ADHD Drug Treatment and Hallucinations
By Kevin Flatt
Stimulants like Ritalin lead a small number of children treated for ADHD to suffer hallucinations that usually feature insects, snakes or worms, according to federal drug officials, and a panel of experts said on Wednesday that physicians and parents needed to be warned of the risk. The panel members said they hoped the warning would prevent physicians from prescribing a second drug to treat the hallucinations caused by the stimulants, which one expert estimated affect 2 to 5 of every 100 children taking them. Instead, they said, the right thing to do in such cases was to stop prescribing the stimulants. (The New York Times March 23, 2006).
Current labelling for the ADHD drugs - Adderall, Focalin, Concerta, Metadate, Methylin, Ritalin and Dexedrine - does not mention the possibility of hallucinations in patients who had no history of them and had taken the usual dose. "We read case upon case of these children who do experience these hallucinations," Rosemary Johann-Liang of the FDA's Office of Drug Safety told the committee. "That is something that really struck all the reviewers." (USA Today March 23, 2006).
Dr. Kate Gelperin, an F.D.A. drug-safety specialist, told the committee that the agency had discovered a surprising number of cases in which young children given stimulants suffered hallucinations. Most said that they saw or felt insects, snakes or worms, Dr. Gelperin said. (The New York Times March 23, 2006).
"New Englanders buy more of the stimulant Ritalin and its generic equivalents per capita than residents of any other part of the country." Believe it or not, New Hampshire is the nation's leading consumer of methylphenidate, the generic name for Ritalin. Next in consumption is Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine.
Why such high consumption in New England? The region has more doctors per capita, and therefore more children are likely to be prescribed medication for so-called attention disorders. Also, New England has a high concentration of liberals who love the public schools and are more inclined to be cooperative when educators recommend drugging their children. (Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld, WorldNetDaily.com January 3, 2003).
The ADHD drug manufacturers have been instructed to produce Patient Medication Guides that tell patients about possible risks of adverse cardiovascular and psychiatric symptoms and the precautions they should take. The adverse psychiatric events include hearing voices, becoming manic, or becoming suspicious for no reason. These events have even happened to people with no history of psychiatric conditions. (Catharine Paddock, Medical News Today 22 Feb 2007).
We also have an appalling system for monitoring medication side effects - so it’s hard from random reporting to ascribe cause and effect. Governments need to insist that post marketing surveillance – watching drugs once they’re on the market - is the rule rather than the exception. (abc.net.au/health/minutes 6 April 2006).
Copyright 2007 Kevin Flatt. Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is presented for information purposes only and is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner. It cannot and should not be used as a basis for diagnosis or choice of treatment.
