Psychiatric Medications: The Dilemma
Psychiatric medications can rescue a child from a desperate future, and sometimes even save a child's life. But their effects on children's developing minds and bodies are largely unknown. Most aren't approved by the FDA for use in children. Diagnosis is challenging since "normal" behavior varies widely. Developmental crises add to the confusion. Few objective tests exist to clarify parent, teacher and child reports. Reported symptoms like impulsivity or hyperactivity may suggest a host of possible diagnoses. Parents are bound to wonder when medications will really help, and when they're more trouble than they're worth.
Many parents also wonder whether psychiatric medication is used to control developmentally "normal" but "unacceptable" behavior. For example, hyperactivity in a child can interfere with learning and maturing, but sometimes it simply means that a developmentally unrealistic amount of time sitting still is being demanded of the child. Even when a psychiatric diagnosis is appropriate, parents worry about the price the child will pay. Identity and self-esteem take form in the vulnerable childhood years, but last a lifetime. Taking psychiatric medication can be the most tangible symbol of a diagnosis that children often misunderstand to mean they are defective. However, when treatment helps children function more effectively at home and at school, it can bolster fragile self-esteem. In some instances, cognitive, behavioral and other therapies may replace medication or reduce the amount needed. Adjustments of the school and home environment to the child's needs may also help.
Read the rest.
Excerpt from FRONTLINE's "The Medicated Child" Parent's Guide written by Joshua Sparrow, M.D., child psychiatrist at Children's Hospital, Boston, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Full URL to The Medicated Child Parent's Guide: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/parents/
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Frontline, PBS, The Medicated Child, psychiatric medications, child development, parenting, pediatrics
Many parents also wonder whether psychiatric medication is used to control developmentally "normal" but "unacceptable" behavior. For example, hyperactivity in a child can interfere with learning and maturing, but sometimes it simply means that a developmentally unrealistic amount of time sitting still is being demanded of the child. Even when a psychiatric diagnosis is appropriate, parents worry about the price the child will pay. Identity and self-esteem take form in the vulnerable childhood years, but last a lifetime. Taking psychiatric medication can be the most tangible symbol of a diagnosis that children often misunderstand to mean they are defective. However, when treatment helps children function more effectively at home and at school, it can bolster fragile self-esteem. In some instances, cognitive, behavioral and other therapies may replace medication or reduce the amount needed. Adjustments of the school and home environment to the child's needs may also help.
Read the rest.
Excerpt from FRONTLINE's "The Medicated Child" Parent's Guide written by Joshua Sparrow, M.D., child psychiatrist at Children's Hospital, Boston, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
Full URL to The Medicated Child Parent's Guide: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/parents/
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Frontline, PBS, The Medicated Child, psychiatric medications, child development, parenting, pediatrics
73 Comments:
the hardest thing I ever had to do was put my child on ritlin. Until you've lived through it, you can't understand. You just can't.
I see a four year old who gets more attention than his little sister because he acts up. What a coincidence that DJ's behavior got worse when he was 2 and his sister was born. I see a little girl who's hitting puberty while a psychiatrist hangs over her shoulder, diagnosing every little mood swing. These kids need better diets, exercise and fresh air, not drugs. Worse, the kids are self-stigmatizing as being mentally ill. You can see from the sad and haunted faces of the older kids that their own parents have stamped them as mentally ill. What kid can overcome being told their insane as toddlers? These drugs are simply sanitized versions of crack, meth, speed and downers. In the 70's young people took those drugs are were considered addicts. Now they are being given the drugs on purpose my doctors. The only one coming out ahead in this tragedy is Big Pharma. I thank god my parent's were too poor to have access to expensive drugs. Kids are anxious, nervous and moody - so what's new? Give them a journal to write bad poetry in. Take them to a sappy movie and let them cry. Tell them how miserable you were as a kid. We are stunting generations of children with these medications. But don't trade in your children's emotional well being just because you don't want to parent.
How hard could it be to put your kid on "ritlin?" Was it harder than spelling correctly? And if you can't even spell it, oops, I mean "spel" it, why give it to your child? What would these parents do if this was 1950 and these drugs weren't around, hm? I believe these parents would be forced to actually...oh, I don't know, PARENT! Our parents put up with our tantrums, yet this adult generation refuses to deal with any emotional mess that comes with having children. The only medication needed in these households is the Pill.
Wow, you people are harsh. I have three children. They've been parented by the same parents, using the same techniques.
Middle child was constantly in motion, couldn't sleep at night, barely ate, was in danger of being an absolute failure in school. Had we not gone through a complete psychiatric evaluation and received a diagnosis of ADHD, I shudder to think how things would have been. He'd have gotten through school, maybe even gotten to college, but not without serious damage to his self-esteem. You cannot go through life constantly being told "NO!", put in time outs, rejected by peers and the like without a price.
We put him on RITALIN (that was for the spelling police above) initially, and ultimately on AdderallXR (that's how it's spelled, spelling police). He did quite well in school, but more to the point, is doing well in life, with a job and a full-time college load, a girlfriend, friends and a burgeoning musical career.
I guess I didn't know how to parent because I opted for medication. Maybe it might have been better if I'd beaten him like my father did me. That was real parenting, parenting at its damn best.
I'm against even aspirin for my children. But my sister's experience with her child ( who has - the doctor believes - a version of ADD) has really opened my eyes. My sister is a good mom and a good person...I have watched her try everything - better diet, no TV, more exercise, being strict, being lax...nothing works with her son, nothing. (her other two children are no problem). She's feeling so guilty about having to put her son on a drug but, people, believe me, the woman has no choice.
The AMA, Child, Lawyer and Life Coach Connection
Thanks so much for emailing me about another airing of this pivotal documentary addressing our societal reaction to age appropriate child behavior, or what I have coined as “frizzamyers”. I appreciate being given an opportunity to provide an alternative healthcare perspective. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends physicians collaborate with alternative professionals who engage the non-invasive approach to child behavior. As founder of the Fearless Parenting Institute, the majority of my referrals have come from the medical community: including child psychiatrists, clinical therapists and even school districts. In one case the therapist said that she would wait a year if she had to, because she didn’t want anyone else working with the child but me! You can read about her high profile case in my latest book, Fearless Parenting, Raising Your Child w/ Confidence and Purpose. It won an award that even Disney recognizes. Here are a few small examples from another side of the elephant. Thanks so much for creating an open forum for the sake of America’s most vulnerable.
A Legal Point of View
Because she cried too much, a 6-month old was originally placed on medication for behavioral issues or “frizzamyers”. It then took 2.5 years for her to go into a coma, which is when a Hollywood Lawyer got involved. The Attorney called me to talk about the details of her case. Though she won, the child’s life continued to weigh in the balance, at last report.
A Medical Protocol
In the year that I spent working one-on-one with a child psychiatrist there were many unusual occurrences. One in particular stood out. A parent brought research on an eye dis-ease that was found to be associated with the particular medication being prescribed. The doctor having no knowledge of this, began researching the issue. It just so happened that the pharmaceutical rep who provided all the medical training for the provider, came to restock the shelves. This is an excerpt from page 89 of Fearless Parenting. “As the physician recounted the event, the rep’s expression went from sugary sweet to that of a rigid disciplinarian. He said, “You were not authorized to do that!” referring to the doctors research efforts. “WHO TOLD YOU TO DO THAT?”
A Parental Perspective
In giving a presentation to a group of parents whose children were wards of the court, and in high level residential treatment facilities, I began to see a pattern immerge. I asked them each to share the point when they first noticed something a bit different about their little darlings. One after the other they referred to the preschool years. They reported that their children’s “frizzmayers” included withdrawal, aggression, not following orders… And in each case neither the childcare providers nor the parents understood enough about child development to go about restoring balance. So these children’s behaviors continued unaddressed until they had escalated severely, eventually leading them into the system long term.
Fearless Parenting World View
In the last decade of coaching families and their most vulnerable I have yet to find a child who is the “problem”. It is more often the case that those around them have become accustomed to a lifestyle that allows much less room for childhood, thus creating opportunities for careers that modify it, all without addressing underlying causes in most cases. When I can get an onsite interview with the ABC news crew, you know something noteworthy has happened. Clients have been mainstreamed out the system and even special education through our child life coaching approach Providers have referred their more challenging patients to the Institute, strongly suggesting that there are alternatives to adult medication in preschool that work. With over 3 times as many children being expelled from a very first classroom experience, than all of k-12 combined, isn’t it time we started thinking outside the box? Come blog with me at: Http://ChildNoteBook.FearlessParenting.com.
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
www.FearlessParenting.com
Ok, Here we go again.. Definately have to respond to the DON'T WANT TO BE A PARENT comment..
Are You Kidding Me??? Obviously you haven't had any experience with children that are mentally ill. Have you ever seen a 6 year old in a 10 minute period cry, laugh, rage, and make statements that "I wish I was dead" "kill me" "Please make it stop" "Please help me" while he's slamming his head on the ground trying to make his brain feel better? You probably haven't!
You also I am sure have never witnessed a true rage either, one that last for hours and sometimes off and on for days on end that involves being chased around the house w/ knives, and being violently attacked by that same 6 year old.. and once medicated properly that same child makes comments like " Mommy isn't it great my brain doesn't want to hit you? " THAT child would never want to hurt me!
My daughter is 15, a teenager, and she has the normal mood changes that you are describing, she has never ever once had any of the issues my son has and OH, I am her mother TOO!! Imagine that! This has nothing to do with parenting!
As a matter of fact us parents, with children like mine deserve an Award! You have no idea what we go through on a daily basis just living with a child like this, let alone the Drs, specialists, therapists, school, everything is so much more then what even 10 normal children would need!
I can tell you that the majority of us have tried everything you can imagine, I know I have, from Specialists, to Naturapathic, Diets, NAET, Chiropractors, oh we even at one point tried a clean room envioronment! The list goes on and on.. My son has more medical records then our whole extended family put together.
To the person who said we don't want to parent I can tell you this you wouldn't last 3 days in my house when my son is Manic.. I bet you would be out the door within the 1st day!!!
If you still don't believe it, I am sure there are plenty of places that need help, you could volunteer, give it a few days, you will see, doesn't matter how much exercise, diet, fresh air they have.. it's a CHEMICAL IMBALANCE there brains are not functioning properly.. and if you really want to get into that conversation, look them up--here are a few, seratonin, dopamine,
norepinephrine, GABA, acetylcholine, and melatonin. You can google them and see exactly what action they have on our bodies!
Do your research before you make ignorant comments!
"Are You Kidding Me??? Obviously you haven't had any experience with children that are mentally ill."
Hello Dearest Parent,
I hear your heart even online, and so appreciate your willingness to address my apparent disregard for your circumstance. I admit that I have never been in your shoes. No matter how many children a person gives birth to or even coaches, none will ever compare to your personal experience. And I stand corrected. It was not my intention to sound insensative but to simply respond to what I learned from speaking directly with parents in a presentation format, along with over a decade of coaching families of young children with the full range of diagnoses and behavior medication.
