Are We Overmedicating Our Kids?

Hjuasdfasef

Wed, 2010-03-03 17:40

This topic really touches a nerve with me because I am a parent who took on a school district who demanded that my child be medicated because they believed he had ADHD.

Noticed I said, "they believed he had ADHD"? Jake was never diagnosed with it. Some teachers, who were not qualified to diagnose anything, simply thought that he had it and diagnosed him themselves. The situation got so ugly between us and the school that I ended up with a child who was suicidal.

The truth is, Jake has dyspraxia, a motor coordination disorder. All the professionals missed it until he was 11, because they were so stuck on thinking he had ADHD. If I had wanted a prescription for Ritalin, we could have gotten one no problem-because there was a doc in cahoots with the school district, doling it out after 5 minute appointments. Hubs and I call them "drive by diagnoses"

Instead Hubs and I fought the district and refused to medicate Jake, learning after that Ritalin would have only increased his anxiety and made him even more suicidal. At the time, nobody would listen to us and we were labeled as difficult, crazy parents. We took Jake and moved, where it took another THREE years to undo the damage from that one district.

This still happens today to other kids. Schools assume that kids have a specific disorder, write a letter to a family doc, and the kid is written up for a prescription after a 5 minute appointment without extensive testing and evaluation. I believe the issue is so much bigger and complex than just kids who take meds for asthma. A medically diagnosed issue is one thing, but it's the schools pushing other meds without a definitive diagnosis that bothers me the most.

ADHD can't be diagnosed in five minutes. Period.

(and yes, I know what asthma's like too. Jake takes meds for that.)

Wed, 2009-06-24 15:39

One quick comment on the Pharmaceutical companies. It's not just that they so call "BRIBE" doctors. The big issue is that the Pharmaceutical companies have representatives (along with lots of money) on the Board of Medicine and make many of the decisions that go into teaching medical professionals. They help write the medical journals and put out the information that goes out to the doctors. Doctors in many states are confined to certain guidelines from those medical journals and do not have much leeway to offer alternative methods. In the state of Florida, a doctor can lose her/his medical license if she/he is seen as "prescribing" alternative medicines. Many doctors do not have enough information and can't legitimately get enough information on non-medicine forms of treatment. Granted, some doctors are just plainly ignorant, but I do have to believe that most doctors have good intentions and if they had the ability to offer alternative treatments, they would. The government seriously needs to put way more restrictions on the pharmaceutical companies.

Mon, 2009-05-25 17:49

My mom was an RN in the 80's...so....every time I sneezed, I was put on an antibiotic..as a consequence, my teeth are two different colors. So, do I think you can over medicate...yes. Do I think that medication is sometimes essential to life...yes.

Let me tell you....my daughter is extremely smart..but she had struggled through school since day 1, barely able to pull C's. I finally broke down when she was in 4th grade and took her to a psychologist to be tested....8 hours of testing later....I'm told she has an I.Q. that borderlines genius, but she suffers from ADHD.

I started out completely anti-medication...after reading all of the horror stories about kids put on medication and turned into zombies. I refused to put her on any type of meds, until I had tried every single alternative out there.

I read every single book on homeopathic treatments and alternative ways to help her....we tried every single diet to where we were eating nothing but sprouts and spinach from my home grown garden....with little, if any..results.

I told my doctor that I was willing to look at every option available to us, but I wanted to try treating it naturally first. When that didn't work, as a last resort, I put her on adderall. It was an EXTREMELY difficult decision for me to make, and some part of me felt guilty, like I was taking the easy way out....because that is what all of the books I had read have said....that puuting your kid on medication was "the easy way out."

Ever since I put my daughter on medication...she has gotten honor roll...homework is a breeze...her relationships with her classamates have improved...she is happy and stable. So, maybe I took the "easy way out", but isn't that your job as a parent, to make the pain and anxiety of growning up somehow a little less painful?

I couldn't have make a better choice for her...and for our family, and I couldn't be happier that I made that choice.

Sat, 2009-05-23 15:05

Momartfully- I am sorry but in the mood that I am in right now, I'm just going to say it! Frankly, I find you appalling! First, I don't even understand your forth paragraph. Second, if you would have read further in the posts, Dana already addressed that statement in her video cast and explained what she meant. And third, just because you have a background in medicine doesn't mean that your opinion necessarily holds water.

