Myth #6:
AD/HD Medications.
- Myth: People with ADD have a different reaction to stimulant medication than people without ADD.
- You cannot tell if someone is ADD by their response to stimulants. Most people perform better and feel better when given stimulants, including those who are not ADD. That's why so many people drink coffee. (BTE)
- Myth: Teachers around the country routinely push pills on any students who are even a little inattentive or overactive.
- Teachers are well-meaning individuals who have the best interests of their students in mind. When they see students who are struggling to pay attention and concentrate, it is their responsibility to bring this to parents' attention, so parents can take appropriate action. The majority of teachers do not simply push pills- they provide information so that parents can seek out appropriate diagnostic help. We do agree with the position that teachers should not diagnose ADHD. However, being on the front lines with children, they collect information, raise the suspicion of ADHD, and bring the information to the attention of parents, who then need to have a full evaluation conducted outside the school. The symptoms of ADHD must be present in school and at home before a diagnosis is made; teachers do not have access to sufficient information about the child's functioning to make a diagnosis of ADHD or for that matter to make any kind of medical diagnosis.
- Myth: Efforts by teachers to help children who have attentional problems can make more of a difference than medications such as Ritalin.
- It would be nice if this were true, but recent scientific evidence from the multi-modal treatment trials sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health suggests it is a myth. In these studies, stimulant medication alone was compared to stimulant medication plus a multi-modal psychological and educational treatment, as treatments for children with ADHD. The scientists found that the multi-modal treatment plus the medication was not much better than the medication alone. Teachers and therapists need to continue to do everything they can to help individuals with ADHD, but we need to realize that if we don't also alter the biological factors that affect ADHD, we won't see much change.
- Myth: Ritalin is like cocaine, and the failure to give youngsters drug holidays from Ritalin causes them to develop psychosis.
- Methylphenidate (Ritalin) is a medically prescribed stimulant medication that is chemically different from cocaine. The therapeutic use of methylphenidate does NOT CAUSE addiction or dependence, and does not lead to psychosis. Some children have such severe ADD symptoms that it can be dangerous for them to have a medication holiday, for example a child who is so hyper and impulsive he'll run into traffic withoug stopping to look first. Hallucinations are an extremely rare side-effect of methylphenidate, and their occurrence has nothing to do with the presence or absence of medication holidays. Individuals with ADHD who are properly treated with stimulant medication such as Ritalin have a lower risk of developing problems with alcohol and other drugs than the general population. More importantly, fifty years of research has repeatedly shown that children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD safely benefit from treatment with methylphenidate.
- Myth: No study has ever demonstrated that taking stimulant medications can cause any lasting behavioral or educational benefit to ADHD children.
- Research has repeatedly shown that children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD benefit from therapeutic treatment with stimulant medications, which has been used safely and studied for more than 50 years. For example, The New York Times reviewed a recent study from Sweden showing positive long- term effects of stimulant medication therapy on children with ADHD. Readers interested in more studies on the effectiveness of medication with ADHD should consult the professional writings of Dr. Russell Barkley, Drs. Gabrielle Weiss and Lily Hechtman, and Dr. Joseph Biederman.
- Myth: Ritalin is unsafe, causing serious weight loss, mood swings, Tourette's syndrome, and sudden, unexplained deaths.
- Research has repeatedly shown that children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD benefit from treatment with Ritalin (also known as methylphenidate), which has been safely used for approximately 50 years. There are NO published cases of deaths from overdoses of Ritalin; if you take too much Ritalin, you will feel terrible and act strange for a few hours, but you will not die. This cannot be said about many other medications. The unexplained deaths cited in some articles are from a combination of Ritalin and other drugs, not from Ritalin alone. Further investigation of those cases has revealed that most of the children had unusual medical problems which contributed to their deaths. It is true that many children experience appetite loss, and some moodiness or "rebound effect" when Ritalin wears off. A very small number of children may show some temporary tics, but these do not become permanent. Ritalin does not permanently alter growth, and usually does not result in weight loss. Ritalin does not cause Tourette's syndrome, rather many youngsters with Tourette's also have ADHD. In some cases, Ritalin even leads to an improvement of the of tics in children who have ADHD and Tourette's.
- Myth: Methylphenidate prescriptions in the U.S. have increased 600%.
- The production quotas for methylphenidate increased 6-fold; however that DEA production quota is a gross estimate based on a number of factors, including FDA estimates of need, drug inventories at hand, EXPORTS, and industry sales expectations. One cannot conclude that a 6-fold increase in production quotas translates to a 6-fold increase in the use of methylphenidate among U.S. children any more than one should conclude that Americans eat 6 times more bread because U.S. wheat production increased 6-fold even though much of the grain is stored for future use and export to countries that have no wheat production. Further, of the approximately 3.5 million children who meet the criteria for ADHD, only about 50% of them are diagnosed and have stimulant medication included in their treatment plan. The estimated number of children taking methylphenidate for ADD suggested in some media stories fails to note that methylphenidate is also prescribed for adults who have ADHD, people with narcolepsy, and geriatric patients who receive considerable benefit from it for certain conditions associated with old age such as memory functioning. (see Pediatrics, December 1996, Vol. 98, No. 6)
- Myth: Children treated with stimulant medications will become addicted or will be more likely to abuse other drugs.
- Stimulant medications are not addictive when used as directed. Studies have shown adequate treatment of ADHD may reduce the risk of substance abuse.
- Actually, it's just the opposite. Having untreated ADHD increases the risk that an individual will abuse drugs or alcohol. Appropriate treatment reduces this risk.
- The medications used to treat ADHD have been proven safe and effective over more than 50 years of use. These drugs don't cure ADHD, but they are highly effective at easing symptoms of the disorder. The drugs do not turn kids into addicts or "zombies."
- Myth: Children must be taken off stimulant medications by the time they become teenagers.
- About 80% of children who need medications will need them as teenagers.
- Myth: Stimulant medications stunt growth.
- While stimulant medications may cause an initial, mild slowing of growth, this effect is temporary. Children treated with ADHD stimulant medications ultimately reach their normal height.
- Myth: Children build up a tolerance to stimulant medication. They end up needing more and more of it.
- While your child's medication may need to be adjusted occasionally, there's no evidence that children become tolerant to medication or require more of it to be effective.