Adderall: Is Medication the Answer? Essay

Ritalin is another example of a prescription ADHD stimulant that is misused frequently with a high mortality rate from overdose. Ritalin, which is more prevalent with high school age students, is primarily misused for weight loss and a feeling being high. The majority of children misusing prescription drugs such a Ritalin are under the impression that it is safer then illegal street drugs (CCHR, 2013). Ritalin is the most common stimulant drug prescribed to children with ADHD, but is also prescribed for other disorders, such as cancer, brain injury and pain management (Morton & Stockton, 2000). According to Morton & Stockton (2000) the effects of Ritalin are similar to the feeling of using cocaine, which may be one of the reasons that the ADHD drug is misused. According to research done by Musser et al. (1998) most school aged children using Ritalin did not think that Ritalin or any other prescription medication for ADHD could be abused. This ignorance may be part of the overwhelming reason that drugs such as Ritalin are becoming more widely

In this day and age, drugs are being prescribed without hesitation. In fact, many of these drugs are being prescribed for children with various disorders. One of these disorders is called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An estimated five to ten percent of children are diagnosed with this syndrome (Taylor 11). One of the methods to treat this disorder is to use stimulants, specifically Ritalin. This method is controversial because it has many side effects and its long-term effects are unknown. It can also lead to addiction. Approximately two to three percent of elementary school children are taking some kind of stimulant to treat ADHD (Taylor 64). Since so many children are taking this medication, new problems have arisen.

There are many medications that affect children’s health in today’s society. Doctors prescribe lots of medication which can be avoided, when children are properly diagnosed with certain health problems. Attention - deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has impacted many people with the danger of certain medications which is overprescribed to all ages each year. The hidden dangers of the medications these doctors are prescribing, is that our children are being misdiagnosed with ADHD at a very early age, and this is causing many different side effects. Long term use of these medications can cause severe side effects. The most commonly prescribed drugs, are Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta, which cause children to have nervousness, appetite suppression, insomnia and increased blood pressure and heart problems. Also pharmaceutical companies are well aware of the danger to children and adults that these drugs may cause.

More often than not, teachers have a big influence on if a child gets medicated or not as Barbara C. Bigelow explains, Some schools have told parents that their children need to be evaluated to see if they would benefit from taking ADHD drugs” (barbara). Parents often get talked into getting their child tested because someone with a lot of power in a school environment says they should. Parents want the best for their child when they go to school. So it is not surprising that so many parents fall into the pressure advisors and teachers put on them. Many schools try to “scare” parents in a way by telling them that their child will be put into a specials needs class as Diller says here, “...will not allow students to attend [regular] classes unless they are medicated” (Barbara). This often scares parents because to them, that means they will be put in a class with students with more serious mental illnesses. But in reality they are being put in a class with other kids like them to get more one on one help. Parents often react without really thinking about it as an article states, “Parents are increasingly cut out of the decision-making process about what's in their child's best interest with regard to their health” (Mercola). Many parents are quick to jump the gun if it means their child’s health will improve. Many do this without looking in depth about what their child will be given. This

Psychotropic medications, also referred to as psychiatric or psychotherapeutic medications, are used to treat psychiatric disorders, such as: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They have been used for many years and oftentimes come with dangerous side effects. The side effects that often occur in children taking these medications can include: fainting, blurred vision, vomiting, extreme weight gain, and even death ("Seroquel information,” n.d.). The use of psychotropic medication to treat mental disorders in children and adolescents is highly controversial because of ethical viewpoints (i.e. parents “drugging” their children to calm them down) and potentially

There has been so much controversy around the diagnosis of ADHD. There is also a big debate about whether a child has a disorder or not. There is also a huge controversy over whether a parent should give their child the medication that a doctor prescribes for the disorder. Once parents finally decide to place their child on the medicine. They are making the decision that they feel is the best option for their child. Other parents may decide that other treatment options may be better to begin with to see if they cannot fix the problem therapeutically instead. Parents that decide that medicine is the best route may feel that their child would benefit from it, and that benefits outweigh the risks. Whereas to parents that decide otherwise; feel that their child is not that severe with the ADHD, and can handle trying other ways to deal

While Adderall withdrawal is more likely when someone takes higher doses of the drug, it can happen to anyone. This brand name drug is a blend of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. Medically, it is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHA), hyperactivity and narcolepsy.

At seventeen he started smoking pot, but unlike most, he catalogued the strains of cannabis he tried, each time describing the feeling in scientific detail. Still through all the drinking and smoking he did well in school. People would ask Charlie what he wanted to be, he changed his mind a lot but eventually settled on pharmacist. Adderall was his drug of choice for some time in college, but eventually he started down a road of painkillers. Shortly after this, he dropped out of college, but with a fair number of contacts he found a job. The kind that carried a gun and didn’t pay income tax.

