Posts Tagged ‘Center for Disease Control’

Psychiatry gone wild: One in five boys now being diagnosed with ADHD in America

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

NaturalNews.com – April 24, 2013

by Ethan A. Huff

Watch video: ADHD—Labeling normal kids “mentally ill”

Boys will be boys. But when they are, their risk of being falsely diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) becomes increasingly high, according to a recent report by The New York Times (NYT). The latest figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that one in five American boys is now being diagnosed as having the behavioral disorder ADHD — and most of these boys are being prescribed dangerous psychotropic medications as treatment.

It used to be that only a very small number of children, mostly boys, with severe behavioral problems were even considered as potential ADHD candidates. But today, even the slightest deviations from so-called normal behavior can land a child in the crosshairs of overzealous psychiatrists eager to dispense them the latest mind-numbing drugs. The situation has gotten so out of control, in fact, that one prominent child psychiatrist who has long endorsed ADHD medication as being “safer than aspirin” is reversing course.

“That we have kids out there getting these drugs to use them as mental steroids — that’s dangerous, and I hate to think I have a hand in creating that problem,” says Dr. Ned Hallowell, as quoted by NYT. Dr. Hallowell used to tell parents that ADHD psychostimulant drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) were “safer than aspirin.” He no longer makes this claim, and actually regrets having ever done so.

According to the latest figures, there are now about 6.4 million American children between the ages of four and 17 that have received an ADHD diagnosis at some point during their lives. This number is 16 percent higher than it was just six years ago in 2007, and a whopping 41 percent higher than it was just a decade ago. And based on the figures, the vast majority of these diagnoses are among the young male population, 20 percent of which has now been declared to have the condition, at least at the high school age level.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.naturalnews.com/040049_ADHD_psychiatry_young_boys.html

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Prescription Drug Overdoses More Deadly Than Car Crashes—U.S. in epidemic of prescription drug overdoses

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Voice of America

by Carol Pearson

A government health agency says the United States is in the grip of an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more people die from such overdoses than from all illegal drugs combined. And accidental prescription drug deaths in the United States each year outnumber highway traffic fatalities. Recent celebrity deaths from apparent prescription drug overdoses have helped to put this public health problem into the spotlight.

The death of American singer and actress Whitney Houston has sparked discussion about accidental overdosing on prescription drugs.

The official cause of Houston’s death is still pending, but authorities found a small amount of prescription drugs in her hotel room, and people reported seeing her drinking champagne in the days before her death. Some of these medicines slow down the central nervous system. Alcohol does the same.  The combination could be deadly.

Jennifer Brand is a doctor of pharmacology at Medstar Washington Hospital Center.

“Something that we’re seeing more and more of, particularly in the news, is combinations of pain killers, things like oxycontin, percoset, vicodin, and anti-anxiety medications,” Brand said.

The side effects of psychiatric drugs rival street drugs and can cause addiction, drug dependence, mania, psychosis, drug toxicity and death. Click image to visit CCHR's Psychiatric Drug Search engine containing all international drug regulatory warnings, studies and adverse reactions reported to the US FDA

Millions of Americans take anti-depressants, sleep aids and pain killers. The pharmacy’s label on the bottle can provide a false sense of security. This young man, known as “Greg,” used medicines prescribed to his parents.

“I could rationalize and justify taking these pills because doctors prescribed them. It wasn’t like I was buying a white bag on the street,” he said.

A few years ago, doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noticed a trend in deaths from prescription drug use. In 2008, they published a study confirming their observations. Dr. Aron Hall is one of the co-authors.

“We found that a majority of people who overdosed on prescription drugs did not have a prescription for the drugs that killed them,” Hall said.

But patients also have access to their own prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and herbal remedies.

“Every medication that you add increases the risk for harm as well,” Brand said.

Read the rest of the article here.

Visit CCHR International’s psychiatric drug side effects search engine for all international warnings, studies and adverse reactions reported to the US FDA by doctors, pharmacists, health care providers and consumers here

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Addiction Specialist Says It’s Easier to Withdraw Patients from Heroin than from Xanax

Monday, November 14th, 2011

KNTV – November 14, 2011

"It's so much easier to take people off heroin. I'd rather take 100 people off heroin than one person of Xanax because I know they'll have a year of withdrawal," says addiction specialist Dr. Jerry Callaway.

Also known as Alprazolam, it’s the 11th most prescribed drug in the United States, but you often don’t need a doctor to get it.

