Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly called ADHD, is a frustrating problem that can easily drive parents and caregivers to distraction. It is not surprising that so many people seek medical assistance in coping with the problem.
When interacting with suffers, their parents or their school teachers it quickly becomes apparent that prompt and effective interventions are needed. Unfortunately, this problem has been seen by the pharmaceutical industry, which is very quick to promote its chemical solutions to as many problems as possible, as another desparate market to be exploited.
One such "solution" offered by Eli Lilly corporation is a drug called Atomoxetine Hydrochloride, marketed as Strattera. It’s a stray terror alright. This drug is currently approved in the United States to treat ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults. Strattera has not been studied in children under 6 years of age.
As with so many pharmacological solutions to non-pharmacological problems, there are unavoidable, unwanted side effects associated with use of the drug. In my opinion, these are worse than the complaint itself, and yes, I actually have encountered many cases of ADHD and I know the frustrations associated with the condtion.
Consider the following alert from the FDA just a couple of days ago.
Audience: Neuropsychiatric and other Healthcare Professionals, and Consumers
[Posted 09/29/2005] The FDA directed Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), the manufacturer of Strattera (atomoxetine), to revise the prescribing information to include a boxed warning and additional warning statements that alert health care providers of an increased risk of suicidal thinking in children and adolescents being treated with this medication. FDA also informed Lilly that a Patient Medication Guide (MedGuide) should be provided to patients when Strattera is dispensed. The MedGuide advises patients of the risks associated with and precautions that can be taken when Strattera is dispensed. Further, pediatric patients being treated with Strattera should be closely observed for clinical worsening, as well as agitation, irritability, suicidal thinking or behaviors, and unusual changes in behavior, especially during the initial few months of a course of drug therapy, or at times of dose changes, either increases or decreases.
I actually find this alert to be quite disturbing. This seems to be quite a dangerous drug that should be withdrawn, not merely talked about. Increasing the risk of suicidal thinking in children and adolescents is a no-go zone if ever there was one. And I ask you, if you have spent some time with ADHD sufferers, how would you know and how would you interpret clinically significant "agitation, irritability, suicidal thinking or behaviors"? Who will make these judgements: parents? teachers? day carers? doctors? mental health specialists?
Parents of children and adolescents with ADHD are vulnerable to the marketing tricks of the pharmaceutical companies. Their pushers, prescribing doctors, are caught in the middle, with desperate patients or parents on one side and money-focussed drug companies who provide approved solutions on the other. It is just too easy for this situation to result in a prescription. What has been promoted as a solution is really just a complication that may prove disasterous.
Think I’m being a bit harsh? Tell it to the parents wondering how to cope, not with a hyperactive or "unmanageable" child, but with making funeral arrangements for that child. I’m not being harsh enough.
The behavioral problems that give rise to many diagnoses of ADHD are real enough, but the diagnosis itself is frequently suspect. For those who appear to have ADHD, various strategies should be attempted in seeking a solution.
These include an strict exclusion diet, with controlled reintroductions to determine the possible role of food allergies or sensitivities as a contributor. In my experience this essential first step is very rarely performed, drugs appearing to be a simpler solution.
Other important and neglected issues include nutritional deficiencies, learned behaviors and hstory of abuse. These are either too difficult to determine or lead to discomfort, so again, drugs are resorted to as they seem simpler.
The price paid for convenience is far too high. Not merely in dollar terms to purchase the drug, but in the pathology it causes, the lives lost and the anguish of families and friends. Yes, ADHD is difficult to deal with at times, but surely treatment with Strattera is worse than the complaint.
