ADD and ADHD are the result of neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine imbalances.
The four main imbalances include high norepineprine and cortisol, dopamine dysfunction, serotonin deficiency, and insulin irregularity.
Each of these imbalances are rooted in nutritional deficiencies that with correction, improve symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention. Food allergies and intolerances also contribute to malabsorption of nutrients.
There has been so much controversy around ADHD since the 1970’s. Topics of discussion includes the causes of concerns, its existence, suggested forms of treatment, and utilizing stimulants as a form to treatment for children and the criteria used in an ADHD diagnosis.
Criteria suggests that for a diagnosis, symptoms had to begin between the ages of 6-12 and continue for more than 6 months.
Other concerns are possible overdiagnosis, misdiagnosis as ADHD leading to under-treatment of various psychiatric disorders.
According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, there are raised concerns regarding increased severity of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in individuals with a history of stimulant use for ADHD in childhood.
Stimulants drugs are not approved for children between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Despite this, between 0.51% to 1.23% of children between theses ages are being treated with stimulants in the USA.
The National Institute of Mental Health states that, “under medical supervision, stimulant medications are considered safe”, so they recommend stimulants for the treatment of ADHD.
Although, on February 9, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended a warning label acknowledging the cardiovascular risks of using a stimulant drug to treat ADHD.
I find this so appalling because stimulants are classified as Schedule II controlled substances in the United States.
Recently, in an interview on MSNBC, drug abuse and addiction expert Carl Hart of Columbia University said that, “There isn’t much difference between the demonized street drug methamphetamine (also known as meth or crystal meth) and the prescription drug Adderall.”
Stimulants for Treatment Of ADHD
Stimulants that are being prescribed include, but not limited to: Ritalin (methylphenidate), and Adderall (mixture of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine). Treatments with stimulant drugs are so dangerous.
• According to scientific research funded by the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health, drugs such as Ritalin increase the risk of sudden death by five hundred percent among children and teens.
• Ritalin treatment has many side effects: Abdominal Upset, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss.
Emotional and Behavioral Side Effects, nervousness, excitability, emotional ups and downs, insomnia and dizziness, headaches, irritability, crankiness, crying, emotional sensitivity, muscle tics or twitches and nervous habits.
Ritalin can be highly addictive in some patients. Withdrawal from this medication causes several effects: Depression, disturbed sleep patterns, fatigue, malnutrition, and cardiovascular problems which lead to stroke and death.
• Adderall prescription have increased from 1.3 million in 1996 to nearly 6 million in 1999. Adderall is a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. Amphetamine and dextroamphetamine can be habit-forming.
Side effects, including:
Nervousness, restlessness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body, headache, changes in sex drive or ability, dry mouth, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss.
The National Institute of Health recommends that anyone who shows any of these symptoms to contact their physician immediately:
Fast or pounding heartbeat, shortness of breath, chest pain, excessive tiredness, slow or difficult speech, dizziness or faintness, weakness or numbness of an arm or leg, seizures, motor tics or verbal tics, believing things that are not true, feeling unusually suspicious of others, hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist), mania (frenzied or abnormally excited mood), aggressive or hostile behavior, changes in vision or blurred, vision, fever, blistering or peeling skin, rash, hives, itching, swelling of the eyes, face, tongue, or throat, difficulty breathing or swallowing, and hoarseness.
