The Medicated Child

[Jen]

I woke up this morning at 3:00 am and this was on. I highly recommend that anyone who has a child on medication for any type of disorder watch this show. You may also watch it online.

The psychiatrist who prescribed our son prozac for depression seemed to be gauging my reaction when he initially suggested Lithium. I said no way, he's not that bad! It's amazing to me how Dr's will freely prescribe medication to children without taking into account all the possible outcomes!

Doctors really seem to take the easy route more often times than not and prescribe children stimulant meds containing Ritalin (which contains methamphetamine) which imo is horrible!

In the past our son has been passed off as having ADHD (without proper diagnosis) and given Focalin, Medadate, Daytrana and Adderall all of which were horrible! He didn't stay on any of them long but we did notice a difference in his behavior last Summer so we stopped all medication.

The first psychiatrist that I took him to see late last year prescribed him Adderall after I explicitly told her he has horrible reactions to stimulant medication! She asked me to trust her and stupidly I did (never again!). The next day he took one adderall and when I went in for a school get together later that day for his class he was a zombie! I took him home straight away (my heart was broken) and called this lady and bitched her out, and threw away the bottle of adderall. Prior to this he was receiving these meds from his pediatrician. Needless to say we've switched pediatricians.

He is now taking 20 mgs of prozac in the morning which does help with his emotions. Other than being emotional he is a wonderful kid. I am now homeschooling him because I was tired of the school and their behavior towards him. Everyday he was coming home with notes saying he had a bad day. Not that he was bad, but he gets overwhelmed in a large group setting. He is doing very well now and I'm glad I decided to take him out. My plan is for him to return to school, but only when he's ready.

[Jennifer]

Our son does really well with Focalin. When it wears off or he forgets, he gets very loopy and loud and has a lot of trouble focusing and controlling himself -- to the point where he actually does take it on his own sometimes, because he hates feeling that way.

It sounds not much different than anti-depressants. Some doctors might prescribe them inappropriately, and everyone reacts different to a particular medication. Sometimes it can take a very long time until something actually is effective.

How is he doing with the homeschooling? Does he like it better than regular school, and does he get out to see his friends at activities? You must have a very busy schedule (supermom time).

[MetalWounds]

I had a lot of the same problems that you mentioned when I was younger, being diagnosed ADHD, and back then that meant taking Ritalin. I used to get very emotional when I was taking it, I lost a lot of weight and didn't eat. Eventually my mother did the same thing you did and sought alternative options. I attribute the fault to my school for under stimulating me and not being "Ill", that's preposterous. I came very close to going to a private school, but my family couldn't afford it, so I just had to stick it out in public school (I only graduated with 60ish, so it was a very small school). I think that you're making the right decision. I know that in my case, learning the skills and working to overcome my problems were immensely valuable lessons and were much more beneficial than any medication could ever be. It seems that the "medicated child" is a result of parents' unwillingness to take the time to work with their children, which is a shame really.

[Jennifer]

I think there is a balance to be drawn.

At some point a child has to learn how to cope as best as possible without, so if they are always medicated, they won't learn the necessary skills. On the other hand, expecting a child to cope with something beyond their capabilities at the time is unrealistic and won't contribute to the desired end result -- a healthy adult who can function adequately in society on his or her own.

The stimulant ADD meds do have the difficulty of lessening hunger in the child, which was an issue for us because our son also has cystic fibrosis and doesn't absorb calories well. The last thing we needed was him not wanting to eat, because his calorie intake was already under par. So we had to strike a balance and do what we could.

I think situations are different, parental motivations are different, and there is no blanket answer to which one can attach a moral judgment.

[Jen]

Jennifer when you have some spare time watch this show (as mentioned you can online) It's enlightening and not suggesting that children don't take medication but asks where do we draw the line? As I said, our son doesn't have severe issues but I do realize that there are children who do.

Metal I agree with you, it really is a shame. Some parents just do whatever the Doctor says just to keep peace in their family. Some just simply do not want to deal with their child's issues so they dose them up good. I cannot, will not do this.

I am not passing judgment here, just telling my story thus far.