Are we overmedicated?

[ellie]

Do you think people today are overmedicated?

Little kids are diagnosed with having ADD or ADHD all the time. 50 years ago, no one had even heard of that problem. I'm sure there are a lot of people who really have it, but I also wonder if it is over-diagnosed in some cases. For instance, I don't think there is necessarily anything wrong with a hyperactive little boy--most little boys ARE pretty hyper. I don't think that every little kid needs to be prescribed Ritalin or Adderall. There are definitely kids out there who need it, and I'm not trying to suggest that everyone who takes these drugs don't need it. I know there are forum members who are prescribed these drugs for legitimate reasons. I just also think that it might be prescribed sometimes to those who don't really need it.

I personally am prescribed Lexapro (an antidepressant) as well as Sonata (a sleep-aid.) I don't feel like I am overly medicated or anything, but I also wonder if pyschiatric drugs were prescribed nearly as often 50 years ago. It seems like a much more modern, mainly American phenomenon, for drugs to be prescribed so easily and so often.

What do you think?

[Daishikaze]

I know I'm not, I don't take any meds at all. I feel alot of people are, and many of them needlessly. Thats all I'm going to say

[悲しいパンダ]

I think I'm under-medicated. I don't take any meds but IMO, I should be taking Xanax or something like that. I have a hard time concentrating at school. Also, you can say, I'm kinda paranoid. I feel someone is out to hurt me. Whether its physically or mentaly.

[Angelyne]

Yes. It's downright scary how anti-depressants are marketed, advertised, and handed out like candy. Anti-depressants used to be considered a last resort form of treatment. Now all one needs to do is go to a doctor and ask, "can I get some?".

It's downright scary to me, because these aren't medications that should be taken lightly. I've seen them do far more harm to my loved ones than good. I personally tried anti-depressants and had a horrible, horrible experience. They damaged my body to the point where I still suffer physical side effects, even though I haven't taken them in years. But I consider myself lucky, because I personally know people who have suffered far worse side effects than I have. It's disgusting how the drug companies and (some) doctors neglect to mention and even try to hide some of the ill side effects caused by these drugs. Even the microscopic print on the packaging doesn't mention the horrible physical withdrawl symptoms you suffer when you try to go off them. Non-addictive, my ass.

I realize that there are legitimate cases that could benefit from anti-depressants, but they are few and far between. I guess it's just easier for people to pop pills than confront and change what really needs to be fixed. It's easier for schools to hand out drugs than deal with hyper kids.

This doesn't just apply to psychiatric drugs, though. Antibiotics are just as over-prescribed, and now we're starting to see a rise in antibiotic-resistant infections as a result.

[Soli]

My little brother, older sister, and dad all have ADD. And you can tell. It's a big difference when they're on their meds and when they forgot to take them.

But I know what you mean. I hear kids all the time at school claim they have ADD because they can't concentrate. Well, who could concentrate in history class with the boring teacher talking the whole period? :P

[Kass]

Schools can't hand out drugs. Only doctors can. Unfortunately, schools are bullies and have badgered parents and doctors into medicating rather than question a school administrator's medical credentials.

All medications are overused and overprescribed. People get the sniffles and they scream for antibiotics. If their doctor refuses, they go to one after the other until one gives them the pills. Bang your knee? Take a pill. Feel bad? Take a pill.

In adults, if they want to medicate for every little thing, I don't really care. It's their kidneys and liver failing, not mine. With young kids, on the other hand, I get mightily annoyed, especially with ADD/ADHD diagnoses. There are some (very few) legitimate cases of ADD/ADHD, but it is the most overdiagnosed condition in the country and doctors aren't the ones diagnosing it anymore--teachers and parents make the diagnoses. It's the trashcan pediatric diagnosis.

If you take your kid to a doctor and say "My kid has ADD because he does x, y and z," nearly all doctors will do a quick exam, say okay and write a prescription without a psychiatric/psychological consult. Pediatric ADD/ADHD can't be accurately diagnosed without a complete physical AND the psychiatric/psychological consult. Food allergies, infections, childhood depression, bipolar disorder, childhood OCD and a whole host of other mental and medical problems all manifest with the same symptomology. Because children lack the cognitive ability an emotional maturity to describe the "why" of what they are feeling, they do what is instinctive--act out, get crabby, lose what little focus they have, get antsy, etc. They don't know how to say I'm sad because of X. They just know they feel bad. They can't make the connection between feeling bad and having red food dye #7 (or whatever number it is) and feeling bad. They just feel and it takes training to recognize the differences between being sad, having ADD and reacting to a food.

