N&PD Moderators: Skorpio | someguyontheinternet
thetwighlight said:My little brother's daughter is 4 years old, and her doctor wants to try her on low-dose Dexedrine.
sorry for the less than advanced reply but 4 year olds are supposed to be "adhd", they are little tiny kids. being hyper and inattentive is the whole point of childhood, its how kids explore their environment and find out who they are.
thetwighlight said:But what concerns me even more is the neurotoxicity of amphetamine. But what about 5mg/day, XR? What kind of risks does that hold over time?
twighlight said:she has one of the worst cases of ADHD that I have ever seen
solipsis said:please allow a child to develop its body and mind before you start meddling with it using psychiatric medication....ADHD is not like a syndrome that is likely that start posing a risk for the child or others in the milieu
soli said:Anything you start with super early will often get integrated in the 'system' causing dependency soon enough.
Hi. Not to parrot what others have said.
I think it is a dangerous idea. As someone who questions whether ADHD exists (yet seriously suffers from the "time-blindness", executive function, and organizational issues),
I firmly believe using psycho-stims and psyche meds for the most part is BAD news at such a young age, maybe even at 18.
I have self-medicated for years with other stimulants and they have really made me dependent. Getting clean of everything including alcohol, for a couple of years and then using these,
I see that they are very strong at times and can have serious side effects. If I didn't like or feel that I "perform better" (who doesn't though?) on stimulants, then I would never use them.
I used SNRI's when I was younger and those caused INSANE and what I can hope are not permanent side effects. And I was 19-20 at the time. Not the exact same thing, but something affecting serotonin, norepinephrine as well. I mean major personality changes, impaired judgement, and more. I never did any drugs at all until then (except coffee and a rare smoke, tiny bit of drinking).
Dexedrine not only slows reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine (like "clogging the faucet") but also boosts their level (like "turning on the water full blast"). *
*I mean, if a sink with running water represents neurotransmitters of norepinephrine and dopamine (and others), then the skin being clogged and water staying in the sink without draining, is like the synapse still full of such chemicals. The water running, at a higher intensity is like more dopamine etc flooding the synapse.
I got screwed up personally on the reuptake... I am sure that constant boosting at a young age would be bad too (although worse/ better, who knows?)
I hope I made sense.
I would almost guarantee that the child's diet is in need of remediation and if you augment that, than the child will benefit greatly. Holy crap do not give a 4 year old fucking amphetamines. A young mind is still developing such important synaptic connections and this will have life long implications. CHANGE THE DIET DON'T GIVE THEM STIMULANTS
IMO 5mg/day of XR would be safe, and as long as she doesn't develop problems with tolerance, theres no reason she couldn't be on that dose for a long time without it needing to be raised. If it were IR i may be concerned as 5mg being released at once I could see perhaps leading to complications....but with the time release of XR i think it should be ok...
piller said:as long as she doesn't develop problems with tolerance, theres no reason she couldn't be on that dose for a long time without it needing to be raised.
piller said:Im surprised that the doc didn't go with a non-stimulant medication as a first attempt......its been my experience that amphetamines are used as a last resort.
ebola? said:if I child is too young to hold the capacity to decide whether to take a psychoactive medication, that child probably should not be taking that medication at all
ebola said:(unless he or she poses some sort of physical threat to him/herself or others)
ebola said:I really don't see why we're not erring on the side of caution when the long-term consequences of this type of practice are so poorly understood.
NNB said:Why should psychiatric medication be viewed differently than medication for physical ailment?
Would increased risk of physical injury, and future development of substance abuse disorders count?
I suppose the child's mental health and social functioning are insignificant, as well as the greater likelihood of parental depression, 'cause that stuff isn't physical.
However, there is no reason to remove that option from the table, given the undesirable long-term consequences associated with the disorder.
Granted, startin'em on stimulants in childhood is merely correlated with positive long-term outcomes.
I'm going crazy with the references due to my lack of ADD qualifications, FYI.
ebola said:I did research in undergrad examining the presentation of AD(H)D
ebola said:Basically, the questions of how to interpret illness of the mind, define and diagnose disorders, and choose among treatments is more controversial within the scientific community. Indeed, the prevailing typology of 'syndromes' we have is subject to social construction and ambiguous in its ontological and epistemological standing, diagnoses and treatments are far less reliable, and are more likely to have detrimental consequences in their application. Basically, because the mind is so important, it becomes crucial that one decides what is to be done with it him or herself.
e? said:came to the conclusion that it's an alternate attentional style, with its own pros and cons, but unfortunately one that doesn't 'fit' with our severely underfunded primary education
ebola said:I think that the 'cult' of delivery of psychiatric medication tables key institutional pathologies in education in the US and unwarrantedly 'crowds out' non-pharmacological methods of intervention.