03.07.2010
I was thinking some about an event I went to last week. A good friend of mine, and former co-worker, runs a wonderful literary group called Writers Bloc Presents, and she was hosting author Judith Warner who wrote the book We’ve Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication.[1] I think the subject of kids and prescription drugs is such an important one and I truly wish that I wasn’t such a scaredy-cat and that I would’ve gone up to the mic and asked my question.
Judith Warner said that upon doing the research for her book she discovered that her opinions on the matter started to change. Initially she felt that our society was prescribing drugs to children needlessly and realized that this wasn’t necessarily true. What I wanted to ask her was if she found amidst her research the extent to which doctors went to before they prescribed the drugs. In other words, if a parent comes to a doctor with complaints that his/her child isn’t performing well in school and the child seems overactive, etc., how much of the child’s overall well-being is being considered before the prescription tablet comes out?
I haven’t read Judith Warner’s book and, I acknowledge that, I probably should. But I’m going to continue with my sentiment anyway because I’m going to base my knowledge on personal experience. I think..uh, no, let me amend that. I believe that doctors are way too quick to prescribe drugs. Perhaps some of it is due to the fact that doctors and pharmaceuticals lie in the same bed (something Warner didn’t negate) but I believe a huge chunk of it is because it’s convenient.
Our society is SO catered to convenience. We don’t pick up the phone to talk to someone; we e-mail (or text). We don’t go to the library to do research; we use the Internet. We don’t go to stores to shop; we buy on-line. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with these things; however, there’s something very, very, very wrong when we want to take a magic pill to make all our problems go away.
Now, before I go on, let me stop for just a moment. I don’t want to discount the fact that drugs for children (or anyone) don’t do anything for them. For people who truly have ADD or ADHD, for example, the drug is a miracle. I understand that. But, in the process of diagnosis, is there any consideration given to the child’s diet? To how much TV the child watches? To what kind of a teacher or teachers the child has? To the child’s routine at home/school?
Let’s focus on diet for a moment. So much of what we put into our bodies determines our mental and physical health. People might deny it, but it’s true. Think about how you feel after a heavy meal at Thanksgiving. What about after consuming fast food? Feeling sluggish afterwards? Compare that to how you feel after a satisfying lunch that gives you just enough fuel to last you through the day. I bet when you fill your belly just enough you feel much better than after a heavy meal.
I have a friend who recently altered one of her children’s diets. She noticed that he was very hyper and decided to cut his sugar intake by a huge percentage. Within 24 hours she noticed a different child. He was calmer, more attentive, and the behavioral issues at school and at home immediately decreased. Now, perhaps he doesn’t have ADD but it does give me pause. I’m curious that if she hadn’t thought to change his diet and had taken him to the doctor, would he have diagnosed her child with ADD? In other words, what are the steps that the doctor takes to diagnose a child with ADD other than administering some questions?
Someone very close to me was recently diagnosed with ADD and the way that occurred was by this person answering a set of questions and, receiving a score just over the minimum required to get the diagnosis, was given a prescription and now this person is on medication.
When I went to the doctor’s starting last year for some digestive issues, he spent less than 3 minutes with me, prescribed antacids and sent me home. I don’t have an MD and I could’ve told you that I didn’t have heartburn. A few months later I was back in his office telling him I thought I had IBS so he checked my stomach by pressing on a few areas, agreed with me, told me to increase my fiber by eating a bowl of cheerios and milk in the morning and at night and sent me home. I haven’t had a cup of milk in over 10 years and I already have a huge fiber intake for breakfast every morning. If he had cared enough to find out, he would’ve known that. And he's not the only doctor I've had similar experiences with. Back in 1995 I injured my ankle, could not walk at all, and all the doctor did was inject me with cortisone. Twice. Sure, it numbed the pain, but it certainly came back once that wore off. I still don't know, to this day, what was wrong with my ankle.
My point is that I don’t think doctors think about taking the time needed to get the whole picture and, as I said, it’s way too convenient to take out the prescription tablet. (And honestly, as individuals or parents, are we willing to "wait and see" in an era of instant gratification?) And considering that there are so many pharmaceuticals that are hiding their data during the research process and then people die from the medication, it scares the shit out of me to think about taking my child to a doctor and not being treated the way we should. Don’t doctors take a vow to uphold life? Why are we letting them get off so easily? Why do we choose to be a medicated society and why are we so quick to include our children in this? Don’t we, as parents and adults, want to make sure we give our children the best life possible?
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