Death from Ritalin - the truth behind ADHD.

[Deja Q]

http://ritalindeath.com/Strattera.htm

Adults & Children are being used as guini-pigs with Strattera

No one knows what the long-term side-effects, Strattera is going to have on people
Hope we don't learn the hard way, Strattera is linked to heart failure and suicide
Eli Lilly warned doctors that, Strattera, its drug to fight attention deficit disorder drug has caused severe liver injury in at least two patients. The announcements resulted in the three companies losing a total of $30 billion in stock value.
In the United States alone, psychiatrist, doctors and Eli Lilly are all cashing in on the drugging of both children and adults for ADD and ADHD which are both subjective, the diagnosis are based on a list of behaviors.
The incestuous relationship between the American Psychiatric Association, FDA and the drug industry is one of the biggest crimes in the history of our country.

More of his story at the link, it's a great read.

I've a story on this too, I hope you don't mind:

I've been on this for 5 days now. Low dose of 40mg and ysterday I just started the upped dose (80mg). They might want me to go to the standard rate of 120mg in 5 weeks' time.

I've already lost some weight (my face no longer looks like a chipmunk's during harvest). Containing appetite supressor equivalents and heart rate boosters, my metabolism is up slightly too. I feel alive. (funny, 3 docs prescribed this drug. Only the 3rd one checked by blood pressure beforehand... this drug can potentially raise blood pressure quite a bit.) The far bigger issue, for me anyway, is appetite control. This stuff is STRONG, even at the entry level dosage of 40mg. This is good as I was depressed and eating, amongst other things, whole bags of yummy crunchy potato chips (roughly 1/2 bag per day and it felt GOOD to eat it, you have no idea). I no longer eat that filth food, but even with being mindful of food intake, I still have to just about force myself to get even 1200 calories in per day. (yesterday I did 1400) But the desire to eat junk food is GONE. TOTALLY GONE. It's just a matter of eating enough PROPER food before I feel 'full' or making myself eat. This morning, I forced myself to eat at 7:30 as, the last week, I've been waking up at 5AM and not eating until 9:30. (if I wake up at 4:30, I can take some snaps of the sunrise... before I'd always feel deathly fatigued. Now I can just about do it. Kewl.) But I digress. Not only is excessive weight loss a concern (via insufficient caloric intake) but vitamin deficiency and related illnesses.

It is helping me concentrate and get myself going. (this morning I even exercised WITHOUT the need to find something to do to make the exercise seem "invisible" (e.g. taking pictures at a zoo or rocky park). I went out there and DID it.

However I am having some minor sleep problems. While not fatigued as I used to be, I am now getting a 7 hour sleep bracket (10PM-5AM); within which I wake up 5~7 times per night now that the dosage is upped to 80. This leads to insomnia-type headaches. The headaches kinda detract FROM my ability to concentrate, but it;'s just as possible these effects are temporary. I had a similar issue at 40mg but it subsided. No nightmares or anything bizarre, just a much lighter sleep.

It's getting to were consumers are telling the doctors what prescriptions they need, when it should be the other way around.

Direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs should be banned.

Well, my GP hates it when people ask him about drugs. I agree. He's also the only one in 10 docs who has come across as being competent. The other docs I've been to summarily categorize me as whatever they perceive and then throw a bunch of drugs my way (though one was kind enough to give me trial samples instead of making me buy the whole prescription.) Even the latest one reluctantly authorized a referral to a neurologist. Glad he did...

The FDA's not doing anything about it; is this because they get so much money from the drug industry? Why doesn't the DEA step in?

The DEA prefers to lock up marijuana users (who need counseling, not jail bars - they need to go after the big dealers, or are they buying clemency?); it too is sold out. Whored. (and I use the w term loosely; prostitution seems an infinitely more noble profession than politician or CEO these days.)

Strattera is linked heart failure or suicide.

As with all medications, they work on people differently. I myself am VERY sensitive to MANY medications' side-effects. I'm amazed strattera is even working so far. While I am worried about my heart rate, I am also exercising more to keep the blood flowing. Dunno what else I can do. If I snuff it, then I do. But with lower dosages, it should be less risky. Even for me, whose resting bpm is about 80 as I'm out of shape and getting back into it slowly. (I just walked 30 steps, got back to the 'puter, sat down, and tested - 90 bpm.) But anyone prescribed meds that fiddle with the heart rate should be GIVEN a heart monitor.

Along with being told by my psychiatrist AND pharmacist only to worry about sleeping too much or too little, I found these side-effects:
Stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, constipation, fatigue, loss of appetite, dry mouth, dizziness, trouble sleeping, menstrual cycle changes, or mood changes may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor or pharmacist promptly. Tell your doctor immediately if any of these serious side effects occur: decreased interest in sex, difficulty urinating. Tell your doctor immediately if any of these unlikely but serious side effects occur: weight loss, unusually fast heartbeat, severe headache, blurred vision. An allergic reaction to this drug is unlikely, but seek immediate medical attention if it occurs. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include: rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist

They always say that about sexual dysfunction. Does it matter if I can't do the wobbly-jiggly? I've been a loner all my life and, let's face it, I've found the urges to be as much an irritant as anything else. And I don't like the risk of disease. I never had much of an interest in the first place, so how will I know if it decreases? Will the drug boil my goolies to hardened marbles or something? Will I become a soprano? As testosterone is linked to hair loss, maybe this will prevent more from not growing back.