I took my daughter in at age five for a physical because her temperment had changed, she was acting out, fatigued, irritable, and generally hyper. I was concerned, but the school had called me and said that my daughter was ADD and if I didn't medicate her, they'd expel her. (I found out later that's against the law.) The doctor barely took her pulse and wrote a prescription for Ritalin (a controlled narcotic most similar to cocaine).

I took her to a child psychologist who met with her for a few sessions and laughed her ass off when I told her what the doctor said. She also filed a complaint against the school. My daughter had issues, to be sure, but they were depression and confusion over her father leaving, not ADD. In the meantime, the Ritalin caused a kidney infection so severe, she had to be hospitalized and put on IV antibiotics. I flushed every single pill and told the principal to shove it. Ritalin made her like a zombie. There was no sparkle in her eye and she still couldn't concentrate. She could zone out, but she couldn't focus. for the school, zoning out looked close enough to focus that it was good enough. The trips to the psychologist for a year did more good than the pills ever did.

After that I did some research and learned that the most common reason for ADD-like behavior is actually food allergies, particularly to processed foods. I guess it is easier to push a pill down a kid's throat than give up processed foods.

I would always recommend a full physical, including bloodwork, and a psychological evaluation before any child is put on medication for a mental disorder. There ARE legitimate cases and for those, Ritalin and other meds are appropriate, but they are so very few in comparison to the number of ADD diagnoses that I'd question every single diagnoses and get the testing before I'd put one pill in a kid's mouth. It's better than treating the wrong thing.

[Soli]

Schools can't hand out drugs. Only doctors can. Unfortunately, schools are bullies and have badgered parents and doctors into medicating rather than question a school administrator's medical credentials.

That's very true!! When my little brother was having problems with his teachers back in 4th grade my mom had meetings with his teachers. The teachers suggested to my mom that she give him more medicine in the morning, or give some to the nurse so he could take it after lunch. They wanted to shove the problem under more medicine, not deal with it and find a way to help him themselves.

He's a smart kid, but doesn't remember to do homework or things like that. The teachers didn't want to do anything to help him until my mom brought up something. My brother had a F in reading class. But how could a kid who got above average on their reading proficiency test have an F?

[Jetsetlemming]

That's messed up, Kass. :box:
My little brother has ADHD and high blood pressure and was taking a generic ritalin knock-off for a few years in elementary school/middle school. When he moved from my mom's to my dad's, he left his medication behind, and my dad didn't care to get him more. Joe's grades in school and behavior in general have done a complete 180. When he was on Ritalin, he was violent, easily upset, and had almost straight F's and D's in school. He had few friends and no girlfriends at all. Now, he's on the Honor Role, in the extracurricular reading group (He's following in my footsteps:joytear:) and has had two girlfriends in the last semester. He's doing really well now.

[Trump]

Lack of personal responsibility. Take a pill instead of take responsibility. It is far easier to treat the symptoms than the problem, and people like taking the easy way out. I agree that people take far far too many drugs. Oh, I've got a minor headache that doesn't even make it hard to do things, but I'm going to take a pill... sigh...

[Stephy]

I know I'm not, I don't take any meds at all. I feel alot of people are, and many of them needlessly. Thats all I'm going to say

Yeah same here. I never take any medication unless I really need it. I can't even remember the last time I've taken anything. When I get sick I just try to eat healthy and do some physical activities that will help speed up the healing process of the immune system, but I won't take medicine unless it becomes necessary. I don't like medicine. A little scared of it.

(mind you if I was diagnosed with something serious I wouldn't hesitate to take medication.)

I also have a huge phobia of pills.

