Death from Ritalin the truth behind ADHD

Death from Ritalin the truth behind ADHD
Info for Parents who are pressured to diagnose and drug their children for ADD or ADHD. Story behind our Sons death caused from ADHD Drug, Ritalin.
Between 1990 and 2000 there were 186 deaths from methylphenidate reported to the FDA MedWatch program, a voluntary reporting scheme, the numbers of which represent no more than 10 to 20% of the actual incidence.

Source: http://www.adhdfraud.org/commentary/1-6-02-2.htm

The National Alliances New National listings consist of 9 categories for all 50 States Allergists, Chiropractors, Hearing Specialists, Learning Centers, Neurologists, Nutritionists, Osteopathic Physicians, Speech and Language Specialists, Vision Specialists.

In 1998 at the National Institutes of Health Consensus on ADHD, the following statement was issued: "We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction".

Labels like ADHD, ADD, ODD, LD etc are in no sense true diseases. There are no reliable diagnostic methods. Psychiatrists cannot even agree among themselves about how to diagnose ADD/ ADHD. In addition, your child needs to, be put on a medication that is a close cousin to amphetamine because of the ADHD labeled.

IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Parents if your Childs school wants to set up an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting, make sure you do your home work prier to the meeting; Know all your rights, you as the parent carry a lot of weight when it comes to making the decision for your Childs educational programs. Search Parents rights at IEP meetings.

See many of the Conditions that Mimic ADHD

I want to warn parents of the risks involved in giving children psychotropic medications used to treat ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). These behaviors are listed in the DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD.

Our fourteen-Year-old Son Matthew died on March 21, 2000. The cause was determined to be from the long-term (age 7-14) of using of Methylphenidate a medication commonly known as Ritalin.

Matthew took 10mg of Ritalin three times a day; he was taken away from us for one week for testing by the court. They said they would be doing organic testing. We found out this was never done. When he got home we were court ordered to give him 20mg three tines a day.

For the last year of his life he was taking 20mg of Ritalin three times a day.

The Certificate of Death under due to, (or because of) reads, Death caused from Long Term Use of Methylphenidate, (Ritalin). According to Dr. Ljuba Dragovic, The chief pathologist in Oakland County Michigan, upon autopsy, Matthew's heart showed clear signs of small vessel damage, the type caused by stimulant drugs like amphetamines.

The medical examiners told me that a full-grown man’s heart weighs about 350 grams and that Matthew's heart weight was about 402 grams.

Matthew did not have a preexisting heart disease or defect that we knew of. We, his parents never ignored his medical needs. The medical examiner said this type of heart damage is not easy to detect with the standard test necessary for prescription refills.

While visiting the doctor with the school’s diagnosis and the recommendation for Ritalin, he seemed very frustrated and asked us to let the school know, “I am not a pharmacy.” This leads me to believe that we were not the first parents sent to this doctor, with the schools diagnosis and recommendation for Ritalin.

No one ever informed us of other crucial tests (echo-cardiogram) that we could have had done that would have discovered the enlargement of the heart muscle, caused from scare tissue which these types of drugs cause. The standard test performed consists of blood work, listening to the heart, questions about school behaviors, sleeping and eating habits.

It all started for Matthew in the first grade the school social worker in Berkley, Michigan kept calling us in for meetings. One particular morning before an IEP meeting, the school social worker Monica Fuchs, my wife and I, were waiting on the others to arrive.

Monica made us feel very threatened when she said that if we wouldn't consider getting Matt on Ritalin for their diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, that Social Services (Child Protective Services) could charge us for neglecting his educational and emotional needs. My wife and I were scared of the possibility of losing our children, if we did not comply.

I believe that some school employees like having children medicated because, it makes frustrated students that are having a difficult time learning and understanding, easier to manage, regardless of the physical and psychological risks this practice poses to children.

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posted by Robert Heard at 9:24 PM