One Million Kids on Anti-Psychotics

[Hannah Bell]

In July, the Washington Post reported that Corporate America is hoarding a record $1.8 trillion in cash while it waits for profit-making opportunities. At the same time, record numbers of American children are being prescribed toxic psychiatric drugs at earlier ages. These two facts are connected...

Exploitation and deprivation cause parents to be distressed, depressed, angry, anxious and overwhelmed. An estimated 15 million American children (one in five) live with an adult who suffered a major depression in the previous year. Children respond to parental distress with symptoms and behaviors. The greater the parent’s distress, the greater the child’s distress...

Last September, an FDA report found that the number of anti-psychotic prescriptions dispensed to children (0-17 years) had risen 22 percent over the previous 5 years. The FDA examined 6 anti-psychotic drugs: Seroquel® (quetiapine); Zyprexa® (olanzapine); Risperdal® (risperidone); Abilify® (aripiprazole); Geodon® (ziprasidone); and Invega® (paliperidone). In 2008, of the 32 million prescriptions dispensed for these drugs, 4.8 million were dispensed to children (15 percent of the total).

That same year, one million individual children were prescribed these anti-psychotics (19 percent of the total of 5.5 million individuals). Here are the numbers, by age group:

1,770 children aged 0-2

64,664 children aged 3-6

414,451 children aged 7-12

540,760 children aged 13-17

Diagnoses applied to the infants and toddlers (aged 0-2) included: Attention Deficit Disorder; Mental/Behavior Problems, Behavioral Problems; Other Emotional Disturbances, and Residual Schizophrenia, a diagnosis that can be made on the basis of “odd beliefs and unusual perceptual experiences.”

http://susanrosenthal.com/articles/1-million-kids-on-anti-psychotics

[scheming daemons]

1. Alternate headline: One million kids no longer psychotic due to modern medicine!

[rollin74]

2. +1

[Hannah Bell]

4. one year olds are psychotic? who knew.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. It's rare but not impossible

[notesdev]

5. Better safe than sorry, eh?

Look - an unmedicated kid! Seize him before he may one day develop a problem and pump him full of drugs! Hallelujah! Another young mind saved!

[Hannah Bell]

9. sedated = saved

someday we're going to look back on what we did to children much as we look back on lobotomy

[lightningandsnow]

11. You know what? Stop talking about things you know nothing about.

I was very ill not long ago, between the ages of 16-18. What was "done" to me was not the medication I was prescribed which SAVED MY LIFE, but that it took me so long to get a diagnosis and proper treatment. You have NO IDEA what it's like to spend months, wishing every moment that you were dead. You have no idea what it's like to have manic episodes where you end up putting yourself in danger, and spending money that was supposed to last months in a few weeks. You have no idea what it's like to be a teenage girl who's afraid to go swimming because her thighs are covered in scars from self-injury. You have no idea what it's like to live with a severe mental illness, so SHUT UP. I'm done.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Because psychiatry is not an exact science,

it can take years to diagnose mental illnesses. It took 6 years for my sister to be diagnosed and at the time, schizophrenia was not treated with meds (at least not at Menningers, where she was a patient). The change in her was dramatic once they did begin medication. I feel certain she would be dead today if not for powerful anti-psychotic drugs.

Because these drugs are so effective when prescribed for patients who really do need them, and because pharmaceutical companies are vulture capitalists, there is also a tendency to prescribe them for patients (and especially children) who do not need them. Hannah makes a valid point in her OP. We do need to be concerned by the increasing number of children being placed on powerful drugs. However, there is also an alarming increase in the number of seriously disturbed children.

There are no easy answers here.

Hope you are doing well today. :hi:

[JNelson6563]

Glad you made it.