The "parenting" comments you read were our findings together in that unique forum. They had not been brought together as a group to reflect in this way previously. So it was an altogether alternative approach to getting at the root of their challenges (a strength of my work). Infact they regularly met to talk about their pain and their losses. I was asked to give them feedback as a Pre-school and Family Life Coach. It is not fair it sounds to leave out the detail of that dialogue, seeing how much emotion I have brought to the surface. And I hear that clearly. My experience sounds quite unusual, based on your psychiatric confort level. I have very similar experiences with families who have embraced the medical model as their primary approach. So you are not alone. This is often the case, even when it is their attending psychiatrist (who knows my outcomes) that is referring them. This has been my experience. Yet if a family reading these posts has wondered whether there are other alternatives in existance I am compelled to share what has worked for others through the Fearless Parenting Institute. Out of respect for your circumstance I sincerely apology for the hurt my post has caused you, and I invite you to come blog with me at: ChildNoteBook.FearlessParenting.com. I would like to provide you with a free sample of coaching along with a copy of my latest book. If this also offends you please feel free to ignore the offer completely. I am only trying to say that I have not been where you are, but have coached enough high profile clients to know well what similar circumstances look like, and have coached enough clients to their goal line that clinicians recognize the value of what our Institute has to offer also. Again I appreciate your level of comfort in sharing your heart with me. And while this is a challenging topic in our society, I welcome the opportunity to improve upon my communication skills online. Take care. :)
There's a fearless parent in all of us. Seen yours lately?
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
www.FearlessParenting.com
P.S. Here is just one of the quotes I've gotten on my latest book. There are many more and I would gladly share them with you at your request. Take care. :)
Adelaide is a very talented woman who clearly understands parents as well as infant and child development. Families who want to get their children off to a good start would do well to read this book.”
Paul C. Holinger, MD., MPH, author of What Babies Say Before They Can Talk Training/Supervising Analyst,
Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis,
Professor of Psychiatry,
Rush University Medical Center
Why weren't there any parents like me? I see the meds as lifesavers. I do not consider this the hardest thing I ever had to do - we encountered a problem and we fixed it. Thank God we live in a world where this is possible!! This 'documentary' was an outrageous scare tactic and only served to inflame the uninformed. My opinion of Frontline is forever lowered.
to you people who consider those of us medicating our children as unable to handle 'childhood' and 'active' children, i can only speak for myself but you are sadly misinformed. None of us has to justify our decisions to anyone, least of all those who have no idea what they are speaking about and are armchair judge jury and psychiatrist. you can all go pound sand for all i care. thank god for these meds and i just pray the other children out there are being as well-medicated as mine is. this supposed documentary only showed the inflammatory side of the issue, not the successes.
Adelaide,
Thank You for your response. I hadn't read your post yet, I am so sorry that you felt like this was directed at you-- it wasn't-- my response was the reaction from this post-
"Anonymous said... I see a four year old who gets more attention than his little sister because he acts up. What a coincidence that DJ's behavior got worse when he was 2 and his sister was born."
This is the end of the post
"But don't trade in your children's emotional well being just because you don't want to parent"
Most of the people who make comments like this,usually have no idea what they are talking about. I have encountered SO many, in fact too many people who want to give advice, make judgements, and people who don't even have children who love to tell you what you're doing wrong. You know the saying “Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his. shoes.”
I also wanted Thank You for your offer, I will go to your website, I am always open to ANYTHING that might help..
I fought medication for years.. however, when the violence became completely out of control, and everything else that we tried didn't work, there wasn't many options left..
To be honest, I don't like medication, I don't like him being on the medication, and eventually hopefully he will be medication free.. but, for now this has been the only thing that has made it manageable, and what I mean by that is he is now not a danger to himself or others..
He has had 4 hospitalizations in the past 2 1/2 years.. yes, inpatient psychiatric.. he is 9..
We have tried over 15 types of medications to finally get a combination that works, just to make him manageable.. he is not on large doses, and is now only on 2 a mood stabalizer , and an anti-psychotic.. am I happy about this? absolutely not, but belieive me w/o the meds, well in the ER prior to the last inpatient visit, he had security watching him.. that should say enough..
I am very much open to learning about your program, and believe me, if this program worked for him, without the meds, really would be amazing and I would be elated..
Thank you again and I look forward to speaking w/ you on your website.. Julie
Hello Mom!
You have truly honored me tonight! My heart sunk just thinking that I had struck such a blow to your already wounded spirit as a parent, dear lady. So thanks for your willingness to help me understand.
Hearing your approach confirms what I know to be true of most in your shoes. You guys love your children and stand by them to the depth. For many of you it takes an inhumane toll on more than just your physical appearance too. No one knows the price you pay for loving at this level. I have only been blessed to be able to walk a mile with others like you. That's the closest I have ever come! So thanks for taking me up on my offer. I look forward to learning more of what you most want to see in your child 6 months from now.
I must share that your scenario is more common than you know. In fact I too have had a client younger than yours, who was placed in psychiatric lock down 3 times. It was this child's outcomes that earned us the interview on ABC news. She was being mainstreamed right out of special education as a result of our alliance. You would find comfort in knowing that your story is so common it makes my heart bleed with you. But may I challenge you to continue to parent fearlessly. You are continuing to open yourself to options that you may not have been aware of before. This is powerful! Its isn't about us getting it perfect but getting it started that counts.
So few were aware of this crisis prior to PBS. For this level of public awareness we owe much to the dear producer who has sacrificed herself greatly to bring it to us, along with her entire team. I understand well the fight that rages against the family in this country, as well as her haggered look in that photo, because I have also been there more than I want to admit, when they ask me to come to the television studios at a moments notice. I show up regardless, but loose alot of people when my appearance is less than politically correct. But no one asks what it takes for me to stop, drop it all and roll down to the station for an interview. As a mompreneur I am learning not to apologize for placing a higher priority on the "mom" part of that title these days. You do not need to apologize for putting out the fire, so you and your family can think about where you'd like to go from here.
P.S. Just to let you know the website is being completely redone for simplicity sake. I've gotten alot of critical feedback and am putting it to good use in the new lood. I have had to take it on myself as I had had more than my share of disappointing webmasters. So when I figure it out the site will be down for up to 48 hours. But my email will remain unchanged: unless I hit a wrong button. I'm so Internet challenged. Ugh! :)
There's a fearless parent in all of us. Seen yours lately?
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
Adelaide@FearlessParenting.com
www.FearlessParenting.com
To anonymous at 7:41 pm --
Amen, though I think that responsible parenting means investigating all options, not just pharmaceutical options, which we did.
To those of you who think we're disinterested in parenting, you're just plain wrong. More energy than you could possibly know goes into parenting a child who is suffering from mental illness. Still, when it's clear that medication is the answer, I don't need anyone who hasn't walked in my shoes to say my child just needs "more fresh air" or a "better diet".
You don't have a clue about me or my son, so keep your judgments to yourself.
To fearless parenting person, don't assume your approach will always work, especially where there are siblings and others in the family who deserve attention.
I no more agree with medicating 6-month old babies than I do with cutting my toes off. That's just wrong. It's also extreme, and is almost never the case. To use that as an example is unfair to the parents who have come to the realization when their child is around age 6 or so, that they need help greater than what they can do on their own.
Anonymous at the top of this discussion is right -- you cannot imagine or understand the decision-making process for medication unless you have done it yourself. And once that decision is made, do not judge me for making it.
"No choice" -- about medicating a child? And honestly if I get accused of not having lived through having a child with "ADHD" one more time I think I'll throw up. How many of you have lived through having a child die on and because of psychiatric medication? My child was murdered by psychiatry. I don't care what the short term benefits of putting your kid on Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera, Risperdal, Focalin, Trileptil, Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac -- you name it. I can promise you it's not worth the long term harm. How can you look at those kids in this Frontline video whose lives have been ruined, who will have mental and physical health issues for the rest of their lives, whose lives are in fact going to be cut short, who will be disabled, never be able to work full time, marry and have children, and still support medicating children who have no say in what's happening to them? All because parents, doctors, schools, big pharma, and psychiatry have "needs" that are being met by this treatment. The child's needs are nowhere in the equation. You can't think about the next few weeks, or even months. You need to be thinking about the child's whole life. If you're child has ADD/ADHD symptoms look to your entire family dynamic and a myriad of environmental factors including our whole capitalistic society before blaming the poor kid's brain. Even if it is something neurological it can be ameliorated in far better ways than by administering poison. Yes, stimulants work to improve task oriented performance over the short term just as steroids work for athletes but what a price to pay to achieve this very short sighted goal.
Dear psychpharmafighter,
Thanks for your insight. How have you come to respond to the loss of your little one? If there are others who have made similar choice and who may soon face what you have, what can you share that may also comfort them? What has been of the most comfort to you during this time? God bless you!
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
Come blog with me! http://ChildNoteBook.FearlessParenting.com
(Sorry posted this in another section)
Last year my son was out of CONTROL I wasn't sure what to do all my family said i think he is ADHD which runs in my family and what parent wants to think they have a ADHD child. I have never had him tested but found in March of 07 he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a few months later he was still out of control i was in tears every day cause my kid would not listen to me for the life of me. Come to find out a few months later he was diagnosed also with Celiac Disease which is a wheat intolerance so i had to put him on a gluten free diet. About 2 to 3 months later it was like a new kid a total turn around in his attitude at home and at school, (for awhile there i thought he was going to be kicked out of Kindergarten it was an every day struggle to tell him to behave at school.) My son was 6 at the time and now he is 7 it was so hard to put him on a gluten free diet from buying and finding gluten free food to making his school lunches, not going out to eat at certain restaurants not knowing if something had gluten in it and having a picky eater on top of everything. I have heard a gluten free diet could help children with ADD, ADHD and Atisum so that is why i thought i would write a comment on here. I have came across many sites on Google about Gluten Free foods that are helping children and not just for Celiac Disease.
In trying to show both sides of the issue the program actually presents a distorted view.
The young girl with psychosis is the exception to the rule. She was being seen by a referral center that has a catch area of perhaps 20% of the US population and even they thought she was so unusual that they immediately videotaped her.
In contrast the example of the side effect of tardive dyskinesia was only a moderate case and the show didn't point out that maybe 15 - 25% of kids could get them. Additionally, death due to these drugs at a rate approaching 1% a year is also common in adults, and we don't even know what the risk is in children who are likely given adult dosages.
For the rare and unusual case, off-label drug use by a referral center with careful monitoring may be appropriate, whereas off-label use by the typical pediatrician may not be.
The National Institutes of Mental Health is recommending antipsychotic drugs for children with ADHD who have temper tantrums that last for even a few hours.