Medication is a wonderful thing, and there's absolutely no shame in taking medication for anything. However, medications all affect us differently, especially Adderall. If you know me, you know I suffer from ADHD and I am thankful for adderall because it helped me get back on track my first three years of high school, and kept me from failing out. However, by my senior year it had just done a number on me. Sure, when it was in effect I could focus but when it wore off... I have never felt more lethargic or anxious ever, not to mention that I was at least 20 pounds underweight. When I got home from school I would just nap all night, because I was so tired and literally didn't have any more energy. I wouldn't eat during lunch time, and I was

The illicit use of prescription stimulants, such as Adderall and Ritalin, by college students has been very well documented over the past years (Babcock Q & Byrne T, 2000). Although data is somewhat limited in variety and lacking concentration on specific populations, this substance abuse concern has been studied for well over a decade (Teter, 2006). A prevalence of more than 10% of college students, within the United States, self-report misusing prescription stimulants; it is apparent that these levels are the highest they have been in over the past decades (Kilmer at al, 2015). The United States has been suffering from a devastating prescription drug abuse epidemic, as declared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Given the staggering numbers of not only prescribing practices of prescription painkillers and other such medications, increases of prescription stimulant medications follow the recurrent trends of excessive prescribing. An accumulative number of Adderall, and similar prescription stimulant medications, used to treat Attention Deficient-Hyperactivity

There are many different types of medications and each of them have different side effects. There was a study conducted on a couple of ADHD medication that are given to children of ages three and under because it was causing serious cardiovascular side effects such as unexpected cardiac arrest, strokes, and acute myocardial infractions which is the medical term for heart attacks (Cooper149). Another study was conducted on children between the ages of two and eleven years old on another medication that was causing several types of hemorrhages that rush blood out due to a ruptured vessel (149). Another side effect was cerebral oedema which is swelling in the brain that is caused by disproportionate amounts of fluids (150). The United States Food and drug Administration made the companies that produce these medications put a different label that would stand out more in order to warn consumers about the risks that these medications may cause (149). Not only was The FDA able to change the labels here in the US but they managed to do it around the world so other consumers may know the severe side effects (149).

This may seem like an okay thing, right? In today’s society, everyone pressuring students to be the top of the top, so why not have a little help? Adderall, an amphetamine, can become highly addictive and the side effects even worse. From hallucinations to muscle weakness, aggressiveness to uneven heartbeats, seizures, or comas, are just a few of the side effects of what happens when someone overdoses on Adderall. Amphetamines and methamphetamines, both used to treat people with ADD, ADHD, or narcolepsy, students have recently admitted to using these types of drugs to help them stay up later, get more work down, and concentrate better. The reason why Robbins includes this information in her book is to give an insight how competitive the school

When children get diagnosed with a particular disorder, it is important for the parents to accept that their child does have a problem. Some parents, do everything that’s right; regular therapies, medications but in their hearts, they align to the idea that their kid is completely normal. The child spends 80 percent of the time at home and 20 percent with the therapist, so if the parent hasn’t fully accepted that their child is special, their attitudes and parenting style towards the child won’t be ideal. There is also a completely deranged extreme set of people, who believe they can sort

Growing up, my cousin was diagnosed at a young age with ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Medicating children was not very common back in the 1990’s, or at least not as common as it has become today. When she started school, she was not medicated, however, as time progressed and her teachers began to notice her struggle. Her parents and her pediatrician decided to medication should be tried. She started on a Ritalin regiment and it seemed to help. It helped her to sit still and be able to focus, her struggle nearly disappearing. After a few years, they noticed the effect of the Ritalin was not as strong and her struggle in school began to reappear. She had two options, they could up the dosage again or she could try something new, Adderall. Going through the majority of the rest of her schooling, she was taking Adderall and seemingly had no problems. As she hit puberty, the ADHD seemed to disappear nearly entirely and she was able to disregard the medication. Today, she has not seemed to have any lasting effects from the medication directly or indirectly, fortunately.

Western medication has proven to be one of the most useful discoveries that are still used every single day in our world. A plethora of people in the United States has been prescribed some form of medication to fix whatever is wrong with them or even to prevent illness in the future. Prescription medicines have been used by people of all ages, sizes, and shapes for centuries. However, we don’t consider the long-term effects that these medicines have, especially when overmedicated. A problem that just is not discussed enough is the overmedication of America’s youth. While children with ADHD and varying medical problems benefit from taking stimulants and other brain-altering prescriptions, these issues can not be simply solved with pills, and parents should cease trying to get children prescribed medicine to deal with the problems that they can’t. This is a form of silencing the child which leads them to a long, unhappy life being overmedicated and not their full potential.