<p>Are there any studies done on the side affects of drugs used for ADD/ADHD/Depression? Especially when that person is emotionally down? We are increasingly seeing so many people who are mentally unfit going on rampage killing innocent lives which hasn’t happened this frequently until now. </p>
<p>I agree that media and hollywood is to be blamed. However a normal person typically does not go around killing strangers. Only a person so emotionally disconnected from the world can go around killing a lot of teeny tiny little ones. Why the little ones? Why? </p>
<p>It is easy to say that person is crazy, but even under rage or angry at mom, there is no past history of a person killing so many little kids. May be I am naive in assuming that…</p>
<p>I think it is more likely that people that do this type of thing should be on meds and is not taking any for whatetver reason. I don’t think it is as likely a result of side effects of medication taken, though I guess that is always possible.</p>
<p>As the mother of a young child recently diagnosed with ADHD Combined/Anxiety/Depression these are things I worry about constantly. For my son, the use of stimulant medications Ritalin and Adderall made him have violent mood swings. My pediatrician said that in some patients with undiagnosed anxiety and depression, stimulants will cause increased symptoms. </p>
<p>I was lucky to have a psychologist and pediatrician who are very on top of this situation. I am dealing with a young child though and I tend to wonder if an adult would be less likely to be able to get help in these instances due to lack of support or maybe the feeling of shame that comes along with mental illness. These are my worries for my son in the future. All I can do now and going forward is to make sure I am his advocate and to let him know that and pray that he realizes that this will always be my duty to him.</p>
<p>According to my son’s psychiatrist, ADHD can (not must!) be a disorder kids get before they develop bipolar disorder. If that’s the case, stimulants used to treat ADHD can be a DISASTER - the last thing you want to give a manic person is a stimulant!</p>
<p>MomOf3Stars, my heart goes out to you. Just keep a close eye on your son as he gets older. If you see any signs of mania, let the doctors know. My 17-year-old was diagnosed with bipolar last year, and his doctor thinks he has ADHD, also. That diagnosis INFURIATES me, because we took our son to a counselor in 6th and 7th grade SPECIFICALLY to determine if he had ADHD, and she decided he didn’t. </p>
<p>Also, Mom, keep talking with other parents. I think you will be shocked at how many families are dealing with mental illness. That’s why I share on CC about our experiences (one son has bipolar and the other has schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar). Have you looked into NAMI yet? If not, you might want to google “NAMI, Family to Family Class, and [your state’s name].” NAMI offers FREE 12-week classes for family members of ill people - they are like a college level class, where you learn about causes of disease, symptoms, meds, treatments, problem-solving techniques, etc., etc. You’ll also meet other parents in the same boat and find out that the emotions you’re feeling are NORMAL! They also stress over and over again that it’s NOT the parents’ fault that the child(ren) are ill.</p>
<p>40-50 percent of severely mentally ill people have a condition called anosognosia - they are truly not aware that they are ill. Fortunately, my sons don’t have that, but it’s the main reason that people do NOT get the treatment they need. That can lead to serious problems, obviously, for themselves and others.</p>
<p>Thank you MaineLonghorn. I consider myself “lucky” that I was able to even get a diagnosis at this age. I have heard so many stories of kids falling under the radar for years before being diagnosed. I am also lucky to have a couple of close friends who have dealt with ADHD/mental illness in their children.</p>
<p>DS is now on Strattera XR which is non-stimulant and does not have the rebound period of stimulant meds. While it has not been initially (first 10 weeks) effective on his attention issues as Adderall was I definitely see a huge improvement emotionally and socially. I know that it is likely that this will not be the only medication he tries for the rest of his life but if we can get a few good years with it I will be happy.</p>
<p>OP, the drugs to treat depression and ADD/ADHD have been around long enough that we have a pretty good idea of the side effect profile for them. I don’t think we’re likely to discover this shooter snapped as a result of psychiatric drugs. Most likely, he needed them and wasn’t taking any or the break happened with little or no warning. Sure, sometimes an antidepressant will bring on an manic episode in a person whose bipolar disorder is undiagnosed. However, that’s why, early on in treatment for depression, one sees the counselor and the prescribing doctor fairly frequently. But again, it’s a side effect health professionals know about and can monitor.</p>
<p>Mental illness, even the more common varieties, carry a stigma. People talk about mental illness in whispers or in conjunction with tragic events, like a suicide or yes, a mass shooting. Is it any wonder people don’t seek help when they feel themselves slipping? Is it any wonder than family members of the mentally ill try to explain away what.'s right in front of them? Most of the time, someone with a treated mental illness is indistinguishable from those of use who don’t have one. I also have a family member with a mental illness. When people find out, they say things like, “Wow, I never would have guessed that” or “You? No.” Thank you, medication.</p>
<p>Interestingly, I was having a conversation with one of my physicians about side effects of medication once and said I had concerns about some of the side effects I’d heard on the ‘educational’ TV commercials and magazine ads, including the warnings of increased suicide. She flatly told me, “In these situations where someone has side effects from these drugs, it is more likely that males suicide, while females tend to hurt others.” </p>
<p>I sort of laughed and asked her if it was anything I needed to share with my husband!</p>
<p>So yea, all those warning labels are there for a reason, but in all these mass shootings committed by males, they don’t fit the profile of someone doing it because they’re on a certain class of medications (yet some of them did suicide after committing their crimes).</p>
<p>I had a long post along the same lines but I lost it - maybe I will repost later.
