Ritalin Side Effects / Abuse.
Ritalin, the most frequently prescribed stimulant drug for
Attention Deficit Disorder, has been the focus of much
controversy. This controversy includes harmful Ritalin effects,
Ritalin abuse (including snorting Ritalin), Ritalin addiction and other Ritalin side
effects.
There are few people in the United States who have not heard of
Ritalin. It's the brand name for a drug called methylphenidate and
the ADHD drug of choice for physicians treating Attention Deficit
Disorder. Every day five million children in America line up for
their daily dose of Ritalin.
Since Attention Deficit Disorder hit the mainstream in the
1980s, prescriptions for Ritalin have skyrocketed. So have reports
of children snorting Ritalin, Ritalin abuse and harmful Ritalin
effects.
While it is true that children can show improvement in ADHD
symptoms while on Ritalin, the Ritalin effects last only several
hours. Ritalin effects ADHD symptoms but the Ritalin effects wear
off when the drug wears off.
In most cases the Ritalin side effects are mild but some,
though rare, are life-threatening. Nervousness and insomnia are
the most common adverse Ritalin side effects. Parents need to be clear about the benefits as well as the
potential Ritalin effects – including the potential for Ritalin
abuse and addiction - before administering Ritalin to their
children.
Common Ritalin side effects are:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Loss of appetite
- Irritability
- Nervousness
- Stomach aches
- Headaches
- Dry mouth
- Blurry vision
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Tics
Other Ritalin side effects can include:
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Hypersensitivity
-
Anorexia
-
Heart palpitations
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Blood pressure and pulse changes
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Cardiac arrhythmia
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Anemia
-
Scalp hair loss
-
Psychosis
The following, though rare, have also been reported as
Ritalin side effects:
-
Abnormal liver function
-
Cerebral arteritis
-
Leukopenia
-
Death
Death From
Ritalin The Truth Behind ADHD is a free educational resource
for parents looking for information on ADHD. This is a "must see"
web site if anyone is considering using ADHD medication.
Stimulants can also make the symptoms
of Tourette's syndrome worsen. Some children experience "withdrawals" from coming
off of the dose as Ritalin side effects. Parents should alert their doctor to any Ritalin side effects
experienced.
It is recommended that, since safety and effectiveness of
Ritalin has not been established and can cause especially severe
reactions in children under 6 years of age, Ritalin should not be
used for that age group. Despite that, the number of stimulants
prescribed for children ages 2 to 4 has increased 200 to 300
percent between 1991 and 1995.
Ritalin can be helpful in the short term in reducing ADHD
symptoms but no physician will claim that Ritalin cures ADHD.
Stimulants used for ADHD symptoms merely postpone dealing with the
root cause of the behavioral and attentional problems.
The more lasting and more entrapping Ritalin effects is the
high potential for Ritalin abuse and addiction.
Of the many psychoactive drugs prescribed to children in the
United
States, two controlled substances are widely prescribed to treat
children: methylphenidate (Ritalin and the newest form of Ritalin,
Concerta) and amphetamine (Adderall and Dexedrine).
Both of these substances are powerful stimulants classified as
Schedule II narcotics in the Controlled Substances Act since 1971.
Schedule II is the classification for medical drugs with the
highest abuse potential and addiction profile.
Ritalin abuse and Ritalin addiction are prevalent Ritalin
side effects.
Ritalin is closely related to the illegal street drugs
Methamphetamine, street name "crystal meth." Ironically, our
society imprisons people for manufacturing drugs similar to the
drugs physicians commonly prescribe to millions of children.
A significant amount of literature is available that describes
Ritalin abuse and Ritalin addiction. Like amphetamines and cocaine,
Ritalin abuse and snorting Ritalin can lead to marked tolerance
and addiction.
Data from physicians, parents, schools, poison control centers,
adolescent treatment centers and law enforcement show that
adolescents who abuse Ritalin
commonly obtain the drug from people that have valid physician
prescriptions for Ritalin.
Adolescents give and sell their Ritalin medication to
schoolmates and friends, who are taking Ritalin orally, crushing
the tablets and snorting Ritalin powder like cocaine. Another form
of Ritalin abuse is through dissolving Ritalin in water and
injecting the fluid.
The pattern of Ritalin abuse and addiction is
characterized by increasing dosages and frequent episodes of
bingeing, followed by severe depression. Severe Ritalin side effects,
including death, have been reported with Ritalin abuse and
addiction.