For a personal perspective by the FDA reviewer whose own child is a candidate for these drugs according to the NIMH recommendations see:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/psych-drug-corp/fda-whistleblower/ronald-e-kavanagh
at
www.mindfreedom.org/
I've been a therapist in the trenches with toddlers and preschoolers for over 30 years. I can easily differentiate those who are "normally wiggly" from those whose attention and impulse control are clearly compomising their ability to learn and socialize. Medication has been a godsend in some cases, but as this show clearly illustrates, it's still a crap shoot. You just have to weigh the benefits against the risks. But fortunately, new complementary treatments are proliferating - treatments such as sound therapies, yoga (which was mentioned), movement programs,neurofeedback, cranial electrical stimulation and nutritional approaches. It's a shame all the money for research has to be from drug companies for drug research, when these much less risky and potentially beneficial alternative approaches sit on the sidelines. My own son, now 28, diagnosed with ADHD and depression throughout childhood, tried 6 different medications which either didn't work or had horrendous side effects. It wasn't until he had a SPECT scan that he was properly diagnosed with cyclothymia and prescribed a mood stabilizer. But by that time, we had wasted so many years, he was 22 and vowed never to take another med. Through love and support and fish oil, he's made it through college, has a good career and stable relationship, but struggles to this day with depression and alcoholism. We need to do the proper research, not just on drugs, but all potentially helpful treatments, then make those that pass muster accessible, affordable, and accepted by the mainstream medical community.
As a child psychiatrist, this report really hits home. During training, I participated in many medication trials in bipolar disorder in children. However, after leaving academia I became much more conservative about the diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I focused less upon their symptoms and more upon their life circumstances. Five problems exist for the proper treatment of children in a conservative manner with as few medications as possible. First, many adult psychiatrists or poorly trained child psychiatrists attempt to treat people under 18 without any training or caring about their proper diagnosis. Some adult psychiatrists who know and care little for children's specific situations bravely see children as well. They cavalierly see child patients and bravely prescribe away, despite their lack of training. Many neglect life circumstances in favor of a cookbook of diagnostic symptoms. Second, researchers within the field make large amounts of money finding their diagnosis where it did not exist before. Third, there is less and less payment for the practitioner that may be an expert in the condition, leading to a system that rewards nurse practitioners and social works to quickly make a diagnosis that most experienced child psychiatrists would be hesitant to make. The resulting expense in medication and human misery is not considered by the health care system. Forth, decreasing reimbursements for trained child psychiatrists lead to increasingly rapid diagnoses without consideration of alternative possibilities. Fifth, the problem of diagnosis and treatment increasingly falls to primary care practitioners who are increasingly targeted for specialty medication advertisement. Within the course of an average appointment, primary care doctors are expected to do a physical exam, complete a medical record, and prescribe a psychiatric medication within an average 15 minute visit.
Despite my pessimism so far, I have seen medications work in the vast majority of patients that I have treated, when they are properly diagnosed. In many cases, medication is not necessary. In some cases mild medication is used. The problem is that as the health system pays less and less for someone to see an experienced and properly trained physician or psychiatrist, much of the actual diagnosis is made by para-health professionals such as nurse practitioners and social workers who have even less time allotted may be very eager to suggest even more medications to people who do not know better. This is part of why drug manufacturers support prescriptions rights for lower level practitioners in many states.
P.S. that psychiatrist in the interview was an idiot, child psychiatrists know benzodiazepines, such as Xanax do not work in children.
Jessica the "young girl with psychosis" was NOT immediately filmed the first time she came in. If you read the comments (maybe it was an interview with the doctor in fact) on the Frontline website you discover that they filmed her at a visit which occurred AFTER she had started treatment, i.e. at the time of that clip that is aired in the show she was being MEDICATED and this is not disclosed on the air -- only in some obscure post on the website. Frankly I find this utterly shocking. How does anyone know if that "classic bipolar" behavior was being confounded by medication or not? If these drugs cause mania and psychosis in adults, what might they be doing in children? Furthermore Jessica was being led on and encouraged by the doctor and, even at that, I don't think her behavior was that bizarre for a child her age, certainly not enough to stick her with a lifelong diagnosis of a serious mental disorder and off label treatment with potent drugs. It's an outrage.
Thank God you have spoken up! So many are just not willing to come out of the closet, which explains why most all of these posts are coming from the parents who are themselves caught in the web ring. Having the confidence of a number of your colleagues for my outcomes with this same population, I am thrilled to see your willingness to speak to what you have encountered. Clinicians have discreetly sought my help mainly because of a lack of understanding of the above, coupled with the artificial settings their appointments take place in, as you mentioned. Its common that children and parents dissociate when they are on someone elses turf. Not to mention the difficulty of giving an objective view when its their own child in crisis. Disgustingly such inquiry has not been included anywhere in the intakes that I've seen used in initial psychiatric evaluations, And the dangerously high lithium levels, and the host of other contraindications affecting their physiological, neural, communicative development... So thanks so much for speaking up for infants and young children. I hear compassion for our most vulnerable all over your post! :)
There's a fearless parent in all of us. Seen yours lately?
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
Come blog with me!
www.FearlessParenting.com
Why is there no outrage!!!! I'd really like for the operator of "Brain Matters" to be called out. They were obviously running a scam and once they realized they were "outed" by frontline they go and declare bankruptcy!! These types of people, like the bias drug researchers are the scum of the earth!!!! Frontline should do a follow up on these dirtballs!!!!
Jacob's story broke my heart.
In the first video we viewed of him on the program he looked like nothing more than a normal, active, bright, life-joyful little boy.
But that's not normal anymore, is it. Not anymore. Not in a society in which little children are expected to sit for hours in a classroom listening to boring lessons in subjects they don't give a flying leap about. In the old days children like this just didn't go to school. They stayed home and did what they were good at--actually DOING things.
My youngest would likely be diagnosed ADHD were she in school. She has a difficult time concentrating on her lessons and a hard time sitting still to do her schoolwork. But it's not because she's abnormal. It's because she's a perfectly normal physical intelligence. When she's not actually doing them, she's thinking about doing physical things rather than spelling rules, that to any intelligent person make no sense whatsoever anyway.
But back to Jacob and this extremely lopsided program.
No once did anyone speculate that perhaps Jacob's later problems just might be caused by the effects of all those medications on his developing child's brain. What I saw was a sixteen year old zombie, the life gone from his eyes, the spark of intelligence that once shone from his face subdued--possibly forever.
Not once did anyone speculate that perhaps we're making a huge mistake jumping so quickly to medicate these kids, not knowing what these medications might be doing to their growing brains and bodies.
Not once did anyone wonder about alternatives, nor delve into studies on their effectiveness.
No. Just medicate, medicate, medicate. It's the American way. Don't try to solve the root problem. Don't wonder about what might actually be causing the problem in the first place. Nope. Just treat the symptoms with a panoply of chemicals in a world already poisoned by chemicals.
Think about it. The American medical establishment is incapable of curing anything.
No! you say. But don't they cure cancer? Don't those antibiotics cure strep throat?
No, they don't. They knock them down, but they don't ever cure them. Cancer goes into remission. No cancer patient is ever cleared as having no risk for a recurrence of cancer. They don't have a way to prevent your kid getting strep throat in the first place. They are no closer to finding a cure (which means an absolute preventive measure) for cancer than they were 100 years ago. Medications do NOT cure bipolar or ADHD, just like chemotherapy doesn't cure cancer.
Is anyone looking at the whole child? What environmental factors are in place? Have they checked for allergies and other mood altering illnesses? Have they tried family therapy? Have they ever wondered what exactly is wrong with some children being highly physically active, or what is wrong with some children having shorter attention spans? Have they tried finding out what their child is interested in and letting him do that thing to his heart's content instead of doing what everyone else thinks he should be interested in doing?
In Jacob's case, it seems like the cure is worse than the disease.
I believe the drug companies are driven by one motive...money. The drug companies don't care, and are completely aware they are destroying the minds of countless children with drugs we know little about. How dare anyone tell a child they need to be 'fixed' by making them more sick and dependent on drugs for the rest of their life. Does anyone remember what happened with the chemical industry in this country? For decades, the chemical companies dumped toxins into our water, air, and food. They said it was 'better living through chemistry'. Then the cancers started, plants died, animals died, environments were permanantly altered. We didn't realize the damage until decades after it started. When will we realize the full extent of the damage of people's minds? How will this affect the offspring of the medicated? This 'experiment' is more gruesome, more immoral, more worthy of prosecution for crimes against humanity than anything the Nazis, Pol Pot or any other mass murdering organization has ever perpetrated on a population.
I wonder if Brainquest compared that 11-year-old boy's brain with that of a normal 11-year-old. They didn't say.
In case you haven't noticed, kids (especially teens and preteens) tend to have mood swings--lots of them, some of them pretty severe. That's normal. And maybe that pink and white and black area of blood flow in the brain is typical for children of that boy's physical and psychological development.
And in case you didn't get the message from the film (because it wasn't there), if you decide there really might be something wrong with your kid, look EVERYWHERE for answers before you slap a label on him that's going to stay with him for the rest of his life, and NEVER NEVER NEVER accept a perscription for psychotropic medications from ANYONE but a highly trained psychiatrist who specializes in childhood behavioral disorder, and NEVER NEVER NEVER depend on those medications alone to solve the problem. Insist on and accept psychotherapy--no matter what the child's age. In fact, try it alone first.
Why is it an adult can go to jail for using marijuana, but doctors can prescribe multiple medications, not intended for children, to children as young as 4 years old which can (and have, in some cases) kill them?
The Childhood Bipolar Epidemic
On December 13, 2006, four-year-old Rebecca Riley died, drowning in her own lung secretions. Her death was the direct result of the psychiatric medications which had been prescribed to her for a presumed diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder—a diagnosis first given to her when she was only two years old. In September 2007, researchers at Columbia University reported that there had been a 40-fold increase in the number of children diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder from 1994 to 2003—an increase which has shown no signs of slowing.
Worse than the current frenzy to diagnose children with Bipolar Disorder, is the practice of medicating kids as young as two years old with the kinds of psychiatric medications that were once prescribed to psychotic adults, exclusively. The shocking reality is that the use of these potent anti-psychotic drugs in children increased more than 500 percent between 1993 and 2002. The boy, D.J., in Frontline clearly was being heavily medicated. Yet, the tremendous amount of medication he was taking hardly seemed worth the risks inherent with psychiatric drugs, given the lack of improvement in his behavior.
This dramatic rise in childhood Bipolar Disorder has spurred a raging debate in the mental health field. Some psychiatrists insist that this incredible increase is entirely due to identifying mentally ill children who had been previously overlooked. Yet, the 4000% increase in childhood Bipolar Disorder between 1994 and 2003, is simply implausible and difficult to justify based solely on improved diagnostic techniques. Quite to the contrary, in the 30-plus years that I have been treating, educating and caring for children—half of that time as a child psychiatrist—I have found that the approach to diagnostics in psychiatry has clearly deteriorated over time, not improved.
There was a time when doctors insisted on evaluating a child and his parents for hours before venturing a psychiatric diagnosis or prescribing a medication. Today many of my colleagues brag that they can complete an initial assessment of a child and write a prescription in less than 20 minutes. Many parents have told me it only took their previous doctor less than five minutes to diagnose and medicate their child. How, then, is it possible that in 2007, doctors are now able to identify hundreds of thousands of previously missed cases of Bipolar Disorder in children, by reducing the time spent with a patient from multiple hours to just a few minutes, as in the case of D.J. with his doctor?
