What is your thoughts on mothers that get their kids on Aderall ?

Question

Do you think the mothers first neglect to give their kids attention , and then drug them up because they've lost control and dont want to deal with their own kids ?

Do you think the mothers use the prescriptions that are for the kids so they can be "thin " , "attractive" , " Doable " ?

Do you think that there are some legitimate cases where this drug can work for some kids , but alot of kids are misdiagnosed ?

What are your thoughts?

**These are hypothetical thought suggestions and in no way do they represent my own personal opinion **

Answer 1

Do I think parents purposefully neglect their children and then medicate them?  Maybe some parents, but in most cases where medication is given it is the lack of knowledge of most parents that causes it.  

A lot of doctors medicate to try to 'solve' the problem instead of finding alternative therapy.  This is why so many children are medicated.

I don't think that mothers use prescriptions to make their children more attractive.  Most psychiatric drugs have quite the opposite effect when it comes to weight; the kids gain a ton of it.  And some drugs have no effect whatsoever on that department.

This and many other psychiatric drugs have a purpose.  Some people are beyond other forms of treatment and need a way to cope.  

However I do believe that many people are misdiagnosed.  Mainly for the purpose of the doctor not trying to find another possible cause.  

I think that we as a society are too dependent upon medication to make us feel better.  Granted, there are conditions where medication is the only route, but these conditions are life threatening.  

I know way too many housewives that are on Prozac or Zoloft or some other anti-depressant.  I think that too many people think they have a problem and go to their doctor expecting the problem to be solved.  Then the doctor brings out the prescription pad.  

I'm sorry, but I don't believe in medication unless you cannot find another solution.  Personally, I take 5 pills a day because of conditions that I cannot control but I know of several people who have an at-home pharmacy just because they can.  

As far as people medicating their kids, I hate to say it but sometimes there's no choice.  My brother was on Ritalin from the time he was 5 until he was 14.  After he was taken off it he went absolutely wild, ended up doing drugs and getting into many fights and is now in prison.  I firmly believe that he shouldn't have been taken off the pills.  Before he was he thought clearly for the most part and had a very contained temper.  Afterward he became someone else.  Sometimes, medication is necessary.  Other times it's just downright pointless.

Answer 2

yes

yes

maybe

Answer 3

My son started having symptoms off A.d.d when he was in first grade. His teachers, counselors and I tried everything over the years to get him to focus in the class room. In Florida every third grader has to take a test called the FCAT and if they don't pass they stay back, well my son didn't finish the test, so he had to repeat the third grade. This year I decided to put him on medicine, it killed me but I had tried everything else. I didn't want the same thing to happen to him this year. It was hard at first because the Dr. put him on Adderall and my son complained of stomach ache and he had no appetite. He had a awesome teacher who called me at home to tell me he was acting "drugged". So I took him back to the Dr. and she had us try the Daytrana patch. It worked really well and it was great because you could put it on or take it off whenever you needed it. This year, his second third grade year he excelled in school, passed the FCAT, only missing a few answers when last year his test was so incomplete they couldn't even give him a score. My son only wears the patch during school, not on weekends and not over school breaks. As much as I was against medicating my son I now wish I would have done it sooner, so he wouldn't have had to go all those years not being able to concentrate in class. I just wanted to make sure my son wasn't being given medicine that he didn't need. So yes I'm sure there are people who take advantage or just drug their kids up, but I know there are some kids who really need these medications. I know my son will not always need to be on medicine, only while he is in school.

Answer 4

Well, I don't agree with drugging a child unless it's absolutely necessary. Our children of today are so over medicated it's not funny. LOL

Answer 5

The parents I know who have considered medications for their kids (whether they've ultimately decided to do it or not) have done so with great hesitation and trepidation and as a last resort after trying numerous other things.  I believe the vast majority of parents want to do what's truly best for their kids.  Whether drugs for things like ADHD are what's truly best for any particular kid is a heart-wrenchingly difficult question, and I think most parents make the best choice they can based on their kids' specific circumstances and their doctor's advice.  

I certainly don't think kids with ADHD symptoms have those symptoms because the mothers neglected to give them attention.  The parents I know of ADHD kids are wonderful parents.  I do not think they don't want to deal with their own kids; indeed, they spend tremendous amounts of time and energy worrying about how best to help their kids.  I don't think being "thin", "attractive" or "doable" has anything to do with it.  I do think ADHD is overdiagnosed and overmedicated, but I certainly also think that aderall works for some kids.

I have a child with serious asthma who takes daily controller medications that can have serious side effects.  I agonize about whether giving her those medications is the best thing to do for her; ultimately, based on our experience of repeated ER visits and hospitalizations, I had to conclude that it is what's best for her.  If she had some other condition that was similarly massively interfering with her life, I'd agonize over that as well, and ultimately make the best choice I could.  I can't categorically say whether that would be medication or not.

Answer 6

I think that there are some legitimate cases where this drug is needed but I think a lot (not all) of people are too quick to medicate. ADHD meds are dangerous and I think they should only be used as a last resort, after natural methods such as gluten free/casein free diets and magnesium supplementation have been tried and failed. I certainly don't think there are many people who are intentionally "drugging" their kids or parents taking the meds themselves but I'm sure it happens sometimes. When I was in high school kids who were supposed to take Adderall or Ritalin would sell their pills to other kids who took them because they gave the same effect as street crystal meth. Pretty scary. I've had luck with a gluten free/casein free diet with my son so far and I feel bad for anyone who has had to take the medication route but sometimes it's necessary. Better to medicate than to have a child fail school because they can't focus at all.

Answer 7

My son, who is 18 now, has been on Concerta since he was 8.  He has a couple of serious conditions that require lots of medications.  We don't know whether this is a birth defect or from a bicycle accident he had at 5.  Yes, he was wearing a helmet, but the helmet split on impact and he still suffered a head injury.

Anyway, I don't know if I can be a good judge of children taking psychiatric drugs, but without them, I promise you, he would not have finished high school, and would have been locked up by now.

Parents can only do so much.  There is nothing that we didn't try first.  He was out of control, and the only one of my four children who were this way.

My other four children never took anything stronger than a tylenol until they were grown.

But, as far as the misdiagnosed, yes I believe many are.  I sub at a school, sometimes in the behavioral class, where the only impairment seems to be that the child has never heard the word "NO".  And if you polled the children, most, if not all, are from single parent homes.  So, yes, alone, I believe that a lot of children do not have the benefit of the strength two parents have to make their kids behave.  

I hope this opinion helps.