22-year-old “Nick” is a recovering Xanax addict.

In addition to getting them at parties, he says he also would get prescriptions for hundreds of Xanax pills from doctors.

“All you have to do is walk into a doctor’s office and say you have anxiety, at least that’s what I did and it was written to me,” he says.

Nick says he knew he had to kick the drug when he took Xanax, blacked out while driving and seriously injured three people.

“It’s sobering to know my actions caused innocent people great bodily injury,” he now says.

Doctors warn weaning off the drug has serious risks too.

“It’s so much easier to take people off heroin. I’d rather take 100 people off heroin than one person of Xanax because I know they’ll have a year of withdrawal,” says addiction specialist Dr. Jerry Callaway.

A spokeswoman for Pfizer, the manufacturer of Xanax says, “When prescribed and taken as indicated Xanax has a well established safety profile and is an important treatment option that has benefitted millions of patients.”

Between 2004 and 2008 the Centers for Disease Control reported an 89 percent increase in the number of emergency room visits nationwide related to the non-medical use of Xanax and other drugs in its class.

According to drug site which reviews the FDA’s adverse events data base, people using Xanax reported more than 11,000 adverse events between 2004 and march of this year.

They include 83 deaths, 107 completed suicides and 100 comas.

Addiction experts also say you might be surprised whose abusing Xanax.

“It might be a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, and in an attempt deal with the overwhelm of that they go to the doctor, they talk to them about the anxiety, they talk about the overwhelm the doctor prescribes them Xanax and next thing you know now they’re addicted to it,” says treatment center director Lori Johnson.

The FDA does require a warning to patients that Xanax can become addictive, but there is a petition asking them to add a stronger and more visible safety alert.

“I think it’s overdue,” Dr. Callaway says.

Nick, who has now gone six months without Xanax, has a warning of his own for those considering experimenting with the drug.

“At all costs stay away from it. There’s nothing good about it, nothing good can come out of Xanax,” he says.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/285646/9/Xanax-building-dangerous-reputation

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The United States of Adderall

Friday, September 9th, 2011

“83,776 tons of legal speed were approved for production in 2010 equaling more than half a pound for every man, woman and child in America.”

The Huffington Post – September 9, 2011
by Lawrence Diller, MD

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released analysis of data revealing a major increase in the incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children in the United States. The number of children between the ages of five and 17 reported by their parents to “have” ADHD or the non-hyperactive form of the disorder (ADD) had risen from 7 to 9 percent over a decade ending in 2009. Nine percent translates to 4,858,210 children according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

In actuality, the researchers do not know for certain whether these children actually meet criteria for ADHD/ADD. The data is culled from a national telephone survey which asks parents the question, “whether or not a doctor or other health-care provider had ever told them that their child had attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactive disorder, that is, ADD or ADHD.’”

Since there is no biological or psychometric test for ADHD/ADD no one can be certain these children have a definitive neurological condition.

In its extreme form the hyperactivity and impulsivity of ADHD are easy to recognize. But most children are commonly diagnosed with the mild variety which blends seamlessly into the behavior of normal but active or lively children. It is with this mild form where opinions vary widely between professionals. This survey then only measured what parents had been told.

Still the continued rise in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD/ADD in children is unmistakable. As a long time observer and participant (I prescribe drugs like Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta every day) of this trend, I have watched the 20-year growth of this condition with curiosity and some consternation. I have also been involved in what has been colloquially called “The Ritalin Wars” — an often polemical debate conducted in the media as to whether the widespread use of prescription stimulant drugs (essentially amphetamine) is good or bad for the children of this country.

The upward trend continues. Given the current CDC data, one can safely estimate (based on previously detailed distribution curves) that one of six 11-year-old white boys with medical insurance currently take a stimulant drug at least during the school week. Is this over medication or simply good medical care for children with a previously undiagnosed and untreated condition? What I do know is that we are the only society currently managing our under performing/misbehaving children with drugs to this degree.

While the diagnosis of ADHD/ADD can seem ephemeral, the production of prescription stimulants, whose use is closely tied to the diagnosis, is monitored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Since 1996 the annual amount of Ritalin type drugs approved for production by the DEA multiplied 4000 times to 50 million kilograms, and for Adderall 10000 times to 26 million kilograms. In more common terms, 83,776 tons of legal speed were approved for production in 2010 equaling more than half a pound for every man, woman and child in America.

