ADHD drug warnings

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New warnings due for ADHD drugs
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
The Food and Drug Administration plans to add new warnings about psychiatric side effects to the label of Concerta and other drugs for attention deficits and hyperactivity, according to documents posted on the FDA Web site and confirmed by the agency.
At a meeting today of the FDA's Pediatric Advisory Committee, officials will discuss safety concerns about Concerta, a form of methylphenidate, the active ingredient in Ritalin and similar medications.

A briefing document about the meeting says the review was prompted by reports of hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, psychotic behavior and aggression among methylphenidate users. Officials note that Concerta's label already lists possible psychiatric side effects but suggests the problems aren't serious or that the drug might only aggravate existing problems.

The FDA also has received reports of cardiovascular problems among Concerta users, such as high blood pressure, arrhythmia and racing heartbeats. The agency doesn't yet know whether these problems are caused by the drug.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects about 7.5% of school-age children, Concerta's maker says. The drug, approved in 2000, is intended to improve concentration and impulse control. Patients filled 7.8 million prescriptions last year, the FDA report says.

The agency also plans to examine other stimulants used to treat ADHD, including amphetamines and Strattera. Last year, the FDA changed the label for Adderall XR to include risk of sudden cardiovascular death, especially in children with heart disease, the report says.

Bonnie Jacobs of McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson that makes Concerta, says the company is reviewing the information and "will of course do what is in the best interest of patients."

Lawrence Diller, a doctor who specializes in behavioral pediatrics and author of the book Running on Ritalin, doesn't plan to change his practice yet. Doctors have used these types of drugs for 70 years and have found them to be safe and effective in the short-term, he says.

New problems might be surfacing today because the drugs are more widely prescribed. What's needed is a better system to monitor the safety of drugs after they have been approved, Diller says.

You have to understand that ADHD drugs are relatives of amphetamines...

Amphetamines do have legitimate medical uses... but the potential for abuse is extreme and versatile...

ADHD drugs essentially start up a brain's "control rods" to prevent the entire system from functioning on overload-- hey look a bird!

Let's go ride bikes!

When I starts me fiddlin' I needs me riddlin'

And you wonder why I a advocate
against meds for autism! You folks
aren't guinea pigs. But NO! I am
suppose to be in the wrong! Blah!

I have seen fads come and go, and
this co-morbiding BS that is to
make $'s for med's manufactorers
in the current trend called "Let's
co-morbid Aspergers".



I am not young and nieve! I am, and
was trying to open your damn eyes!

Ghosthunter

It's about time.

(long time user/sufferer of ritalen/concerta)

What exactly are you suffering? I've only been on Concerta for a month, and so far it's been nothing but great. I had a bit of jitters for the first few days, but since then I get a clear head and no side effects of any kind.

Death to the pig-headed corporations that exploit the naivety of parents to poison their children with drugs that supposedly calm their children and make them more socially acceptable. Well I say screw society and its squeemishness, they should just grow up and accept neurodiversity!

The ritalen drove me almost to the edge of being psychotic. I stopped it when I started hallunicinating (my parents didn't believe me, but agreed to change mediceines, thank god) on ritalen. The ritalen and the concerta drive my anxiety levels to unbearable heights. I advise using the concerta only when you really need it to perform. The main problem is that I am now psychologically dependent on concerta for certain activities.

My cousins uninary tract got screwed up somehow by ridilen and I know at least 14 he was a bedwetter because of it (and had to the go the University of Iowa hospital many times) and he might still be havent really spent time with him that often.

Really? I have major "dribbling" problems when I am on concerta/ritalen. This is quite embrassing! I wonder if you have more information?

Doubt he likes talking about it (he probably doesnt even know I know all about it.)

they aren't relatives, they are amphetamines with the exclusion of concerta.
and there is desoxyn which is methamphetamine