Jan. 26, 2009 — Treatment-related hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be more common than previously thought, FDA officials report in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.

In an earlier investigation, FDA researchers identified more than 850 separate incidences of hallucinations and other psychotic episodes among children taking stimulants used to treat ADHD.

The investigation prompted federal officials to require new labeling on the drugs, including Ritalin LA, Concerta, Adderall XR, Focalin, Focalin XR, Metadate CD, Daytrana, and Strattera, warning of possible psychiatric side effects.

An estimated 2.5 million children and teens take these and other stimulant-based medications to treat ADHD symptoms.

Nearly half of the cases of hallucination and other psychiatric side effects reviewed by FDA researchers involved children younger than age 11.

And in more than nine out of 10 cases, the children had no reported history of psychiatric events.

[From ADHD Drugs: Hallucinations Not Uncommon]

I couldn’t imagine having my child go through a psychotic episode like this. At the least I’d be looking to have his meds switched or his diagnoses reevaluated. I feel for any parent that’s had to go through this.

The part that gets me about this report is the use of the word “uncommon” If 2.5 million kids are taking these meds and we have 850 reported, that’s 0.03%. where is less than one percent of a study group “Not uncommon”? Even assuming that it’s a much higher rate of unreported cases it would still come in under one percent. to me the title is sensationalism more than scientific reporting.

Edgar, the owner of the blog mentioned above has felt the need to express his views as well. I can’t blame him for this and actually applaud the decision to reply. As I feel that any discussion on the topic of ADHD should be an open forum, and because I felt that the comments section of that post would not have allowed me to give his reply the attention it deserved. Instead I will answer his reply point by point in as concise a manner as possible.

Below is the comment left by Edgar exactly as it was left in my earlier post. The language has not been edited or any portion altered, as I wished to address the issue with complete candor:

Edgar Said in February 17th, 2009 @3:21 am edit

This whole site is part of the scam. It looks so warm and friendly and family like. “Let’s all reach for the stars together” bull shit. What do you do for a living? Do you work for a pharma company or something? Yeah, this is a blog where you get an unbiased opinion, and ADHD blog. LMAO!!!

All your kids have ADHD and you think it’s a brain chemistry coincidence? Answer me this one question: Are you a liberal? I bet you are! It’s only liberals who have kids with ADHD.

I’m the idiot you referred to in your rant. I run three of my own businesses, make a ton of money, I’m a landlord, I play 3 instruments and teach, I am a semi professional chessplayer, I’ve written extensively on philosophy, I’ve published poetry, I belong to Mensa and my kids behave. I’m anything but an idiot thanks.

You should get your kids off the dope Jerry. No wonder they respond “Positively” they are on fucking dope! Hello?? I said Hello? They are on dope! Give them some more, they will start drooling.

Feel free to drop by my crappy blog anytime and debate with me about anything.

Edgar

[From ADHDFamilies : Ignorance, apparently, is bliss]

For any who might get offended, Not only does this comment reflect Edgar’s normal comments, but as mentioned above, I was harsh in my last post and I can see that there might be some contention. As a former Navy man, the language is something that I am not personally offended by, just keep the kids away from it. We don’t need them learning any bad habits too early on.

There are a few interesting points here and a few that are merely worth answering, so I’ll take this point-by-point and do my best to cover everything that Edward put forth in his comment:

This whole site is part of the scam. It looks so warm and friendly and family like. “Let’s all reach for the stars together” bull shit. What do you do for a living? Do you work for a pharma company or something? Yeah, this is a blog where you get an unbiased opinion, and ADHD blog. LMAO!!!

Simply put, “Reaching for the stars. Together” is a tag line that I came up with several years ago. It really does embody the spirit in which I would like to approach discussions on the subject of ADHD or any condition associated with it. The focus of discussion on this topic should, in my opinion, be focused on reaching for a solution to the problem using whatever methods will work. The key is discussion. Infighting and pointless arguments don’t help the kids affected, they just serve to stroke the egos of adults. My goal is to provide information that will assist those caring or living with someone affected by ADHD. If I help just one person, I’ve done what I set out to do.

What do I do for a living? I’m a professional freelance writer, blogger and marketer. I have 16 years experience in technical support, web development and systems administration. Prior to that I have been a furniture mover, an auto detailer, a sailor, a construction worker, a hospital janitor and a professional cook. I have never to my knowledge been compensated in any way relating to this website by a medical professional or pharmaceutical company. (I have been compensated by medical professionals for technical support and one freelance writing assignment, these are unrelated and have never been mentioned here.)

