http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/ The Medicated Child on PBS. You can watch the whole show on the internet. Pretty thought-provoking.
The Facts: Bill Clinton passed a law in the 1990's that requires makers of anti-depressants to run clinical trials that show they help children before they can be prescribed to children. He attached an incentive, allowing drug companies to extend their products' patents (before generics are available) for 6 months. This, by the way, translated to $1 Billion in sales for many of these companies, so of course they were motivated to do the testing.
One drug, Paxil, was tested & found NOT to be ok to give to children, since it has been shown not to help enough & in some cases making it worse & leading to suicide.
Since many anti-depressants are now illegal to give to children, many doctors are turning to stimulants and anti-psychotics. There is no data saying these (often heavier) drugs are not safe for children - in fact, there is no data at all, since no laws are yet in place requiring drug companies to test these drugs, for children. How ironic.
There is so much confusion in diagnosing children in the first place (for example, 'moodiness and tantrums' can apparently mean 26 different different illnesses, not to mention no illness at all). Therefore, so much of it is guesswork at best. Since the ban on many anti-depressants, it seems popular these days, to instead diagnose kids with ADHD, which requires treatment with stimulants, such as Ritalin. Unfortunately, they are now finding that 30 - 40% of ADHD diagnoses are actually Bipolar Disorder, and if that's the case, stimulants make the Bipolar much worse. Meanwhile, with adults, the more common mistake is treating the patient for unipolar depression, with anti-depressants, which in turn can throw the patient into psychotic mania, and the doctors then realize the patient has Bipolar. Unfortunately, by this time, the damage is done & it can take years to get back to how the patient was before all the meds.
After all the meds I've been on (around 10) and 4 different diagnoses (Depression, Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, and Bipolar 3) my condition has much improved from a year ago, or two years ago, but still remains worse than before all the medications (after all, I'm still off work, for one thing...). Although I have always been compliant, I have learned to question everything more, and fortunately, after my psychotic episode (induced by Zoloft), I was referred to an excellent pdoc, and we both agree we must now take things really slow & be extra careful in choosing meds and doses. My husband told me he thinks that overall, I am doing better now than before all the meds because at least I am on the right track now & am getting the proper treatment I need. As I improve, I will eventually get better than ever. We shall see...