I am also in medicine and what happened to me today, changed my entire perspective on everything that I have ever learned. I had a small bowel biopsy done and from what I have very recently researched, not surprisingly, I do have Celiac. This is a disease that I have mocked my best friend over because I thought that since I was in medicine, I had all of the answers. My daughter is on medication for asthma and IBS. I'm on medication for Fybromyalgia and depression and other issues. Today, I found out that things that we have been going through could have been controlled with our diets and no doctors (only my best friend) had the insight to check me for something so basic as Celiac Disease. Just as Natural Mother said, "I feel dooped!"

I am so upset and stressed right now that I am probably not making as much sense as I would like. My point, if you think you've done enough to figure out the root of your's or your child's problem, take another breath and do more. We have to stop just treating the symptoms and not the disease. We haven't gone on the diet yet, so I can't say that my daughter's asthma will go away or that I will never be depressed again, but this is the first time that I feel like I have a true answer to what has caused many of our problems.
My daughter has been on Corticosteroids for two years and even before all of this, I did my research on Prednisone. Prednisone has way more side effects than "at the most prednisone will do is cause increased appetite and possibly sleep disturbances". Actual medical research side effects include: adrenal suppression, high blood glucose levels, glaucoma and cataract formation, unnatural fatigue or weakness, abdominal pain, blurring of vision, peptic ulcers, infections, pain in the hips or shoulders, osteoporosis, occurrence of acne and sleeplessness. Anyway, enough about that!

Now, I have to figure out how I am going to be able to change my life this drastically. I know it's for the best and somehow I will find the way. I am just so angry right now! I could have stopped the suffering for myself and my daughter so long ago.

I know this is probably going out to deaf ears, but seriously, everyone should do their research on Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance. It might just change your life.

Oh, and yes, I do believe we are over medicating our children!

Tue, 2009-05-19 18:31

As the mom of two special needs kids and with a background in medicine - yes, I medicate my kids and myself for SIGNIFICANT health issues.

Dana, oral steroids (or IV) - corticosteroids/dex. are a COMPLETELY different medication than injected anabolic steroids - PLEASE talk to your doctor and educate yourself. Corticosteroids are a LIFE SAVING medication for severe Asthmatics - both inhaled and oral. They don't turn them into body builders, they don't work in the same way - at the most prednisone will do is cause increased appetite and possibly sleep disturbances - that's still much better than suffocating to death.

The reality is those with health issues ALWAYS existed, we just didn't hear about them. Or they DIED. Or they lived with suffering. It's more acceptable now to talk about health problems - it doesn't mean we're over medicating, it means we're FINALLY OFFERING SUPPORT to those who have needed it all along. Why on EARTH is that a problem?

If moms don't hear anything about "alternative" avenues from those you think are so overly pro-medicine (seriously?) and over-medicating their kids (in their opinion), then you need to talk to them more or actually talk to parents of with kids with issues. Parents of sick, special needs or dying children explore ALL avenues they have available - conventional or not. Anything that offers hope.

Frankly, I found this post generally appalling. My kids are alive ONLY because of medicine. If you want to talk about serious health issues in kids and the use of medication for children and the REAL issues about medications and children (and there is lots to discuss) - why not talk to people who've actually experienced it?

Tue, 2009-05-19 10:00

I think everyone in the video is actually agreeing... but no one's really saying it in a way that sounds harmonious. :P

One other aspect to this is the possibility that medication *won't* work. I mean, I feel like the panel was discussing whether or not medication is just the easy way out for mental illness -- which is a valid and important question -- but what happens when it's not a way out at all?

For example, a coworker's daughter is on anti-depressants -- has tried 3 different ones, in fact -- and they have done pretty much nothing. And another woman I know has recently taken a 2-month leave of absence because her son has crippling anxiety, and again meds have not helped (or in some cases even made things worse).

Don't get me wrong, I think meds can be great -- I know another kid whose anti-anxiety meds totally transformed him, to the point that he can now function well without them -- but what I'm saying/hoping is that that medical professionals are not putting ALL their eggs into that basket. There needs to be research done on other things that can help people recover from mental illness, because meds are not always the quick fix.

