This is my first post in GD so if I ain’t where I should be then sorry.
Well I have a 11 year old who has tested out for all the classic symptoms of ADHD. He is plenty smart but his studies have really suffered as a results of a lack of concentration. I have scoured the web for information about Ritalin and have found most of it to be anti-Ritalin. So I thought I would ask the teeming millions.
Should I or Shoudn’t I? If no or so then please explain…
Thanks
aha/dad
It’s been my experience that most people who take Ritalin(etc) don’t really need it at all. Of course, if your son really does need it, then I would support prescribing it for him, but you might want to get a second opinion first.
I’m glad you asked, aha!
NAY! is my answer. HERE are some good reasons.
Yet to be reconciled with the reality of the dark for a moment, I go on wandering from dream to dream.
Well, I’ll weigh in on the “yea” side solely on the basis of personal experience. My 23 year old son has a seizure disorder, fairly well but not perfectly controlled, and has been diagnosed with ADHD. He takes Ritalin when he wants to be alert (e.g. at the beginning of a school day). His behavior and capabilities are definitely improved after taking the Ritalin, and we haven’t obvserved any detrimental side effets. Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but it works for him.
jrf
The use of pharmaceuticals, especially in children, is a whole lot more involved than a yes/no vote by uninvolved netizens, whatever net cranny they inhabit. I respect a lot of points of view here, and even agree with a few, on occasion. You need information about the etiology, and prognosis of the specific disorder you believe you child has. You need a whole lot of information on the long term effects of Ritalin, and the prognosis of non-psychotropic intervention techniques. Drugs alone are never the answer. Convenience for the educator, or the care givers is a very minor priority for the decision tree. Get the information now, before the therapy is begun.
Dependence on chemical intervention has behavioral consequences that last a lifetime. The straight answers on the effects on the body are only a small part. Learning the behavior of taking pills to solve emotional distresses is a big step. Denying that that is an element of the decision process is easy to do, but it is seldom true. We all want our children to do well, and to alleviate any suffering we feel they might have. There are cases where drugs are a valuable adjunct to other supports and difficult efforts. There are distressingly many cases where the search for a magic pill goes on for a lifetime. The answer is not in the bottle. The Genie that dwells therein is not your servant, and he is very dangerous, in ways you may not perceive.
If you follow my advice, you will not follow my advice, but seek the guidance of more than one professional in the fields of Medicine, Pharmacology, Psychology, Education, and the guidance of your spirit, and the source you most rely on for spiritual matters. You have a big responsibility.
Tris
Absolute nay. A friend’s 17-year-old was on Ritalin from ages 9-15 for ADHD and emotional problems. When weaned from it, he stabilized on his own. I will note in passing that he began smoking, as an adolescent try-it-out thing, about then. He has noted in himself the same point that some studies have suggested, that people with ADHD who smoke are better able to concentrate and control their behavior. (This is not necessarily a plug for smoking, and certainly not suggesting that an 11-year-old smoke, simply a note that there is a useful correlation in behavioral characteristics there.)
So, Poly, would you advocate Nicoderm patches?
I dunno, there are too many variables. I’ve seen kids who are helped by it, but heard too many tales of those who were not. Tough call all the way around.
Waste
Flick Lives!
Regarding tobacco products and juvenile ADHD, I’m not encouraging anything. My personal feeling is that an adolescent is going to experiment sooner or later, and the best thing to do is to allow the experimentation to be open, with warnings on potential problems from an adult he/she trusts. If I knew a 16-year-old with ADHD right now, I’d encourage him/her to try smoking as a self-management tool.
I have no clue what in combusting tobacco has the anti-ADHD influence, whether the nicotine, the CO, or whatever. I simply reported the fact that there is a documented connection. (And I don’t have a website cite for it, darn it!)
Actually, I meant that in jest. I turned off the sarcasm sending unit on my PC earlier today, and had forgotten to turn it back on. All apologies.
Waste
Flick Lives!
Let me follow Tris, but with a cautious leaning toward a possible “yea.”
IF your son cannot concentrate on his own, even on things he chooses to do, then I would support a doctor’s evaluation that he take it. (If the doctor is the sort to prescribe pills any time a patient calls for meds, then avoid that doctor.)
The problem at this time is that Ritalin has become a panacea that is prescribed far too often by well-meaning (or greedy) doctors and so it has become suspect. On the other hand, people like Peter Breggin, M.D. (source of Sake Samurai’s link) is making his millions in the publishing and talk-show circuits mixing half-truths and lies and playing off the “pharmaceuticals are evil” fears of a certain segment of the public.
Ritalin is a legitimate tool to deal with a specific problem. The fact that it has been over-prescribed does not change its value for the smaller population of people who can genuinely benifit from it.