Drug Enforcement Agency data shows that Ritalin abuse and
addiction has high potential. The inappropriate use of
Ritalin, Ritalin abuse and snorting Ritalin carries significant
risks.
-
A DEA survey found that between 30 and 50 percent of
adolescents in drug treatment centers reported Ritalin abuse –
taken orally, through snorting Ritalin or injection.
-
A Indiana University survey of 44,000 students found that
about seven percent of high school students surveyed
reported Ritalin abuse – taken orally, through snorting
Ritalin or injection - at least once. Of those students, 2.5
percent reported Ritalin abuse monthly or more often.
- Reports from students and faculty on college campuses also show
Ritalin abuse. These reports indicate that
students use Ritalin as a study aid and a party drug in the same
manner that amphetamine was used on campuses in the 1960s.
- Since 1991, prescriptions for all drugs to treat Attention
Deficit Disorder have quintupled. This year about six million
children - roughly one child out of every eight - will take
Ritalin or other forms of ADHD medications.
- Ritalin abuse and addiction increased with the increase in
Ritalin prescriptions. Poison control data, emergency room data
and high school surveys all indicate that Ritalin abuse has increased significantly since 1990.
- In 1990, there were 271 emergency room mentions for
methylphenidate (Ritalin) in the Drug Abuse Warning Network. In
1998, there were 1,727 mentions – a sixty-fold increase - for
methylphenidate (Ritalin) in the Drug Abuse Warning Network.
Children between the ages of 10 and 17 accounting for 56 percent
of those emergency room visits from Ritalin abuse.
- According to the United Nations, the U.S. produces and consumes
about 85 percent of the world's production of methylphenidate
(Ritalin). Continued increases in the medical prescription of
Ritalin can only lead to increased Ritalin abuse and addiction among children.
JUST LIKE COCAINE
Ritalin is often referred to as "Kiddie Cocaine" for good
reason. Long-term Ritalin effects have been linked to brain
development abnormalities similar to those found with cocaine use.
The Journal of the American Medical Association, one of
American's leading medical journals, published an article in
August entitled "Ritalin Acts Much Like Cocaine."
An Archives of General Psychiatry report states; "Cocaine has
pharmacological actions that are very similar to those of
methylphenidate (Ritalin), which is now the most commonly
prescribed psychotropic medicine for children in the U.S."
DEA data on methylphenidate and amphetamine for the treatment
of ADD symptoms shows:
-
That methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) and amphetamine
(Adderall, Dexedrine) produce effects similar to cocaine in
laboratory animals and in humans.
-
In clinical studies, methylphenidate and amphetamine produce
behavioral and psychological effects similar to cocaine.
-
In simple terms, this data means that the human body cannot
tell the difference between cocaine, amphetamine, or Ritalin.
Ritalin effects children the same way related stimulants like
cocaine effect adults. Just as predictably, children are subject
to Ritalin side effects, as adults are subject to the side effects
of cocaine and other stimulant drugs.
Aside from the Ritalin side effects and potential for Ritalin
abuse and addiction, another disturbing aspect of Ritalin
is the long-term Ritalin side effects.
Until recently physicians believed that Ritalin side effects
remained as short-term. Scientists at the University at Buffalo
found otherwise. Research with gene expression in animals suggests
that Ritalin has the potential for causing long-lasting changes in
brain cell structure and function. Methylphenidate (Ritalin)
appears to initiate changes in brain function that remain long
after the therapeutic Ritalin effects dissipate.
While research now indicates adverse long-term Ritalin side
effects physically, other studies show that Ritalin use does not
make an impact on behavior in the long run. A comprehensive follow-up study at Montreal Children's Hospital
revealed that the behavior of hyperactive children did not differ
significantly from the behavior of non-hyperactive children after
taking ADHD medication for five years.
"Although it appeared that hyperactive kids treated with
Ritalin were initially more manageable, the degree of improvement
and emotional adjustment was essentially identical at the end of
five years to that seen in a group of kids who had received no
medication at all," the report stated.
Given the lack of long-term benefits, the potential for
long-term Ritalin side effects and Ritalin abuse and addiction, many parents uncomfortable with Ritalin
side effects
choose alternative treatments for Attention Deficit Disorder.