There can be no question in the minds of reasonable people, that there is no possible way that the number of children who actually do have Bipolar Disorder has increased from approximately 20,000 to 800,000 in a nine year period. Yet, the arguments of skeptics are being dismissed by the academics in psychiatry. Research psychiatrists appear to be more invested in defending their research conclusions—funded by pharmaceutical companies—than engaging in a meaningful discussion which examines these preposterous demographics.
What I find more astounding than the claim that there are 800,000 American children with Bipolar Disorder, is the fact that there are that many children whose conduct is so aberrant that their parents are seeking psychiatric treatment.
The symptoms, which are regarded as evidence of Bipolar Disorder, are what most people recognize as ordinary belligerence. Children, like D.J., who have anger outbursts, are moody, refuse to go to bed, and are self-centered under the current standard of care in child psychiatry, are being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. To most rational human beings, these behaviors describe an ill-mannered, immature and poorly disciplined child. Nonetheless, the temper tantrums of belligerent children are increasingly being characterized by doctors as the mood swings of Bipolar Disorder.
The over-indulgent parenting practices over the last 20 years have created a generation of dysfunctional children who are becoming increasingly more entitled, defiant, and oppositional. In a poll by Associated Press-Ipsos, 93 percent of people surveyed said that today's parents are not doing a good job when it comes to teaching their kids to behave. According to Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., a Harvard psychologist, 50 percent of the parents he interviewed described themselves as more permissive than their parents had been.
The permissive parents of spoiled children seek refuge from blame, by using the excuse that their child's angry outbursts are merely the result of a chemical imbalance. Since a psychiatric condition is completely beyond a parent's control, a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder is the perfect alibi. Once a child has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, a parent can feel completely absolved of any guilt or responsibility for the child's misbehavior and therefore, the parents' discipline practices cannot be called into question.
Parents looking for a psychiatric explanation for their child's misbehavior, will find an abundance of support in the media, as on Frontline, and on the Web for the conclusion that their child's temper tantrums are due to a psychiatric disease rather than the result of bad parenting.
Psychiatrists, for their part, are more than willing to accept, without question, the assessment offered by a parent. Doctors have found it easier and less contentious to comply with a parent's wish to have their child diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, than to confront the parent with the notion that weak parenting is the root cause for the child's aberrant behavior.
Using the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, doctors are justifying the sedation of these oppositional children with powerful psychiatric drugs. Even though some children treated with anti-psychotics may be temporarily sedated, their belligerent attitude continues unchanged. Of the many children I treat every year, who had been previously diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, not one of these children stopped throwing tantrums after being treated with psychiatric medications. The children on Frontline are a perfect example of this. Yet, doctors continue to misdiagnose and overmedicate to appease frustrated parents, in spite of the many serious, permanent, or even lethal side effects. Tragically, as in the death of Rebecca Riley, her parents administered the multiple medications prescribed by their psychiatrist for Rebecca's "Bipolar Disorder" until the meds killed her. Later, in an interview on 60 Minutes, September 30 2007, Rebecca's mother told Katie Couric that she now believes that her four-year-old daughter had been misdiagnosed, never had been Bipolar, and that Rebecca was simply mischievous.
Just viewed the program...I have raised 5 children, all now grown and thriving. So many of the behaviors I witnessed in the program looked like normal behavior of a child. Personally I suggest evaluating the parents when children experience problems. Perhaps there is abuse at home or parental behavior distressing the child into unusual behavior. The child is challenged to be any healthier than the PARENT.
These psychiatrists and parents should also read The Family Crucible, by Napier and Whittaker. It takes a family systems therapy approach to working with a "problem child". This apporach is not for all families, and is not a panacea, but I was absolutely stunned that it appeared none of the MDs looked more closely at family dynamics and the parents' mental health, relationship and parenting skills. All of these can influence a child's behavior.
As an adult dealing with mental illness, I think this Frontline report does not do enough to address the glaringly obvious conflict of interest that exists between the psychiatric community and pharmaceutical companies. A 4000 PERCENT INCREASE in psychiatric diagnoses in children should not be swept under the rug, and I sincerely doubt the psychiatric community's commitment to policing itself when research and speaking engagements are funded by pharmaceutical companies.
I keep reading that leading psychiatrists admit that medication and talk therapy together offer the best results, but have yet to see a psychiatrist who suggests or coordinates such treatments, something that was also apparent in the Frontline report. I realize that there is a privacy concern, but if a combined approach offers the best outcome, why do so few psychiatrists offer or coordinate other therapies with the medication? As an adult, I know the game--report more symptoms, receive more medication--and I rarely spend more than 15 minutes with a psychiatrist. I don't think 15 minutes is adequate time to make such an evaluation, especially for children, whose symptoms are reported by parents.
It is the grand experiment, as evidenced by the boy who was on nine different medications at one time. What if these kids really do need to see endocrinologists, allergists or other specialists? There should be a strict protocol for psychiatrists and other doctors to follow before they prescribe children brain-altering medications only tested in adults--and often tested in small studies without control subjects, for obvious ethical concerns.
Parents please seek out a second opinion and a third if necessary!!
I am a former special ed. teacher. But the the best training I received was not from a university, it from raising our son who is adopted. We are currently, raising our grandson and for us, the educational training continues. Both our son and grandson have been identified with Bipolar Disorder, Autism,& ADHD. (Our son also has Tourettes.) After 30 years of consulting doctors we have found that these idenifications can easily change with different practioners. The bottom line is this, the mental health practicioners in this country are poorly trained. Currently, diagnosis and determining proper medication is simply a guessing game. As a nation, we (not drug companies) should be funding all kinds of research to better care for these children and their families. University professors do not know, nor can they teach what professionals need to know to appropriately work with children with brain disorders. Teachers are not trained to handle autism, bipolar or other brain disorders properly in the school setting. The United States is one of the wealthest nations on this planet, yet so little money goes towards solving the problems of the needest of our people. The medical establishment has made remarkable progress in childhood cancers, yet children with brain disorders and their parents must not only face these cruel syndromes but also the ignorance of our society. Until and unless we are willing to take on this task we will be unable to properly address crime, poverty or the terrible heart break that children and their families must endure on a daily basis.
Kids will be kids and deserve the respect of their parents and doctors to grow and develop without drug. Instead or drugging the children, try changing their stimulus, environment, diet or other alternative therapies such as psychology, parenting classes, massage, and even biogenesis.us. the drug companies are using your children as revenue and nothing else. think twice, no think 100 times, before drugging your children.
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I grew up in the 80's and the early 90's as the first wave of kids being diagnosed, mostly improperly diagnosed, and spent most of my teen years in and out of psych wards, adult psych wards. 95% of the meds they put me on during that period are not available to kids these days, and I was on the highest dose possible on almost all of those. I see my oldest daughter showing the same signs I did all those years ago, and I have decided to put my foot down. My daughter does Play therapy, participates in activities such as yoga, and gymnastics to relieve stress and work through irritablilty with a proper outlet. The only med that she is on is Abilify, and that is for the main reason of actually being trialed with adolecents, and proves to have few, if at all, harmful side affects in kids. I also work with National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, to prevent families like mine from ever having to share this story with other parents 20 years down the road.
After watching the show again last evening (I've watched it at least three times) I have a very important comment for those medicating their children prompted by D.J.'s mother's remarks. These parents have no understanding at all of drug tolerance and withdrawal effects. If D.J., Jessica, and Jacob are having violent mood swings and irritability once treatment is under way this could well be drug induced, certainly drug exacerbated. When you try different drugs and chop and change dosages this wreaks havoc on the body and brain and don't imagine for one minute that as soon as the drug is out of the bloodstream that this stops. Psych drug withdrawal is a very painful and lengthy process. It can take as long to get off successfully as the treatment itself has lasted. A taper must be incredibly slow -- no more than a 10 percent cut of the treating dose every two weeks and sometimes less. This is why it is so important to be reluctant about staying on these drugs indefinitely. It can take years to come off and neither patients nor professionals are getting any guidance on this process from big pharma I can promise you that. You have to seek out withdrawal support groups on the internet to get help and support. A very few books have been written on it. Everyone assumes it's the "disease" coming back when things "go south" during withdrawal or transition between drugs but any underlying condition has been so confounded with drug effects that it is extreme arrogance to say it's the child's brain at that point.
And one other thing, I think the doctors in this show should disclose whether they are on psych drugs themselves. Psych drugs are known to impair judgment. Dr. Bacon, in particular, in his shiny blue Mafia shirt looks very flat in his affect. Dr. Axelson is normal in his affect but grandiose in his manner -- unbelievably patronizing to Jessica while gambling with her future and her well-being. The hubris that is behind the treatment decisions these guys are making is something to behold. Parents beware!
Hello again psychpharmafighter,
Just as I suspected. How could you have anything but powerful insight to offer us on this side or grief! Thanks so much!
Adelaide : )
this comment is for psyhcpharmafighter. I as parent who has been on psych medication myself know the side effects of coming off, and long term of being on. I recently got some work done, and as a 27 year old female, I have the brain of a 60 year old with early onset alzheimers. My teeth are being destoyed because many of the meds I was previouly on cause the same response as meth, or meth mouth; look it up. I also still suffer from tics and stuttering from the meds given to me when I was misdiagnosed as Schitzophrenic. I am furious that I most likely will not be able to enjoy the adult years of either my girls due to the harmfull affects of my previous mental health treatment. So when it came to the treatment of my daughter, I did not go in lightly. Do you think there aren't studies done on long term side effects of these meds? I am in a 10 year study going over the side affects of 5 medications that I personally was on from ages 12-15. Yes, it is 25 years later, but I am happy to be a part of something that will make sure this current generation of kids never have to tell their spouses that they will have to put the one they love in a adult living facility before retirement age due to a past doctors mistakes. Everything on the market these days, I go over the side effects and fda warnings with a fine tooth comb. I discuss with NAMI parents who have experience with it. I never go by only what my daughter's doctor tells me. That would be ignorance. Oh, and you may think it is fun to make fun of people's mental state by what they wear and not by the plack on their wall, but here is something: I am bipolar. I am an RN. I also have my bachelors in Criminal Justice. My husband is ADHD and has Aspergers,look it up. He is a Lawyer that works for the Government. Being mentally ill doesn't make you stupid or inept. Being close minded and a jerk does.
As usual Frontline did a FANTASTIC job of highlighting this issue. It's hard to know if your doctor is right, wrong, or simply benefiting from prescribing the drugs. We've created a website for drug addiction to get the word out that doctors may be part of the problem as well as part of the solution. Our website is:
http://Drug-addiction-support.org
Thanks for another fantastic show and I applaud ALL of your efforts!
After watching the program, I couldn't help but think of an "American Experience" episode I had recently viewed about the famous photographer and concert level pianist Ansel Adams. It sounded like he exhibited symptoms similar to ADHD and maybe even manic behavior. Luckily there were no pharmaceutical companies pushing pills and his father; not willing to write his son off, chose to have him tutored at home. This allowed Ansel to pursue interests that captivated him; therefore, he excelled. As I watched young DJ drum on pots and twirl with a harmonica, I saw a musician, an artist. He came from a creative household, right; his dad is a writer, so why wouldn’t he be creative. I can’t imagine that he has a creative spark left in him now. The money spent on doctor visits and buying pills could have easily paid for a home tutor. Are we destroying future great artists with these mind numbing drugs? Please parents consider every option before medicating away your child's creativity.