Haven't had any of the other effects yet.

I'm still annoyed that our "society" chooses to fit people into a CEO's money-making scheme than allowing people to remain people and be found uses for (which any true culture of life would do.) But oh well.

[ET Awful]

1. ritalindeath.com is a website owned and operated by Scientology

They are anti-everything having to do with the psychiatric profession. I would take anything they say with a very large grain of salt.

I think the drugs are over-used and over-prescribed, but I wouldn't take the word of a scientology run site as anything other than a curiosity.

[Deja Q]

2. Scientology - Tom Cruise's cult as I recall...

Thx for the warning.

They are mixing the truth with fantasy.

But I too am against more sorts of drugs. I opted to take strattera in protest because I read and disliked the potential side-effects. People need to be people. Not cult followers.

[sniffa]

3. yeah, i wasn't sure if i shouLd say anything

if you see such fLiers on cars and such (YOUR CHILDREN ARE BEING MURDERED BY PSYCHIATRISTS AND DOCTORS!) it's from the cLams.

they kiLL more peopLe in their cuLt than kids who die from ritaLin.

[Deja Q]

4. The difference is

The cultists are just another group of people looking for your money.

Differnt coin. Same currency.

Just as altering a literary character's persona to fit an atypical story is wrong, so is drugging up people to make them fit in an incompatible "society" that isn't.

[amazona]

8. cites, please?

I thought the scientologists had killed one woman in their cult.

More than one kid has died from Ritalin just in the southeast Louisiana area alone. I remember when years ago the first LSU kid got confused, wandered into the street, and died of heart attack while on Ritalin, it was front page news. Now it isn't because kids ODing on potential drugs of abuse just isn't news any more.

I am no support of scientology and believe the founder himself knew it for the tax scam it was. However, it's the rare clock that is not right twice a day.

Quote: they kiLL more peopLe in their cuLt than kids who die from ritaLin.

[Beware the Beast Man]

5. Having a doctor you can trust is key.

It sounds like yours is pretty good. That's what I like about my doc- I don't see her arbitrarily throwing pills my way every time I have a problem.

[Taverner]

6. I tried Strattera - it works but.....

I have ADHD (surprise surprise) and tried Strattera, and out of all the drugs i tried (ritalin, cylert, welbutrin and effexor) strattera worked the best...

However...I could not handle the side effects. They made me miserable:

1 - Pain during sex. I'm not talking soreness, but your prostrate gets swollen and painful, and when you climax, it takes about an hour before you can walk again. This CANT be good.

2 - No sleep. I'm not talking restless sleep, but a plain out inability to sleep for longer than 1 hour at a time. Ambien helped me get an extra hour, but thats it. The doc said I might adjust eventually, but after going 2 weeks with no sleep, I called it quits and went off.

[amazona]

7. well it's an amphetamine and you're only been taking it 5 days

I don't want to be a spoilsport but I don't think you can count on the appetite suppression effect to last indefinitely. You'll get the most benefit the first month. After that, you may even go back to your old weight. At least that is what I observed with some friends.
Yeah, you can usually find a doctor to say you have Attention Deficit Disorder to keep the script coming in or, back in the day, a couple of people even managed to play the narcolepsy card. But I don't think you want to play with this long-term unless you really do have one of those illnesses. If you're using the drug for weight loss, your doctor should have bariatric experience yet not just be a front for dealing these drugs, and sometimes it's hard to find a doctor who walks that line. As far as the three doctors who prescribed the drug, and only one really checking your blood pressure, well, the two who are just drug dispensers for profit are clearly not concerned with your heatlh, just with keeping the $$$ rolling in. But if that is what the customer wants...in the end, it does you no good to lose 20 pounds if your blood pressure goes through the roof. Chipmunk cheeks are not a fatal disease.

Have you considered that these doctors are "throwing" drugs your way, as you put it, because you are coming across as a doctor shopper or a drug seeker/addict? You are the customer. They are in a position of being asked to sell you a service, the prescription. So you put them in an awkward position. They may feel obligated to give you what you want, for fear that otherwise you'll go to the street and really hurt yourself.

I think we have to sometimes be very clear with doctors that we want potential drugs of abuse only as a last resort. For instance, in case of pain, I inform my doctors I have experienced nausea with opiates and would prefer alternatives. So they know I am not there just to get an Rx for a vicodin or something, which they might otherwise assume from a female with chronic pain issues. Doctors can't read your mind.

I'm sure you must realize, that for some people, they don't care what the side effects, if they are losing weight, that's all they care about.

[The Flaming Red Head]

9. Since my son's father and grandfather died of heart attacks

Before the age of 40, there was no question in my mind as to whether my son was going to take Ritalin or Strattera. It's funny that children got along fine for thousands of years without the aid of these drugs.

When my son’s school counselor tried to use the Insulin analogy on me, it just pissed me off, because I have taken care of brittle diabetics and I don't think anyone needs hyperactivity medication in the way that a diabetic requires insulin.