ADHD drugs under fire for side-effects including heart problems and psychotic behavior
By jarespond - Posted on March 23rd, 2006
Tagged: News and politics
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According to Reuters news source, a panel of medical experts has supported the presence of mild warning labels on popular drugs used to control Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) such as Ritalin and Adderall. Apparently, there has been opposition to this decision because such warning labels might have a deterrent effect on parents who are considering purchasing the drugs for their children after a doctor's recommendation.
This is precisely why the article notes that the panel didn't support the "strongest possible warnings" for placement on the medicine. The fact that supporters of the drug would consider condoning the misinformation of its users and the guardians of its users because it might "scare them away" from the drug, when the listed side effects, while quite rare, are very real, is of questionable morality.
For the record, the side effects listed in the article are: "heart problems, psychotic behavior, hallucinations and other psychiatric symptoms." Even if the prevalence of such side effects is extremely low, warning parents of the possibility of occurence is simply part of the public medical mandate. Especially when these side effects have the potential to significantly affect users' lives.
For example, if it were proven that only 2% of cigarette smokers were going to get lung cancer as a result of their habit, it would be equally as important to warn then of the possibility as it is now, when a much larger percentage of smokers are at risk. "Low odds," as some have described them, should not translate into "hidden side effects" when we are dealing with public health.
I was on the ADHD meds for awhile - I was depressed, unable to sleep, and feared being around people.
I haven't recovered yet and probably won't (I stopped taking them last year, when I was taking driver's training - it slowed my reaction time by 3 seconds+, which means everything at 55mph+) for many years to come. Some parents shove these things down their kids throats when they get too rowdy, and I think that's what's making the side-effects more prevalent.
____
If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
These are extremely dangerous drugs which should not be given to anybody. In many cases a simple cup of coffee would be more effective. The answer is to dump the classroom system that is a relic of the early industrial era. Bells ring and everybody jumps up and goes to a different class. Schools are run like factories and so called "attention deficit" is a reaction to this absurd regimentation. Between the teacher's unions and the pharmaceutical companies the kids are caught in a bear trap. Drugs are dangerous. No matter what the source, it should be a crime to give them to children.
I don't agree or disagree. I take adderall and it has help me in many ways. My grades in school have went from low to damn near excellent since i started to take it. im much more alert and i can focus a whole lot better. i find myself to be way more social. i don't suffer from bad dreams nor do i have psycotic behavior. i don't have suicidal thoughts nor homicidal ones. all in all adderall has helped me tremendously. now i don't dissagree with what you are saying completley. your correct taking certain drugs can be dangerous but that is why it is call a "controlled substance". if you do more research you will find that most people who take these drugs don't take them like they are perscibed. some take them every day which isn't necessary in my opinion. these drugs do not work like an atibiotic where you have to keep taking them to get rid of someting. these drugs stay in your system unil they are done working. they don't work like penicilin or something where even after you take it it stays in your system and keeps on fighting whatever it is that is making you sick. Adderall and such stay in your sytem for a few hours then you have to take it again. if you have nothing really important to do where you may need to take it, then don't take it.
Also, you can't just say it bad for anyone to take because the truth is not everyone is gonna react the same. in my case the drug proved to be very helpful, but that doesn't mean it's going to be that way for someone else. for those that started to have crazy thoughts and such when they started taking these drugs, thats not good, but don't blame the drugs completley because i can just about bet you that there was some sort of mental problem before taking them except they just didn't show. by taking the drug probably exposed what was already there but no one knew about. that is possible you know.
