Florida Kids on Antipsychotics

Petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html

St. Petersburg Times
By ROBERT FARLEY
Published July 29, 2007
Skyrocketing numbers of kids are prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs.
More and more, parents at wit's end are begging doctors to help them calm their aggressive children or control their kids with ADHD. More and more, doctors are prescribing powerful antipsychotic drugs.

In the past seven years, the number of Florida children prescribed such drugs has increased some 250 percent. Last year, more than 18,000 state kids on Medicaid were given prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs.

Even children as young as 3 years old. Last year, 1,100 Medicaid children under 6 were prescribed antipsychotics, a practice so risky that state regulators say it should be used only in extreme cases.

These numbers are just for children on fee-for-service Medicaid, generally the poor and disabled. Thousands more kids on private insurance are also on antipsychotics.

Almost entirely driving this spiraling trend is the rise of a class of antipsychotic drugs called atypicals.

These drugs emerged in the 1990s and replaced the older, "typical" antipsychotics like Haldol or Thorazine, which are often associated with Parkinson-like shakes.

The atypicals were developed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults. But once on the market, doctors are free to prescribe them to children, and for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

There is almost no research on the long-term effects of such powerful medications on the developing brains of children. The more that researchers learn, the less comfortable many are becoming with atypicals.

Initially billed as wonder drugs with few significant side effects, evidence is mounting that they can cause rapid weight gain, diabetes, even death.

They're also expensive. On average last year, it cost Medicaid nearly $1,800 for each child on atypical antipsychotics. In the last seven years, the cost to taxpayers for atypical antipsychotics prescribed to children in Florida jumped nearly 500 percent, from $4.7-million to $27.5-million.

Medicaid and insurance companies have fed the problem, encouraging the use of psychiatric drugs as they reimburse less and less for labor-intensive psychotherapy and occupational therapy.

Another factor: Doctors have been influenced by pharmaceutical companies, which have aggressively marketed atypicals.

Whatever the reasons for the soaring use of psychiatric drugs in children, things have gotten out of whack, according to Dr. Ronald Brown. Last year he headed an American Psychological Association committee that looked into the issue.

"The bottom line is that the use of psychiatric medications far exceeds the evidence of safety and effectiveness," Brown said.

"What people need to do is what's in the best interest of children instead of what's in the best interest of people's pocketbooks. But children don't vote."

The atypicals

A new class of drugs emerged in the 1990s, touted as a better and safer way to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Here are the atypicals now on the market.

Trade name Drug name Marketed by

Clozaril Clozapine Novartis

Zyprexa Olanzapine Eli Lilly and Co.

Risperdal Risperidone Janssen Pharmaceutica

Seroquel Quetiapine AstraZeneca

Geodon Ziprasidone Pfizer

Abilify Aripiprazole Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.

Invega Paliperidone Janssen Pharmaceutica

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• abilify
• seroquel
• risperdal
• geodon
• zyprexa
• teenscreen
• tmap

[SeanGoatboy]

This is sickening. I can understand if a full grown adult needing an antipsychotic for Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, depression, mania, or some schizoaffective disorder and the adult is 21 or older and has a family history of mental illness, but these parents who put their fucking kids on thhis medication? LET THEM GO FUCKING PLAY OUTSIDE FOR A FEW HOURS, THAT WILL BURN OFF THAT EXTRA ENERGY! How about giving them a hug and playing with them? Doesn't anyone know how to be parents anymore???

[grantieman]

adhd what a load of crap giving young kids drugs just to improve their behaviour,  Just let them be kids when i was a kid i was always up to no good, But hey i think ive turned out ok now. Kids need to be kids and if that means being bold occassionly well dont bother having any.......!!!!!!

[dust2dust3313]

caduceus



[isometric85]

psychiatirc drugs should b edestoryed after burning the psychiatrists especially in india

[Diskjocky67]

fox is full of cunts

[SarahJ83]

@SeanGoatboy ADHD is more than just 'extra energy' that needs to be burned off. It's an inability for the brain to focus and a problem with impulse control. That being said, there are plenty of natural healthy ways of dealing with it and teaching your child to handle it without drugging them and endangering their health and wellness.

[TAJMB17]

It drives me crazy!

I have an idea. What if whe open Auschwitz again and murder those psychiatrists ?

I stopped Risperdal and my body turned into a corpse. I lost 35 kilograms in 3 months, that motherfucking bastards ! They must be punished! This is in my opinion a legalised form of child abuse.

[NatalieSpa]

This planet is FUCKED

[seaandra79]

@SeanGoatboy oh yeah, and my son wasn't and isn't aggressive at all. He gets in trouble for things like talking too much in class, spending too much time in the bathroom, getting up without raising his hand, or pretending to pick his nose and then chases the girls with it. He recently turned 11. These are the behaviors that they feel REQUIRE antipsychotics. Most of the time its not us parents, but the schools and doctors who threaten to take our children away if we don't comply. Its ridiculous!

[seaandra79]

@SeanGoatboy, I totally understand your frustration, but I wanted to say something in defense of parents. My son was one of thousands on Risperidone for 'adhd', with long-term side effects he still suffers from nearly 1 year after being off. I fought with my all to keep him off the meds. But the school insisted and so did the therapist they required him to see. When I took him off and refused it, they threatened me with medical neglect and taking him away if I didn't continue the medication.

[kyokushin723]

@SeanGoatboy yeah totally agree with,and i don't see any reasons for child to take these kinds of medicines.

every child goes into developing stage.

[madbandicooot]

no way would a kids brain develop properly being on antipsychotics.