22 month old prescribed Ritalin?

[eagleseven]

They're willing to give ritalin to two-year-olds, but won't sell it to adults who wish to use it as a cognitive enhancer?

Insane and hypocritical.

 

[sparky]

oh i think the phramacabal will sell any of their goods to whomever they can in this country


Pharmageddon?

Pharmageddon has been defined as, "the prospect of a world in which medicines and medicine produce more ill-health than health, and when medical progress does more harm than good". We see the need to investigate and explore that risk and to identify the factors and features that describe it.

 

[Ravi]

They're willing to give ritalin to two-year-olds, but won't sell it to adults who wish to use it as a cognitive enhancer?

Insane and hypocritical.

I don't think it is legal to give such young children ritalin.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say whomever wrote the post pasted in the OP was lying.

 

[goldcatt]

They're willing to give ritalin to two-year-olds, but won't sell it to adults who wish to use it as a cognitive enhancer?

Insane and hypocritical.

I don't think it is legal to give such young children ritalin.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say whomever wrote the post pasted in the OP was lying.

It's possible. But there are at least a few quacks and pushers who will hand out labels and prescribe Ritalin and other drugs at incredibly young ages, and parents and caregivers who take advantage (or get pushed into it). Wouldn't be the first time or the last that some hack pushed a pill they shouldn't to keep the customer satisfied. Michael Jackson, anyone?

 

[Ravi]

WARNINGS - Ritalin should not be used in children under six years, since safety and efficacy in this age group have not been established. Sufficient data on safety and efficacy of long-term use of Ritalin in children are not yet available. Although a causal relationship has not been established, suppression of growth (ie, weight gain, and/or height) has been reported with the long-term use of stimulants in children. Therefore, patients requiring long-term therapy should be carefully monitored.

Why to Avoid RITALIN (methylphenidate) Side Effects and Warnings

 

[Ravi]

They're willing to give ritalin to two-year-olds, but won't sell it to adults who wish to use it as a cognitive enhancer?

Insane and hypocritical.

I don't think it is legal to give such young children ritalin.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say whomever wrote the post pasted in the OP was lying.

It's possible. But there are at least a few quacks and pushers who will hand out labels and prescribe Ritalin and other drugs at incredibly young ages, and parents and caregivers who take advantage (or get pushed into it). Wouldn't be the first time or the last that some hack pushed a pill they shouldn't to keep the customer satisfied. Michael Jackson, anyone?

True enough. But even doctors have to get past pharmacists and any pharmacist would question filling such a prescription.

 

[goldcatt]

I don't think it is legal to give such young children ritalin.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say whomever wrote the post pasted in the OP was lying.

It's possible. But there are at least a few quacks and pushers who will hand out labels and prescribe Ritalin and other drugs at incredibly young ages, and parents and caregivers who take advantage (or get pushed into it). Wouldn't be the first time or the last that some hack pushed a pill they shouldn't to keep the customer satisfied. Michael Jackson, anyone?

True enough. But even doctors have to get past pharmacists and any pharmacist would question filling such a prescription.

What makes you think that? Like everyone else there are good pharmacists and bad ones. I can't recall off the top of my head the number of people who are seriously injured or die because a doctor gives them meds that interact with each other than the pharmacist doesn't catch it. There are enough holes in the system to make just about anything possible, and like I posted before I personally know of at least two kids age three or younger who were put on Ritalin at the insistence of a daycare provider. You can call me a liar if you want, no skin off my nose, but you'll never convince me it doesn't happen when I know darn well it already has. Is the person in the OP a liar? I have no idea. But it's quite possible she isn't.

 

[sparky]

iirc, HIPPA basically disenfranchised pharmacy from health care to the point where anonimity is the rule of thumb. The pharmacist used to be the go-bettween for patients with multiple doctors (prevalant with all the specialist referals re; modern HC) prescribing multiple meds.

One might even still obtain some degree of that personal service via knowing your hometown pharmacist well enough to be conversive with him/her, but you'll not get that at say, Rite-Aid's phramacy counter

 

[goldcatt]

It's not even necessarily multiple meds, but meds that are contraindicated for the age or condition. Which of course, can be easily missed by even the better pharmacists who don't have knowledge of the patient's condition. Especially if the patient's date of birth is missing or illegible on the prescription. Mistakes with medications happen, even in hospitals let alone the 24-hour drive up pharmacy.

I didn't have to fight that hard for my own little cub, but the mere fact that I had to deal with both the daycare provider and child services over a recommendation of Ritalin for my own 3-year old makes me wonder how many quacks are really out there and how often this happens. Hopefully it's the one doc here (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons) and a very small handful of intimidated or bamboozled parents, but I wonder.

 

[chanel]

This is from 2006, but it is still not approved for children under six. Why would doctors take the risk?

A new long-term government study has cautioned that young children using Ritalin are more susceptible to side effects than older children. While the study did find that Ritalin was moderately effective in treating preschoolers with ADHD, the researchers urged medical professionals to monitor them carefully. Side effects may include slowed growth, insomnia, weight loss, and irritability.