:hug:

[reggie the dog]

20. i know what it is like to want to be dead

i tried suicide 2 times, once with pills and booze, anther time i "accidentally" cut my wrist at work the long way but missed the vein by a half a cm, another time i darted out into traffic on my mountain bike just to see if i would die or not. i never took anti depression drugs but i did self medicate with cannabis so i did indeed use a drug to get over my symptoms. i knew people who still killed themselves on anti depression drugs and i know people who are likely still alive due to the same meds.. what i think is odd is that ADD/ADHD is a very often diagnosed "disease" in the usa and it hardly exists at all in france. perhaps it is due to diet or perhaps due to drug companies pressuring for diagnosing a "disease" which is not a disease at all

[bobthedrummer]

32. Yep, it's right up ther with phrenology, brain weighers and eugenics n/t

[krabigirl]

28. Exactly. and so many of these people are against any natural herbs or remedies.

My kids will not be on those meds.

[MadHound]

40. Your post once again shows how ignorant you are on many, many topics

There are medical studies going back twenty five years showing how we are over-medicating our children. Parents who don't want to deal with their kids take them to the doc, get a script and turn them to zombies. Schools who don't want to deal with a behavioral problem put pressure on the parents to get them medicated so that they don't have to deal with a problem child in the school setting. Or DFS or CPS determines that a child has a problem and automatically puts the kids on meds.

Normal, exuberant childhood behavior is now being demonized as some sort of psychiatric problem, when that simply isn't the case. Fidget in the classroom because you are bright and bored, you're ADHD. Express a curiosity in the darker nature of humanity as a teenager, and you're a sociopath who needs to be medicated. Act shy and introverted and you're labeled with an anti-social disorder, and guess what, they've got pills for all of that.

Part of the problem is simply lack of physical exercise. Recess and PE have been cut at school after school, and expecting active and physical kids to be still under those conditions is ridiculous. Furthermore, many kids go home, plop in front of the TV, computer or game console and don't move for the rest of the night. Our kid's sedentary lifestyle hurts them in more ways than one.

There is also the role that Big Pharma plays in all of this. Kiddy meds are a cash cow for them, and they plug the pills every chance they get, damn the consequences. Over diagnosed, misdiagnosed, these are par for the course.

For you to think that every single kid who is on medication needs to be on it is simply exposing your ignorance of this topic. In fact, many, if not most kids don't need medication, what they need is sympathy, understanding, a connection to a family figure, more exercise, less sugar(a biggy as well) and more allowance for kids to simply be kids.

But hey, don't believe me, go do your own research, you'll find out quickly enough that I'm telling the truth and that, once again, you're full of it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I lie here unable to sleep due to worry about a child I have to interact with in a few hours

We are having a big pow wow tomorrow with the family and therapists. The best thing for this child, IMO, would be a different family, especially parents who aren't mentally ill themselves. Second best is a few weeks in a hospital. But neither of those options is a reality or likely to be.

The sad reality is that for whatever reason, we have a growing number of very ill children. The chaos that surrounds them is tragic. And the resulting chaos that accompanies them causes them to be disruptive and seriously dysfunctional. No parent wants their child to be in school with a child who is violent, monopolizes the time of the staff, and/or screams obscenities.

The quick and dirty way to help these children is medication. For some it is a lifesaver. For many others, it is a mess of side effects and who knows what kind of future health problems.

I wish I knew the answer. But we have to do something to help these children.

[whyverne]

6. Anti-medders and anti-vaxers. All the same to me.

I actually have an adopted special needs child and I'd bet most of the anti-medders don't.

Are you having drums and dancing at your pow wow? A pow wow is a First People's spiritual and cultural gathering, not a meeting.

Good luck with your meeting.

[Hannah Bell]

8. ooooh. "anti-medders". makes "meds" the norm, great new lingo from the drug industry.