Hello Anonymous,
Would you believe great minds think alike, because I had a very similar thought when I watched it too. In fact I was so fascinated by this musical angle that I've included info on Newton, Einstein, Woolworth and others in my book who also fit this same child's profile. And once again fearless parenting is to be thanked in large part for us being able to advance our learning in math, turn on light bulbs and being able to shop til we drop. I've developed actual indicators/clues to identifying your child's vent using what I call Adelogic Aptitudes. So thanks for reminding all of us how well the thinking brain works. :)
There's a fearless parent in all of us. Seen yours lately?
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
Come blog with me!
http://ChildNoteBook.FearlessParenting.com
Hasn't anyone wondered WHY the bi-polar diagnoses in children have increased? If all these children ARE bi-polar, shouldn't we be focusing on the WHY? And "under diagnosing" can be all of it.
I don't know if it's environmental or parental, but it seems unbelievable. As an adult raised by Depression Era parents, the idea of medicating a young child or teen who has mood swings seems completely wrong to me.
I had many responses to the show and many of the comments I've read have already expressed my concerns.
But my other thought about these children on LIFE LONG medications....
The medications are bad enough, but at least the parents are paying for them. But one day these kids will grow up, get out of school and get a job.
Let's hope they all get good jobs that offer health insurance WITH prescription drug cards.
And we know that doesn't always happen.
I am a parent of a child who was blessed with a beuatiful physically healthy child 8 years ago. After bringing him home from the hospital it did not take long for my husband and I to realize that he was simply 'wired' differently. He as extremely irritable, rarely wanted to be held, cried often, and was very diffucult to sooth. As he has grown, that underlying temperment of general irritaility, anxiousness, and flash anger has persisted. We love our son with all our souls, hearts, and beings. To see a child exhibit so much discomfort in a world that was and is loving, supportive, warm, and safe without any notable actual threat is heartbreaking. The intensity of his feelings of unrest are palpable just in the air. We have sought help through a local mental health office with counseling and the recommendation of prescription drugs. I wish that I can convey how difficult it has been for our son and our family. Choices to love him to the best of our ability and to provide him with the greatest quality of life are paramount. After reserach, second, third, fourth opinions and trials of therapy, diet, play therapy, physical ativities that most children love (but not him), we made the choice to start him on an atypical antipsycotic (abilify). It was the hardest choice of our lives. I have given you a glimps of what he was like temprementaly before his medication but activites of his that really helped make the decision to medicate was he would be awake all night most nights from early infancy, throughout toddlerhood, preschool, and into elementary doing things that could and did cause harm to him and to us. It is unnatural to go without sleep daily - impossible for his father and I - but yet he would persit and amaze us at his ingunity to dimantle every type of child proofing product on the market that we could find leading to very memorable scary events. I hate the thought of medicating my son. I worry about him daily. What will his life be life? Will he ever have any friends? What must he feel? Are we doing the right thing? I can tell you since stating the medication he is much improved. He sleeps through the night, he is doing well as school, but still doesn't have any friends that he can tell us about. The biggest things is the quality of his life if so much improved, the irritability and anger have been dampen but are still there are a daily basis. I tell you my story because I love my son. His father and I are very good parents. Not overindulgent or permisive nor too strict or severe in our dicipline. Some things in life are beyond science or medicine to figure out but are simply Gifts from God - such as our son. In life one must take what they are given and create the most/best they can with what we as humans have figured out.
I was falsely diagnosed as bipolar and over medicated as a child in the 90s. I suffered heart palpitations, abdominal pain, gushing nosebleeds, and many other side effects. My parents' psychiatrists tell me that they are not legally required to give me copies of my medical records. I was abused and I am furious. I will never know what I was given or how it could have permanently affected my health.
Kiki Chang from The Medicated Child documentary is horrible, a monster. He is exactly what is wrong with psychiatry today - for profit industry disguising itself as medicine.
There are definately situations when medication is needed.
There is a BIG difference between a child that has ADD / ADHD and one with Bipolar. There is a difference between a child that is hyperactive and one that is suicidal and extremely violent. Also there are degrees of a persons illness.
My daughter has ADD but, I choose not to medicate her, she has been able to learn coping skills that help her stay organized and other things that I have been able to teach her to stay focused...
However, my son is Bipolar and High Functioning Autistic.. he NEEDS medication!! Have I tried other things prior to medication? YOU BET I HAVE.. but, it doesn't work.. the medication is not a cure.. it is a band-aid to help w/ the symptoms so that he can function..
What the program didn't show is what it looks like when a child is MANIC and SUICIDAL.. we have been there many times.. he has had 4 inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations in the past 3 years.. He is 9..
He started medication at age 6 when he became so out of control that he was a danger to himself and everyone else around him. Do I want him on the meds? NO! Do they help him function? YES! Have we exhausted other options? YES, however, we are still pursuing other areas to see if eventually we can get him off of the meds.. but, to date nothing else has worked..
We have been through 4 psychiatrists because, to be honest, I know more than a few that we had! I know the types of meds my son can't take, and I know the ones that work.. Out of approx. 20 types of medications only 2 have helped him.. some of them especially the SSRI's and SNRI's make him CRAZY.. Usually w/ bipolar they can make children Manic or suicidal or both. When the psychiatrist wanted to put him on Ritalin, I told him NO. Usually if an anti-depressant has the effect that it had the stimualant could have sent him right over the edge.. The psychiatrist that we have now didn't even want to try the Ritalin while he was in the hospital becauses he knew that it could really send him off balance. The Dr. we have now listens to me and is very open to anything that I want to try or disagree with.
I think that when making the decision to medicate you need to find the right Dr. this can take awhile.. You need to research the medication, learn the side effects and watch your child closely.. My son was on risperdal and within days he started having involuntary tongue movements (TD).. what did we do? We stopped the medication.. Over time you learn what types of medications they react to .. If they became more activated on an SSRI then more than likely they can't have SSRI's or SNRI's.. it is very hard to know because every child is different that's why it's so important to watch the reactions.
Would I have had my son on 4 or more medications at a time? NO, because then how would you know what was doing what.. The psychiatrists should know this and I am sad to say some of them don't.. As a parent you have to be the one to do the research, take notes, and watch the medications and reactions carefully.
Whenever we tried a new medication I always only gave him one at a time for a week or so to make sure he didn't have a reaction and then I would slowly add another med and watch his reaction.. If after the second med was added and he started getting crazy again then I knew which med it was.. sometimes when you are adding so many medications at the same time you have no idea which one is causing the problem.
Do I agree that 2 year olds should be medicated ? NO, even if they are out of control they are still manageable.. My son was out of control for as long as I remember but, there's a difference between managing a 2 year old and a 6 year old w/ superhuman strength that is Manic and Suicidal ( Mixed state ) at the same time..
Until we are able to find something else that will help him we really don't have a choice not to medicate.
The medication has saved his life.. I know it's hard for people to believe that a child can be suicidal at 6 or even so violent that he can't be managed, but, it is true.. none of this was really shown on the program.. when you watch the program and see the children they are not showing the behaviors that are usually seen with severly mentally ill people..not to say that they didn't have them but, it wasn't shown..
If they would have shown an actual rage, a child who was manic, or a suicidal child banging his head on the wall or slamming it on the ground and begging to die, on the program people watching would understand our choice to medicate..
I am sure that I speak for the majority of us parents out there that medicate our children, this is not something that we want to be doing.. most of us have tried everything posible before choosing the medication.. The medication was our last hope, and hopefully not the final solution.
It is important for people to understand that there are various degrees of all of these disorders, while some are mild you also have the extreme cases.. so when we are talking about medicating children those with serious mental illness really need medication, just like the diabetic that needs insulin..
If there has indeed been a rise in childhood bi-polar disease in the last 20 years, there needs to be more focus on why. Just like the recent upsurge of autism has been linked to mercury in tuna and vaccinations. There was also a recent report regarding the cocktail of pharmaceuticals that is present in municipal water supplies. Some studies even linked the lack of male fish in a stream below a water treatment plant to an overload of female hormones being flushed down the toilet. What will the next trend be for pharmaceutical companies—hormone replacement for your effeminate son.
I myself am what many would consider to be one of the "insane children." Had I seen a doctor in my early years, today I would probably be dead.
My parents said that as a baby and toddler I cried a lot, I was often afraid of things that made no sense to them, and I had horrible mood swings. I would display symptoms of depression in Winter, mania in the Summer, and during Spring and Autumn it seemed like a transitional period filled with euphoria. I remember my childhood moods and thoughts unlike anyone I have ever met. I remember musing over the deaths of family, friends, teachers. Then crying at the thought of the loss of them. I was very attached to my teachers, they were the greatest inspiriations for me. My mother left when I was about five, and my father finally decided to be a father to us when I was seven. But my mind had gone to that place called insanity long before that. I have always had hillucinations. Always. For nine years, between the ages of seven and sixteen, I slept on average of four hours a day. I displayed symptoms of OCD, I cleaned all the time, did my homework, helped my little brother with his. I was a model student, straight A's. I made sure the bills were paid, my father earned the money obviously, I sent the checks. I had several babysitting jobs. After teaching myself to read at the age of seven, I read often. Teachers had tried beforehand but could not find the solution to why I could not read. So, with many other things in my life, I solved the problem. At the age of sixteen the primary mania that had kept me going turned to depression as my primary emotion. It was after the use of antidepressants that I first actually considered suicide. At the age of eighteen I sat on the edge of the bathtub staring into my bottle of antidepressants, calmly telling myself that all I need to do is take all ninety of them, and everything would be okay. It was the first time in my life that I had only one thought in my head. Instead, I poured them down the toilet. Two years later, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was switched from medication to medication, being on some for only a week, then changing to a completely different medication. My psychologist looked at me like I were a monster when I said calmly that I wanted to hurt my husband. But I had no idea why. I never would, I had taught myself that those thoughts were not to be acted upon. She felt that if she asked me why several times I would just magically remember. There was no reason, it was just a thought, just like always. My psychiatrist gave up after four months on medications. Four months. I had tried every antipsychotic and antidepressant known aside from Geodon in four months. I was sick, weak, my brain felt like mush. And she wanted me to be committed and put on electroconvulsive therapy. I told her I wanted to take the medication again, but this time slower and gradualize into each one, not just start at the highest dose. She refused, then told my husband that she thought I should be committed because I had refused to sign an antisuicide contract. I had signed one, at my first appointment. I confronted her on her lies. She denied them, until I brought my husband in, and I demanded to see my file. There it was, third page down, my contract. I never went back, I gradualized of my medications, and accepted that I am who I am, and the world would survive me being in it. She told me that I should have been on medications since I was a toddler, based on the fact that both my parents had histories of mental illness, not my own illness.
