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More Kids and Pets Taking Antipsychotic Drugs 5-14-08

Back two generations ago, very naughty kids got a slap on the rear. One generation ago, they were consigned to a seat in front of the television to keep them mesmerized. Now, it seems, they get a prescription for anti-psychotic medication.

I've written before about how the number of children "diagnosed" with bipolar disorder jumped an astounding 4,000 percent in the nine years between 1994 and 2003, leading to an avalanche of new prescriptions for psychotropic drugs. Now, a new study at the University of London Pharmacy School shows that the prevalence of psychiatric prescriptions for kids continues to escalate, particularly for hyperactivity and autism -- and the problem is far worse in the US than elsewhere. According to the research, six times as many kids in the US take anti-psychotic meds as compared to children in Great Britain.

This hardly means that the number of kids on anti-psychotic prescriptions in England is a trifle. In fact, since 1992, the number of kids in England taking drugs to control conditions such as behavior problems, autism, and attention deficit disorder has doubled to about seven in every 10,000 children. In the US, the number currently is at about 45 children per 10,000. These drugs all have significant known side effects, ranging from drowsiness to weight gain, to nervous system issues and heart problems. The long-term effects on kids aren't known, as the drugs haven't actually been approved for pediatric use -- a rather shocking fact. (And of course, these numbers do not include the astonishing six million children in the US on Ritalin.)

The authors of the study voiced concern about the advisability of prescribing anti-psychotic drugs to kids. "This highlights the need for long-term safety investigations and ongoing clinical monitoring, particularly if the prescribing rate of these medicines continues to rise," they wrote.

Nevertheless, it does seem likely that the prescribing rates will continue to rise, given the trends. But why? Do more kids actually need psychotropic drugs than ever before? Are more kids going nutso because of the corresponding rise in violent video games, broken families, too much soda pop, or too much mercury in fish?

Or could it be something else, something that has led to a simultaneous, seemingly coincidental increase in the number of pets needing psychiatric drugs? Just last year, Eli Lilly won approval for a new, beef-flavored Prozac pill for troubled dogs -- no joke -- and apparently, there have been many takers. Thank goodness all those dogs suffering from separation anxiety now have pharmaceutical help, although some sources claim that the studies leading to the approval of the canine antidepressant, called "Reconcile," were rigged.

All kidding aside, the important point here is that since both kids and pets have experienced a recent rise in psychiatric prescriptions, that pretty much undermines the theory that kids are going bipolar and ADHD because society is going to Hell. (Pets aren't affected by societal issues.) In fact, the Lancet attributes the overabundance of pediatric prescriptions, particularly in the US, to an astounding source -- "direct-to-consumer ads"--which, it says, "are more common in the States. These ads raise consumer awareness and a concomitant demand for medication."

This doesn't mean that environmental and cultural factors aren't at play. It simply means that there's a good chance the drug companies have an even greater influence in escalating the number of pediatric prescriptions. And as I've mentioned previously, the abundance of psychotropic prescriptions isn't exactly making things better. Under the watchful eye of the medical community (and modern psychiatry in particular), teenage suicides are up yet again, and teenage psychotic breakdowns are also on the rise. In spite of all those prescriptions to help control autistic symptoms, the incidence of autism is also rising at an astounding rate, moving from one out of every 2000 kids in the 1980s to one out of every 150 now.

As Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, comments, "The more important question is whether or not the right kids are getting the most appropriate and effective treatment possible." (All things considered, he should probably add "the safest treatment" to his list of qualifiers.) Surely, for some kids, psychiatric prescriptions might be useful, but the risks need to be investigated more thoroughly; diagnoses need to be made with more care and possibly with more restraint; and other avenues of treatment need to be considered.

Comment:

Could it be that we are medicating both children and pets in lieu of proper discipline and instruction; due to our often self inflicted busyness?

Essential oils are very helpful in treating anxiety in both pets and children.

Here is a quick excerpt from Easy Solutions to Everyday Pet Problems:

Calming/Stress:  Serenity or Lavender. Animals respond very quickly to the smell! I apply Serenity and wait for 10 minutes then I add Lavender if the results are not satisfactory. I have never seen this combination fail. Use: Rub one drop on paw pad, or one drop on nape of neck, or rub one drop in your hands and then rubdown the pet.

Children respond very well to the same oils. Hyperactivity is also on the rise due to the removal of recess. Children NEED exercise!

Here are my hints for natural treatment of a hyperactive child: (please take the child to a licensed practitioner it need be)

1. Daily exercise at least 1 hour: This is easier than you think, get a trampoline, buy a dog 2 years or older that needs to be walked daily and can be taken to playgrounds etc.. Kiddy pools, use Pristine or other non chlorine or chemical  pool cleaners. Water balloons, sprinklers, sploosh bombs, or other water toys. Buy a hammock so the children can read outside. Roller skates, skateboards, bicycles or other wheeled sports equipment. If you children like most already have these and they collect dust in the closet; get new accessories for them to renew interest.

2. Remove processed, gluten filled, colored, caffeinated, sugar- filled or worse Splenda or Nutrasweet filled, junk food from the diet. This alone may solve the problem. Now summer can still be fun this way. Buy color free Kool-Aid and use 12 packets of Stevia instead of sugar. If your kids can tell for a while use 1/8 cup of sugar and 9 packets. Make Lemonade with Grade B maple syrup and Stevia packets to taste. Be creative and add 1 drop of spearmint, peppermint, lavender, bergamot, orange, mandarin, grapefruit or tangerine to a gallon of lemonade. Buy Celestial Seasons Zingers Instant Tea Single Serve Packets. Mix 2 with a liter of sparkling water for really delicious fruit soda! The trick is to put about 1 TBSP of hot water in the glass to mix the powder with first and then add the sparkling water. You can also make great popsicles with the zingers, fruit juice, kool aid etc..

Here is a recipe for easy to make Very low sugar kool-aid sherbet!

Ingredients:
1/8 cup sugar and 10 packets Stevita Stevia
1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid
3 cups organic raw non-fat milk or milk substitute
Directions:

3. Try calming supplements such as kava kava, melatonin, DMAE, l-acytlycarnitine etc.. Try 2 drops of 1 of these Bella Mira essential oils in a gelatin capsule daily.( Important Never use any brand that says not to take internally or on the skin): roman chamomile, valerian root, lavender, clary sage, linden blossom, rose, sandalwood, cedarwood, marigold, carrot seed, celery seed, wild marjoram, fir needle , bay leaf, blue tansy, and vetiver oil. Keep trying a different one every 4 days until you find one or a combination that works.

4. If you have a child on a very controlled diet and exercise and gets absolutely no caffeine or stimulants; some times they will respond very well to stimulants. I gave my daughter 1 cup of coffee a day with a least 2 tsps of coffee grounds (strength) in it. We flavored it with chocolate or carob powder, stevia and raw milk. This worked miracles! We only had to do it for a month and she normalized and hasn't had a problem in 13 years! You could use other forms of caffeine, many people have had success with homeopathic coffea cruda. But green tea powder and these Bella Mira Essential oils act as stimulants, Niaouli, nutmeg, vitex, myrtle, cinnamon, balsam copaiba, sage, spruce, eucalyptus radiata, coriander, frankincense, elemi and palmarosa.