has ADHD. It is when these signs become significantly more pronounced in one child, compared to other children of the same age, and when his/her behavior undermines his/her school and social life, that the child may have ADHD.​

Not every child is the same and the behaviour of some children may be more pronounced due to their upbringing. I know of parents who allow and encourage such behaviour in their children. Yet that child could start school, being brought up to think that it is acceptable to interrupt adults with whatever questions they may have, and have the teachers advise the parents that the child has ADHD and should be medicated and the parents, foolish as they are, take their children to the doctors and a prescription is written and the child wrongfully medicated.

Some sobering facts:

“According to [neurologist Dr. Fred] Baughman, 500,000 children [in the USA] were diagnosed ADHD in 1985 and between 5 and 7 million were today.

Substantial growth has also been reported in Australia, a country of just 19 million people, where it's estimated that at least 50,000 children are now on drugs prescribed for ADHD.”

”University of Queensland figures show that legal use of dexamphetamine in Australia has risen from 8.3 million tablets prescribed in 1984 to 38.4 million tablets in 2001. Over the same period Ritalin prescriptions rose from 1.5 million tablets to 19.3 million.”

http://www.adhd-report.com/adhd/1_adhd_statistics.html

And now for some scary findings (in Australia at least):

MEDICAL experts were yesterday at a loss to explain a sudden alarming surge in the number of prescriptions being written to treat ADHD across the state.

Medicare figures reveal 18,413 scrips were filled in NSW last month, compared with just 11,041 in September - an increase of 67 per cent.

Prescriptions for Ritalin LA were up 94 per cent during the same period, while the drug Strattera recorded a 78 per cent upsurge.

Other brands of medication were similarly affected: Dexamphetamine use rose by 67 per cent, and Ritalin 10 and Concerta scripts increased by 63 per cent and 62 per cent respectively.

The October figure was much higher than the one recorded in the same month last year, when just 11,125 prescriptions were written.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,24713202-5001021,00.html

Worse part of that article was some of the reasons cited for the possible rise:

Doctors yesterday cited a range of possible explanations for the phenomenon, including preparations for the HSC, a media awareness campaign about ADHD, and a rush of people renewing their six-monthly prescriptions.

But paediatrician Dr Michael Kohn from the Children's Hospital at Westmead said none of those factors alone would explain such a dramatic increase.

"It's staggering. I wouldn't have imagined there'd be that much of a month-to-month reaction. I imagine that before school goes back and perhaps around exam times, there'd be surges, but to get 50 per cent or more above the average monthly (rate) really does surprise me," he said.

Preparations for HSC? Errr okay.:bugeye:

It just goes on and on and doctors are now starting to come forward and state that the condition is being misdiagnosed one too many times.

Scarier still..

Some child education experts are concerned doctors are "too readily" labelling children with ADHD and prescribing Ritalin, potentially putting them at risk of dangerous side effects.

In their submission, a group of 14 academics has called for multi-disciplinary teams of psychologists, doctors and experts to replace GPs and have sole responsibility for diagnosing the condition.

The influential group, from seven universities, including the University of Sydney and the University of Wollongong, has also urged the Federal Government not to declare ADHD a "disability" and allocate special funding for schools based on the number of students suffering it.

A similar move in the US led to an explosion of 600 per cent in the diagnosis, or misdiagnosis, of ADHD as schools competed for the extra grants, the group said.

"It is a diagnosis that should not be used in anything other than a tiny fraction of cases in which it is made," Dr Jureidini, head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital, said.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,24213952-5001021,00.html

 

[Asguard]

bells, i agree with you. However i wasnt talking about ADD and ADHD, i was talking about clinical depression and bipolar which are a compleatly different issue. You saying that all children are suicidly depressed at 12-13?

 

[swarm]

oiram, im sorry but as someone who has experianced both chronic depression and server acute clinical depression i compleatly disagree

Without a doubt there are people who have depression which seems to stem from organic problems that are unrealted to any interpersonal problems. Such chronic depression is luckily something which can usually be treated now and treating it is certainly the right answer.

Also without a doubt depression is big business for the pharmasutical companies and they push the treatment in cases where it might not be appropriate.

Luckily depression doesn't run in my family. Certainly since you have it, you might be more cautious concerning your kids, but your having it doesn't mean they will. In either case, making sure of a diagnosis is definately a best practice, particularly ones which involve a lot of judgement instead of lab analysis and toddlers who can't yet communicate well.

In answer to the acute vs chronic, acute depression is what most people experience. It almost always has a cause, like say a death in the family, and its generally short term and resolves itself naturally. Sometimes people get stuck in it and usually counseling helps and/or a short run of anti depressants.

Chronic depression is something that doesn't go away easily. It generally doesn't have a specific cause and generally counseling isn't terribly effective alone. Antidepressants that rebalence the seratonin imbalence which seem to be a main cause are very effective for most people. Unfortunately some people don't respond well and/or have issues with side effects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_depression

Bipolar disorder is another chronic issue which has a period where the person is depressed, but it isn't the same issue as chronic depression and bipolar people don't necessarily get the same relief from what helps people with chronic depression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder

Standard disclaimers apply - gross over simlification warning

Also these are still "cluster of symptoms" diseases where is possible for different causes to get grouped together based on their symptoms. YMMV

 

[Bells]

bells, i agree with you. However i wasnt talking about ADD and ADHD, i was talking about clinical depression and bipolar which are a compleatly different issue. You saying that all children are suicidly depressed at 12-13?

No I am not. I was responding to something C66 said earlier in the thread.