Ironic since I want to be a nurse. :P

[Random]

I'd have to agree... it shocks me how many drugs I generally hear about people taking.
I don't think the problem's so bad in the UK - at least, I hope not - but I'm sure there's a lot of anti-depressants being perscribed where they're not needed (we don't have such a big issue with ADHD, as far as I'm aware).

[setrict]

I agree. The pace of life has changed considerably in the last few decades, it's not surprising to me that people have begun to adapt. I think the whole ADD epidemic is a by-product of that adaptation.

I have no science to back it up so this is just my opinion, but I think part of it may be due to video games, computers, cell phones, and all the other gadgets I love. We are becoming an instant gratification society, and are weakening in our ability to focus on complex tasks. It's analogous to being obese because of fast food and lack of exercise. Your body requires physical exercise to keep fit, but your mind need mental exercise too... it's getting extreme forms of one type (information processing for example), but not so much in other aspects (complex problem solving - why figure it out yourself if you can google it).

[Mastiker]

Ugh, I agree with setrict. I've been playing video games and being on the internet too much... I can't even do puzzles anymore that are bigger than 1500 pieces :gloomy:

I think that we as a nation are overprescribed, but we have plenty of people with phobias for pills, like Stephy and me.

I think the last time I had a pill was when I was little and it was one of those chewable tablets.

My mom has constant headaches from her teaching job (and my hellhole family) and is constantly taking advil to relieve her pressure. When I get headaches I don't take anything, and they last for about an hour, if they're bad. Whenever I get sick, I just wait it out, and I'm usually better. When I'm depressed, instead of going to the doctor to get happy pills, I hang out with friends or write a story. There's a chance I have major depression, but I don't need medicine to balance out my life. I can still function as a human being - basically, as long as it's not life threatening, I won't take a pill for it.

Got a cold? Get a tissue. Got a headache? Turn down bright lights and loud noises. Got depression? Watch Monty Python.

I wanna become a doctor so I can write out prescriptions like that XD

[Soli]

I don't take too many medicines. None actively right now. I have an allergy pill that I really need, but only in the fall when my allergies act up. I'm meant to take it all year long, but why waste pills when I don't need them?

Yeah, too many people are playing video games and stuff instead of things like puzzles or board games. I try to comprimise. I knit while watching T.V. Or I'll listen to music while doing sudoku.

[O-Matic]

Whenever I think of medicine, I have to puke. I mean, we survived before there was medicine, and we are going to do so in future.
I don't take any stuff unless I really really need it. I think that today's people forget that their bodies can deal with the most problems by themselves if you give them the time. That's why, I recomment not taking anything unless YOU think you need it. don't listen to doctors too much, they get paid for making you take drugs. so watch out, they are greedy humans too!

Oh my, Kass this is knocking me out! I'm glad that you fought your daughter out of this. But imagine how many children out there do not have this luck? They are taking drugs for no reason. we are an overdrugged culture...

setrict: That's a good point! I want some numbers with that. I bet, the countryside kiddies don't have ADD as often as the metrokids. But I also bet that most people with ADD don't really have it. :/

[Cherub Rock]

I don't touch medicine for the most part. I've never needed it. I don't use aspirin for headaches, cold medicine for the sniffles or antihistamines for when I can't sleep. I do have a bottle of Tums in case I make myself sick from my own cooking though.

The only time I've really ever been on meds is when I tore some ligaments in my ankle playing sports. I was munching on Ibuprofin like it was candy, and to be honest it really didn't make the pain that much better.

[SlickWilly440]

The only time I take medicine is when I am sick, like if I have the cold or the flu. Besides that I don't take medicine at all, which makes me so glad! I used to have bad allergies, but since I have moved out of my hometown, I don't have runny noses anymore!

[King Kong]

I most probably satisfy the criteria for diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, but I can handle my problems. I don't really need meds. Just a bit of meditation each day does the trick.

[Baroness]

Everytime a person goes to the doctor, they get some type of medication. There is medication for every little thing.

I think this world would crumble if we had to live without it. People depend on it too much.

[Soli]

Medicine isn't a bad thing at all! Complaining that doctors give you medicine is silly. It helps us do what our bodies can't do alone.

Not using medicine is just as bad as taking too much. People are living longer because the advances in medicine and such.

I'm not saying to use a ton of medicine. There needs to be a balanced ground, you know?

