LISA MADGE was thinking about A.D.D and keyed into cyberspace:
LM>Does anyone have any suggestions for a alternative to Ritalin????
LM>While this drug has had remarkable success with my 9 year old
LM>daughter,its  not something I want her to stay on permanently.There
LM>is so much conflicting  infomation on this subject all the Doctors
LM>that I have spoken to REFUSE to  hear anything bad about Ritalin and
LM>say that it is all hype,but when you  mention some of the (RARE) side
LM>effects such as Leukopenia they do not denie  it but insist that the
LM>benefits outway the risks.Don't get me wrong I'm not  against
LM>medicine as I myself have Glaucoma and rely on medication for this,I
LM>was just wondering if anyone out there has a problem similar to mine 
tha
LM>t has  found another way of dealing with it without the use of
LM>"drugs". Eagerly awaiting for your reply......
Hi Lisa,
It is a fact that there has never been any ingestible substance proven 
to be effective for treating ADHD other than medications. 
Methylphenidate, MPH, (Ritalin), has been on the market for around forty 
years and is probably one of the most tested and examined medications on 
the market.
There is a load of "hype" (I call them lies) about MPH. It is the bane 
of the so-called Church of Scientology. Some radical right wingers in 
the US, notably Phyllis Schlafley, promulgate many of them. 
There is no question that numerous side effects have been reported. 
However, except for weight loss, there has been no clear showing that 
there is any direct cause and effect. As for the weight loss, eating 
around the medication schedule has worked for my thirteen year old who 
has been on MPH since he was five. 
You will see people say "we do not know enough" or "we do not know the 
long term effects". Hogwash. If you have access to MEDLINE, or any 
searchable database of medical journals, run "methylphenidate". Step 
back from your monitor, as the articles will over flow...
As for the long term effects, there have never been any demonstrated.
There are other meds for ADHD. One, Cylert or Pemoline, has a 
manufacturers warning about problems causing liver damage and, in a rare 
case, death. Personally, I would not use it.
There are other medications that can and do help. 
Of course, you will run into all forms of salescritters who will hype 
the negative and (I know it is hard to believe) lie. One of the so-
called alternatives is pycnogenol. It is extracted from a pine tree bark 
or grape seeds. The salescreeps who hawk one type will tell you how bad 
the other type is. It is still a chemical.
What has worked fairly well for us is a combination of medication, 
parental training in handling an ADHDer, counselling for the family and 
my son, school modifications, etc.
If you read most of the literature, the long term side effects of NOT 
treating ADHD properly are wasted lives, attempts as self-medication 
(often with illicit drugs) and incarceration.
                ===>The Voice of Reason<===
                     mark.probert@juno.com
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