I have never claimed to provide an unbiased opinion. of course my opinion is biased. It is based on my experiences and my environment. to say otherwise would be a lie. I’m not a reporter, I’m a father with ADHD that has kids with ADHD who was looking for answers. That’s where this site originated.

All your kids have ADHD and you think it’s a brain chemistry coincidence? Answer me this one question: Are you a liberal? I bet you are! It’s only liberals who have kids with ADHD.

Yes, all of my kids have ADHD. Yes, I think it’s brain chemistry. we think differently from the so called “normal people” i don’t consider this to be a disability. I consider it to be a benefit.

No, I am anything but a liberal. I am also not one of the legion of Limbaugh and Hannity minions. My current voter registration card lists me as republican. So no, not only liberals have kids with ADHD.

I’m the idiot you referred to in your rant. I run three of my own businesses, make a ton of money, I’m a landlord, I play 3 instruments and teach, I am a semi professional chessplayer, I’ve written extensively on philosophy, I’ve published poetry, I belong to Mensa and my kids behave. I’m anything but an idiot thanks.

I did not use the word idiot in my post. I used the word fool. By definition, idiocy is incurable while foolishness is a condition of choice. I place people who have not dealt personally with a given issue, but who are willing to give advice on the subject in the latter category whether they be laymen or hold a PhD. In this I’m unilateral; If you’ve never dealt with the issue, you have no right to tell someone who has done so how they should deal with it.

As for your accomplishments in business, I applaud you for your drive and perseverance. It takes a person with determination to run a business. The amount of money you make is not of interest to me, but if you’re comfortable in life then I would call it a good thing. and wish you all the best in your financial endeavors.

Apparently an affinity for music is something we share. I’ve played guitar for over 25 years and currently own 4, a VOX amplifier and more music software than I know what to do with. I have no intention of teaching anyone other than my immediate family, I play for the love of it and nothing more.

I find it interesting that a semi professional chess-player would not realize that using an overly aggressive opening gambit without knowing your opponents strategies can lead to a very quick defeat. One wrong move can lead to checkmate.

I am happy to hear that you have been published, it’s a feat in todays market no matter what the subject matter.

As for Mensa, I do not belong, have never tested and do not care to. Mensa evaluations were not a part of my school curriculum, though other standards were. I consistently scored well above average, but choose not to worry about it. I have found that intelligence is far different from experience and I seek out the latter.

My kids mind as well.

Again, I never called you an idiot. the first mention of “idiot” was in your reply.

You should get your kids off the dope Jerry. No wonder they respond “Positively” they are on fucking dope! Hello?? I said Hello? They are on dope! Give them some more, they will start drooling.

What led you to believe that all of my kids were medicated? Of six, I’ve advocated medication for one. The other five reacted well to behavioral modification techniques. I only advocate medication when all other methods have failed. At that point I only allow extremely low dosage medications. I do no exist to have “perfect children”. I exist to teach my children to be the best that they can be.

My statement about medication was a general one. there are issues with stimulant medications. I hope that in the future they will no longer be necessary. For the moment they are the best options that some parents have. In a perfect world no one would have to make a choice.

In conclusion, I’m just a guy that started a website when I found out my stepson had ADHD. At the time we were not aware that he also had several other disorders, or that he would require medication for the rest of his life. I follow current medical information, I post about new news items. I reject the notion that the medical establishment exists only to scam our kids into taking medication they do not need.

You are free to have your own differing opinion. That’s the beauty of America, we have the choice.

And on that note.

Peace, I’m out.

You have been warned.

Some people really pull my chain. They walk around with a set view of the world, spewing their unintelligent and uninformed dogma to the world and in doing so thy continue to widen the rift between enlightenment and ignorance. In some cases these sometimes apparently educated individuals base their opinions on some of the most ridiculous “facts” that could ever be placed in evidence, but that’s not likely to stop them from opening their mouths or dusting off their keyboards to let the world know what’s on their minds at the moment.

These people fill me with ire. They are patently uninformed or worse, are otherwise intelligent individuals have bought into conspiracy theories concerning the medical establishment and drug companies to the point where a logical discourse is rendered an impossibility.

One such very vocal person runs a blog tiled “News Politics Celebrities Movies Current”. Through this rather unlikely venue he has made his opinion clear on the use of stimulant medications to treat ADHD in teens, with insights such as:

Adderall is an upper that you give your kids to help them with their attention deficit disorder. Hold on a minute while I laugh my [edit]f***ing[/edit] ass off…LMFAO!!!!! LMFAO!!!! OK now I feel better and I can continue. Adderall is [edit]bulls**t[/edit] people.

