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Ritalin: Children
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Despite what schools and some psychiatrists say, ADD is not a disease, its symptoms are not even a sign that anything is wrong, and Ritalin is not a cure for anything. While schools refer to Ritalin as a "treatment," its effect is that of a punishment. In her book, And They Call It Help, Louise Armstrong calls ithe use of Ritalin, "the psychiatric policing of children. Ritalin is used to manage children, to control their mental activity and ... their behavior. It has nothing to do with education in the usually accepted sense."
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In most cases the Ritalin side effects are mild but some, though rare, are life-threatening. Nervousness and insomnia are the most common adverse Ritalin side effects. Parents need to be clear about the benefits as well as the potential Ritalin effects – including the potential for Ritalin abuse and addiction - before administering Ritalin to their children.
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The children's drug Ritalin has a more potent effect on the brain than cocaine, a study has found. Using brain imaging, scientists have found that, in pill form, Ritalin - taken by thousands of British children and four million in the United States - occupies more of the neural transporters responsible for the "high" experienced by addicts than smoked or injected cocaine.
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Even in pill form, Ritalin blocked far more of the brain transporters that affect mood change and had a greater potency in the brain than cocaine. Researchers were shocked by this finding. A normal dose administered to children blocked 70 per cent of the dopamine transporters. 'The data clearly show the notion that Ritalin is a weak stimulant is completely incorrect,' said Volkow. Cocaine is known to block around 50 per cent of these transporters, leaving a surfeit of dopamine in the system, which is responsible for the hit addicts crave. But now it is known that Ritalin blocks 20 per cent more of these auto-receptors.
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Ritalin may reduce weight gain or growth in CHILDREN. Your health care provider will watch weight and height carefully. Your doctor may stop treatment if growing or gaining weight are not as your doctor expects. Contact your health care provider if you do not see improvement in symptoms within 1 month. Ritalin is not recommended for use in CHILDREN younger than 6 years of age; safety and effectiveness in this age group have not been confirmed.
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Ritalin is associated with other serious side effects. In one small study of 12 children, scientists from the University of Texas and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center found a link between Ritalin and increased risk of cancer. The 12 children in the study taking Ritalin all experienced a significant increase in their level of chromosome abnormalities, occurrences which are associated with increased cancer risk and other adverse health effects.
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