Mon, 2009-05-18 12:27

This is such a complex (and important) topic. I think it's difficult to discuss it without first addressing the fact that our country's healthcare system is broken. Couple that with the fact that drug manufacturing companies are aggressively lobbying in Washington, and it's a bad situation.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/drugs/2005-04-25-drug-lo...
(this article is from 2005, but things haven't changed much today)

When I starting teaching high school, I was surprised to learn that a lot of my students were on medications like Ritalin and Xanax. That stuff just wasn't around when I was a teenager. So you have to wonder, are we just using these drugs because they're available? In the 90s, a hyperactive kid was a hyperactive kid, not a kid with ADHD.

I'm happy to see moms are seeking natural alternatives to medication, like diet and lifestyle changes. And I hope this conversation and its comments has opened some minds.

-Karen
http://grapesatmidnight.com

Mon, 2009-05-18 08:39

A couple of months ago, I scheduled an appointment to have a colonoscopy for this Tuesday just to see what was going on in my insides. I have gone back and forth about whether or not to keep that appointment. After a lot of discussion with my husband this weekend, though I am afraid, we have decided it will be the best thing for me. I have a friend who is on a gluten free diet and she has been pushing me for a long time to look into going GF for both myself and my daughter who has asthma and IBS and who takes four different medications. I have listened to her halfheartedly believing that the reason why she was so preachy was because she thought that the whole world should change their diet just because she changed hers. Plus, I knew it would be too hard to give up wheat. Needless to say, with my diagnosis of fibromyalgia and other difficulties that I have had and for the health of my daughter, I will have the colonoscopy and demand that the doctor check for Celiac. After this board and other things that have been going on in my life, I have done some real research on the subject. Please wish me luck!

