adhd

[Stadium]

I made a thread about this a really long time ago back in like 2012 or 2013 but since most of those members aren't around anymore I kind of want to know what you new people think of this...

I don't want to type much right now so I'll just say this

amphetamines (for the purpose of this conversation, I'm referring to ritalin, vyvanse, adderall, basically any stimulant drug prescribed to "treat" adhd) are being prescribed in record numbers. I could google this number but you can do it yourself. It's ridiculous how many children are on these mind altering drugs when really their parents have no idea of the dangers or what's actually wrong with their child, they just do what the doctor says unconditionally. I wholeheartedly believe that almost none of these children have ADHD, if it even is a real condition at all. Attention problems are normal when being forced to pay attention something you have no interest in, but this apparently doesn't occur to most people, so as a result, ADHD and "medicating" it is what's become the common thing.

It took me personally about 10 minutes to get a prescription for vyvanse. I told the psychiatrist I had trouble concentrating, especially in school(this term basically guarantees you a prescription) and that I think I might have some attention problems. It was ridiculously easy to obtain a prescription for this potentially fatal drug

I've heard many times that adhd medications effect people that have adhd differently than people who don't. The simple fact is, this isn't true. Amphetamines work the same way on the brain whether you have an imbalance of dopamine and serotonin or not. However let's not forget IT'S NOT EVEN PROVEN THAT THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ADHD.

By inventing a new disease that can't be tested or measured, and then making up a treatment for the symptoms of this new disease, the pharmaceutical companies are creating lifelong customers, and doing so very efficiently. Why produce medicine for headaches or cancer when you have an entire market full of ignorant people to sell addictive but legal drugs to? Seriously, google how much money has been made off of these drugs in the last few years, you'll probably be surprised.

and don't even fucking get me started on "depression"

[Ky]

What do you get when you have the War on Kids right after the War on Drugs?

Let me answer that for you; the legal drugs become more dangerous than the illegal ones. The increasingly widespread solution to indoctrination-based torture is more torture, this time of the pharmaceutical variety. The increasingly widespread solution to mental problems of all varieties is to throw harmful chemicals at them. No one is being healed!

[magikarp]

Like, yes, but don't underestimate what percentage of those prescriptions are written for young adults who specifically wanted it either for recreational use or to be able to get more work done, most of whom know perfectly well they don't have ADHD. It's probably not ideal, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily exploitative.

[James Comey]

I personally don't believe in the "big pharma" conspiracy, or that ADHD in itself is a conspiracy. Hell, I think I might legitimately have ADHD. But yes Stadium, you make a great point. It's something that needs to be addressed. It's funny that we're trying to fight a war against one drug, yet we're spreading an epidemic on another. What irony.

I think this all stems from one massive misunderstanding that the factory model is the only way things can be done, and education can't be done in any other way. How might we be able to change that?

[Username]

I personally don't think the issue of overprescribing drugs directly stems from the general opinion that education can only be done using a factory model. Not every issue in the world can be traced back to "the system" going about the educational system in the wrong way.

It's an issue with people trusting their doctors too much without actually looking into it themselves; "oh, you say i need this pill? Well okay, you must be right, you ARE a doctor after all." That's something each individual person is responsible for on a personal level, not the educational system. Maybe this issue can be traced back to the educational system but only in a very general sense, i.e. educating people that you shouldn't blindly trust someone based off their credentials or job title.


Anyways, back on topic; i agree with stadium, amphetamines are definitely overprescribed and it's stupid easy to get them. I once saw a psychiatrist for depression and he insisted i had ADD because i had mentioned that i was doing poorly in school as a result of my depression, which reduces motivation. That was the only reasoning he could come up with when i inquired as to why he thought i had ADD: i was doing poorly in school. It's an easy excuse, and if parents are told these pills will improve their child's performance in school, they're less likely to reject the idea. I kept telling the guy i disagreed with him and didnt want amphetamines, but he wouldn't drop it until i got a script and tried them. I stopped after taking it for three days, due to the side effects.

The criteria to be diagnosed with a disorder that uses amphetamines as a first line of treatment is extremely relaxed and i believe in most cases just sticking some amphetamines in the patient and expecting it to resolve their issues is counterproductive to the health of the patient, in part due to the wide range of negative side effects long-term amphetamine use causes.

[James Comey]

^Yeah. I'd say it's a mix of all these kinds of issues.

[Alistoriv]

Woah he can't concentrate while working for 7 hours every day, better pump some amphetamines into him.

[darkmind15]

i was on vyvanse for years and it made me feel like shit/ made me nearly starve to death

[James Comey]

(04-29-2014 12:39 AM)darkmind15 Wrote:  i was on vyvanse for years and it made me feel like shit/ made me nearly starve to death

That's horrible!