ADD, ADHD and Antidepressant Drugs
SSRIs like Ritalin, Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac have dangerous effects
Dr. Ann Blake Tracy makes a case that SSRI medications don't work the way doctors believe and may be responsible for some of the most horrific crimes of the last decade.
According to the U.S. National Institute of Health, an estimated 3-5% of North American children have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Many of these kids, as well as adults, make use of prescription drugs to help them manage the impact of AD/HD on their lives. There are persuasive arguments both for and against the use of psychotropic drugs to treat ADHD adults and kids. As is true of most medications, cases of severe injury or death because of side effects appear to be few and far between… but as you consider the information below, please ask yourself: Would you like to risk that you or your children might be the few who do experience these results?
- Over 6 million children, including roughly 10% of all 6-18 year old boys, are on Ritalin “to get by in school” – despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence proving that a chemical imbalance in the brain is the cause of AD/HD.
- Between 1995 and 1999, the use of Ritalin for children under 7 increased by 23%, and the use of Prozac and similar drugs went up by 580% in the same age group, even though these drugs were not approved for children under 18.
- Prozac is the only drug listed in the 1999 Physician’s Desk Reference Family Guide with “violent behaviour” as a side effect. The same guide describes the common side effects of Ritalin as nervousness, insomnia, nausea, dizziness, headache, drowsiness, variations in blood pressure and pulse rate, angina, abdominal pain, toxic psychosis, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and even depression.
- The withdrawal symptoms of SSRI meds usually worsen the toxic and violent side effects. If you are considering going off antidepressant drugs or medication for AD/HD, please read this warning first.
Dr. Ann Blake Tracy is the author of Prozac: Panacaea or Pandora and an expert witness in murder and murder/suicide cases in which the perpetrators were taking SSRI drugs. In the book and on her website, she makes the case that SSRI antidepressant and ADD medications have dangerous side effects not only for the people taking them, but potentially for everyone.
Dr. Tracey argues vehemently that:
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (“SSRIs”) do not function as drug companies have led medical experts to believe. By slowing the uptake of serotonin by cells, excess serotonin is left working on the brain and other systems. Contrary to popular belief, research has shown for the past thirty years that high levels of serotonin “produce initial euphoria, psychosis, mania, aggression, organic brain disease - especially mental retardation at a greater rate in children, autism, Alzheimer's, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, anorexia, nightmares, abortions, migraines, hot flashes, irritability, sleeplessness, sleep apnea, chest pain, shortness of breath… decrease in reaction time, compulsions for alcohol and other drugs,” and more. (Ann Blake Tracy, http://www.drugawareness.org/Archives/Miscellaneous/MRnextgen.html, accessed March 7, 2007)
- Once the FDA has approved a drug, doctors are allowed to prescribe it to children even if it has not been tested for safety in kids.
- Recent studies have been proposed to test the safety and efficacy of SSRIs in two-year old children, and drugs for manic depression and anxiety for month-old babies… which begs the question, why would children so young possibly need these drugs?
- Most SSRI drug users report feeling fuzzy, out of touch with their emotions and distanced from the events of their own lives.
- Ely Lily - the manufacturer of Prozac and countless other pharmaceutical drugs - reports that ADD patients prescribed Prozac are twelve times more likely to commit suicide than those with ADD who are not taking it (Michael Moore, www.drugawareness.org/home.html, accessed March 7, 2007).
Dr. Tracy’s website is full of horror stories about people who, while on SSRI meds, experienced homicidal or suicidal thoughts and/or attempted to kill themselves or other people – often family members – many with horrifying results:
One teacher tried to hire a student to kill the school’s principal.
A daughter attempted to hire someone to kill her mother (and after being withdrawn from the drugs reports that even as she was doing it, she didn’t know why).
One teenager documents a 30-point drop in his IQ while he was taking an SSRI drug.
Countless stories exist of parents who killed their children and other family members while taking antidepressants or anti-psychotic meds.
For every person who seems to benefit from medication for ADD, ADHD or depression, Dr. Tracy believes there sits a time bomb waiting for the right trigger to explode.
So why are the drugs still on the market? Money, reports Dr. Tracy. Drug companies rake in millions of dollars every day, and will continue to do so until their patents expire.
Michael Moore, creator of the movie Bowling for Columbine, has become linked with Dr. Tracy’s protests against antidepressant drugs since learning that the Columbine boys were both on SSRI meds at the time of the school shooting. His comments on the subject can be viewed in a 2-minute video on Dr. Tracey’s home page (turn your speakers on and be sure to scroll down after you click).
One of Dr. Tracy's suggestions, for those who are ready to wean off of SSRIs, is to use the essential oils for ADD and ADHD and some of the same essential oils that can help fight depression. For more information, see also Natural Remedies for ADD and ADHD.