Sun, 2009-05-17 18:31

Ok- so I’m sorry, but I have to tell my story. When I was born, I was very sick and spent the first couple of weeks of my life in the hospital. I had a severe infection and the doctors could not confirm what the infection was caused by. While I grew up, I was very malnourished, so badly that my parents were accused by the police of abusing me. My sister on the other hand, was healthy and in the 75% of where she should be in regards to growth. Her issues were minor compared to mine- extreme eczema and some learning difficulties early on but that was all. I was in and out of hospitals, doing test after test, trying to figure out why I was so skinny and why I had so many stomach issues. In my life time, I had had 6 colonoscopies and 4 endoscopies but never once was a biopsy of my small intestine done. I would cry at night because my joints would hurt so badly so I was given tests to find out if I had some form of rheumatoid arthritis and was pumped up with child strength pain killers. All tests came back negative. After 100’s of doctors’ visits, when I was 17, I went to a doctor (who did my 3rd colonoscopy) and he determined that I could not process meat proteins. I became a vegetarian out of medical advice and was told to load up on fiber (wheat) to help with my severe constipation (I would go for weeks without going to the bathroom). Three weeks after I started that diet, my mom rushed me to emergency because I was coughing up blood. There was no determined reason as to what could cause the problem. From the time I was very young until I was 17, I was put on just about every anti-depressant available, most which would have only very short term positive effects.
When I was 19, my grandmother, who had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart issues, mental illness (bipolar) and stomach issues, (all of which are symptoms of celiac) bled out on her living room floor all by herself in the middle of the day. The doctors had done surgery on her bowels not because they felt that there was anything wrong with her but because they felt it was the only way to stop her from complaining.
When I was 20, I was put on birth control pills to regulate my almost non-existent periods and was told that I would probably never get pregnant because I had such severe endometriosis. Several months later, my parents made me move in with them and was about to put me into a mental institution because I was so extremely depresses I tried to commit suicide. Again, I was put on several different anti-depressants (this time for bipolar), some of which have now been taken off the market by the FDA. I told the doctors and the therapists that I thought it was the birth control pill. They would not listen to me but one day, I just stopped taking both the pill and the anti-depressants cold turkey. Within a month, I got a very good job and within a year, I moved back out of my parents’ house. During my stay with my parents, I was lucky enough to get two more colonoscopies, had several appointments to check eyes (I had 20/20 vision but problems seeing properly) an MRI to find out why I was having so many migraines and multiple other tests. Again, everything came up negative. At one point, the doctors suggested taking out my appendix because my right side was in constant pain.
I met my husband, 6 months later got pregnant, had a miscarriage; got pregnant again 3 months later (F*** YOU to the doctor who told me I wouldn’t be able to) and spent 9 months in and out of the bathroom because I was so sick. I was 125 lbs when I got pregnant and less than 120 lbs. the day before I gave birth. My daughter was a healthy, beautiful baby who took all she could from my body while I was pregnant with her. And then guess what? I had severe postpartum until she was 4 months. 10 months later, I got pregnant again (started at 135 lbs, gave birth at 125 lbs.) had my son and within three months after I gave birth, gained 40 lbs. ???????? What the heck.
My baby boy cried from the moment he was born until he turned three. At 1 month, my doctor insisted I quit nursing him because he was allergic to my milk. I put him on formula and he lived off of Mylicon. One night, he screamed bloody murder so we took him to the ER. The doctor told us he just had colic, gave us stronger colic medicine and sent us home. For nights, we listened to him scream and could do nothing about it. As he got older, he mimicked some of the habits of diagnosed autistic children but was socially capable so when I brought it up to the pediatrician, she all but laughed at me. He continued having academic issues and often complained of joint pain, seasonal allergies all year long and constipation. He also had chronic nose bleeds. He started talking about committing suicide after he turned 7. Believe, me, that is the worst thing you can ever hear your child talk about. His teachers would complain because during class time, he would twirl objects in front of his face while lapsing into LaLa land. He was awesome at building anything but had an extremely difficult time learning how to read and concentrating. The doctors recommended I put him on anti-depressants and ADD meds, which I declined because I had had negative side effects on such drugs. I had taken him several times to the doctors to test for allergies but except for ragweed and dust, everything came up negative. At age six, he was tested again (a more intensive test) and come to find out, he’s allergic to casein. Because he never showed an “allergic” or immediate reaction to milk, the doctor told me not to give him so much milk but that he still needed it for calcium. Unfortunately, his so called minor seasonal allergies were showing signs of becoming asthma and the doctor tried to put him on corticosteroids. By this point, I started doing my own research and asked the doctor to please hold off. My father had been on asthma medication for years and was showing signs of the medication damaging his liver.
My son, daughter and I all had tonsillectomies due to chronic tonsillitis and strep throat. I had been on antibiotics for two years before they finally decided on surgery. Somehow, my infections jumped from my tonsils to my kidneys and I was started back up on antibiotics. In the spring of 2005, I again went to an orthopedic doctor to do extensive tests to check for rheumatoid arthritis. When the tests came back negative, the doctor told me there was nothing wrong with me. When I insisted there was, he gave me a prescription for fibromyalgia medication and sent me on my way. I was on my way to Walgreens when my sister called me (she had no homeopathic training at the time) and she told me she had been doing some research on a disease called celiac. I went home, got on the computer and for two days, I found all of the info I could on celiac. Then I called my GP and had him give me a blood test. Luckily, I was expecting a false negative result from all of the research that I had done, so when he told me it was negative, I told him to get me an appt with an Internest. When I met the Internest, he looked at me and told me I was too heavy (Believe me, you can be malnourished and overweight) to have Celiac but I told him I wanted to be tested anyway. For an entire week before my 7th colonoscopy, 5th endoscopy, I ate as much gluten as I could possibly stuff in my mouth. You have no idea how shocked the doctor was when he realized that I indeed had Celiac. I later asked the doctor why if 1 out of 133 people are estimated to have Celiac and 1 out of 55 people are gluten sensitive, the celiac test isn’t more common. His remark “What do you think would happen to the grain industry and the pharmaceutical companies if everyone stopped eating gluten and started reversing their illnesses. This country would go bankrupt.” I have never wanted to hurt someone so much in my life.
Both my sister and I got off of gluten. Within weeks, my sister’s lifelong affliction with eczema started to go away and other issues she had developed in her adult years started to lessen. I immediately started losing weight, my joints stopped hurting as badly and I had the clearest head I had had in years and, for the first time in my life, I became regular. I also no longer show signs of depression or psychosis. I do not ever remember feeling as good as I did for those first couple of months. I have had several lapses since then- yes, the journey has been difficult- and I can tell you that cross-contamination is a witch with a “b”- there have been nights where I have wanted to cut my foot off because my ankle hurt so badly. My mom, who suffered from bad migraines all of her life has not had a migraine since she stopped eating gluten. There have been so many miraculous changes with my son (I haven't heard him talk about suicide in over a year), my sister, her children (her daughter, now 9, started out life much like me and her son had eczema), my mom and me. Unfortunately, though, with all of the damage that both my doctors and I did to my body for 32 years, I have developed other medical conditions. I eat very little sugar but my glucose level is 199. When I asked my endocrinologist to check my adrenals after I had gone through a complete thyroid analysis (she insisted, not me) she told me there was nothing to check. I spent my own money, had a $400 test done and it turns out, I have Addison’s disease- another side effect of celiac. So, I am continuing on, doing everything that I can and yes, I have turned to natural medicine because it has helped me out quite a bit along the way.
I am telling you this because I believe that it is important that this info get out to everyone. I could never wish or want what has happened to my family to happen to anyone else. If I could help anyone from continuing to go through the pain, then great! If not, I tried. The biggest regret that I have in my life is that I did not fight hard enough to find out what was wrong with me before I had my son. Any time I think about how much my baby suffered, my heart hurts fiercely. Researchers have known about Celiac since the 70’s. Am I angry? Hell yes! Do I feel dooped? Of course!
I don’t care if there are some who don’t believe in Celiac or other food sensitivities. For others who question what is going on with their bodies- don’t just let a doctor put a bandage on your ouchy. If you know there is something else going on with you or your kids, fight to get the correct answer, not just the easiest answer.
Symptoms of celiac vary greatly. My son, my niece and I are on the extreme side. You do not have to have any stomach issues to have celiac. You also do not have to have a rash. If you’re curious, please do your research. Oh, and by the way, I know that there are some very good medical doctors out there and I do not discount what the medical community has done for our country.