[Pierrot le Fou]

Medicine isn't a bad thing at all! Complaining that doctors give you medicine is silly. It helps us do what our bodies can't do alone.

Not using medicine is just as bad as taking too much. People are living longer because the advances in medicine and such.

I'm not saying to use a ton of medicine. There needs to be a balanced ground, you know?
Entirely agreed.

I have a feeling some of the non-medication folk are the same ones that would shout down Christian Fundamentalists who decide that God will save their child from appendix failure rather than take them to a doctor. We've had medicine in herbal form for thousands of years, just because modern pharmaceuticals are more recent doesn't mean that we didn't have medicine before.

[Baroness]

Medicine isn't a bad thing at all! Complaining that doctors give you medicine is silly. It helps us do what our bodies can't do alone.

Not using medicine is just as bad as taking too much. People are living longer because the advances in medicine and such.

I'm not saying to use a ton of medicine. There needs to be a balanced ground, you know?


I never said that it was a bad thing, I just said that people depend on it too much......

[Soli]

Oh! I didn't mean (just) you. XD I meant the 4 or 5 posts above me that say "I don't take medicine unless I'm really sick blahblahblah"

Pierrot le Fou- Thank you. ^_^ It's nice when someone smart has the same ideas as me!

[Baroness]

LOL, oh okay, sorry! I was confused there ^_^

[Fred]

Yes, I think we are over-medicated, at least, in the US. Moreover, I think the medical paradigm of treating the symptoms rather than the cause is severely misguided.

As much as I dislike drug-dependency, I do not think drug therapy is inherently bad, particularly where the symptoms are life-threatening. For myself, I am willing to consider drug therapy if I think that is the best option. The key, however, is taking the time to find out what is actually the best option. That answer is going to be different for different people. For example, I would not tell people taking anti-depressants to stop even though I think it is a poor long-term solution to depression.

I had an interesting experience this weekend. I developed a serious infection in my leg. It started as a small bump on Wednesday. By Friday, the whole length of my calf was red and inflamed. I went to the emergency room after work where they treated the infection and then sent me off with a prescription for an antibiotic and for Vicodin, even though I told them I was not experiencing any great pain. (Vicodin is a potentially habit-forming pain-killer).

I went to the pharmacy and told them I only wanted the antibiotic. At first, they told me they had to fill the entire prescription or they wouldn’t fill it at all. I told them I wasn’t in pain and wouldn’t take the Vicodin. The lady at the counter started to explain the reason behind the policy, which was that too many people were just getting their pain prescriptions filled and not the other medication, then something neat happened. She actually listened to what she was saying and thought about what I was asking. I could see her mentally switch gears.

“But you don’t want the pain medication”, she said.
“That’s right”

So, she crossed it off the prescription.

As a side note, I think it is interesting that we have this thread going at the same time we have a thread going about the types of drugs people have tried.

[japanat]

Unfortunately, I have to take medicine 3 times/day. It is for a stomach hernia, which should hopefully be reduced as my weight goes down. What really surprised me, and I questioned, was that a mild tranquilizer was included in the 3 meds! I asked why, and the doctor then took out a text (in English, even!) and carefully and with great attention to my understanding, explained how it would actually help my stomach muscles to relax and thus speed healing.

Now, here in Japan, the above is a recent phenomenom. My father-in-law told me that most Japanese patients don't want to know what medicine they are taking or its purpose or effects, they just want drugs! He'll gladly explain, but most patients say "I count on you." Surprising to me, I thought they all did Chinese medicine. Turns out lots of them do both (which can have some interesting/horrible side effects when mixed).

While the Japanese don't take ritalin or other psychometric drugs at near the rates Americans do, they take antibiotics and other drugs (like something to keep the stomach from feeling pain from the other drugs) in much greater quantities than Americans. They run to the doctor for every sniffle, cough or ache - primarily because it's a hell of a lot cheaper than American medical care. I really wonder just how strong their immune systems will be in 20 years.

[Kwiz]

Whenever I think of medicine, I have to puke. I mean, we survived before there was medicine, and we are going to do so in future.
I don't take any stuff unless I really really need it. I think that today's people forget that their bodies can deal with the most problems by themselves if you give them the time.

