This weekend’s front page on USA Today (Feb 10th, 2006) was horrifying – the FDA committee recommends the strongest type of warning possible on drugs for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
The FDA wanted to know of studies that could indicate whether ADHD drugs like Ritalin, Adderal, Focalin, Methylin, Metadate and Concertas could increase risk of sudden death, heart attacks or strokes. These concerns came about in Canada last year when studies were found linking the drug Adderall to increased cardiovascular risk. The drug was literally pulled off the market, but shortly after, sales were surprisingly allowed to resume after adding a boxed warning about how misuse can cause heart attack, strokes or sudden death. The studies for these other ADHD drugs showed similar findings. This FDA report showed that 25 children and adults had died suddenly from 1999 to 2003 after taking the ADHD drugs listed above. Within the last year, doctors wrote more than 31 million prescriptions for stimulant ADHD drugs, according to IMS Health.
Who knows how many lives may be affected.
It is sad to see that our society believes that our problems can be solved with drugs. If this type of mentality is allowed to persist, the lives of our children and future generations will inevitably be affected. As more and more people are reaching out for a life in wellness, we see that the need is not a better drug, but a shift in thinking that allows us to see health as a result of our lifestyle choices. If you are ready to make a shift towards a wellness lifestyle, we recommend that you attend our next workshop entitled “What Is Chiropractic?” given at Red Door International. There, we will help you explore some of the biggest barriers preventing you from reaching a life of optimal health and show you how combining chiropractic with wellness can aid in removing these barriers.