For those worried that their child's ticks and tantrums will keep them from being funtional members of society, I am married, have lots of friends, I own my own home, and I work full time in a retail pahrmacy, I am in college, studying to be a librarian. The most unstable times in my psychological life were the times I was on my medications. To take away what was called my insanity was to take away my drive to live.
Oh, and to add, I am a writer, a painter, musician, and scientist. There is no limit to my potential but the limit I set. And my little brother that was diagnosed with ADD at the age of five and medicated, wound up on drugs, with a legal record, and unable to graduate high school because the medication left him strung out, tired and nearly starved because he had no appitite. He could not focus anymore on the medications than off, he was just calmer so it made his teachers' lives easier. He showed a lot more potential than I did in the math department, he taught himself everything up to basic algebra by the age of five. All that was flushed down the toilet when he was put on Ritalin and he lost the desire to learn because he was to drugged up to want to get up, much less read or study.
Hello PBS Friends,
If there was a way of summarizing all that we have shared here, it would certainly include walking a wrenching mile together. One thing is for sure, medicating our most vulnerable is ripping at all our hearts, as we bleed right along with those of you who are in the trenches. Some of us are prepared to reach out with uniquely suited resources during times like these. Our services are not apart of what you will hear about through your HMOs, PPOs, schools or pediatricians. Only the savviest researcher parents find us because our referrals come through word of mouth. Sadly there are not more of us hear sharing it with you. Our services are not funded. So the families who access them are among societies elite. But I submit that we are here. Putting out the fire and getting through the crisis in any way you can makes sense in some cases. We cannot think straight when fists are flying, ear piercing screams are shouting, threats of violence are before us, AWOL is happening, psychiatric lock downs are pending, law enforcement is knocking, repeat expulsions are hanging over our heads, and no one seeming to be putting their arms around us as the parents, when we're scared too. But when the crisis has been subdued it is then time to get fearless again. For those who desire it balance can be achieved. There is "no" circumstance too overwhelming for the miraculous power of the human spirit. In the most dire situations, when families are able to feel safe, miracles still happen. Life balance is fully achievable. The Fearless Parenting Institute proves it every day, and while our unique life coaching approach is trend setting, we are by no means the only approach that is healing the hurting. So take heart families. Once we have been able to vent as this segment has allowed all of us to do, then let's reflect on where we most want to see our children and families go from here. No medical protocol can do that for us. But when we've reached the point in America where 3 times as many preschool children are being expelled than all of those in K-12 combined, it just may be time to re-think the Universal Preschool Paradigm. And when we do doors will open just as they have to the psychiatrist's offices. Just as they have to the classrooms where parents gauge their most vulnerable by the masses around them. Just as they have to our wombs and adoptive arms and more. And one of the most encouraging take-a-ways from what PBS has done, is that they have given us the opportunity to find each other in this place, and to share the journey at all points along the continuum of life. If you receive it in its purest form, we have been given the opportunity to grieve together. To become aware of our need to stand together as a nation of wounded. We're done it in past if we are willing to remember. IF we choose it again, we will immerge with our children viewing life from our shoulders, wobbly, clumsy, and oh so powerfully! We use to be the envy of the world. This is what American's have always been made of. That crazy mixture of love and lunacy. I challenge you to join me in choosing to embrace the journey with lips that give words that encourage each other. We have plenty of enemies on our televisions and around the world. Let them not be each other anymore. Acknowledge that there is help beyond what you will find access to in the mainstream, and then seize the day so our children will know how to do the same. Then we will be able to get around to family building in America.
“The best way to raise an astonishing child is to follow the cues imprinted on your family’s heart.”
— Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
Come blog with me!
http://ChildNoteBook.FearlessParenting.com
www.FearlessParenting.com
After watching this show (which I thought was a good production overall) I was concerned that nothing was presented related to diet or nutrition. There is an aversion to focus on any nutritionally related detriments including highly processed foods and especially sugar which is used now more than ever before in everything we eat. It is even in saltines. The average American eats half a pound of sugar a day or more. It is an inexpensive additive and it adds weight to food products. It is a poison in my opinion. The increase in children's type II diabetes is alarming and is frighteningly parallel to the consumption of sugar over the last 50 years (according to NIH and the CDC).
The trend with most Doctors and Pharmaceutical companies is for palliative care. The word "cure" is painfully absent from any course of study or treatment. The FDA is complicit in this. Since there are no laws that require pharmaceutical companies to provide cures (even when they may exist) then they are not compelled to do so.
Folic acid was know to prevent birth defects for more than a decade before it was agreed to be added to enrich bread. The fact that we must "enrich" anything should raise alarms to the absence of whole foods.
Studies must be done independent of the influences of drug companies, food processors, agricultural interests, even doctors since it is often not in their financial best interests to comply or to concede these possibilities.
After I saw bipolar kids on pbs I was on "shock".
Doctors have no answers?
FDA don't know what to said?
How a 4 years old boy can take the same meds that I take?
I am 38, female,bipolar disorder all my life.So, I think I can talk for my own experience.
Dear parents: Is very hard to diagnose bipolar disorder, that's is true.
The most important is "family support and love ", this is the key.
The meds have side effects like diabetes, for that point, is simple, less sugar and please let your kids play sports outside whatever they like and you can also can have games inside when they have moods changes.
I know is very hard, but with the right meds they can have a normal life, they can be brillant and success.Follow in a paper every single day of you kid, paid attention what they have to said to every single word. Ask for help to friends and another members on your family.Look information online. This is for life there's not cure and they are changes when they became teenagers.
Please don't "panic", everything is possible with God love.
I don't have family support everybody run away, but guest what? I am still living.
I was misdiagnose for more than 20 years, but in this country they save my life on 4 hours !
This country have all the reserch and enoght money to help and answers all your millons questions, I don't know what they are doing ? There kids life and they have not answers? This mayme mad, Im really sorry.
God bless you all.
Karina.
Every parent - I urge you to read "Is This Your Child" by Dr. Doris M. Rapp, before you agree to put your child on ANY medication! This book saved my son's life and kept our family from falling to pieces. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Dr. Rapp's book offered us the answers that Dr.s and Specialists were unable to do (yet they cost us every penny of our savings). Dr. Rapp not only described our son's behaviors and issues with incredible detail, but also offered a full allergy diet to try in order to pin point the allergies that were causing my son's behaviors. After trying going through the allergy diet, we found the triggers that were behind the tantrums, meltdowns, violent outbursts - ALL of it.
Amazingly even I found out that I had an unrecognized allergy / hypersensitivity to wheat that was causing extreme migraines. Allergy tests had not picked up on the hypersensitivities, but once our bodies were away from the triggers long enough, it was very apparent the obvious connection between the trigger and the reaction when the trigger was reintroduced into our diet. It was incredible that this book I got for $13 on Amazon.com, gave us the answers that no other Dr. or Specialist had been able to do.
I urge you for your child's sake and your own sake to get this book and for your whole family to go through the allergy diet. You have nothing to loose and so much to gain.
Please, Please read the book and try the diet before letting any Dr. put your child on a pschyatric med or antidepressent (Prozac nearly killed my son). If your child is already on meds, read the book and try the diet anyway - you may find a much better alternative.
I hope & pray that every parent around the world will try the allergy diet with their child - the results may be astonishing.
JR, Illinois
JR. Illinois.
I am really sorry Sir, but bipolar is not about diet or alergie.
Is about quimicals in the brain that you have but I don't.
That's the reason they have to replace with meds.
With the right dose.
You can look a picture about a brain with or without bipolar disoder I.
Thanks.
This is in response to the anonymous who said this:
"There is an aversion to focus on any nutritionally related detriments including highly processed foods and especially sugar which is used now more than ever before in everything we eat."
Please note, that actually sugar (real sugar cane sugar) is not in nearly as much food as CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, HIGH MALTOSE CORN SYRUP, MAISE SYRUP, etc. All these are names for genetically modified versions of corn syrup which has clinically been proven to cause harmful side effects. In the 1960's it was even banned in the U.S. due to the harmful side effects it caused in humans. Somehow in the early
80's it was permitted to be used in foods not just as a sweetner but also a preservative, addative, and flavoring. It is masked as a variety of names and sometimes hidden all together from labels. You will find it in approx. 80% of all 'kid' foods (hot dogs, buns, cereals, candies, yogurts, hostess treats, bread, jelly, balogna, and so much more). It has been medically proven that genetically modified corn syrup passes through the body's normal detection of 'sugars' without being recognized. In other words, the brain knows to say 'I'm full' when enough sugars have registered in theis detection center. However corn syrup bipasses the detection and not only gets by without the brain registering that it is full, the brain and body actually become addicted and want more & more corn syrup.
I tell you from real life experience that this is fact. My son became so addicted to corn syrup additives that it was unreal. We couldn't figure out what was causing all his behavioral out bursts and physical problems until we read Dr. Rapp's book "Is This Your Child?" With the help of her allergy diet and having already been journaling what he'd been eating at school & home, we found that corn syrup was actually the biggest factor in all of his problems! As it turned out almost the entire menu at his school lunch room contains corn syrup (chocolate milk, fruit in heavy syrup, the dressing for the salad, the canned mashed potatoes, the gravy, and even the meats often had corn syrup additives!). That was why we had such a hard time pin-pointing what food could be causing certain reactions - it wasn't the food, it was the additive in the food!!!
His hypersensitivity to corn syrup led to numerous misdiagnoses from multiple doctors and specialists alike. Each one thought it was something different. None agreed on a diagnosis but all agreed on more $, more tests & more meds.
Quite to their dismay, when we found out that Corn syrup was his #1 hypersensitivity and wheat #2 and removed both from his diet - the change was nothing short of miraculous. It was night and day differnce noted by his teachers, classmates, doctors, everyone. They couldn't believe that food & environmental allergies & hypersensitivities had caused so many problems for a child, but they had.
Dr. Rapp's book "Is This Your Child" described in such tremendous detail the things my son had been experiencing, that I would have sworn she had met him and wrote much of the book about him. Her allergy diet plan was a God send. It helped us more than any Dr., drug, or therapy we had tried.
Everyone should read this book and try the diet. It could help so many people.
By the way, several years back Dr. Rapp was on the Oprah show and I think the Today show discussing allergies/hypersensitivities and their links to various health problems.
I think if everyone tried the allergy diet, at least 50% of people diagnosed with a particular health issue would find that it was actually a biproduct of a food allergy or sensitivity or an environmental one. You would be amazed at the results if you just try it.
I can honestly say that my son is still alive because of that book (he nearly died because a Dr. put him on prozac - and had horrible complications). And I no longer suffer from terrible migraines thanks to that book. It is more than worth the $13 - $20 you'll pay on Amazon and it could save you so much. It is the most important book I've ever read.
JR, Illinois
Karina,
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not discounting bipolar at all.
I understand that it is very real and that it is a matter dealing with the brain. I completely agree with you about that.
What I am saying, is that there are many times when allergies and food or environmental hypersensitivities can cause severe symptoms which manifest and can be misdiagnosed by some doctors as a host of other illnesses including bipolar. Unfortunately there are some doctors out there who will grab at a diagnosis and offer drugs first thing without going through all the testing and background necessary.