Before taking Ritalin, a child should be thoroughly examined and non-pharmaceutical interventions should be tried. (This can include therapy sessions (in which concentration skills are emphasized), relaxation and meditation techniques, or some dietary changes, (diet can be a genuine source of a problem or it can be a source of hype as bad as that of the pill-pushers).)
If your son cannot build model planes or cars that he wants to build, if he cannot watch a TV show or movie that he wants to watch, if he is depressed that he can never finish anything that he starts, if he gets unreasonably angry at the slightest glitch that interferes with completing a task, then I would think he would be a good candidate to be evaluated for Ritalin. (And an important aspect of the evaluation is determining how quick the doctor is about prescribing drugs.)
If your son is simply nervous and has trouble paying attention in school, I would cut off his TV and try various attention-enhancing therapies.
Tom~
What Tris and Tom said.
There are some people out there that will tell you that Ritalin is useless at best, and that ADD is a slacker’s excuse to be lazy. These people are boneheads. 
In the case of my SO (who is a psychologist, FWIW), she is doing much better with Ritalin. She has become more productive, enjoys life much more, and when she walks into her kitchen, she actually remembers why (this is a problem for me sometimes).
There are plenty of ways to overcome the condition without meds, but they don’t always work. And even with meds, there is often continuing therapy.
Wondering if I had ADD, my SO lent me this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684801280/o/qid=951949635/sr=8-1/102-2545678-3194452 I highly recommend it.
One other thing – realize that a prescription for Ritalin is not a life sentence. Have your son try it for 6 weeks, and see if there is improvement. If not, chuck it. There’s no rule saying that meds must be taken for a lifetime.
(Note: This is not medical advice, since I’m only a student. I have, however, taken methylphenidate for some time now, and can offer some experience and my own research.)
Methylphenidate, in therapeutic doses, is not habit-forming and has no long-term side effects. There are some short-term side effects (insomnia, headache, loss of appetite), but they are mild and don’t last very long.
All in all, I’d say that if you think it will help him, go for it. You should try to work on some coping strategies, but the drug itself will work wonders. I compare it to reading glasses–some people can’t see very well close up, so they wear glasses when they need to do so. I can’t concentrate on anything for very long, so I take MPH when I need to do so.
A minor exception to Tomndebb’s otherwise great advice–those with ADHD can “hyperfocus” from time to time. You might see him get completely absorbed in a particular activity, book, or movie for an extended period of time. This doesn’t mean he can do that anytime, or that he just pays attention to what he wants to. It just happens.
Oh, and Peter Breggin is to ADHD as Kent Hovind is to evolution.
Dr. J
PS: MPH=Methylphenidate=Ritalin. They encourage us in school not to promote the company if we don’t have to. 
“Seriously, baby, I can prescribe anything I want!” -Dr. Nick Riviera
I used to take MPH when I was in college. That stuff is awesome. I don’t know if it was a placebo effect or what, but I felt like I could even SEE more clearly when I was taking it. I didn’t take it all the time 'cause I couldn’t afford it, just when I really needed to study something.
I’m thinking about trying to get a subscription to the stuff now to treat what I feel is a slight case of narcolepsy.
With two teenage boys of my own, both with ADD, I fully concur with Triskadecamus and tomndebb. Seek medical advice, and get a second opinion. But take the medical advice seriously; these folks do it for a living. They do have some skill.
Ritalin is does seem to be overprescribed. However, in the proper circumstances, it can have a profound impact on the quality of life of the patient.
Watch out for the side effects though. The loss of appetite can be pretty severe.
Regarding the tobacco, I would imagine that the stimulant properties of the nicotine would have a similar effect as the stimulant properties of Ritalin. However, smoking is highly addictive (unlike Ritalin) and has very serious side effects.
He’s the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armor, shouting ‘All Gods are Bastards!’
Hello, I have ADD, I don’t take ritilin, but I used to, it helped me a little, but I changed over to dexedrine (roughly twice as strong as ritilin), it has made all the difference for me, rather than my mind being all over the place (like it usually is)I can focus on one thing (concentrate!), but medication doesn’t work for everyone (with ADD) or have the same desired effect on every one, i’d say with confidence that at least 1/3 of the people prescribed ritilin don’t need it (shouldn’t have it)-it doesn’t do anything for them-they think it solves there problems so it does (placebo), ritilin is a schedule 2 narcotic it really should not be given out as much as it does, its a problem. If you don’t have ADD and you take it you will get a high.
The only other things I have found, over years, that help ADD/ADHD are cutting sugar out of your diet, and exercise.
Why do people think that medicine is inherently evil? Where do people come off with statements like “Ritalin is over-prescribed” ???