I have to respond with an definite "yes" to the OP's question - depending on medical diagnosis to the point where ADD has become a synonym for "easily distracted" can lead to nasty problems.

But do you know why people tend to rely on modern medicine? It's because every common, over-the-counter medication you take has a practical army of scientific knowledge behind its effects and uses. It's because this application of knowledge has vastly improved our quality of life since 10,000 years ago. Yes, we were able to survive without any antibiotics or drug treatments back then, but would you honestly prefer that to what we have today?

That's why, I recomment not taking anything unless YOU think you need it. don't listen to doctors too much, they get paid for making you take drugs. so watch out, they are greedy humans too!

The essence of civilization is for individual people to specialize in certain areas so that the whole may benefit from it. Show me one instance of a doctor's (rather small) financial incentive risking the well-being of a patient and I'd be able to show you ten examples to the contrary.

[Angelyne]

I never said that it was a bad thing, I just said that people depend on it too much......

Agreed. Antibiotics aren't bad. Prescribing antibiotics every time someone sneezes or has an itch is bad. A couple decades of handing out antibitoics to everyone who asked has now led to the development of deadly infections that are very resistant to antibiotics. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrsa)

[japanat]

don't listen to doctors too much, they get paid for making you take drugs. so watch out, they are greedy humans too!Actually, that is why individual doctors in the U.S. are now prevented, by law, from owning a pharmacy on site. An independent owner/operator can have a pharmacy in a doctor's building, but the doctor cannot own it themselves.

And people should look at Kass' experience as a damn good way to approach it. Listen to your doctor, then if you think it's a piece of shit, go see someone else. An ethical doctor will recommend that you get a 2nd opinion for anything important, anyways. This doesn't mean that all doctors are out to get you, it means that even the best can make mistakes, and many are not the best.

[Kass]

My mom has constant headaches from her teaching job (and my hellhole family) and is constantly taking advil to relieve her pressure. When I get headaches I don't take anything, and they last for about an hour, if they're bad.

You don't know how lucky you are. I get migraines that put me in the hospital and don't go away at all without pharmeceutical intervention. I've even gone through all the levels of pain killers until the doctor just gave me morphine so I could relax at least. (FYI, morphine doesn't necessarily make the pain go away, but you sure don't care if you hurt. Coming off morphine sucks big, smelly rotten eggs though.)

I've actually often wondered how many unexplained suicides a year might be by people are suffering debilitating migraines. I decided to go to the hospital the first timen when I was sitting in the middle of my dark living room at 2 a.m. trying not to cry because it hurt, not touching my head because it hurt and thinking that if I stabbed myself in the leg, my leg might hurt more than my head and I'd forget about the headache. It sounded very reasonable for a minute, then I decided I probably ought to get professional medical assistance if maiming myself sounded completely rational even for a few seconds. I can see it not taking much more pain to make some people decide that not feeling at all is better than the pain of a severe migraine.

I'd give anything for a headache that just went away. As it is, everyday I take a blood pressure medication that doctors accidentally discovered reduces the intensity and frequency of migraines. It's wierd that it doesn't lower my blood pressure, which is lower than normal, but works on the migraines for me, yet will lower the blood pressure of someone with high blood pressure.

Ritalin is actually the same way. It's an amphetamine and in someone without real ADD, it will do what speed does--hype them up and cause their metabolism to race. That's why Ritalin is often abused by people who want to lose weight. In people with ADD, it calms and slows them down. I've always found that to be a very interesting phenomenon.

[Mastiker]

Oh! I didn't mean (just) you. XD I meant the 4 or 5 posts above me that say "I don't take medicine unless I'm really sick blahblahblah"


XD

Why wouldn't I take medicine unless I was really sick?

I have allergies, but they're not bad, so no need for medicine. Like I said, my headaches barely last that long... any other thing I would need medicine for, I can't think of. I mean, shoot, do vaccine shots count as medicine? In which case, yeah, I'm good on those.

So... if I can be just fine without taking medicine, then I won't take medicine.

