Ritalin is safe - and it works

The Detroit News ^ | Thursday, December 12, 2002 | Detroit News staff and wire reports

[hunter112]

Teachers want children to conform to a cookie press.

Nope, just boys. They need to keep their silly hands down in math class to give the girls a chance to answer, remember?

Ritalin turned my kid into a zombie. Unfortunately, my ex had his custody. Later on, when I went for custody of my other two kids, I discovered that she was keeping him on the stuff long after his doctors had determined that he had outgrown it. All this "study" is, is butt covering by the screwed up medical profession, the same people who want you to shoot poison (Botox) into your face, so they can make a buck off it.

[copycat]

Hey, man. I was addessing my comments toward the purveyors of this "study," not you, sorry. I don't want THEM to tell me when I should medicate.

In any case, I think there are probably some children who do benefit from Ritalin, but by my way of thinking, it's less than 20 percent. The rest of them are on it for minor behavioral issues that neither the parents not school want to deal with...IMHO.

My son has been asked twice to test for ADD, and both times we have declined. I know him, he doesn't need it. I understand him and know why they believe he is a candidate, but they are mistaken in his case...his issues stem from his home life, and not any "disorder."

I also believe that, despite this "growing their brain" study, that science does not fully understand the long term effects of sedating a large segment of the population, and how they will react in the future...

I believe this phenomenon has already manifested itself as sociopathic violence in our schools.

FReegards...

[xJones]

You want a weak America, turn your boys to girls, then we could all be happy lesbians.

Maybe that's part of the idea, but there's no such thing as a happy lesbian, they're all very angry.

[Marie]

"The overall size of Einstein's brain is unremarkable. It actually weighed a third of a pound less than the three-pound average of adult males. In 1985, scientists at University of California, Berkeley reported that portions of Einstein?s brain had higher-than-normal numbers of glial cells, which feed neurons. The Berkeley researchers suggested that the extra glial cells were needed to nourish Einstein?s high-performance neurons, but that finding remained controversial."

"Einstein's brain, they point out, was of average size or smaller, indistinguishable from a billion others."

"How big is your brain?

It is as big as your two fists put together. It is almost full grown when you are 7 years old. It weighs about 3 pounds when fully grown.

Did you know that the brain does not have to be big to be smart? In fact, Albert Einstein's brain was smaller than a normal adult brain usually is."

[Hila]

Ritalin: a drug is a drug, is a drug, is a drug. It is not natural to make children swallow drugs and it is not a good future for the generations to be raised on drugs - even under the reasoning of "helping" them. Natural supplements, behavior modification through parental attention, and teachers who would truly want to be involved in educating would work wonders.

[mlo]

I have no idea of the "vast majority" or not. I do know that there's a lot of kids that "teaching to behave better" has only limited success. You can teach a nearsighted kid to sit close to the front of the class, or to squint to see (instead of giving him glasses), but that's not solving the problem.

It is nothing like nearsightedness. Nearsightedness is a physical defect. What is the definition of ADD? What is the physical condition that causes it?

[Jeff Gordon]

I apologize for the wording of my request to you. The statement was outrageous but it seems to be more or less correct according to your link.

I did find this statement at the end of the article to be interresting:

The burgeoning use of Ritalin is prompting military planners to take a closer look at ADD and how it might affect future manpower needs. The Pentagon is studying the training the training-camp performance of former Ritalin users who enlisted with the help of a medical waiver, said policy-planner Baldwin, a medical doctor.

It does appear that waivers have been given for Ritalin usage. It will be interesting to see what they learn from their studies.

[lavaroise]

Another blanket statement for handing out drugs like candy. Everyone is different and has side effects. To master the drug and tell people to flock to it like sheeps this way is the most evil irresponsible crap ever.

[Jeff Gordon]

Thank you for telling your experiences. I do have a question.

You said I'm also aware that in my state (MA), gun permit applicants who indicate psychiatric involvement and psycotheraputic med use are required to obtain a waiver from the physician who treated them.

Does "psychotheraputic med use" include Prozak and the other SSRI drugs that are in common usage today? For example, can someone who took Welbutrin (sp?) to stop smoking be deprived of their Seconad Ammendment rights in MA?

[eccentric]

Thanks to all who replied to help me. Personally, I don't think it my boy has ADHD. I think he was depressed. He has just started Paxil, too. It seems to be be helping enough at home. Of course he has behavior problems, his mother is eccentric!

[dasboot]

If the applicant were foolish enough to answer "yes" to the question as a result of his or her use of Welbutrin, certainly the chief of police could require written clarification, and probably would. The idea is to infringe on and apply friction to the free exercize of carrying arms, and deflect liability from the government for any unpleasant consequences. No chief wants to face a news camera and answer the question, "Why didn't you prohibit this killer from getting a gun in the first place?" The fear is unfounded, but the stakes are high.

[JennieOsborne]

AMEN!

[Chuckster]

Apparently I forgot the sarcasm tag. Let me make my position clear: Drugging kids is a BAD thing. Get it?

[Coleus]

http://www.fightforkids.com/

http://www.adhdfraud.com/

http://www.inutritionals.com/brainrecovery.shtml

http://www.mercola.com/2002/apr/13/depression_drugs.htm

[Flashlight]

Thanks for the ping; I took a look at your links. Did you have a specific point you wanted to get across?

Stimulant medication is serious stuff, it shouldn't be taken lightly, it can even be dangerous in some cases. It should *not* be taken just to quiet an active kid. It should be taken only to help the kid, not to help the teacher.

"Ritalin alternatives" just don't work anywhere near as well as Ritalin. If they did, believe me, eveyone would take them. Stimulants directly change the nervous system and allow the patient to focus.

[Coleus]

Did you have a specific point you wanted to get across?>>

Just that there are alternatives, kids can change their diet and take supplements, which have shown to be successful. It takes a lot of trial and error to do so but in the end it's worth it since this is a lifelong condition.

[Lee'sGhost]

I totally agree with doing away with such treatment. They recommened my kid be put on Ritalin but I refused. Every time my kid would act in a grocery store or resturant I would start to get those "don't you know how to control your kid" looks. I knew he knew better bec he had been punished countless times. He was so defiant. He would do something wrong and you could slap him as hard you could -- five minutes later HE WOULD DO IT AGAIN. The next time he did it I tied him up and made him sit in a corner for five hours. I was sure he had learned his lesson. But, being a normal kid, HE DID IT AGAIN. So this time I actually punched him in the face. That got his attention. I was beginning to get through to him -- or so I thought. He did it again. It was like he simply could not control himself. But I knew he was just being hard headed because I read threads like this and everyone here know so much about ADHD.

The cops didn't understand when they found him duct taped and thrown in the closet. But the trick was on them. After they put me in jail for child abuse and let him go to a foster home -- he did it again. Hehehehehe. I guess some kids are just born evil. But at least he's not on drugs.

[Lee'sGhost]

Oh, by the way, those people taking insulin -- they're fakin it to get special treatment. Wanna be heroin addicts. When will this drug fixation in our society stop? And don't get me started on blind people always bumping into stuff just to get attention.