Do Stimulants Stunt Growth?

Terry

Thanks for sharing this information. You manage to break down the information in these studies so well, so even those not familiar with terminology in studies can understand.

I still wonder, however, how studies can actually show that growth is stunted, after all, how do we know what height a child would grow to without the medication? How can you study what is unknown and were family histories of growth all taken into consideration during these studies? Children grow at different rates, some children seem to grow slowly and then quickly spurt up while others grow at a more steady rate.

Eileen

My 17 year old son has been taking stimulant ADHD medication since he was 6 years old. He is 6'1, weighs 175 lbs. and wears a size 12 shoe. I do not believe, from my experience, that stimulant meds stunt growth. This was one of our biggest worries when deciding to put him on medication.

Trush

I am a 32 year old woman who has been taking medication for ADD since the age of 7.  I was always in the 99 percentile for height, before and after taking ritalin.  I am 5'10", which was my projected height at the age of 9. 

I also have a 6'4" brother-in-law who began taking ritalin at the age of 12.  Doesn't appear that his growth was stunted any.