[reggie the dog]

21. i dont like taking western meds until i absolutely have to

if i have pain i smoke a joint, if i am bummed out i smoke a joint, if i have a bacterial infection i take what the doctor prescribes... i was signaled as an add adhd case and my parents refused meds, in high school i was just stoned in class and that made it so i could sit down and i had fine grades so i know i treated my hyperness with something, the cannabis plant in its natural form, so i would be a hippocryte if i said not to use meds, i just like to try plants first

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Still looking for a drummer

Thanks for your mostly kind words.

[seabeyond]

16. i knew from the start my oldest was "different". starting kindergarten first solution was drugs

and that persisted thru three grades. we chose close monitoring adn worked with teacher giving different tools to the child to help him cope with his uniqueness. life is not bliss, nor perfect and at a young age the differences were hard for him. continual support, patience and work allowed him to grow up thru this process embracing his differences, recognizing, and dealing with.

it is not for all children

it works for him

he will always be different

and

he isnt drugged.

[krabigirl]

29. I'm an anti-medder in many cases. However, some kids do benefit from them.

[seabeyond]

15. good post proud, you are exactly right on. no easy answer... can see the different problems. nt

[maryf]

7. K&R

This is so sick...and destructive...

[lightningandsnow]

10. I was a teenager with bipolar disorder who grew into an adult with bipolar disorder.

I started displaying signs around 13, got a tentative diagnosis just before I turned 18, and it was finally confirmed a few months later. I am functioning well now thanks to modern medicine. I am no longer on any drugs considered antipsychotics - however, I am on an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer. Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are terrifying, painful illnesses to have, especially when the onset is when you're still a child, or in what are supposed to be the "best years of your life".

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. I have a sibling with schizophrenia

Meds have literally kept her alive.

[TBF]

17. Glad you are stabilized now -

I think Hannah was referring to this rush to medicate normal kids (who may just have behavioral issues), which of course means there are less resources available for kids who really need them.

Just another example that illustrates the need for medicare for all. Then we wouldn't see pharma companies pushing drugs for profit, but rather the folks who need certain drugs would be able to get them (regardless of income).

[Panaconda]

18. I don't see anywhere

where the article condemns all use of medicines. Perhaps it's there and I missed it. What I got was that their are root social causes that need to be considered and Big Pharma is profiting off of these causes being ignored and exploited.

And yes without question these medicines are being grossly abused as a quick "fix" for a deeper social problem.

[tova]

19. medication

I am the parent of an autistic child. It would be nice to believe that love is all that is needed for some children but there are cases when medications are needed for a child to be able to safely interact with others. My son has needed various meds. since he was 4 years old. This is not because we wanted to make things easier for ourselves as parents! Some autistic children can be very violent. One of the reasons for the increased number of children on anti psychotics is likely because there is also an increasing number of children with special needs such as autism.

[H2O Man]

22. When I worked in

the mental health clinic, one of the issues that I found disturbing was the gross over-medicating of children and youth. I do believe that, as a result of environmental factors -- including the poisons in our diets that most are unconscious of -- there are some changes in brain chemistry at play.

I am also 100% sure that way, way, way too many children living in unacceptable home environments are being diagnosed and prescribed for behaviors that could better be fixed in other ways. I'm not saying, "Take them out of the house." There are community-based programs ( such as "Parent Aide") that can help bring stability to at-risk homes, and teach parenting skills. Such programs are far less expensive, in the long run, than the failure to provide them.

[depakid]

24. +1

The side effects of some of the listed drugs are lifelong and appalling. They're not for children given "waste basket" diagnoses that often have little nosological merit.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. I have a handful of kids every year who are either medicated or need to be

Of the medicated ones, I can recall exactly one for whom the meds were not at all warranted. In 18 years. One kid.

I have also worked with several who were incorrectly medicated.

But the most common issue I've had to deal with are kids who need help and aren't getting it. Some need counseling, some probably more and some likely need medical interventions to help them get through their childhood. And these children who aren't being helped cause me greater concern than any who may or may not be medicated.

[krabigirl]

30. I think some kids need them, but honestly..

If a kid deviates at all from the "norm" or average, they get a diagnosis. Maybe it's the society that needs the meds?