Fri, 2009-05-15 18:49

Dana, thank you for your thoughtful response. I too have experienced all too often a doctor handing me an RX and summarily kicking me out of their office without really taking the time to figure out what might really be going on, scratching the surface and discussing all alternatives. Healthcare is set up to give you 15 mins (if you're lucky) and then get-out-ma-face.

Once such instance was me seeing a doctor because I had not been feeling well for the past couple of weeks. I told him I'd feel fine then not so fine, on and off. He handed me an RX for lithium (!) and said I'll see you in a month for a blood test! Um, what? I tore up the paper and went home, hardly believing what just happened. Come to find out two weeks later I was pregnant. Gee, maybe that's why I was not feeling so well.

We really have to take the time to find a doc that will work with us. We know our bodies and it's a collaboration, not a master servant relationship. It's a struggle to find that doc but it's worth it.
Good luck!

Fri, 2009-05-15 09:50

Sigh.

Regarding RLS - ladies, please don't allow your indignation to blind you from the possibility that I don't know what RLS is or that I don't know of anyone who suffers from it. It was a light-hearted comment. I will also caution you to refrain from making assumptions about me when in the same breath withholding the that courtesy.

My main jumping off point for this particular episode (which was cut) was how I've been suffering from hormonal problems which manifest themselves in physical ways and how not more than five minutes into explaining my situation to my doctor I had a prescription for Prozac in my hands. I know what depression is. I grew up with it in my family and I don't need to share with anyone my entire life story so as to validate my perspective. I know what mental illness is and when discussing my physical issues with my doctor it felt like I was being ignored and a prescription for something which would not help my particular condition was being thrust into my hands.

Regarding "natural" things, alternatives, I don't think it's bad to bring up.

I also don't think that advocating medicines as a last resort is akin to swearing them off.

Lastly, when I remarked upon oral steroids I asked: "What is the first thing you think of?" When someone says steroids, your mind immediately conjures up images of hulky people. Variations in steroids treat different things and all have some side effects, albeit not all forms of steroids can win you a body building competition. ;)

Thu, 2009-05-14 20:29