That is not to say that all doctors do that by any means. There are wonderful doctors who truly care for their patients and go step by step through each procedure necessary to get an accurate diagnosis. God Bless those Doctors and the lucky patients who have them on their side.
Unfortunately not all patients are so lucky and not all Doctors are so intent on getting to an accurate diagnosis. Some are more concerned with writing out one script after another without considering side effects or other options. And some are just out to make money on one office visit after another, meanwhile bleeding the patient dry. Unfortunately there are some unscrupulous Drs.
Regardless of a person's particular illness, finding out whether or not they have allergies or sensitivities can be incredibly beneficial to their health.
My goal is simply to offer an option that helped our family tremendously, in hopes that it may help someone and perhaps that person will find a way to help someone else.
By the way, one of the many mis-diagnoses that one doctor gave my child was bi-polar, despite not doing a tenth of the testing required to diagnosis it. Like I said, some Dr.s just kind of grab at straws rather than really looking for the truth.
Oh, and for the record JR is my initials, I am a Mrs. not a Mr.
Thanks.
(Mrs.)J.R., Illinois
To the person who wrote this on April 9:
"However, my son is Bipolar and High Functioning Autistic.. he NEEDS medication!! Have I tried other things prior to medication? YOU BET I HAVE.. but, it doesn't work.. the medication is not a cure.. it is a band-aid to help w/ the symptoms so that he can function.. "
I know what you are going through. My son has Asperger's and at one point was misdiagnosed as having bi-polar also (despite not actually being tested for it). I know exactly the rages you are talking about, the head banging, super-human strength, the whole works. My son was 8 and the biggest kid in his class when the worst of the rages hit. When he jumped off the top bunk and landed on top of my husband during a rage it scared the daylights out of us both. Up til then my husband hadn't really seen any of the full rages and thought I was embellishing! Let me tell you, that day he became a believer!
We tried drug after drug, therapy upon therapy. Dr's, Specialists, one after another, everyone wanted to send us to someone. We went through our entire savings with no real answers. We went through reactions to drugs and dealings with school. We went through hell & back. I feel for anyone who has to go through that. I kringed each time a dr. said the name of a new drug to try. I researched all the side effects and known information about each drug before allowing my child to try it. Time and again we were disappointed with meds. The only one that seemed to help a little was Lithium. And that wasn't from a Dr's recommendation even, that was from Temple Grandin mentioning it in a speech she gave one day. I asked the Dr. and he said, we'll try it since the others aren't helping!
Since reading Dr. Rapp's book & going through the allergy diet, I'm thrilled to say that my son no longer takes lithium or any of the drugs the specialists had tried him on. Now he simply takes to allergy pills a day and watches what he eats, staying away from anything with corn syrup, wheat, and the other 36 things we found out he had allergies/food sensitivities to!
I really like your comment about comparing kids on meds to kids who need insulin. You are right. One day (prior to the allergy diet), a teacher asked me if my son could just 'turn off' the bad behavior! My comment was 'no more than a diabetic can 'turn off' their diabetes.' My son could not control what was going on inside his mind & body any more than a diabetic could will their pancreas to make the right amount of insulin. Whether it is medication or diet or a combination, kids who need help, need help that's all there is to it. Taking meds away from a kid who needs them to function would be like taking a wheelchair away from a paraplegic. It would just be ludicrus.
Mrs. J.R., Illinois
Why aren't the medical professionals evaluating these children and their parents for Asperger's Syndrome...a form of 'higher functioning autism'?
Asperger's adults have been improperly diagnosed as bi-polar, schizophrenic, ADHD, OCD/ODD, etc, etc. EVERY parent should read Prof. Tony Attwood, PhD's latest book, "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome"...also "Asperger's in Adults...Is Anyone Listening?". Both books are pub;ished by Jessica Kingsley Publishers/UK: www.jkp.com
There are other options than medications, that do not work for most with Asperger's Syndrome.
I certainly agree there are children out there who definately need medical assistance to balance their little bodies. I have a problem, however, understanding why so many parents and their doctors prescribe one medicine on top of another! I couldn't believe all the pills the kids were taking in the Frontline program I saw. I wouldn't take so many myself so why would I do that to my child?! I've met a number of parents who've turned to meds because they "give up" on trying other ways to help their kids and it makes me sad. Again, I don't say that about everyone. I have a daughter who was diagnosed with ADHD, which I had previously researched on my own. Through great thought and prayer, my husband and I decided against medicating her. Instead, we've watched the foods she eats, practice Yoga, meditation and "brain gym", all which have helped trmendously in our home. I will, forever, do anything not to medicate my children, but do all I can to encourage them with my love, healthy food and emotional support!
(Mrs.)J.R., Illinois
Thank you for not getting mad with me.
I truly believe that healthy food is the key. But I was born in Argentina where the food is different and I realize that when I came to this country,I didn't know what Syrup was.I didn't know about all the junk food.We cooked every meal.
Thanks.
Welcome to America Karina,
I am thrilled to see someone willing to share another side of the elephant with us in America. You bring a much needed view of what we are doing to ourselves. We now rank less than 40th of healthy nations around the world, placing us squarely among the most destitute in the known world, according to the World Health Organization. So again thanks dear lady for telling like it should be in your new homeland. Take care. :)
There's a fearles parent in all of us. Seen yours lately?
Adelaide Zindler, FP (Fearless Parent)
www.FearlessParenting.com
To Mrs. J.R., Illinois,
You responded to my post on April 9th.
I have Dr. Rapp's book here somewhere. I will try to find it again. We did try that years ago and he was on Gluten / Casien free since he was 2.. however, over the course of time with new habilitation people coming in I know they were giving him things that he couldn't have. Approx. 1 year ago we put him back on Gluten so that we could test and rule out Celiac.. When he was 2 he tested high positive to Gluten so that's why it was removed so long ago.. however, he still has major Gastrointestinal issues, Colitis, Gastritis, and Reflux.. The celiac test came back negative, the Dr. said that it could take 2 years of eating Gluten to get accurate results however, I don't want to wait that long because on his last colonoscopy there was damage to the villi, which more then likely is from the Gluten..
So we are back to Gluten free, and he is eating more whole foods now.. I know that he has allergies however, it is very hard to pinpoint to what. We've had ALCAT testing and both IgG IgE bloodwork. I am sure that he has seasonal allergies also and this may be the reason for the significant behavior changes in the spring and fall..
What allergy medication do you use? I had tried benadryl and he can't take that.. makes him crazy! He is so sensitive to supplements and medications that I have to be very careful.
It's interesting because I know in her book she talks about red ears.. There was another book that I was reading on Bipolar, a Dr. had written the book, and she mentions that she has noticed this..
If you could let me know what allergy meds he takes I would greatly appreciate it.. I have been wanting to try to see if that helps him.. Thank You..
Current Depression Medications: Do The Benefits Outweigh the Harm?
Presently, for the treatment of depression and other what some claim are mental disorders, as they are questionable, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the drugs of choice by most prescribers. Such meds, meds that affect the mind, are called psychotropic medications. SSRIs also include a few meds in this class with the addition of a norepinephrine uptake inhibitor added to the SSRI, and these are referred to SNRI medications. Examples of SNRIs are Cymbalta and Effexor. Some consider these classes of meds a next generation after benzodiazepines, as there are similarities regarding their intake by others, yet the mechanisms of action are clearly different, but not their continued use and popularity by others.
Some Definitions:
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter thought to be associated with mood. The hypothesis was first suggested in the mid 1960s that this neurotransmitter may play a role in moods and emotions in humans. Yet to this day, the serotonin correlation with such behavioral and mental conditions is only theoretical. In fact, the psychiatrist’s bible, which is the DSM, states that the definite etiology of depression remains a mystery and is unknown. So a chemical imbalance in the brain is not proven to be the cause of mood disorders, it is only suspected with limited scientific evidence. In fact, diagnosing diseases such as depression is based on subjective assessment only, as interpreted by the prescriber, so one could question the accuracy of such diagnoses.
Norepinephrine is a stress hormone, which many believe help those who have such mood disorders as depression. Basically, with the theory that by adding this hormone, the SSRI will be more efficacious for a patient prescribed such a med.
And depression is only one of those mood disorders that may exist, yet possibly the most devastating one. An accurate diagnosis of these mood conditions lack complete accuracy, as they can only be defined conceptually, so the diagnosis is dependent on subjective criteria, such as questionnaires. There is no objective diagnostic testing for depression. Yet the diagnosis of depression in patients has increased quite a bit over the decades. Also, few would argue that depression does not exist in other people. Yet, one may contemplate, actually how many other people are really depressed?
Several decades ago, less than 1 percent of the U.S. populations were thought to have depression. Today, it is believed that about 10 percent of the populations have depression at some time in their lives. Why this great increase in the growth of this condition remains unknown and is subject to speculation. What is known is that the psychiatry specialty is the one specialty most paid to by certain pharmaceutical companies for ultimately and eventual support of their psychotropic meds, as this industry clearly desires market growth of these products. Regardless, SSRIs and SRNIs are the preferred treatment methods if depression or other mood disorders are suspected by a health care provider. Yet these meds discussed clearly are not the only treatments, medicinally or otherwise, for depression and other related disease states.
Over 30 million scripts of these types of meds are written annually, and the franchise is around 20 billion dollars a year, with some of the meds costing over 3 dollars per tablet. There are about ten different SSRI/SRNI meds available, many of which are now generic, yet essentially, they appear to be similar in regards to their efficacy and adverse events. The newest one, a SNRI called Pristiq, was approved in 2008, and is believed to being promoted for treatment for menopause. The first one of these SSRI meds was Prozac, which was available in 1988, and the drug was greatly praised for its ability to transform the lives of those who consumed this medication in the years that followed. Some termed Prozac, ‘the happy pill’. In addition, as the years went by and more drugs in this class became available, Prozac was the one of preference for many doctors for children. A favorable book was published specifically regarding this medication soon after it became so popular with others.
Furthermore, these meds have received additional indications besides depression for some really questionable conditions, such as social phobia and premenstrual syndrome. With the latter, I find it hard to believe that a natural female experience can be considered a treatable disease. Social phobia is a personality trait, in my opinion, which has been called shyness or perhaps a term coined by Dr. Carl Jung, which is introversion, so this probably should not be labeled a treatable disease as well. There are other indications for certain behavioral manifestations as well with the different SSRIs or SRNIs. So the market continues to grow with these meds. Yet, it is believed that these meds are effective in only about half of those who take them, so they are not going to be beneficial for those suspected of having certain medical illnesses treated by such meds. The makers of such meds seemed to have created such conditions besides depression for additional utilization of these types of medications, and are active and have been active in forming symbiotic relationships with related disease- specific support groups, such as providing financial support for screenings for the indicated conditions of their meds- screening of children and adolescents in particular, I understand, and as a layperson, I consider such activities dangerous and inappropriate for several reasons.
