Dr. Mercola January 09 2000 1,410 views
By Nicholas Regush ABCNEWS.com
Between 1990 and 1996, prescriptions for methylpenidate, know as Ritalin, increased more than 60 percent, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Back in my newspaper days, I often would catch reporters describing their editors as having the attention span of a gnat.
When I began work in TV, several producers quietly pointed out correspondents and senior producers who were known to have the attention span of a sand fly. But to my knowledge, none of those allegedly afflicted were required to take a drug to reverse their attention deficit.
This came to mind when I was in the thick of dissecting the scientific literature on Ritalin, a drug reputed to calm hyperactivity and help people pay attention to things. Its use is extremely popular these days for schoolchildren who, for example, have trouble sitting still, or difficulty keeping track of what they are being taught.
Overprescribed or Underprescribed?
In reviewing the data, I came across a study from Virginia showing that up to 10 percent of children in second through fifth grades are on medication to fight such problems, after being diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Being the compassionate type, I naturally wondered whether tests would show that at least 10 percentor even more of reporters and producers in newsrooms where I have worked also should have been on Ritalin or other brain drugs.
And should the scientific diagnostic drive extend into the professions, perhaps tests would show that many more psychiatrists, pediatricians and teachers have the attention span of a gnat or sand fly and need to be advised of the fact.
Maybe many doctors have ADHD without the benefit of Ritalin and therefore lack the attention span or patience to consider other factors that may contribute to the behavior and demeanor of their young patients ? such as how and where the children live, what they eat, whether they are loved, and the consequences of being taught in schools with curricula too underdeveloped to meet modern childhood needs.
The Real Epidemic
Am I being unkind to the Ritalin pushers? Yes, and I want to be. This Ritalin sham must stop! It is far out of control. While there are some children ? and some editors and producers ? who obviously need major help in adjusting to our zany world, there is far too much drugging going on. The drugging is the real epidemic, not ADHD.
(A note to psychiatrists: Please read this paragraph carefully, with close attention, so you won't waste time writing me nasty e-mails about tragic cases of truly uncontrollable children. I readily admit there are such cases.) I am most concerned that the science on ADHD and related so-called illnesses is not very compelling. Sure, studies are popping up all the time now, but most are preliminary.
Looking for Evidence
Consider the latest, most publicized entry ? imaging the brain to detect biochemical differences, a tool some claim could lead to a test for ADHD. Watch out, because psychiatrists who may have the attention span of a gnat are already proclaiming this foray into brain imaging as a triumph in biological psychiatry. It is nothing of the kind. We know too little of the brain and its amazing interconnected elements to be so foolishly brash. We also know too little of what much brain imaging really means, and we are lacking gold standards for such testing.
What we essentially have here is an epidemic of dumb doctoring and child abuse bordering on the criminal, sitting on a limited view of human behavioral variability. Granted, there are children at the extreme end of the continuum who need a variety of assistance ? not necessarily drug-focused help. Meanwhile, there are probably millions of kids unnecessarily on drugs, obtained not from pushers in schoolyards but from pushers with medical degrees.
The Easy Way Out
Rather than stare social problems straight in the face and try to determine why certain children are anxious, depressed, irritable or noisy troublemakers, the tendency in this culture is to try to drug the problems away. What if the problem is simply that some of these kids have minds, and spirits, of their own?
Don't you just love Nicholas Regush? I think he is the best traditional reporter out there. It takes quite a bit of courage to write what he does in traditional circles. Fortunately, there is a relatively simple alternative to Ritalin and it involves the rigid grain and sugar restriction that is discussed in the diet plan under Read This First at www.mercola.com. It is very unusual where this does not produce profound improvements in children afflicted with ADHD.
I think the criticism of conventional medications in this article is excessive- and not supported by the literature as I understand it or by my experience or that of my colleages. I would also note that adult ADD is just as common as childhood ADD and also well worthy of treatment.
Having said that I am happy to recognise the value of such treatments as tyrosine and fish oil- not to mention caffeine avoidance. I do think a balanced approach with careful clinical assessment is vital. For many patients though Ritlin and dexamphetamine can turn their lives around and it is wrong to put people off what are essentially very safe medications with a long track record of usage.
"What if the problem is simply that some of these kids have minds, and spirits, of their own?"
It is a problem if these children's minds are not allowing them to succeed as they should- if their attentional problems cause them to put all their friends offside and leave them as loners struggling to make their way in the world.
It is easy to play devils advocate- but until you have clinical experience of these problems it is hard to appreciate just how much lifelong suffering ADD can cause. As a medical practitoner of many years experience I had harboured great doubts about the diagnosis of ADHD until I was fortunate enough to witness the improvement in a number of my child and adult patents when they were treated with dexamphetamine and Ritalin. Looking at it now I am embarrassed that these patients or their parents had to come to me asking for referrals to practitioners they and found seeking confirmation and treatment of diagnoses they had already made on themselves.
I think your are right there, Dr. Mercola. I was just reading a blurp on the past page on "Ritalin Being More Potent Than Cocaine," and with analyzing this one piece one lady was saying about how her daughter was acting in school until they put her on ritalin. Then the daughter was doing well until 7 months later when she acted up again, and as time went on the daughter ran away from home, lying etc. It sounds to me like the daughter was the classical case of a spoilt brat and the parents would not take charge to correct her of this problem. We have some children in our neighbourhood who have the same problem. Children, teenagers who are simply spoilt brats. And the parents are no better themselves. My husband and I have both witnessed in stores parents acting out of frustration over their children and their misbehaviour, reacting severly to their childrens reacting. To my dismay, the parents with their children walked out of the store. We witnessed one set of parents being hauled out of the store by security, because they were reacting very badly to their childrens reacting (acting worse than terribly). These parents should not be having children if all they can do in graze their children, not raise their children. I realize parents do not come with manuals when a birth of a child takes place, but, a child does need guidance, discipline, love, and education not only in school, but, at home, as well on proper behaviour, respect for others (especially differences), tolerance.
I stand to correct myself-----the article was, "The Non Drug Treatment to ADD." My apology for the error.