[From Adderall Weight Loss and ADHD |]

Really? After years of dealing with a child with ADHD and reading literally thousands of pages of documentation from organizations like The National Institute of Mental Health, I was under the impression that Adderall and other similar medications had a very positive effect on many of the patients that it has been prescribed to over the years. I must have missed the memo that deemed it a bogus treatment at some point in my research.

I also find it interesting that his first choice in medications to bash is Adderall and not Ritalin, which is still far more widely prescribed, and has been shown to provide significant positive effects in most cases.

It has apparently also been missed by this person (who does not list his name at any point that I can find) that a child who is under the influence of stimulant medications when there is no indicated condition present will very quickly begin to display symptoms of amphetamine use, such as nervousness, restlessness, sleeplessness and agitation. Each and every one of these side-effects is discussed with the parent or caregiver when a regimen of stimulants is begun, so statements like the next one really get my hackles up:

…DONT DOPE UP YOUR [edit]F***ING[/edit] KIDS!!!!! It’s not ADHD that is the problem, it’s YOU.

If you don’t TEACH your kids to LISTEN to you and BEHAVE when YOU SAY SO then they will develop bad habits stemming from lack of discipline. A good smack or two at a young and formative age is all you need to do to TEACH your children to respect and listen to you. It’s not abuse!! DONT HIT YOUR KIDS BECAUSE YOU ARE ANGRY because that is abuse. Smack em out of love once in a while and love your kids. That’s how you get them to pay attention. Drug companies and Doctors and Lawyers OH MY! They are all in cahoots with each other at the top of the food chain making up disorders so they can make a ton of money peddling drugs to your kids through you.

[From Adderall Weight Loss and ADHD |]

I doubt there are many parents of a child with ADHD who have not hear this argument, though it was probably stated more tactfully. The fact of the matter however, is that “a good smack” isn’t going to work when a child cannot control their impulsive behaviors. It is at that point that your mental health provider or physician prescribes medications. When behavioral modification does not work. (If a care provider wants to start with medication, please find a new provider. The behavioral road should almost always be taken before medication is prescribed.)

In the end, I don’t blame this one individual for his views. It isn’t any one individual that causes the larger problem of misinformation. Rather, this person is endemic of a much larger issue of misdiagnosis and complete lack of knowledge by a very large segment of the population who have simply never had to deal with the subject first hand, but yet feel qualified to give what they believe is “advice” on the subject.

You people just don’t get it.

Smacking a kid with full-blown ADHD around isn’t going to accomplish much more than making the child skittish around you or terrified of you. Within a half hour that kid will have forgotten what it was exactly that they were punished for. They will not however, forget that they were punished. It’s not the same thing.

The same theory applies to all you would be advice givers that suggest that I take my child to the park and allow him to “run it out”. I have a better suggestion for you, assuming of course you can keep from smacking him around while you’re at it. You take him to the park and see how long it takes him to run you out. My stepson has been known to run in circles nonstop for up to 8 hours without medication and then stay awake for the next 28 hours banging his head off the wall. Physical activity isn’t going to make him sleep, nor is it going to calm him down. It takes medication to do that. It’s that simple.

And yes, Mr. and Mrs. doubters, I did try a good swat or two. I’m not against corporal punishment applied judiciously, it worked for my sister and myself and for my parents and theirs. My ex and I did not resort to medication until it became painfully obvious that other methods simply were not working, nor were they going to work.

So please, before you spout your rhetoric to the world at large, remember this. There are those of us who do not choose to medicate our kids at the first sign of a problem. In fact, in the many years I have been running this venue I have found that the number of parents that head straight for a prescription is far outweighed by those of us who have looked at alternatives first, or who choose to use the lowest dosages possible.

And for the record, our children are medicated, not “DOPED UP.” It is so that they can fit into your closed minded society, attend schools with so called normal kids and not disrupt normal activities. They are medicated so that it is not painfully obvious that they think in a different manner from their peers and so that they can have friends. They are medicated in some cases because school systems run by closed minded fools tell us that they have to be.

And through all of this, the people who complain the most overlook the obvious. Most of these children are far more intelligent than their normal peers. They act out sometimes because they are bored to tears with an educational system that is not geared to challenge minds that process information at the speeds theirs do. They learn to be the class clown or the class bully simply to keep themselves occupied.

I don’t state this last lightly, I state it from experience. While you were in school living your normal little life, I was dealing with all of the issues that ADHD dishes out to a kid. At that time almost no one was getting diagnosed, so I suffered through my formidable years with no self esteem, living in complete boredom because with very few exceptions I had completed my class course material within the first two weeks of a new semester.

