Medication?


© Carol Gossard

I came across a very informative article this month, one I feel warrants extra attention from parents of children with AD/HD. It is an excerpt from the April 2000 issue of Vitality Magazine. The author brings to light some very important issues concerning Ritalin, the most widely prescribed medication for curbing the symptoms of AD/HD in youths and adults alike. Unfortunately I was unable to access the article from the on-line version of Vitality Magazine, and have no means of providing a link for you. I am, however, going to post the article here for you to read, as I think this information is crucial and demands attention.

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EFA for ADHD
By Helke Ferri, excerpted from Vitality Magazine, April 2000

Research on Essential Fatty Acids give New Hope for ADHD, Hyperactivity and Even Depression

Between 1976 and 1993, the learning disabilities of children in the United States increased threefold. Curiously ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), dyslexia and dyspraxia (serious clumsiness and difficulty in navigation) are typical diagnosis for children in North America, much less so in Europe and virtually absent in the rest of the world - especially in Japan, a fully industrialised Asia nation. Yet Japanese children raised in North America are affected like Americans. In 1981, solutions to this riddle were published in Medical Hypotheses (Vol.7) by a grandmother, Vicky Colquhoun, and her daughter Sally Bunday in the United Kingdom. Neither had any scientific training, but they had acute powers of observation of their own dyslexic children. Their work, after a decade of ridicule, derision, and the silent treatment from professionals, has initiated a revolution in psychiatry.

Ritalin the modern answer ADHD is usually treated with stimulant medication such as Ritalin because it appears to calm down children. Sales of this multi-billion dollar drug has increased by 400 per cent since 1995. What parents may not know is that there isn't much difference between Ritalin and crack cocaine. In 1995 the US Drug Enforcement Agency warned doctors about the common chemistry of cocaine and Ritalin. In January of this year the American Medical Association expressed alarm about the fact that children as young as 2 year-old are put on Ritalin and 5 year-olds are on Prozac. The long-term effects on the growing brain are unknown as no long-term studies have ever been conducted. Evidence does however exist to show that long-term use of Ritalin significantly reduces blood flow to the brain, disrupts growth hormones, and can cause depression and insomnia.

Nutritional Deficiencies Grandma Vicky and her daughter Sally noticed that their ADHD kids were more

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

5.   Nov 15, 2002 7:58 AM
To Cheree,I have a couple of question for how do you coupe with adhd i have a 6 year old with adhd and at times i will cry because i dont know how to really deal with him, he is at this time on medica ...

-- posted by edge77636


4.   Feb 3, 2001 3:16 PM
In response to message posted by carolgos:

hi there my name is sharon and my son is on ritalin and has been for about 9 months now ...


-- posted by teddybearuk


3.   Nov 25, 2000 4:03 AM
Hi,I am just finding my way around the site so please excuse me if I am doing the wrong thing here.

I read the article on the Essential Fatty acids with great interest. We too had great worries ab ...


-- posted by ADDcontact


2.   Oct 5, 2000 3:41 AM
Hi Cheree,
Thank you for responding to the article, and for sharing this information with us. This is a very touchy subject, as it deals with the ones closest to our hearts; our children. Each one is ...

-- posted by carolgos


1.   Oct 4, 2000 9:58 AM
Carol,

Just had to respond to this article. I am the single parent of an 8-year old boy with ADHD. I struggled with the medication issue for many years. Everyone I knew said my son needed to be ...


-- posted by Rev_Cheree





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