The U.S. is a signatory to a 1972 United Nations treaty monitoring the production and sale of potentially addicting substances. The U.N.’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) based in Vienna, monitors the production of legal stimulants worldwide. INCB data shows that in 2009 the U.S., representing 4 percent of the world’s population, produced 88 percent of the world’s legal Ritalin type drugs. Canada uses a third per capita of prescription stimulants compared to the U.S. — Germany, one eighth, the U.K. one twelfth, Japan, one fiftieth.

Read the rest of the article here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-diller/overuse-of-prescription-drugs_b_950802.html

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ADHD’s Rapid Rise: 5 Theories [And One Answer]

Friday, November 12th, 2010
by CCHR
THE WEEK posted a pretty good article called “ADHD’s Rapid Rise: 5 Theories”—   pretty good because though several of their theories may play some part  in why so many kids are diagnosed ADHD,  they never quite nail the answer.  So we did.
Adding to their 5 points of various theories,  we present you with point number 6: The actual answer:

Psychiatrists got together and decided to pathologize normal childhood behavior into a mental disorder and call it ADHD.  They created a checklist of behaviors, took a vote on it, and voilà! A whole new client base was born – kids. With the help of billions in Pharma funds spent on shrinks to promote ADHD in journals, on TV and in press, glossy ads in magazines, slick lobbyists to “educate” members of Congress about it,  and the creation of Pharma front groups such as Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (CHADD) to infiltrate schools endorsing the so-called disease —an epidemic of “mentally ill” children was born.    And that’s the real reason for the “rapid rise” in kids diagnosed ADHD and put on drugs.  Drugs the U.S.  Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) categorizes in the same class of highly addictive substances as cocaine and morphine—drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta — documented by the US FDA to cause hallucinations, mania, heart attack, stroke, sudden death to name but a few.    And it all starts with one simple thing: The Diagnosis. (We challenge anyone to find a kid that would not fit some, if not all of psychiatry’s criteria for a “mentally ill” child they call ADHD.
Psychiatry’s exact list of “ADHD” criteria (and it does not require all of them to result in an ADHD label):

  • Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
  • Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play.
  • Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
  • Does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
  • Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities.
  • Avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework).
  • Loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
  • Easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.
  • Forgetful in daily activities.
  • Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.
  • Leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected.
  • Runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness).
  • Has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly.
  • Appears “on the go” or acts as if “driven by a motor.”
  • Talks excessively.

And there you have it.  The Answer:  Psychiatry plus Big Pharma plus Billions in Marketing = Epidemic of “ADHD” Kids.

THE WEEK

One in 10 U.S. kids has been diagnosed with ADHD, a significant increase. Are “hypochondriac” parents jumping to conclusions — or are other factors at play?

Best Opinion: NPR, Strollerderby, ParentDish…

Almost 10 percent of U.S. kids have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a survey of parents conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s a shocking 22 percent jump over 2003 figures — representing an additional 1 million children — and the increase was seen in all races, income levels, and areas of the U.S., with the exception of the West. What’s behind the rise? Here are 5 theories:

1. Doctors are doing a better job of diagnosing ADHD
Improvements in screening programs and greater awareness of the disorder among parents and doctors have helped identify more cases, says CDC epidemiologist Susanna Visser,  , the report’s lead author. “We have become much more sensitive to behavioral differences,” agrees Dr. Jeffrey Brosco,  an ADHD expert at the University of Miami. But that doesn’t mean doctors can say “whether kids in the 1970s are really different from kids in the ’90s or the 2000s.”

2. Demographics
The increases were more significant in certain demographic groups, note Scott Hensley at NPR. “The biggest jumps were seen in children between 15 and 17 and among Hispanic or multiracial children.” The jump in Hispanic ADHD cases likely reflects “greater cultural acceptance of the disorder.” Mysteriously, increases were particularly significant in 12 states, says Ray Hainer at CNN. North Carolina, for example saw a 63 percent spike in cases, with 15.6 percent of its kids diagnosed with ADHD.

3. Big Pharma is pushing the cure
Of the 5.4 million kids diagnosed with ADHD, the CDC reports, 2.7 million are taking medication for the condition. You have to question “the role of pharmacological companies in all of this,” says University of Kentucky psychiatrist John D. Ranseen. “It is very much in their interest to increase the diagnosis and treatment of this condition.” That alone should “give the mental health field pause.”

