WARNING: Read the Patient Stories before giving ADHD drugs to your child
Children taking ADHD stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta are five times more likely to suffer sudden, unexplained death than children who are not taking such drugs according to a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and funded by the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health. Despite these new findings, however, FDA regulators are urging parents to keep their children on these dangerous drugs.
A Picture is worth a thousand words
ADHD drugs are associated with serious side-effects that accumulate over time and can deplete multiple brain neurotransmitters and damage their receptors. As millions of young people have used these drugs over the past 15-20 years, this story paints a clear picture of just how damaging these drugs can be.
Patient: Male, Age 9, Drug: Vyvanse, 10mg, dose: 1tab 1x/day for 6 months. Side-effects: Anger, depression, threats of suicide, hiding in small spaces, uncontrollable crying, unreasonable, unable to process explanations about why he could or couldn’t do something or have something. Comments: My 9 year old son began taking Vyvanse about 6 months ago which was the same time I got re-married. He was taking this along with a 2nd medication in the afternoon. In the evenings, he began hiding in closets, under tables, I would even find him at night with his pillow and blanket asleep in the back of his closet. He was having terrible anger and if told he couldn’t do or have something he cried, screamed, said he wished he was dead and wanted to kill himself. Every evening was a complete disaster. We finally went to a psychiatrist who took him off Vyvanse and kept him on the afternoon med as a trial. Amazingly we have no more crying, no more hiding and no more threats of suicide. He is my happy, sweet, loving child again. All along I thought it was my marriage that had made this happen to him and felt horrible about it but now we know it was the medication. 8/5/10
Patient: Female, Age 30, Drug: Concerta, 18mg, dose: 1tab 3x/day for 15 years. Side-effects/Comments: It’s taken me 15 years to fully gauge the effect of this drug on my life from adolescence to adulthood. What seemed like minor side effects as a child (social awkwardness, anxiety, staring into oblivion), turned out to be warning signs of lasting effects on my life as an adult. With the stimulants I achieved a 4.0 GPA both in high school and in college, and found a high paying dream job on Wall St. But on the flip side, the stimulants have robbed me of my happiness. The anxiety is incessant. It has destroyed my romantic relationships and left me socially dysfunctional. I can’t maintain romantic relationship, don’t speak to my family anymore, and don’t have any close friends. I’ve found that that “distant stare” that we get with the drug isn’t just a funny side effect. Your mind is thinking so much (stressing about some minor detail) that it stops using those instinctive/emotional pathways that make you “human”. As a consequence, I would encourage parents trying stimulants on their children to take a deeper and more thoughtful look at what’s happening to their child on the medication. GPA is an easy thing to measure, but emotional development isn’t. Ultimately, it’s the latter that will govern meaningful happiness, not the former. 7/7/2010
To read more patient stories, click here.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects as many as 30 million Americans, that’s roughly 10% of the population. Approximately 5-9% of children ages 9 to 17 are affected and as many as 2–4% of adults are affected. Most studies show that boys are affected approximately five times more frequently than girls. ADHD is primarily considered a childhood condition, however, new research indicates that it is a lifelong condition for more than half of those troubled with its hallmark symptoms of inattention, distractibility, impulsivity and emotional instability.
Dr. Hansen’s Rx for ADHD
Over the course of twenty-eight years of medical practice, I have seen enough children with ADHD to know that the treatment with amphetamines and other psychoactive drugs is not the answer. Twenty years ago I formulated an herbal ADHD formula known as Acuity™. It is the most effective natural product on the market for the symptoms of ADHD. Acuity™ contains Hawthorn, Grape Seed Extract and Kava kava. These ingredients have been shown to help calm the senses, stabilize the mood, improve focus and enhance memory and mental alertness. For teenagers or adults, I recommend a higher potency combination, including Tranquil Clarity™ and GSE Ultra 110. ™
Additionally, Instead of the stimulant drugs Adderal, Dexedrine, Ritalin, or Cylert, I recommend non-drug therapy that includes specific nutritional amino acids, such as 5 Hydroxy Tryptophan (5HTP) and L-Tyrosine, that are the building blocks that the body uses to make its own supply of neurohormones, including Serotonin and Norepinephrine.
Here’s what Mom’s are saying about Dr. Hansen’s ADHD formula
My 9year-old son is extremely hyperactive and out of control during the day and terribly restless at night. He tends to be impatient, short-tempered and throws tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. Because he is so impulsive and his episodes are so sudden, it is impossible for our family to go out to dinner or to public places without having to endure angry looks and remarks from others. As a R.N., I am familiar with the side effects of the typically prescribed medications for this type of behavior and, instead, opted for a natural approach. I decided to try Acuity, during summer break. Within the first week, my friends were commenting on how calm my son was and what a pleasure he was to be around. By the time he started the new school year, it was like night and day. His attention span had increased; he was more patient and no longer out of control. He was also sleeping through the night. He had the same teacher as the year before and she was so impressed with his changed behavior that she began taking Acuity herself. She told me that as a child, she had been diagnosed with ADHD. One Happy Mom
To read more patient stories, click here.
