Dangerous Side Effects of Adhd Medications

25 Jan 2010

25 Jan, 2010 adhd doctors

This scared me to death: WARNING â Possible side effects of ADHD Medications. This may include: long-term effect on the developing brain with ADHD medication; heart-related problems; psychiatric problems, or potential for abuse.

What if I told you that there was also a wide variety of alternative therapies. Now do not get me wrong. There is a time and place for prescriptions for treating many diseases.

I checked online and the suggested Pharmacological Treatments for ADHD included antidepressants, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall (amphetamine), mood stabilizers and a variety of other drugs. Are you really sure this is what you want for yourself, or even for your child?

You might disagree, but hear me out on this. There are several classes of ADHD medications. With luck, you may find a doctor that will work with you and prescribe one with the least amount of side effects.

Let’s first discuss the traditional treatments with ADHD medication. Until recently, most doctors prescribed Ritalin. Ritalin is supposed to increase blood supply to the frontal lobes of the brain. Ritalin is the most inconsistently absorbed. Some adults and children absorb as much as 80-90% of the medication, whereas others only absorb 30-40% of a medication dose.

Facts About Ritalin

Ritalin is rapid: 20-30 minutes. It has the shortest duration of action of 2-4 hours. Many children only have a benefit of 3 hours.

Possible Side Effects

Inability to fall or stay asleep, nervousness, headaches, depression and anxiety. In children, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, weight loss during long-term therapy, inability to fall or stay asleep, and abnormally fast heartbeat are more common side effects.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) âHowever, information on the long-term effects of all treatments is lacking, as is knowledge of the effects of long-term use of ADHD medications in children…â

Another drugs prescribed is Adderall (amphetamine). Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant. It affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. Adderall is also used to treat narcolepsy (excessive daytime sleepiness).

In 2005 Canadian regulators suspended sales of the once-daily version of Adderall after 20 deaths (a possible side effect).

Adderall is still prescribed as a ADHD medication in the US. The FDA said it has examined the same study data as the Canadian health authorities but had not concluded the risk of sudden death was “strong enough” to justify suspending sales of the drug.

What about alternative therapies. Have you considered nutritional and dietary therapies, exercise, biofeedback, herbal treatments, meditation, Chinese medicine, homeopathic remedies, or possibly bach flower remedies.

Even when you are armed with all the facts, you as a parent must decide whether or not an ADHD medication is the right choice.

Do yourself a favor and research all the Pharmacological Treatments and the possible side effects of ADHD medications. Then compare those results with the health benefits of natural remedies.

Wayne Mcdonald
http://www.articlesbase.com/alternative-medicine-articles/dangerous-side-effects-of-adhd-medications-678400.html

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6 Responses

Lids
2010 Jan 25 1

I was curious does anyone know any dangerous side effects of the medication they give to children with ADHD?
stephen k
2010 Jan 25 2

One problem is that they see no problem in taking pills and it could pave the way to drug abuse in the future (but this lacks the causal relationship).

Addiction is always a concern
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BULLETwithaNAME
2010 Jan 25 3

i do know that for me cause whan i was on it when i was little for some reason it kept me up at night i dont know if it was wearing off or what but all i know is it kept me up at night and i ate alot
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sherri s
2010 Jan 25 4

It is anphetaimne based. So that open up a whole lot of controversary. Gotta be careful!!!
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silly_fud
2010 Jan 25 5

With pretty much all psychotropics you get dry mouth, sometimes stomach upset (though not so much with stimulants I think). The biggest problem I know of is sleep disruption - like people who drink coffee too late at night, if you take the pills too late it can be hard to sleep. Personally I find this difficult to understand, as I can drink as much coffee as I like and take as much Dexamphetamine as I like whenever I like and it doesn’t alter my sleep pattern at all - if anything the calming effect of the latter actually helps me sleep. (But then I started taking Dex at 27, so it might be very different for children.) This "opposite" reaction to stimulants seems to run very much through my family along with ADHD - pseudoephedrine has a similar effect in me to that of Valium in "normal" people, whereas give me Valium and I’m bouncing off the walls.

Hope all this helps.
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Lenna O
2010 Jan 25 6

i would think either addiction, or if the child is misdiagnosed (or even if not but the body doesnt respond well to the medicatioin,) has the wrong effect on the body. For example, ridilin which is used for add/adhd, is like speed to anyone else. The problem with some people that have this disorder is that their body has an opposite effect with certain stuff…caffiene is something that would normally wake someone up and give them energy while someone with this disorder may get tired from the intake…therefore something like speed calms them down.
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