Most of my phobia of pills actually comes from my grandfather. He was on a cocktail of meds for years, and when he died, I more or less chocked it up to the pill combination that basically killed his kidneys. When we took the pills that were prescribed to him... well, there were a lot. I didn't like pills before then, and I'm petrified of them now.

I have a feeling some of the non-medication folk are the same ones that would shout down Christian Fundamentalists who decide that God will save their child from appendix failure rather than take them to a doctor. We've had medicine in herbal form for thousands of years, just because modern pharmaceuticals are more recent doesn't mean that we didn't have medicine before.

That, or we don't like medicine. Whichever one you like better, of course. :rolleyes:

Besides, just because I don't like pills doesn't mean I don't use the natural medications. I just don't like pills and I see no reason to take them unless I need them.

You don't know how lucky you are. I get migraines that put me in the hospital and don't go away at all without pharmeceutical intervention. I've even gone through all the levels of pain killers until the doctor just gave me morphine so I could relax at least. (FYI, morphine doesn't necessarily make the pain go awya, but you sure don't care if you hurt. Coming off morphine sucks big, smelly rotten eggs though.)

I guess I don't. I've just never had a problem with them.

[Kass]

XD

Besides, just because I don't like pills doesn't mean I don't use the natural medications. I just don't like pills and I see no reason to take them unless I need them.


Most medications are based on plants and other naturally occuring substances. You're just takinga raw form of the medication. Same stuff, different formula.

That is also why the destruction of the plant life in the reain forests is such a tragedy.

[Mastiker]

Most medications are based on plants and other naturally occuring substances. You're just takinga raw form of the medication. Same stuff, different formula.

That is also why the destruction of the plant life in the rain forests is such a tragedy.

That doesn't make my fear of pills go away any easier. I just don't trust them. But I'm also not an expert on natural alternatives (or medicine for that matter) I just know what I'm scared of.

Even if it is irrational.

[Jetsetlemming]

So Mastiker, just crush the pills/crack them open into a drink. The outer plastic shell of the pill in most pills is just there to keep the medicine clean and kept up inside the pill in an exact dosage. They come apart in the middle. Get yourself a glass of milk, split the pill in to over top the drink (or over your open mouth to make sure you get all of it), and drink it.

[Kass]

I just know what I'm scared of.

Even if it is irrational.

I understand that. Snakes are the same for me. *shudder*

Being afraid of them yourself doesn't invalidate their necessity or the necessity for others to take them though, just like my firm belief that the only good snake is dead and made into a pair of boots doesn't mean snakes aren't necessary for the environment.

[Mastiker]

So Mastiker, just crush the pills/crack them open into a drink. The outer plastic shell of the pill in most pills is just there to keep the medicine clean and kept up inside the pill in an exact dosage. They come apart in the middle. Get yourself a glass of milk, split the pill in to over top the drink (or over your open mouth to make sure you get all of it), and drink it.

Ugh, and get over my fear of getting poisoned via drinks at the same time?

XD

Besides, that's not good for a lot of pills. Most of them are time-released, and they activiate after they've dissolved in your gut for so long. By crushing them up they get absorbed by my saliva glands, which either doesn't work as good, or works too well. If it's dissolved in my gut, it gets absorbed in my small intestines where it's supposed to be absorbed.

I'm not afraid of swallowing pills, I'm afraid of pills XD

edit: Oh XD Just making sure. Ugh, I'm scared of snakes too. And spiders...

is the dark necessary for the enviornment? can we get rid of that?

[Soli]

XD

Why wouldn't I take medicine unless I was really sick?

I have allergies, but they're not bad, so no need for medicine. Like I said, my headaches barely last that long... any other thing I would need medicine for, I can't think of. I mean, shoot, do vaccine shots count as medicine? In which case, yeah, I'm good on those.

So... if I can be just fine without taking medicine, then I won't take medicine.

Most of my phobia of pills actually comes from my grandfather. He was on a cocktail of meds for years, and when he died, I more or less chocked it up to the pill combination that basically killed his kidneys. When we took the pills that were prescribed to him... well, there were a lot. I didn't like pills before then, and I'm petrified of them now.

There are different definitions people have for "I won't take medicine unless I was really sick". It can mean, "I won't take medicine unless I was bleeing out my eyes." Kind of thing, or it can mean "I won't take a medicine for something I'm sure I'll get over in a couple of weeks."