Danger and concerns by others primarily involves the adverse effects associated with these types of meds, which include suicidal thoughts and actions, violence, including acts of homicide, and aggression, among others, and the makers of such drugs are suspected to have known about these effects and did not share them with the public in a timely and critical manner. While most SSRIs and SNRIs are approved for use in adults only, prescribing these meds to children and adolescents has drawn the most attention and debate with others, such as those in the medical profession as well as citizen watchdog groups. The reasons for this attention are due to the potential off-label use of these meds in this population, yet what may be most shocking is the fact that some of the makers of these meds did not release clinical study information about the risks of suicide as well as the other adverse events related to such populations, including the decreased efficacy of SSRIs in general, which is believed to be less than 10 percent more effective than a placebo. Paxil caught the attention of the government regarding this issue of data suppression some time ago, this hiding such important information- Elliot Spitzer specifically, as I recall.
And there are very serious questions about the use of SSRIs in children and adolescents regarding the effects of these meds on them. For example, do the SSRIs correct or create brain states considered not within normal limits, which in effect could cause harm rather than benefit? Are adolescents really depressed, or just experiencing what was once considered normal teenage angst? Do SSRIs have an effect on the brain development and their identity of such young people? Do adolescents in particular become dangerous or bizarre due to SSRIs interfering with the myelination occurring in their still developing brains? No one seems to know the correct answer to such questions, yet the danger associated with the use of SSRIs does in fact exist. It is observed in some who take such meds, but not all who take these meds. Yet health care providers possibly should be much more aware of these possibilities
Finally, if SSRIs are discontinued, immediately in particular instead of a gradual discontinuation, withdrawals are believed to be quite brutal, and may be a catalyst for suicide in itself, as not only are these meds habit forming, but discontinuing these meds, I understand, leaves the brain in a state of neurochemical instability, as the neurons are recalibrating upon discontinuation of the SSRI that altered the brain of the consumer of this type of med. This occurs to some degree with any psychotropic med, yet the withdrawals can reach a state of danger for the victim in some classes of meds such as SSRIs, it is believed.
SSRIs and SRNIs have been claimed by doctors and patients to be extremely beneficial for the patient’s well -being regarding the patient’s mental issues where these types of meds are used, yet the risk factors associated with this class of medications may outweigh any perceived benefit for the patient taking such a drug. Considering the lack of efficacy that has been demonstrated objectively, along with the deadly adverse events with these meds only recently brought to the attention of others, other treatment options should probably be considered, but that is up to the discretion of the prescriber.
“I use to care, but now I take a pill for that.” --- Author unknown
Dan Abshear
hi there, i have a 4 year old son, only son, coz i'm not ready yet to have another one after all the hardships i've experienced from son since birth and up to now, but i can proudly say i overcome all of that. but the only one that i can not handle anymore is his sleeping problem. you see his super hyperactive. he dn't take a nap, but still he refuses to sleep early, i'll put him in the bed at 8pm, after all the same routine warm bath, books, but after i leave him in the room, he will keep still playing and everything to keep him awake, he's controlling his sleep, you can't see him tired or sleepy, he will sleep only because i'm forcing and i'm angry with him, everynight thats my problem. my husband told me that, he's going to sleep if he really wants, but the problem he's going to sleep, what time 1 am , and waking 7 in the morning yes, no matter how late he sleeps at night, he still waking up very early in the morning. now my question is can melatonin to my son. is it safe? now i'm calling his pedia to make an appointment, because i can't stand this problem any longer, maybe he needs medical help. thank you.
Hello Mom,
How empowering to have a global community of supportive parents to walk a mile with you!
I am hearing a few questions that you may also find worth exploring...
How long has this been your child's sleep pattern?
Does your family embrace co-sleeping or has he always slept by himself?
Have you been traveling or experienced another form of interruption in your normal pattern recently?
How does he rest when in your parents home, with friends and/or on vacation?
How are your family's interactions aside from rest times? Is there opportunity for more peaceful interactions, or are you guys compassionate with each other for the most part?
What is Dad seeing in his son overall? While our husbands naturally approach parenting differently than we do, their input by design brings an extraordinary balance that causes our children to flourish more often than not.
Any one of the above may provide you with clues. Additionally, your provider may well offer you the immediate support you are looking for. I have experienced the brain fog that comes from long term sleep deprivation more times than I'd like to admit. There are also naturopathic solutions, osteopathic and even acupuncture to name a few. Each may offer another side of the elephant, so a consultation can help you find where your family will be most comfortable. Consider exploring eating behaviors, classroom environments and physical activity in general. Each plays a critical role in our overall wellbeing. Please choose not to let this become overwhelming. Engage your support systems by breaking up the tasks of your choosing and share the research quest with your loved ones. Allow yourself to become vulnerable to the input of trusted loved ones during this time. You'll find your level of tension easing as your team shares input together. In the meantime...
Believe well!
Adelaide Zindler, B.S., Fp
The E-School Coach
http://www.FearlessParenting.com
800.599.0997
P.S. The balance you seek is much closer than you think. So you go get um fearless one!!!
I am a mother of a 3 year old wonderfully active little boy. I am also a sufferer of mental illness. I know first hand how it feels to be evaluated and tested and the whole nine. Though for a child to have to endure such pain and embarresment and invalidation is heartbreaking to me. Yes the drug companies come on strong, however mental illness in the U.S is a growing problem, and the stigma of it isn't going away fast enough. For all of you out there who think that life saving vaccines are harmful, and won't give a screaming child who is cutting teeth a dose of Motrin, you, in my opinion, are selfish. I understand parents not wanting to over medicate your children. I don't either. But, when it is necessary it is just that.
Get those children off medication through the use of NAET. It is 50 years ahead of all other medical systems; simply amazing. Between NAET and EFT you can fix about anything from colds to cancer.
Lon
I know that you are talking about Ritalin and the like, but has any of you had any experience with a 15 year old boy who suddenly starts having wild mood swings? My son will literally go from laughing and having fun with friends to sitting alone in his room telling his friends they need to go home because he is too sad to have friends over to 20 minutes later texting and IM those same friends about going to the movies later. Bi-polar and manic depressive seem to take days to go from high to low. My son does it several times a day! Is it just hormones or should I get him to a doctor? Any experience out there?
Get him to a doctor. In kids and teens, bipolar can cycle very rapidly. Poor kid is probably miserable. Get him some help. And I don't mean he has to be medicated. Talking is great. Maybe he will need some meds, maybe he won't. But just having someone to talk to, to help decipher the pattern and note the triggers, to help him identify what he's going through - that will help him a great deal. Good luck.
My son is living with my mother right now while I relocate and try to get life back on track for the both of us after leaving a BAD relationship (yeah me) His school is suggesting "focus med's". What are these? Does anyone know what they are talking about? He has ADHD per his doctor, but we haven't done meds yet. I'm confused and scared about this and would like some input. I don't have the ability to continually check this site, but would appreciate some advice at tmlarkins@yahoo.com THANK YOU!!!
Our son is 10 years old and is having behavior issuses. Yes, he is on focalin and it works. We have had behavioral therapy and speech therapy and any therpy that we can find. He is from Korea and has no medical backgroud. It has been like finding a needle in a hay stack. Just recently being on focalin he was having meltdown for 11 am to 1 pm in school. So, the Dr. changed his medication to focalin xr to which our surprise was a much lesser dose than what he was getting before. We went to another Dr. and he prescribed focalin at different intervals for school time so he did not meltdown and could be attentive and focus. After that he was unfocussed in the morning and calm in the afternoon. A real little cupcake! The Dr. then suggested to give him 12.5 mg morning dose and which was more just for the morning. Are we looking at adhd? pdd? or for that fact central auditory processing issue. If you could please please give us some insight to our wonderful little boy who says "Mommy I feel better" after medicated. His behaviors have esculated since winter break and we do not know what to do. Yes, he has allergies to soy, soybean oil, cat, dog and trees 3+. Acdemically, he is in the 4th grade in a learning disable class and is reading and doing math. Sometimes, on command doing his school work he does not want to do his work and this is when we have behaviors or when it is like he is craving attention. So, whether it be demands on command or attention this is when we see the behaviors. Yes, I have tell you that the Focalin has worked for our son. Very hard to live through this. It is all about our son and only our son. Thank you.
I have a 7 year old that threatens to kill us, himself, run away, throws metal at us, kicks, bites, screams, has even gotten knives out and threatened to stab us. I was just getting this behavior under control, after my husband and I divorced, when due to some things my ex did that I had to pay for, the state took my children and placed them in foster care. We had already had CFS in our home for over 7 months by this time. My son's behavior was controlled, until the day they took him......Now, he has been in a youth psychiatric facility twice in less than 2 months, and my attorney will not get in touch with me so I can petition the judge to let me have my children home since the 'issue' they were so concerned about has been taken care of. I do not know what to do. My son is angry, yes he is bipolar, but I know how to deal with that behavior, not by medicating him, I don't trust the medications they have not been approved for use in children, and I have a 15 year old that has ADHD, a 12 year old, and then the 7year old, so I know about these medications. Can anyone help me get my children home so that I can again help my son, the state is definitely not doing it, they believe sending him off and dosing him with medications is all he needs. I believe it is love, guidance, counsel, and consequences for his actions, and we had just gotten him to the point where he would go to his room when he was having a 'bad day' as he says. Please help me...
This is for 'kd71652'. I feel for you. I truly understand what you are going through. My oldest son has been ADHD since he could walk and just this past year he was finally diagnosed as to having Aspergers Syndrome also. He is now 11 and still we have not gotten his medications right. But he is doing so much better. He is on Focalin, Strattera, and now have added Wellbutrin also. When he is not medicated, he is totally out of control and can be dangerous to others and himself.
I do not know what state you are from, but I do know that you should contact your state representative and explain in full detail all that has went on. If he/she is worthy of the position in Office, they will help you in finding the right person to get your son back home and get the right psychiatric help to maintain his mental state. I understand about the problems of marriage with this also. Maybe you could reconcile if you show that you are doing the best you can under the circumstances. But men need to know that they come before the children most of the time. We went through the same thing and almost divorced. Children ranting causes more stress than a marriage can tolerate sometimes. My children mean the world to me, but I also know that they will someday leave home and I will only have my husband. So I know that I must put him first and let God take care of the children.
Choices of doctors make a big difference also. Sometimes a neurologist is better at helping than a psychiatrist. I wish behavioral insurance would cover a neurologist. We were seeing a neurologist for over a year before they decided they couldn't cover it anymore. Now he has to see a psychiatrist, and that doctor doesn't know what else to do. So I have been looking at all medications online, and giving him suggestions. That is why my son is on so much. It isn't because I don't want to parent him. I want him to be able to function and play with his younger brothers and sister. He can't and won't play with anyone when he is not medicated. With the medication he could be totally normal if it weren't for the Aspergers Syndrome. There isn't anything that can be done about that yet. It hasn't been researched enough to know what can be done for it. So we just use the trial and error idea until he is better.
Please contact your representative or senator as soon as possible. Email them and even give them the link to this blog to help them understand more about what is going on. Email me if you need help with anything. I'll be more than happy to help you. wilson6ranch@wichitaonline.net God Bless!!!
until you have walked in our shoes and had to make the difficult decision to start a medication,you don't have a clue. No parent wants their child on medication but when you have taken all roads it is the last resort the the childs quality of life and yours as well.
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