Currently, Ritalin has not been approved for use in children under 6, although thousands of preschoolers have been prescribed Ritalin. The study, to be published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, was conducted in eight stages over the course of 70 weeks and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Risks Seen for Preschoolers Taking Ritalin

Wow check this out:

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy analyzed 200,000 preschoolers' prescription records from two state Medicaid programs and an HMO in the Northwest over a five-year period. Among the findings:

# 1.5% of children between the ages of 2 and 4 received stimulants, anti-depressants or other anti-psychotic drugs.

# In the Medicaid programs, the number of prescriptions for anti-depressants given to preschoolers more than doubled.

Although the researchers did not note the conditions children were being treated for, nor the training of the medical staff who prescribed the drugs, the study is being given serious attention because it suggests that nationally, as many as 150,000 children under age five may be taking the drugs

Goodnites - FamilyEducation.com

 

[Ravi]

I also doubt a doctor would sue a patient for not paying for her single office visit.

 

[Ravi]

It's not even necessarily multiple meds, but meds that are contraindicated for the age or condition. Which of course, can be easily missed by even the better pharmacists who don't have knowledge of the patient's condition. Especially if the patient's date of birth is missing or illegible on the prescription. Mistakes with medications happen, even in hospitals let alone the 24-hour drive up pharmacy.

I didn't have to fight that hard for my own little cub, but the mere fact that I had to deal with both the daycare provider and child services over a recommendation of Ritalin for my own 3-year old makes me wonder how many quacks are really out there and how often this happens. Hopefully it's the one doc here (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons) and a very small handful of intimidated or bamboozled parents, but I wonder.

If the patient's birthdate is missing from the prescription, you are asked for the patient's birthdate. This is common and as far as I know is required by law...even Walgreens and CVS does this.

 

[goldcatt]

It's not even necessarily multiple meds, but meds that are contraindicated for the age or condition. Which of course, can be easily missed by even the better pharmacists who don't have knowledge of the patient's condition. Especially if the patient's date of birth is missing or illegible on the prescription. Mistakes with medications happen, even in hospitals let alone the 24-hour drive up pharmacy.

I didn't have to fight that hard for my own little cub, but the mere fact that I had to deal with both the daycare provider and child services over a recommendation of Ritalin for my own 3-year old makes me wonder how many quacks are really out there and how often this happens. Hopefully it's the one doc here (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons) and a very small handful of intimidated or bamboozled parents, but I wonder.

If the patient's birthdate is missing from the prescription, you are asked for the patient's birthdate. This is common and as far as I know is required by law...even Walgreens and CVS does this.

Or perhaps "not approved" is not the same as illegal?

 

[chanel]

Even though it is not approved, it is certainly legal. The pharmacist might not challenge that.

As I was looking for stats, I found several sites pushing this notion of medicating toddlers (in extreme circumstances they say). One doctor even compared "denying treatment of ADHD" to denying treatment of asthma.

Any psychiatric drug should be used in combination with behavioral interventions and/or counseling. Parents who think that just giving a kid a pill will make them behave are guilty of abusing their own children IMHO. And the doctors should be held accountable as well if they know that's what's going on.

 

[goldcatt]

If you ask me, there are a lot of lazy parents out there but also a lot of parents aren't educated on the issues and get arm twisted into stuff like this with tactics like they tried to use on me. It's a mixed bag.

I'm sure there is a very, very, extremely small number of kids this age who need the meds. The problem is they aren't just given to that small number. It's a convenient catch-all and often that convenience has unintended consequences.

 

[Ravi]

Both the FDA and the manufacturer of ritalin say not to give it to children under six.

 

[chanel]

That gets the drug companies off the hook in the event of death I assume.

My pediatrician was explaining to me why they don't admit to our local hospital. He said the hospital will not administer non-approved drugs to children. He mentioned an asthma drug they routinely prescribed for years which was highly effective in children but not approved for those under 10. It surprised me, but he said often drug companies will set age limits and it takes years for the FDA to change it.

 

[sparky]

I didn't have to fight that hard for my own little cub, but the mere fact that I had to deal with both the daycare provider and child services over a recommendation of Ritalin for my own 3-year old makes me wonder how many quacks are really out there and how often this happens. Hopefully it's the one doc here (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons) and a very small handful of intimidated or bamboozled parents, but I wonder.

I had to for both my kids via the pharmacabal's infliltration of the school system. They have this pre-canned one note condensending tune they tag team parents with , and come to find out many of those parents pursue independent sources that out the real problem, as opposed to said cabal's approach, which is played far too fast & loose imho

 

[chanel]

My son's best friend was telling me "he had grown out of his ADHD by high school". He had a tough childhood and was expelled from Catholic school and starting taking Ritalin in 2nd grade. He requested to be taken off when he was a teenager and graduated top in his class. I mentioned to him that perhaps he hadn't "grown out of it" but may have never had it to begin with. The DSM IV criteria is very subjective IMHO. Too bad they can't do a brain scan.

Oh wait - they can....

Brain Scans Reveal Physiology of ADHD ? Psychiatric News

 

[goldcatt]

That gets the drug companies off the hook in the event of death I assume.

My pediatrician was explaining to me why they don't admit to our local hospital. He said the hospital will not administer non-approved drugs to children. He mentioned an asthma drug they routinely prescribed for years which was highly effective in children but not approved for those under 10. It surprised me, but he said often drug companies will set age limits and it takes years for the FDA to change it.

Exactly. It's a liability issue, that and the fact that the manufacturers often run tests on one target segment of the population without testing it for approval on others. Running trials for FDA approval is very expensive and time consuming. Drugs may be tested on adults but not adolescents, males but not females, not evaluated for pregnant women at all, or what have you. Does that mean approved drugs aren't or can't be prescribed for off-label or unapproved purposes or groups? Of course not. Off label uses of drugs are common. But it also doesn't mean it's the correct thing to do. Especially in cases like this, where they are obviously often used for convenience.