Posted on 01/04/2006 10:39:59 PM PST by neverdem
Psychotropic drug prescriptions for teenagers skyrocketed 250 percent between 1994 and 2001, rising particularly sharply after 1999, when the federal government allowed direct-to-consumer advertising and looser promotion of off-label use of prescription drugs, according to a new Brandeis University study in the journal Psychiatric Services.
This dramatic increase in adolescent visits to health care professionals which resulted in a prescription for a psychotropic drug occurred despite the fact that few psychotropic drugs, typically prescribed for ADHD, depression and other mood disorders, are approved for use in children under 18. The study is one of the first to focus on prescriptions to adolescents, rather than children in general.
The study shows that by 2001, one in every ten of all office visits by teenage boys led to a prescription for a psychotropic drug. Other findings in the study show that a diagnosis of ADHD was given in about one-third of office visits during the study period. Also, between 14 and 26 percent of visits in which psychotropic medications were prescribed did not have an associated mental health diagnosis, said lead author Professor Cindy Parks Thomas, an expert on prescription drug trends, at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
"There is an alarming increase in prescribing these drugs to teens, and the reasons for this trend need further scrutiny," said Thomas. "Our study suggests a number of factors may be particularly important to assess, including the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising and other marketing strategies."
Additional factors likely fueling the trend, noted by the authors, include greater acceptance among physicians and the public of psychotropic drugs, the advent of new medications with fewer side effects, increased screening for mental health disorders, and patient demand for such drugs. Nevertheless, the study noted that overall, pharmaceutical companies increased their spending on television advertising six fold, to $1.5 billion, between 1996 and 2000, with the trend accelerating after 1997, when the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act was passed.
However, at the same time teenagers were being prescribed more psychotropic drugs than ever before, other prescription drugs taken by adolescents were trending down, said Thomas. For example, the use of antibiotics, the most widely prescribed drugs for teenagers, fell dramatically in response to widespread public educational campaigns about the dangers of antibiotic resistance due to overuse of these drugs.
"The dramatic increase in prescribing of psychotropic medications is of considerable concern, particularly because these medications are not without risks," Thomas said.
Couple of years ago I lost a close relative. I was in the hospital room when they flatlined. I do what I have to do, walk out of the room and the doctor says, "Do you want a valium?'
"Uh, why?"
"You seem upset."
"Well yeah, pal. I'm supposed to be upset. It's what happens in these circumstances..." Actually, I didn't say that, but felt like it. I just said "No thanks."
It kinda hit me later that they're using drugs as the first choice rather than solving the problems.
Some do have actual problems that need medical attention but ignorance on the part of medical professionals treating them plus pharmaceutical companies IMO unethical pressures lead to a massive misdiagnoses and gross over prescribing of unnecessary medications.
ADD ADHD is there BUT there is a more common set of disorders {they can test for and confirm} called Central Auditory Processing Disorders. The symptoms mimic closely ADD ADHD and it takes either a trained Speech Pathologist or Audiologist to diagnose it. If you ask a shrink about C.A.P.D. you're gonna get a blank stare. C.A.P.S. is sensory damage or dysfunction believed to be caused from such things as chronic ear infections or chronic allergies that can damage a kid or adults Inner Ear.
There is a lot of information on CAPD out there. The best part is that the information comes far removed from Mental Health and even in most cases Pharmaceutical Company influences. Vestibular Research holds some answers but here is a clear danger the Mental Health pro's better face and understand. If you give a child or an adult who has sensory or motor sensory dysfunction drugs that can over tax their sensory system or cause a Serotonin migration to the brain, you stand a good risk of an adverse medication reaction called Serotonin Syndrome.
Serotonin is a chemical 98% contained in the stomach used for promoting digestion. The other 2% is located either in the brain or blood stream. When an adult or kid is given SSRI's and has this reaction the person can go psychotic even in the early stages {first few days of SSRI usage}.
It is a very real reaction and the person is not responsible nor can they control how they react to it. It is the same as giving them LSD maybe worse. Their hallucinations which can last up to 3-5 days from stopping the medication is their reality.
I don't argue the fact some adults need antidepressants as I have seen the good they can do. But I have also watched in horror for nearly a week someone in acute Serotonin Syndrome induced twice because the doctors insisted she needed more Zoloft.
The simple fact is doctors today do not do basic medical history & work ups to catch basic what used to be common problems and treat them. If a kid has an ear infection history, Chronic tonsilitus, Chronic streph Throat, vision dysfunction, trouble understanding you, and or sinus allergies, and acts like they have ADD ADHD they likely don't need Ritalin or an SSRI then.
They are acting out because their audio/visual sensory flooding & saturaterad environment is triggering them to act out. TV's can do it. Video games can do it also. A noisy class room is one they can not learn in. They can not listen and take notes etc. The behavior is caused by the frustration and agitation of multi-tasking which may be an impossibility or near impossibility for them. When that is understood & dealt with properly the symptoms subside somewhat and behavior improves. If not and they get prescribed sensory enhancers you can have a kid or adult ready to do harm to others.
And just try getting a health insurance policy if you have ever been prescribed a psychotropic drug; these teenagers will be "marked" for life.
No more coverage for any type of mental health issues, unless they can find a group policy with no restrictions. Lovely.
It is more common simply because the triggering conditions are more common. This has been here since man likely. But todays technology is placing some kids and some of us adults into a world that is overtaxing our abilities to process the audio & visual events around us. The result can be Cognitive Behavioral Problems. That means depression, anxiety, agiation, and other reactions. Here is a great description a long read but worth it.
COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF VESTIBULAR DISORDERS
The Mental Health Profession does not look for this problem nor do many family doctors who refer a kid to a shrink.
Now there's an interesting angle...
..."America's children are suffering from a nation gone mad with "legal" immorality of every kind, divorced parents, substance abuse, a lack of parental/teacher authority, violence glorified in tv/videos/movies, pressure to have sex by age 12, Satanic worship, body piercings, homosexual deviancy being almost worshipped by society, and worst of all from living in a country where God's name is prohibited by the state. In other words children are being raised in the chaos that State atheism has fostered. And the best answer they can find for our children is to feed them psyotropic drugs."...
I doubt that children today can ever grow up in a normal way, even with great parents. These outside forces have overwhelmed the home..Only God can set this right again..
..."It seems that childhood is now an illness and many relatively normal childhood behaviors are now unacceptable, or even criminal. Our kids are being screwed up at an alarming rate by everything from abusive parents, to public "educators," to self-appointed therapeutic messiahs. But we dare not do anything to make the little darlings feel shame or pain, and we certainly musn't teach them about God. Why, that would be abusive!..."
And, don't forget that boys must be feminine and "sensitive" and girls must be masculine and "bold." You know, they must show the same interests..They must show only unisex traits. If they do not, then, they might need a psychotropic drug. Also, if they are given a sex survey in kindergarten and are not yet interested or are ignorant of what sex is, etc., etc., then they need treatment to teach them what their little bodies need. We are truly a sick nation, and are becoming more and more like the Europeans and the Netherlands where, I hear, anything goes. The adults who are going along with this are probably "drugged" themselves..It is no wonder the little ones need drugs to help them endure what has become a lost childhood and a lost gender legacy.
It's not just teens. About half of my family is on ssomething to help them "cope". I think trusting in God and working with Him is much better than trusting in drugs.
In many instances, I'd be more inclined to trust my pharmacist than my doctor. I have only had doctors hand me prescriptions for things that would kill me three times. The pharmacist knows his drugs better, and is more likely to spot potential interactions between medications.
Much better program, IMO.
I am curious. The question, of course is whether these treatments are a). necessary b). effective and c). doing more good than harm?
As soon as scientists figured out how to effectively use anti-biotics, their use gew at a much more rapid pace. Obviously their use was to save lives.
In many respects these psycotropic drugs are only one place removed (at that) of "lifestyle" drugs.
But, for doctors to keep prescribing them and for the parents to be satisfied, these drugs must have an effect that is pleasing at least for the parents.
I'm sure the drugs are having the desired effect. The question is: will the long term effects be something less than desirable?
They are "lifestyle drugs" (if I understand the definition correctly). A woman's husband leaves her for the local cocktail waitress, a first move for her is to go on Prozac. I can't tell you how many women I've met who use the drug. Some of them like to mix the Prozac up with alcohol, pot and other misc. drugs -- so they have a nice stew of chemicals simmering away in their skulls.
In regards to kids, I would tend to view them as victims in this thing. You have GPs from HMOs prescribing these things like aspirin.
"And just try getting a health insurance policy if you have ever been prescribed a psychotropic drug; these teenagers will be "marked" for life."
Also do not forget...these kids will never legally own fire arms. Pretty sneaky way to promote a gun ban, hugh?
I have kids whose parents will shop around for a doctor until they get the diagnosis, and the drugs, that they want. Medicating them is far easier than actually parenting them.
To be fair, many of these parents were never parented themselves so they really have few inherent resources to draw on..
Dumb headline.... The prescription rate is up because the variety and effectiveness of drugs are up, while OTC availability is down.
20 years ago, they didn't prescribe drugs for ADHD, but self-medication was rampant through the availability of OTC drugs, like amphetamines, which now require a prescription. It's just that in 1980, they didn't classify amphetamines as psychotropic o r as prescription, they were OTC diet pills!
In 1994, when the survey period started, Prozac was the new kid on the block. People were very mistrusting of its effects, and frankly, with good reason; Prozac had the crudest effects. There are now dozens of safer drugs on the market which did not exist in 1994.
One day at lunch there were several mothers. At least three of them had children or grandchildren on drugs. It's a disgrace. Doctors don't have a clue what they're doing. They're just throwing sh__ against a fence post and hoping some sticks.
I don't think there should be any restrictions (i.e. no presecriptions needed, and no ban on direct-to-patient advertising) for any drug that doesn't have significant potential to cause harm to people OTHER than the person taking it. And frankly, if you take the drug alcohol as an unchangeable standard for where that line is drawn, there's practically no drug on the market today which would require a prescription. Alcohol is causing tens of thousands of deaths each year in this country, many of them innocent people who happened to be in the wrong place at the time, and crossed paths with the driving or violent drunk.
Currently, there's no way any drug could even get approval for prescription sale, much less OTC sale, with even a tenth of deaths inflicted by alcohol. There is no rational basis for such a system. And principles of liberty require that adults be allowed to do stupid dangerous things to themselves. If somebody wants to shoot up chemotherapy drugs, because they imagine that the ganglion cyst on their wrist is cancer, and don't want to pay a doctor and lab to find out what it really is, that's their business.
And principles of liberty require that adults be allowed to do stupid dangerous things to themselves.
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Agreed. Before I meant to say 'pharmaceutical companies' should be able to sell driectly to consumers, not 'pharmacies'.
And we need to abolish the damn FDA.
btw, interesting take/anology w/ alchol.
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