How is ADHD Diagnosed?
In the United States, ADHD is diagnosed according to criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV). ADHD symptoms are divided into two groups: symptoms of inattention and symptoms of hyperactivity/ impulsivity. Many children and adults have overlapping symptoms from both groups. To assess the likelihood that you or your child have ADHD click here.
Because everyone shows some of these behaviors at times, the diagnosis requires that such behavior be demonstrated to a degree that is inappropriate for the person’s age. The diagnostic guidelines also contain specific requirements for determining when the symptoms indicate ADHD. The behaviors must appear early in life, before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months. Above all, the behaviors must create a real handicap in at least two areas of a person’s life such as in the schoolroom, on the playground, at home, in the community, or in social settings. So someone who shows some symptoms but whose schoolwork or friendships are not impaired by these behaviors would not be diagnosed with ADHD. Nor would a child who seems overly active on the playground but functions well elsewhere receive an ADHD diagnosis.
What Causes ADHD?
Given the wide range of symptoms seen in ADHD, it is not surprising that the cause is multifactorial with both environmental and genetic influences. Although the mechanisms underlying ADHD have not been completely determined new research indicates that food allergies and an imbalance of neurotransmitters are the key underlying factors in the development of the behavioral and cognitive issues, like impulsivity, inattentiveness, and hyperactivity, present in ADHD. In one study, 82% of the participants with ADHD were found to improve when their allergies were controlled. In other studies, individuals with ADHD who were found to be low or high in neurohormones, improved dramatically when these imbalances were corrected by supplementation with the nutritional building blocks of the required neurohormone.
New evidence indicates that the chemical imbalances associated with ADHD may be caused by stress, which can lead to a deficiency of the nutritional building blocks necessary for the brain to make the neurohormones that allow the body to cope with stress. Stress and pressures of modern living are putting a significant strain on our health. In the hurried, rushed, over committed modern era in which we live, over stimulation of the nervous system is taking its toll.
Are Lab Tests for ADHD Available?
For years psychiatrists have based their diagnosis of ADHD merely on subjective questionnaires filled out by teachers and parents and then prescribed psychiatric drugs that act like emotional straight jackets. With the recent advances in our understanding about the brain’s neurohormones, this is beginning to change.
At the Hansen Clinic of Natural Medicine, I test suspected ADHD patients for food allergies as well as neurohormone imbalances. With one tube of blood I can test 95 different food for allergies. We use a simple urine tests to measure the brain’s key neurohormones (Serotonin, GABA, Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Epinephrine). These lab tests are beginning to reveal a consistent pattern in children and adults with ADHD. It is a new frontier in diagnostic testing that will revolutionize mental health care.
For information about Food Allergy Testing, click here.
For information about Neurohormone Testing, click here.
Most Psychiatrists have not yet accepted this new science, while some even say that ADHD is not real. I know the science is real and ADHD is real, and the good news is that there are effective, all natural treatments can restore the optimal neurohormonal balance without side effects.
Drug Side Effects
Most children treated for ADHD are prescribed stimulant drugs, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin, Metadate, Methylin ER) or dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine, Adderall, Dextrostat, Desoxyn). These have been the mainstay of ADHD pharmacology for 50 years. Unfortunately, these drugs are effective in only 30-40% of patients treated and can cause a number of significant side effects including decreased appetite, weight loss, slowed growth, as well as dry mouth, constipation, insomnia, irritability and nervousness.
In February of 2006, an FDA advisory panel recommended the most serious warning label for stimulant ADHD drugs, due to an increased risk for severe cardiovascular problems in adults and children. Studies have shown an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure (hypertension), and abnormal heart beat (arrhythmia).
Although stimulant drugs can increase attention in some individuals by raising neurohormone levels in the brain, they can also cause agitation and nervousness and make hyperactivity more pronounced in individuals with low levels of Serotonin or GABA and high levels of Norepinephrine. For this reason Dr. Hansen recommends neurohormone testing to determine the specific imbalance of the individual. Stimulant and non-stimulant drugs do not cure the ADHD, they have multiple serious side-effects and they may make the condition worse by over stimulating the nervous system and depleting Serotonin and GABA.
Summary
The good news is that there are effective natural alternatives to use instead of the conventional drugs for the treatment of ADHD for both children and adults. There are effective tests that can be performed to identify the underlying cause of the symptoms. If you or your child suffer from poor concentration, poor focus, inattention, distractibility, hyperactivity or impulsivity you need to get tested so that the imbalances can be corrected as soon as possible.
For more information about Acuity™ and Patient Testimonials, please click here.
For more information about Tranquil Clarity, please click here.
For more information about 5HTP, please click here.
For more information about L-Tyrosine, please click here.
ADHD