fred & michele said:"Jan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Subject: Jan Drew -- read this
From: [email hidden] (Mark)
Date: 8/15/2003 7:12 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id: <[email hidden]>
Jan,
I understand that you have a "thing" against Ritalin. I do too,
truth be told.
Lots of us question the wide prescribing of medications to control ADD/ADHD.
And some of us do not. AFAIAC, this concept of the "wide prescribing" of
medication is tantamount to a myth. The increase in MPH use in the
1990's was driven by the realization that AD/HD continues into
adulthood, and adults need appropriate treatment. There were many
stories floated about which did spread these myths.
In 1996 Forbes Magazine published an article wherein there was a claim
that 30% of the kids at a named junior high school were taking
methylphenidate. Shocking, if true.
However, the principal of that junior high school was a reader of Forbes
Magazine, and went to his staff to find out two things:
1. Was it true?
2. Who released confidential medical information about students?
He wrote Forbes a letter, which was never published, but referenced in a
thread in ASAD (I cannot find this part of the story), that the 30% did
not even reflect the total number of students taking medication of any
type.
The other sensationalization was the now infamous Merrow report, which
used staging, etc. to present an evil picture. (Note, I saw the entire
"report."😉 Some of the "informants" were in shadows or behind curtains.
Merrow distorted many facts and circumstances.
Merrow was soundly criticized by Russell Barkley who has studied AD/HD
and its treatments, and has authored numerous peer reviewed studies,
articles, books, etc, on it.
http://users.rcn.com/peregrin.enteract/add/8hints.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12581803&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12562060&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12562058&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12544179&dopt=Abstract
http://www.additudemag.com/addabc.asp?DEPT_NO=201&SUB_NO=7
Quoted message said:I have reservations about the quality of diagnosing the problem in some
cases as well.
The AAP website has very detailed diagnostic and treatment protocols
which, if followed, should result in a highly accurate diagnosis.
Shoot, I am wondering about the prevalence of the disorder &
Quoted message said:what could be the cause of it.
It appears to be genetic anomalies in the brain. Read the researched by
Nora Volkow at Brookhaven National Lab and others on Medline.
But I consider the use of medications to be
Quoted message said:one option that can be utilized to help a child cope with a problem that
sometimes responds to nothing else.
Agreed. It is one option, but, AFAIAC, it is the necessary option, as
shown by the Multi-modal study.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:But your recent rant citing Ritalin as "legalized
Quoted message said:speed" is a little wacky.
*In your opinion* There was no rant, and I didn't write it.
Quoted message said:Doesn't Jan understand that when she cites an article to bolster her POV, it
doesn't matter whether she penned it or not -- that just citing it shows she
agrees with its content?
No, Jan does not realize this at all. I have tired to show her numerous
times, but fact===>wall===>bounce.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Ritalin can be *abused*, just as gasoline can be *abused*.
Normal, legal, appropriate uses of Ritalin and gasoline are both
acceptable and appropriate.
I disagree. I don't believe in drugging kids.
Quoted message said:Jan has no problems with giving kids supplements. Is it her position that
children popping pills is okay if those pills aren't necessary & label
themselves as "good for ya"?
We "drug" kids all the time. We give kids antibiotics when they need them
for infections -- we give them drugs ranging from insulin to aspirin when
it's decided (by Mom, the doc, the ER staff) that the child's condition
warrants it.
One company actually had the nerve to sell "Phyto-bears" as a marketing
tool to make kids used to getting nutrition form pills. I found that
outrageous.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:And Ritalin is given to kids as
early as age three, when it is NOT appropriate.
Quoted message said:This is definitely the minority. And should obviously be investigated to
see why it is being done & if it is indeed inappropriate.
Agreed. I know my son, when he was that age, was shoing all the
behaviors that would eventually lead to his diagnosis. His life, at that
age, was horribly negative, since he had negative interactions with his
peers, his nursery school, etc.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Your contention seems to be that since Ritalin can be abused, it
is somehow evil and must be avoided.
My contention is that it *IS* being abused.
Jan means that the mere use of the medication is ipso facto, abuse.
Quoted message said:So are opiates used to control severe, unrelenting pain -- should we chuck
them too? Every substance that can be abused isn't some evil that needs to
be eliminated. The majority of people who use any serious prescription drug
don't abuse it. To demonize Ritalin because it is sometimes abused is the
equivalent of calling for the elimination of everything that could possibly
be abused. We have lots of fat kids in this country -- should ice cream be
banned?
Far more destructive in the long run. We know that ice cream abuse leads
to obesity. So far, there is no demonstration of any long term negative
effects from the use of methylphenidate.
Quoted message said:Should alcohol be outlawed because some people can't handle it?
Should spray paint be illegal because some people huff it until their brains
are Swiss cheese? We can't protect people determined to abuse things that
can be safely & effectively used for their intended purposes.
Agreed. However, the rabid anti-med people never see the distinction.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:I don't believe in drugging kids.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:*Gasoline*, when huffed (or
consumed outright), can also be a mind-altering substance. Should we
do away with gasoline?
Let's do away with stupid skeptic tricks.
Quoted message said:Pointing out the holes in Jan's POV is "a stupid skeptic trick"??? Hardly.
Her inability to refute Mark's point is duly noted.
She has never been able to refute my posts on this issue. I have 24/7 20
years personal experience with it.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Please read your citations for content, not just for the
excitation of their titles.
Quoted message said:Buzz false accusation.
Jan hasn't thought through her stance beyond the first "Ritalin bad" idea.
Emotional titles aren't much more than that, but Jan doesn't see past them
to the points they argue -- & the other side of the issues.
As usual.