The reason why more male suicide attempts are successful, is because they use guns more often than females.</p>
<p>The author contends that the dangerous side effects are known, yet are pushed under the rug because pharmaceutical companies have so much power.</p>
<p>So many times, when there is such unspeakable violence, much is made of the mental instability of the suspect. However, there is very little conversation about the possibility that antidepressant drugs could have driven that person to such violence. I would encourage anyone who has a child taking these drugs and has worry about the side effects, to read this book. It really is eye opening.</p>
<p>It’s also important to consider the possibility that he “snapped” as a result of NOT taking medication prescribed for a mental illness.</p>
<p>I think good information is likely to become available on exactly what medications, if any, were prescribed for Adam Lanza and what medications he was actually taking. Information on what was prescribed will be in his medical records. Information on what he was actually taking at the time of his death may be obtainable from tests on blood samples collected during the autopsy.</p>
<p>I just want to add something to this conversation. My two sons were diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger. They were both in meds to treat the ADHD symptoms until this year when my middle child, now 17, started “hearing” voices. I panic, and took him to the psychiatrist. The suggestion was to stop the ADHD treatment right away and we put him on meds to treat his “maniac disorder.” He seems to have a personality disorder more than anything else, but some of the side effects of these medication are precisely these type of things.
I regret having him on meds for so long, 9 years in total. He is an excellent student, but lack social life and with this last incident, the psychiatrist have her doubts about the initial diagnosis of ADHD.
The purpose of this message is to tell you to keep an eye on your children, and even though they may be doing great, remember that the ADHD meds are fairly new and the long term side effects is yet to be determined.
Regarding antidepressants, I had a terrible experience with them. At some point in my life, I was feeling extremely depressed and started taking an antidepressant. In less than a week I had suicidal thoughts to the point that I had to call a friend over every time because I didn’t know what I was capable of. I consider myself a strong woman, so this was an unusual, unexpected reaction. I decided to stop the medication, and the suicidal thoughts ended. I still remember that with fear.
So be careful with what you give your children, and keep an eye on them and their reactions.</p>
<p>madodem1368, thanks so much for sharing your story. I think your experience adds a lot of value to this discussion. I wish you and your family the best.</p>
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<p>According to the book I mentioned upthread, it is becoming more clear what some of the negative long term side effects are. However, pharmaceutical companies are using their mega stronghold on the industry to downplay all the concerns.</p>
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<p>That is a possibility. However, I am curious to know, of the past mass shooters, how many of them were on meds. I believe that this is a mystery worth exploring.</p>
<p>Look, I get it. You’re anti-medication. But you’re referencing a book that is more than 10years old and in that 10 years there have hardly been a rash of violent reactions to these drugs. Even drug company lobbies couldn’t cover up something like that – unless of course the majority of the psychiatric community is involved in the cover up. </p>
<p>Yes, certain individuals have had bad reactions to drugs. Yes, some individuals are non or only partial responders to them. However, when prescribed these drugs by a psychiatrist, you get a pretty thorough list of what to watch for AND you get appointments for monitoring.</p>
<p>ADHD meds have been used since the 1930s. The long term side effects are as well known as any other medications used for any condition. The idea of any medication causing a specific act is science fiction. No medication can make you plan out and commit mass murder. If someone were to die from an asthma attack while taking asthma medication the logical conclusion would be the medication did not help enough not that it caused the death. I do not understand the need to further stigmatize those with mental illness or to scare them away from seeking treatment, conspiracy theories aside. I second Ordinarylives, post #7.</p>
<p>Ordinaylives posting at the same time. I see you don’t need my help.</p>
<p>No, I am not anti-medication. I believe that there are many people who are hugely helped by medication and if there are no severe side effects, that is a blessing. However, for those people who suffer side effects, alternative solutions are necessary. When it becomes necessary to warn patients of the possibility that they may suffer hallucinations, suicidal ideations, vivid dreams and other dangerous side effects, those warnings need to be taken seriously.</p>
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<p>It is not my intention to stigmatize those with mental illness; if that is what I did, I apologize. As someone whose daughter suffered through mental health issues, this book really helped me to see a different perspective on how I could best help her.</p>
<p>Everyone is free to judge for themselves whether what I say is bunk. But I just wanted to put out there the possibility that this may be something that needs to be explored further.</p>
<p>If they were on meds, it does not necessarily mean that the mass shooting was caused by medication side effects.</p>
<p>It could be that they were on meds, but the meds weren’t as effective as might have been hoped (e.g., antidepressants don’t effectively control depression in some people).</p>
<p>It could be that the meds they were on were not the most appropriate ones for their condition (e.g., ordinary antidepressants are not appropriate for someone who is bipolar).</p>
<p>It could be that the meds were doing their job, but their job was not to prevent acts of violence (e.g., ADHD meds may have made it easier for the person to focus, but whether or not he could focus was unrelated to the act of violence).</p>
<p>I agree with this and you bring up reasonable explanations. I don’t have the answers, just a lot of questions. Is it not within the realm of possibility that these behaviors were triggered by these meds which warn of such harsh side effects? I just think that it is worth the research to see if there are any connections.</p>