[felix_numinous]

25. Even if there are this many psychotic kids in our society

it is a symptom of a much larger problem. The other possibility, that antipsychotics are being overprescribed, is another problem. It is very hard to discern cause and effect, but it does not look good to have so many kids dependent on such powerful drugs in order to cope.

[county worker]

26. This is flame bait in my opinion. The anti drug minions come up with this about once a week.

I am not an expert here but I do take meds for mental health problems. I think that the anti crowd has no real facts, just anecdotal information and their hysterics and do no real good posting this shit. That's my opinion for what it's worth.


Children are given drugs at all ages for all types of medical problems. But let that problem be a mental health issue and all of a sudden we are over prescribing drugs in some diabolical scheme by someone or other.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. It's been a good discussion though

I also don't believe the OP's intent was to post flame bait.

[lumberjack_jeff]

31. self delete

[SidDithers]

33. Thank you for your opinion, Dr. Frist...

Neither the article writer nor the OP have access to the individual medical files of the 1 million kids taking these meds, and are therefore in no position to question the legitimacy of the prescriptions.

Unrec.

Sid

[Dappleganger]

34. Our nearly 19 yr. old daughter just went on meds for anxiety...

both generalized and social anxiety disorder. Her father was in denial for years about it but I should have insisted she go on meds sooner. Medication gives her the ability to go to school, meet new people and do her art better than without. She is like a much better version of herself, quite honestly. I had no idea how bad things were until the past two years. She has finally agreed to go through cognitive therapy and will begin that next month, too (she was too afraid to go before).

[lightningandsnow]

36. I noticed something else about this. Seroquel is on the list.

Seroquel is technically an antipsychotic, but it isn't generally used for that. For children with bipolar disorder, it is often the least toxic drug available. However, it is more often used as an adjunctive therapy for depression, but at least in Canada, it is most often used as a sleep aid in tiny doses. I believe it's the most widely prescribed "antipsychotic", if I recall correctly.

The doses of Seroquel used for insomnia are about 1/5th or less of the doses used for psychosis, bipolar disorder, or even as an add-on treatment for depression. (For example, I was on 300 mg for bipolar disorder - I know people who've been on 25 mg for insomnia). At these doses, it doesn't really function as an antipsychotic at all - it merely hits the histamine receptor, making it an antihistamine. Essentially, it's like taking a Benadryl, except you don't build up the same tolerance. It is also one of the safest sleep aids, since it doesn't have the same addiction and tolerance potential as the benzodiazepines (such as ativan and klonopin), or Z-compounds (like Ambien and Lunesta). Therefore, if a child has severe insomnia that impacts their functioning, and other methods have been tried, Seroquel may be a responsible choice.

I find its inclusion here to be a bit deceptive, to be honest.

[BlueIris]

37. Stop that there, you posted way too many facts.

That is far, far too rational a post. You need more extreme blanket statements. Emotionally based arguments only, please.

[LostinNY]

38. Seroquel

I've taken 25 mg of Seroquel for sleep and it works great. There are also many people with Schizophrenia that take in the 300- 800 mg range that say it is a life saver. There are some kids that really need these meds, and are lucky that they are around. I've had a child relative tell me that risperdol is the only thing that stops the "mean voices". But I also worry about side effects. Antipsychotics are notorious for weight gain. Increase in child hood obesity link here? I don't know. I know I stopped taking the 25 mg for sleep because of such an appetite increase. Could you imagine having to be on 800? I think the antipsychotics, due to such a high chance of weight gain, now carry a warning about the risk of diabetes while on such meds. Hmm.. Diabetes or psychosis? What a terrible choice! I know some people talk about herbal alternatives, but I've seen people get really manic on herbals.

[bobthedrummer]

39. It's nuts, and nutty professors with the deepest of pockets playing "doctor" indeed, kick n/t