4. Blame our lousy diet
Nobody really knows what causes ADHD, says David Knowles in AOL News, but “one recent study suggested a correlation with a diet high in processed and fried foods.” Intriguingly, new research also ties ADHD to obesity in adulthood, says Healther Turgeon in Strollerderby. There’s no proof — yet — that one causes the other, but “the two are correlated.”

5. The real spike is in “paranoid” parents
“Are kids really that messed up?” asks Tom Henderson in ParentDish. “Or are parents becoming a bunch of second-party psychological hypochondriacs?” Remember, these million extra ADHD cases are “parent-reported diagnoses,” and today’s parents have been known to be “all too eager to control normal childhood restlessness and general weirdness by bombing kids with Ritalin.” Because, after all, “children often have the attention spans of, uh, children.”

http://theweek.com/article/index/209282/adhds-rapid-rise-5-theories

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Americans drowning in prescription drugs

Monday, September 6th, 2010
health

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) Nearly half of all Americans now use prescription drugs on a regular basis according to a CDC report that was just released (1). Nearly a third of Americans use two or more drugs, and more than one in ten use five or more prescription drugs regularly.

The report also revealed that one in five children are being regularly given prescription drugs, and nine out of ten seniors are on drugs.

All these drugs came at a cost of over $234 billion in 2008. The most commonly-used drugs were:

• Statin drugs for older people
• Asthma drugs for children
• Antidepressants for middle-aged people
• Amphetamine stimulants for children

America has become a nation of druggies. The seniors are being drugged for nearly every symptom a doctor can find, children are being doped up with (legalized) speed, and middle-aged soccer moms are popping suicide pills (antidepressants).

Prescription drug addictions are on the rise, too. Prescription drugs are so dangerous that now even the DEA is hosting “take back your pills” day allowing citizens to anonymously surrender their unused prescription painkillers to DEA agents. (http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news…)

Interestingly, DEA agents will only accept “legal” amphetamine drugs such as Ritalin but not “illegal” methamphetamine drugs. You’re only off the hook if you paid monopoly prescription prices for your drugs.

And it’s only going to get worse

The percentage of Americans taking prescription drugs is expected to rise even further as the health reform insurance regulations kick in. Much of the bill was specifically designed to favor pharmaceutical industry interests by putting even more people on medication. Expect to see more “screening” too — a thinly disguised drug recruitment method that primarily seeks to ensnare new patients in a high-profit drug regimen.

The mass medication of American citizens has reached a disturbing tipping point where the future of the nation itself is at risk. That’s because pharmaceuticals cause cognitive decline, and once you get to the point where over 50 percent of the voters can’t think straight, you’re trapped in a crumbling Democracy.

And that doesn’t even take into consideration the financial cost of America’s addiction to drugs: With nearly one out of every five dollars out of the entire U.S. economy now being spent on sickness and disease, America finds herself stuck in a cycle of high-cost drug treatments that cure no one.

That’s right: No one gets healthier from taking prescription drugs. They don’t cure anyone and they don’t prevent disease. They only maintain patients in a kind of “pre-death stasis” where they’re alive just enough to keep buying more medication. Drug companies don’t want you dead because that would cut off their profits. But they don’t want you healthy, either, because then they wouldn’t have you as a customer. So their drugs are actually designed to keep you in a state of ongoing disease without curing your condition but also without killing you outright.

You sort of chemically limp along, shelling out dollars while your memory fades and your skin starts to show signs of severe toxicity. Big Pharma is not merely sapping the life out of you; it’s also draining you financially.

Isn’t it obvious that pharmaceuticals don’t work?

If pharmaceuticals really worked to make people healthy, then the half of America currently taking pharmaceuticals would be the healthiest half, and the people who don’t take pharmaceuticals would be unhealthy, right?

But in fact it’s the other way around: People who take pharmaceuticals remain unhealthy and really never get cured of anything. Meanwhile, those who avoid taking pharmaceuticals are, by and large, far healthier individuals.

If America were running a grand experiment to determine whether pharmaceuticals really work — and trust me, the country really is running precisely that experiment — any reasonable observer would have to conclude that pharmaceuticals really don’t improve the health of those who take them. The more pharmaceuticals you take, in fact, the sicker you will become. That’s because drugs cause an imbalance in the body that soon leads to the emergence of other side effects.

At the same time, many of the drugs people take actually cause the very things they claim to prevent. Osteoporosis drugs cause hip fractures. Cancer drugs cause cancer. Antidepressants cause suicidal thoughts. The list goes on and on.

Read the rest of this article here:  http://www.naturalnews.com/029664_prescription_drugs_Americans.html

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