I am currently on the medicine and have found myself in a hole to deep to climb out. I began taking ADHD medicine in 7th grade because I was nearly failing middle school. My report consisted of only C's and D's and a teacher recommended an ADHD drug to my parents whom talked me into giving it a try and believe it or not the very next report card I had straight A's. I began doing so well in middle school that I joined the IB program which is a High School program that is one of the toughest in the world. I took the medicine until sophomore year because I was having several issues with the medication and my GPA quickly dropped from a 3.5 to a 2.0. I realized that I would soon be entering my junior year which is the toughest year of IB which consist of AP Calc, AP Biology, AP English and Comp, IB Geo, A 3rd year Honors foreign language class, AP US History, and an elective, in reality this set of classes will be tougher than my first year of college (even though I plan to start college as a sophomore). I am now 3/4's through with my junior year in which my grades are around 3.5 and I find myself border line on the college I have wanted to attend since I entered High School but the problem is the ADHD medicine. I have found myself unable to focus at all without the medicine; my body has been entirely dependent on this drug and leaves me unable to learn without it. I rarely get more then 3 hours of sleep a night in which most days im only able to eat one small meal without feeling sick. I also have been having significant heart problems in which my resting heart rate is common times between 95-110 Beats per minute, and reaching 130-140 beats per minute simply by walking up a flight of stairs. These fast heart rates have led to nearly 24 hour a day chest pains. The medicine also makes my hands very cold and numb the entire day which is very uncomfortable. Also the medicine makes me very clammy and easily irritated to an unreasonable level. I also feel light headed the majority of the day and have trouble standing up without becoming very dizzy. Several nights of the week I will have panic attacks in which my heart rate increases to unrealistic rates and I find myself balled up in a corner for most the night fearing to clothes my eyes. I have also had several cases of hallucinations with the worst one happening just a week ago in which I was driving in my car and an animal ran in front of my car and I immediately slammed on the breaks and skidded off the road only to find that what I was seeing was not there at all. The medicine has also made me very depressed, I find myself spending most afternoons very quit and to myself which is entirely not my personality. These are not all the problems I face with the medicine but the reality is my life is controlled by a small pill. Many people believe these types of medications are ridiculous and should not be ever given to kids but I must disagree. Although I have many issues with the medicine the truth is I have gone from nearly failing middle school to having one of the higher GPA’s in the hardest High School program in the state. This medicine has given me the opportunity to have a truly successful life. The problem I face now is if I take myself off the medication my GPA will drop significantly and I will probably not even have the required GPA to stay in the program which would result in me losing the IB Diploma which I have already given up three years of my life for. On the other side, how much worse can my health problems get? The chest pains are getting worse and the hallucinations more frequent and every day seemingly falling more and more into a state of depression. When do I give up my dreams?
Whoa - those symptoms are really severe. I hallucinate from time to time, but that's really just my personality seeping in to my subconscious.
You really should get that looked into - perhaps have the doctor reduce the dosage. If you can do all this stuf with the medication, without it you should be the same. The medications became an issue for me my freshman year in high school, and when I stopped I was fine and had the same scores and everything.
A word of advice: STOP with the medication. Good grades aren't worth having hallucinations the rest of your life.
____
If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
Now, it may seem necessary to stay on the medication. For now, you can live with the medication ruining your life, right? But what about after High School? Are you going to continue taking the medication in college? What about afterwards? If you don't stop now, you never will.
SAM
WOW, I hope your future pans out well!
I feel you. i posted a comment on here earlier under the name Sheila E. those are side effects but yours are a lot worse than others. try these out for a few weeks to a month then log on and leave a message telling me if they may have help a little. oh! i'm not trying to sound harsh so don't take it the wrong way. earlier when i was reading your comment you said that now you can't focus at all without taking the meds. well my dear that's one reason why you take them now is because you couldn't focus good in the first place. but don't worry just from reading your message i can tell that your very smart you just don't like all the other side effects and s*it that comes with it. try these if they don't help then talk to your Dr. ASAP because i don't want nothing f*cked up to happen to you.
#1. First thing in the morning or whenever you wake up, BEFORE you take your pill. EAT SOMETING. and im not talking no bulls*it little cup of cereal. EAT A GOOD WHOLESOME MEAL. I usually wait about 20 mins after i eat to take my meds.(by the way i take the 20mg pills twice a day, so i always make sure i eat a good breakfast and a decent lunch) Make sure you drink a nice sized glass of WATER too.
#2.DON'T and i repeat DO NOT take your meds to late in the day that might help with your sleep problems. Usually adderall stays in your sysem approx. 6-7 hours. So make sure that you take it at time that will allow you to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep EVERY NIGHT. also, only take them every 6-7 hours you may be taking them too close together meaning if you take 2 pills a day you may be taking your second pill before you even let you first pill finish working. therfore you have more meds in your system at that time than you actually need, so it takes longer to leave your system which causes you to stay up later at night.
#3. STAY HYDRATED!! DRINK PLENTY OF NICE COOL WATER! Drymouth is also a common side effect of adderall. Plus water can really help you stay refreshed and help you function a lot better. Some people think that they may need more sleep when sometimes they literally just need a nice good cool drink of H2O!
#4. if you can get away from class or whatever your doing for a few minuets GET SOME FRESH AIR!
