fresco wrote:
A Panorama documentary aired on the BBC tonight has just made some damning claims that ritalin is ineffective. Has anyone got any positive comments about the use of stimulant drugs to treat inattention, impulsivity and mood regulation.
A couple of months ago I started taking Concerta, which is a slow-release version of methylphenidate (the generic name of Ritalin) and it has really been a help.
I'll admit that my first experience with Ritalin was taking 60 mg up my nose, which kept me awake for three days. The weird thing was that I was ultra-aware of my body, my coordination was perfect, and I could suddenly touch-type. I had this overwhelming feeling of "this is what normal people feel like." I had the most amazing self-confidence, but it wasn't like that false ego-inflation you get when you're drunk, it was the ability to finally see the good in myself.
I realized it wasn't necessary to hate and loathe myself anymore, that I didn't have to punish myself for being who I am. A massive breakthrough which helped me see Hope as something other than a teasing bitch-goddess.
I was in a super-depressed, suicidal state beforehand, and it actually helped me not get carried away with emotion. What it seemed to do was
enhance the objective, reasoning portion of my brain instead of
numbing the emotional side of my brain, and it allowed me to process and deal with the emotions rather try to stifle or control them.
It's like I finally met an entirely new dimension of my personality, the dimension that has the ability to feel. Instead of having an enemy in my head, I realized I had the best friend in the world.
I never thought I could live without undeserved guilt. AS aside, I've also had to deal with the whole Irish Catholicism/swim in booze dynamic.
Now, I don't recommend snorting the stuff, it can be addictive, it messes up your nose pretty hard, and overdose is pretty easy to accomplish, which is why I take the slow release capsules. I didn't quit smoking so I could pick up another addiction.
The one problem I have with them is that they kill my appetite, so I have to be sure I eat enough.
Some people have mentioned several side effects reported in the media, I have to say these are most likely bunk. See, there are all of these "studies" released solely for the media to report on, which are then used as excuses and pretexts for state intervention in our lives. I put studies in quotes because these are not scientific studies aimed at finding objective fact, these are direct attempts at manipulation, whether its for political gain, monetary gain, or just a lying jerk trying to drum up grant money.
Wikipedia has some info on these side effects:
Quote:
Known or suspected risks to health
Researchers have also looked into the role of methylphenidate in affecting stature, with some studies finding slight decreases in height acceleration.[16] Other studies indicate height may normalize by adolescence.[17][18] In a 2005 study, only "minimal effects on growth in height and weight were observed" after 2 years of treatment. "No clinically significant effects on vital signs or laboratory test parameters were observed."[19]
A 2006 review assessing the safety of methylphenidate on the developing brain found that in animals with psychomotor impairments, structural and functional parameters of the dopamine system were improved with treatment.[20] This indicates that in subjects with ADHD, methylphenidate treatment may positively support brain development.
A 2003 study tested the effects of d-methylphenidate (Focalin), l-methylphenidate, and d, l-methylphenidate (Ritalin) on mice to search for any carcinogenic effects. The researchers found that all three compounds were non-genotoxic and non-clastogenic; d-MPH, d, l-MPH, and l-MPH did not cause mutations or chromosomal aberrations. They concluded that none of the compounds present a carcinogenic risk to humans.[21]
In February 2005, a team of researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center led by R.A. El-Zein announced that a study of 12 children indicated that methylphenidate may be carcinogenic. In the study, 12 children were given standard therapeutic doses of methylphenidate. At the conclusion of the 3-month study, all 12 children displayed significant treatment-induced chromosomal aberrations. The researchers indicated that their study was relatively small and their results needed to be reproduced in a bigger population for a definitive conclusion about the genotoxicity of methylphenidate to be drawn.[22]
In response to the El-Zein study published in 2005, a team of six scientists from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and the Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany began a more in-depth study. They sought to respond to the challenge noted above to attempt to replicate the results of El-Zein et al. in a larger study. Their paper was completed in 2006 and published in 2007 in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), the peer-reviewed journal of the United States' National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This study used a larger cohort and a longer period of follow-up and included a small group of long-term users, but otherwise used what researchers believed to be an identical methodology to that used by El-Zein et al. (They note that El-Zein et al. published a short study report and did not publish detailed descriptions of methodology.) After follow-ups at six months, the researchers found no evidence that methylphenidate might cause cancer, stating "the concern regarding a potential increase in the risk of developing cancer later in life after long-term MPH treatment is not supported".[23]
The effects of long-term methylphenidate treatment on the developing brains of children with ADHD is the subject of study and debate.[24][25][26][27] Although the safety profile of short-term methylphenidate therapy in clinical trials has been well established, repeated use of psychostimulants such as methylphenidate is less clear.
In the United States, methylphenidate is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance, the designation used for substances that have a recognized medical value but present a high potential for abuse because of their addictive potential. Internationally, methylphenidate is a Schedule II drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.[28] Methylphenidate has been used illegally by students for whom the drug has not been prescribed, to assist with coursework and examinations.[29] The use of ADHD medication in children under the age of 6 has not been studied. ADHD symptoms include hyperactivity and difficulty holding still and following directions; these are also characteristics of a typical child under the age of 6. For this reason it may be more difficult to diagnose young children, and caution should be used with this age group.
See, what the media never reports on is their methodology. They are hoping that people just say, "oh, they're DOCTORS, they know what they are doing, who are we to question them?"
Most medical studies are about as scientific as throwing a woman in the water to see if she's witch. Sadly, they are held in as high esteem today as were the witch trials in Germany and Salem. Why? Because those in charge said to.
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A son of fire should be forced to bow to a son of clay?
12 Nov 2007, 4:12 pm
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