Ritalin cannot be bought over-the-counter, but only by prescription. Those prescriptions are written by people who have studied medicine for a lot longer than the typical non-physician. Of course there are some unethical doctors out there (just as in every other profession) but can’t we presume that in the great majority of cases, each doctor has evaluated the pros and cons of each patient, and has prescribed Ritalin only in those cases where he deems it to be helpful?
It seems hypocrital to me, that a person would be willing to take Tylenol for a headache, but not Ritalin when his doctor has prescribed it for an attention deficit.
My short 2 cents:
Get a second opinion (on all serious medical diagnosis)
Try it for a trial period and see if it helps.
Don’t fall into the “bad stigma” of Ritalin. If it helps you/your child, that is what matters.
“If I had to live your life, I’d be begging to have someone pop out both my eyes. Just in case I came across a mirror.” - android209 (in the Pit)
Zettecity
Voted “Most Empathetic”- can you believe that?
Add me to the “yay” column… My son was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten, and put on Ritalin. Made all the difference.
It wasn’t easy. His doctor wanted documentation from the teacher, as well as all the specialists at the school who did his case study.
What bugs me is these people (many who don’t have kids) saying that we’re substituting Ritalin for good parenting. I’m listening to a national radio personality right now, and he’s spouting off about this very subject. How can someone who doesn’t have kids and/or experienced this situation for themselves even comment on this?
Bottom line: Don’t listen to people on message boards, or radio personalities. Listen to your doctor and your own common sense.
The odds that the bread will fall butter side down are directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
I am neither anti-doctor nor anti-pharmaceutical company in general. However, I have seen a fair amount of evidence for over-prescription, especially among psychotropic drugs. Doctors are people and pharmaceutical companies are in business for a profit. When a medicine shows promise to ameliorate a symptom, the companies (who invested millions to develop it and get it tested by the FDA) have a financial need to recoup their investment. Doctors, who get bombarded by lots of new information of all varieties (medical research puts out more information than anyone can reliably read each week), are looking for ways to streamline their information input methods.
The companies put together infomercial packets (and occasional (frequent?) free samples). As a method to disseminate information of new pharmaceuticals, there is nothing inherently evil with this process. On the other hand, as humans with time constraints, a good number of doctors do not always take the time to go back to the original studies. In addition, we, the customers of the health industry, put a lot of pressure on doctors to come up with solutions. The patient comes in with a complaint; the doctor has a new med to try; a prescription is written. Sometimes the drug works, sometimes a placebo effect takes place, sometimes the problem simply stops getting worse. In all three cases the “medicine” is deemed to have done the job. The doctor gets a steady set of office calls for Rx refills; the pharmaceutical company gets more income.
My son was on Ritalin until he blew it out and moved up to Dexedrine. While he was on Ritalin, (eventually achieving a standard dose for an 18-year-old at the age of 8), we could tell immediately when he had or had not received his medicine. His best friend, who is a bit rambunctious, also takes Ritalin. This kid’s behavior is pretty much the same regardless whether he has had his meds or not. I am not a doctor and I am open to the charge of not knowing what “really” is going on with that kid, but I suspect that his taking Ritalin simply makes the parents feel that they are “doing something” for him while giving his teachers the opportunity to forgive some of his rambunctiousness on the playground as being ADHD. His grades have not improved while taking Ritalin. His social interaction is not better since he has started taking it. I can see no difference whatever.
Folks like Breggin go way overboard with their unsubstantiated claims of the evils of ever prescribing Ritalin. On the other hand, I do have to question the prescription of a drug that is administered daily to modify behavior that has no effect on the behavior and continues to be prescribed and administered.
Tom~
A child psychiatrist that I was working with said that MPH is not overprescibed, but is disproportionately prescribed–that is, overprescribed among middle-to-upper-class white males, and underprescribed in other groups.
The reason that the drug is so quickly prescribed by most docs is that, Breggin propaganda aside, MPH is a very safe drug. You’re really not doing the kid any harm by letting him try it out. It is really up to the parents and the kid to determine if it is helping him, and whether he should keep taking it.
As to those who claim MPH is a substitute for bad parenting, I refer again to my reading glasses analogy. I think that farsightedness doesn’t exist; that kid could see that book just fine if he wanted to. You’ve just not tried hard enough as parents to get him to want to read that book, and you’re using the reading glasses to make up for it. Do you really want him to have to depend on those things for the rest of his life? Won’t he learn to use other crutches like guns and drugs when he runs into other difficulties? (These are all arguments I have heard against MPH/ADHD, and they are all just as silly when applied there.)
Dr. J
“Seriously, baby, I can prescribe anything I want!” -Dr. Nick Riviera