#5.if your heart rate goes up form something as simple as going up or down the stairs try not to rush up and down the steps too much. when you get to where you need to be. STOP! CALM DOWN AND LET YOUR BODY RELAX FOR A FEW MOMENTS!! (if these heart problems get worse then see you Dr. ASAP)
#6.If you are laying down DON'T GET UP TO FAST! Even without meds this tends to make people somewhat dizzy. when taking meds it can make them a bit worse.
#7. if you have to, SPLASH COOL WATER ON YOUR FACE EVERY NOW AND THEN. THEN TAKE A FEW DEEP BREATHS. this may help refesh you and clear your mind a bit, that should help a little something with the hallucenations.
#8.DON'T TAKE YOUR MEDS IF IT IS NOT NECESSARY. Remember these are time released. they work for a few hours then they stop because they are not in your system anymore. If you have a day off where you don't have s*it to do then DON'T DO S*IT. make sure you get up wash your a**, eat a good 3 meals and rest, rest, rest. Since this medicine tends to make some people more active it's good to get rest whenever you can. So if your not doing nothing, then it's not necessay to take them. if you don't have much to do and you don't feel that taking 2 pills is necessary on a certain day then don't take 2 pills.
i'm supposed to take mines twice a day. but i only take them twice a day if i feel that it's necessary. if it's not necessary then why take them and risk losing hours of precious sleep. DO NOT TAKE THEM MORE TIMES A DAY THAN WHAT YOUR Dr. HAS TOLD YOU!!
AND REMEMBER TO MAKE SURE YOU EAT. SOME OF THESE STRONGER SIDE EFFECTS CAN COME FROM BEING MALNURISHED. not saying your extemely malnurished but you might not be giving you body enough of what it needs to function properly. even people not on meds hallucenate at times because there bodies are hungry and they haven't eaten. so if your taking meds and not eating enough your hallucenation are probably like 5 times worse. so, even if you don't feel hungry but you know you haven't eaten latley make yourself eat at least a little something.(a sandwhich and chips or something)
Remember to leave me a message letting me know if this has helped out a bit. these tips might also save you some time and a few trips to the doctor. since you won't be taking your meds as frequently you won't have to take trips to the doctor to get a new perscpition as frequently either.
Ciao Baby!!
I take ADD medicine and it really just makes me more focused and more sensible.
I have found that when on this medicine I cannot sustain an erection. At times it is convienient but sometimes I want one. Does anyone else have this problem?
...
No. No I do not. In fact, when I was on ADHD medication, I didn't wear jeans just because of the fashion.
____
If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
I took Ritalin years ago. The only side effect I recall is that I would get the munchies sometimes, but when I started eating something, it wouldn't take long before I wasn't hungry anymore.
BTW, I don't buy into the notion that Ritalin caused that retard to fly the plane into the Bank of America building here in Tampa a few years back. That was just an excuse for a stupid dumba** to go ape. It was too premeditated to be blamed on any meds.
Right, i feel you on that shit about the plane.
As for getting the munchies. Are you sure you wasn't smoking weed while you was taking the meds.(LOL!!!!)
Right, i feel you on that shit about the plane.
As for getting the munchies. Are you sure you wasn't smoking weed while you was taking the meds.(LOL!!!!)
I have never been on the meds, but one of my friends is. She is very moody. She acts like she is depressed. and she doesnt' care about anything anymore. Her grades are very low, she doesn't spend time with her friends or anything
I wonder if cocaine (speed or ecstacy would be more of a comparison with ritalin) has the same effect as Ritalin--gets you what you want for so many years, but you pay the price down the line, although pharma drugs can kill you from side effects---currently 780,000 people die in the USA every year from Allopathic medicine http://www.whale.to/a/dean.html. Find a nutritional/orthomolecular medical doctor http://www.whale.to/w/ortho.html
"For every drug that benefits a patient, there is a natural substance that can achieve the same effect." — Pfeiffer's Law
HELL NO! this medicine has enough side effects and shit by itself. you don't need that other shit. Don't turn yourself into a f*cking junkey because if you start taking that other shit that what your gonna be or be considered, a f*ckin junkey!! Please don't start taking none of that bullshit. even extacy, it's a popular drug but it is still a drug and a hard drug at that. for real man when you take X you really don't know what the hell your putting in your body. i know plentey of people who pop X. they try to get me to do it. i say no. a lot of them ain't even atractive to me no more. i look at them like they are a bunch of junkies, dopefiends( yes a lot of different X pills do contain dope),snaps, cluckers etc...
