New study says medication ineffective in the long term

[OnlyMe]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...4_hyper29.html

I feel I don't know enough to really evaluate this article about the study. I've heard that kids on medication are less likely to abuse drugs, but they don't say if drug abuse is one of the behaviors they looked at, or if it was strictly the ADHD behaviors like impulsivity and lack of focus. And did the years of medication allow the kids to develop social and academic skills and habits that help them be more successful even if the effectiveness of the drug wears off. And could it be that the kids needed higher doses as they got bigger? Do we need to be researching other pathways for drugs to act on? (Probably a good idea anyway.)

Anyway, my girl is so much better with the stimulants, that I'm feeling pretty upset that this may not actually help her.

I'm also concerned about the growth stunting, stunting is usually a good proxy for something being bad for you.

Have other parents who've used stimulants for years seen that they stop working? Or not? I think parents often may see subtle differences that doctors do not.

Thanks!

[Aquablue]

Hi Only,

There's a recent thread on this topic, and you might find helpful posts there. I posted on Friday (3/27) as I also had questions about the study design.

Go to: " General ADD Talk"
Find thread: "Questions Raised about Long-term Effectiveness of Meds"
I believe the thread was started by AbsentMindProf.

As to your concerns about the implications of the study for your daughter: if she is doing "much better" with the help of stimulants, rest assured you've made a good decision. As long as you're sastisfied with the (prescribing) doctor's knowledge and judgement and discuss with him/her significant changes you see in your daughter's response, you're on the right path.

I'm a woman, late 40s, diagnosed with Adhd late 30s. I have years of memories (untreated) having to try much harder than everyone around me to accomplish the same thing. And if I did achieve something considered special, instead of focusing on the success I'd focus on how defective I must have been to have to work so hard. After diagnosis, educating myself on the disorder, finding meds that helped (ritalin), and appropriate professional help -- my esteem improved a great deal. I very much wish I'd known earlier and had the benefit of medication and counseling with someone who understood Adhd. If I had, I wouldn't have lived 30 years plagued with constant self-doubt.

One of my work areas is research. I believe primarily quantitative studies on issues related to child development short-change a most important aspect of growth; namely, the evolution of self esteem. To address this limitation, an equally rigorous qualitative component (e.g. in-depth interviewing representing the life experiences of real people) is needed to complement the quantitative data. Unfortunately this is often overlooked in large-scale government funded studies, as qualitative research is more often than not frowned upon by the "scientific" community.

What quantitative research cannot measure that qualitative research can is the evolution of the child's esteem in the specific context of his/her family life. Even if the research is longitudinal, if outcomes are based on the results of standardized tests, there are numerous variables likely to be misrepresented. Much of it has to do with the lack of applicability psychometric tests have across the broad spectrum of family types found in our country, including differences related to race, ethnicity, income, composition(single/divorced/married), religion, sexual orientation etc.

Sorry if I was too wordy above. I'm in a hurry today and when that happens I ramble. Good luck.

[RedSkittles]

good point, there could be other factors that they aren't looking at, like how you said age. but either way, i feel it IS good in the long run because when kids have the ability to hyper-focus on a study in school and get A's, they are creating a life, which to me that would count as "in the long run". Think about it. If they take meds they can consentrate, if they can consentrate then they can learn more, if they can learn more they can do better on achievement tests and graduation tests, if the can do better on AT's and GT's they can get to highschool where they can take an SAT, and if they learned a lot in elamentary or middle school or Jr. High, than the SAT which is way more advanced can be accomplished more easily... and gets you acceptance which gets you into collage which gets you education which gets you a job which gets you money which gets you a better life!! Hmmm... sounds sort of like "long run" to me!

[Pray4Him]

DS has been on stimulants since the age of 10. He is 16 now and altho we had to change them when he went through puberty they still work excellently for him.
As far as stunting growth goes, I know everyone is different but he is 6' tall and weighs 160-170 lbs. No concerns there LOL

[Logic]

I've read a few articles recently, some concerning the effectiveness over time and some regarding the possible ineffectiveness of stimulant medication in adults.
Both have seemingly good arguments on paper, but I have to disagree with them, purely because I have been medicated since I was 8 and a half years old, I'm now 25.

The dosage was adjusted as I became 'tolerant' of an amount, (my personal take on that, like you, is that I outgrew doseages as I continued to grow) but even through adolescence and now into adulthood, the medication still has a profound effect on me.
I've had a break from my meds recently and there was a marked difference in my behaviours and those around me noticed.

Anyway, I won't ramble on too much about this, just throwing in my personal experiences.

Logic