If you are offended by my opinion that most kids with ADHD walk around with advantages that normal kids do not, such as the ability to multitask, then I feel that you’ll get your apology when I get mine. Until that point I’m going to smile when I hear you tell me that these incredibly intelligent, creative and clever kids have issues because their parent’s don’t discipline them, or that it’s a conspiracy.

I’ll smile because four of my kids have ADHD. Three of those four stopped acting out at school the moment they were placed in gifted programs. Once their brains were busy they didn’t have a reason to act out any longer. I’ll smile because I know that you haven’t taken five minutes to gather any facts or study any of the research that has been done on the topic.

And then I’ll tell you you are a fool.

A Swedish motorist has been banned from using the letters ADHD on her personalised number plate - over fears it would offend attention deficit suffers.

[From Ananova - ADHD number plate 'offensive']

Excuse me? how PC has the world gotten, really. It takes an awful lot to offend me on the subject of ADHD. Ignorance will do it, but my question in this case is what in the world caused them to make this decision. Isn’t it possible that the person that attempted to get this particular license plate either Has or Treats ADHD?

What are your thoughts on this one? I’d really love to know.

Thomas Ray, the author of the study, implies “that the diagnoses and health care utilization that a mother receives prior to having her child is predictive of having a child who is diagnosed with ADHD.”

Mr. Ray goes on to state “Our study raises the possibility that certain types of mothers — those who get or seek diagnoses and who use more health services — may be more likely to seek ADHD diagnoses for their children,” The researchers are not clear wheteher the increase in diagnoses of ADHD are due to biological, environmental or psychosocial factors — or some combination of these factors.

The study was carried out among three groups of mothers: mothers of children without ADHD, mothers of children with ADHD and mothers of children with asthma.  They found that mothers of children with ADHD spent, on average, $1000.00 more on the year prior to and the year following giving birth compared to the other two groups and that they had more illnesses than the mothers of children with asthma did.

My two cents:

I’m really not sure what this study proves, but then I’m from a demographic that this study didn’t cover.  I have both ADHD and asthma.  My parents didn’t spend a massive lot of money on health care until I began having trouble breathing.  There is no indication of mental health problems or other massive health problems with my mother until she died, in fact she was extremely healthy until she contracted lymphoma.  So at least in my case this study proves nothing.

I would be very interested to see the entire study, unfortunately the article I cite here does not cite a link to the original work.  If anyone has this information, I would love to look it over so that I can get a better understanding of how this researcher came to these conclusions, or whether there is a predisposition for him to feel that this problem existed.

In the stdy in question a group of 30 boys were given a galss of sugar-free Kool Aid®.  Some of the mothers were told that their kids were given a drink that was very high in sugar, while others were told the actual contents of the drink.  The mothers who thought their children had consumed a lot of sugar tended to report more hyperactive behavior than before the child was given the drink.

So this Christmas go ahead and let the kids have one or two extra cookies.  If they’re hyper, it’s probably because of the presents and all the relatives hanging around, not the sugar.

Merry Christmas!

The plus side is that doctors are now using advanced technologies to test the actual effects of medication on subjects, rather than just looking to see what the presented effects of the medication might be.  That in itself is progress.

Any thoughts on this one folks?

Miss lewis outlines some procedures and adjustments that cam be made to the infrastructure of any business to better harness the creative potential of employees with ADHD, most of which I find not only fascinating but incredibly on-point.  Definitely a must read.

One answer is a new service called acobox. They allow you to grab the photo you need and link to it from their site. No server space needed, no copyright hassles, no worries. Signup takes only a few seconds and finding an image is a snap as well.  the image to the right of this paragraph is hosted there, and i can think of a lot of uses for it here at ADHDFamilies.

So far the choices of images is not as large as some sites that charge for them, but over time I’m sure tht will change.  Still, it’s a heck of a way to get the images you need for your blog without the worry of hassling with the legalities, and it’s absolutely free, so why not run out and check them out for yourself.  The only thing you have to gain is a few professional grade photos for your next blog post.

So it comes as no great surprise to me that there are adults who struggle harder than I do.  I’m lucky.  My mother worked for many years to teach me how to get a grip on myself.  To redirect my innatentiveness and focus on what needed to be done “now”  There will always be time for the laters…  At least on most days there will.

I just ran across a post at ADHDForums where someone feels that they could use more help.  They aren’t really getiing it on local subsidized medication.  This, again, is no surprise.  Unfortunately I’m not from the area they live in.

If you happen to pop in here and are from Michigan, please check out this post and see if you can offer a little insight. I’m sure the poster would apprecieate any guidance he or she can get.