I've heard this story millions of times; well not this one specifically, but similar ones about medicines, drug companies, and doctors being corrupt. It's not at all unusual. Probably because of America's preoccupation with their health. If they just ignored things like minor pain and allergies which are barely noticeable, they might not be experiencing weird side effects.
You know, adderall IS speed, only it releases into the blood more slowly and it's typically taken in much smaller doses for medicinal use than for recreational use. The difference is entirely pharmacokinetic, however, and chemically the substance and mechanism of action is speed. I take large adderall doses for narcolepsy, and I assure you I would do almost anything to rid myself of the side effects- and it's never caused hallucination or psychosis in me. It does make me irrationally angry sometimes, nervous, physically twitchy, sick to my stomach, and I have to work at least 10 hrs a week to keep my blood pressure down. Unfortunately, I can't even walk without the drug, nonetheless function in a full waking state, so I have little choice.
I have major concerns with the widespread use of high adderall dosages for ADHD. I take 30mg a day, a powerful does. I'm a 265 lb male (and was 330 when I started) and the drug causes me to have rapid heartbeat, amphetamine rushes, sweating episodes, etc. This is even though my body needs the chemical for my neurology to work.
This dosage was recently approved for ADHD usage and is becoming the most commonly prescribed dose. I can't believe people could ever benefit from this dose for a learning disorder! It runs the body ragged with unpleasant tenseness and in non-narcoleptics must surely cause them to suffer mild or even severe insomnia, which will ultimately ruin their focus, even on stimulants. This is a very high dosage of powerful amphetamines! A serious review process is called for on this issue.
Patrick
What you need to understand is that people with ADHD have different brain chemistry than the "average" brain. What is speed to you may be a sedative to me
ADHD is legalised child abuse.There is no more scientific reason to give children alcohol or cocaine than any ADHD drug.
This so called condition was voted into existence by show of hands at an American Psychiatric Association meeting along with numerous other "learning disabilities" all conveniently treated by drugs.
When an autopsy shows that a child on ADHD drugs dies of heart failure from damaged vessels characteristic of amphetamine abuse all of these poisons should be taken off the market but it doesnt happen.
Psyhiatry is corrupt to the core.
I hate adderall. It took me nealry two years to realize that these drugs were affecting my life more than I realized. I foudn that taking adderall made me concentrate and work longer and when I first started taking it, I thought it was the best thing in the world. After a year and a half, i noticed that i was more moody, anxious and depresssed at the end of the day when the drug started wearing off. in fact, my friends took notice that i had irrational emotions and appeared overly anxious about my problems. i have been off of adderall for nearly 2 months. im no longer depresed or anxious. i feel a million times better and more in control of my emotions. however, concentration is an issue. the ADD is back, but i'm working on dealing with the symtoms in other ways, like yoga and my diet and running daily.
home equity line of credit
I effing hate adderall. I took it for almost a year straight, perscribed, every day, and it nearly cost me my life. I would become moody, depressed, and anxious a few hours after I took a dose. I am actually a happy, social, light hearted individual, but adderall turned me into a hermit. All I wanted to do was sit at home all day and write. I didn't want to be around my friends, and the worst part is that I wanted almost nothing to do with my child. It hurts me to the core to think I let this drug affect me the way it did, but at the time I couldn't see the negative effects. It was like I was in denial. I was mearly a shell of myself. I would come up with these "brilliant" ideas about the world, and people, and I thought the drug was just so amazing. But really, I was slowly wasting away to nothing, and abandoning my "real" life. I went from being a healthy 120 pounds to barely 100 in a course of a couple months. I am 5'7".
I finally stopped taking adderall, cold turkey, when I found out I was going to have my second child. It took me a few months to feel back to my old self again, but it was the best thing I've ever done. It's been over a year since I was addicted to this horrible drug, and I have never felt so alive, and sincerley happy. I would never recommend amphetamines to anyone. No matter how ADD you are, you can always learn how to concentrate without the use of drugs.
I'm sorry to hear about all the pain and mental anguish you went through.
Makes you wonder why the harmful pharmeceutical approach is so widely accepted over taking natural preventative methods. It's all about appealing to the quick fix and submitting to the bilion-dollar pharmeceutical industry. They have the money for the political lobbyists and we seldomly do anything to counter it, it seems.