I was thinking about the first type, which you apparently aren't. XD I wasn't singling out one person, as I told Baroness!

I was talking medicine in general, not just pills. Syrups, tablets, pills, whatever. The stuff that you put into your body to fix some problem you're having. Like Kass said, same stuff.

Now looks what you've done, gotten the conversation onto fear of pills- and phoias in general! Snakes, spiders, darkness, oh my! ;p

[chibi1284]

I feel that people are over medicated. I used to work in a pharmacy as a pharmacy technician, and I was totally shocked to see how many people were on anti-depressent. Depression is a chemical imbalance within the brain, and to determine whether someone has a chemical inbalance, it makes more sense to make chemical concentration readings, instead of walking into a shrink and telling the psychiatrist you are sad. I am not sure if its possible or if its safe to stick some probes in your brain and measure chemical concentration of neurotransmitter, but it is easy to see how describing your symptons about sadness is a flawed and abusable system.

[Stephy]

Now looks what you've done, gotten the conversation onto fear of pills- and phoias in general! Snakes, spiders, darkness, oh my! ;p

Well >_>; That's basically my reason for not taking medication unless I really need to. Huge phobia (not just pills). It's kind of odd and maybe irrational, but I am really scared of it. :P

Also, I'm barely ever sick so, no worries on my part.

[Trump]

I had an interesting thought today while I was at the gym. I wonder, if you took people who think they have ADD and force them to run for 30 minutes a day on the treadmill (or other similar cardio) would they be more able to concentrate?

[Soli]

^ I don't think I follow your train of thought. :boggled:

[Shamu]

I had an interesting thought today while I was at the gym. I wonder, if you took people who think they have ADD and force them to run for 30 minutes a day on the treadmill (or other similar cardio) would they be more able to concentrate?
Actually, that doesn't really work...at least it didn't work for me. Back when I was playing soccer, we had to run everyday for so many miles (and other cardio workouts) and it nothing for my ADD. More or less, it just made me tired. Not sure if it would work for someone who didn't have ADD though.
I agree that many kids and even adults are over medicated. However, if you do have a serious problem, like ADD (like I do), the meds can REALLY make a difference. I can't sit through a test, lecture, interview without them.
I do try not to take it unless I need though, because Ritalin does make you feel kinda funny and I don't really like to take anything unless I really need it. =/
Personally, I don't think anyone should be on meds like that without going to a specialist and getting tested (I had to go through extensive psychiatric testing first). Though paying for that kind of thing if you don't have good health insurance can be a bitch =(

Something that they've started doing in my daughter's peds office, is to not prescribe antibiotics everytime the kids have an ear infection, unless it's bad. So far it seems to be working, last time my kid an ear infection, it wasn't that bad, so they just told me to put a hot compress on it and tylenol if it was hurting badly and to come back to have it checked in a week if the pain didn't go away. It ended up going away later in the week on it's own.

[Kass]

I know paying for the tests can be tough, especially without insurance, but most uninsured children qualify for federal assistance or assistance through the schools. Psycological testing and evaluations for anything considered a learning disability like ADD MUST be provided by the schools by law. The medical testing isn't, but that is where the medicaid/state insurance for children comes in.

When all else fails, isn't a your child's health worth some expense? When this happened with my daughter, I was underinsured and making $13,000 per year after taxes, but you better believe I found a way to make it happen. The school district subsidized the counseling (I paid $10 per session). For the doctor's visits co-pays ($50 per visit), I got help from my church and the medications were about the only thing my insurance covered decently. The hospital bills, I paid off little by little. Their billing office was more than happy to work with me as long as I made the monthly payments I promised, which were sometimes as low as $15 a month.

Ritalin and many medications given to children can be dangerous if used when not needed or used improperly. Ritalin could have caused my daughter's kidneys to fail if I hadn't noticed that she was having a variety of problems going to the bathroom. You can't ignore that Ritalin and many medications like it are addictive. It's worth some effort to find the funding or arrange a payment plan.

[Jetsetlemming]

In Pennsylvania, we now have uniform government health care for ALL uninsured children. It's called "CHIP".