The drugging of our most vulnerable citizens with neuroleptic drugs with no scientific evidence of the validity of the practice, has to stop. Children whose brains are not fully developed are being given neuroleptic drugs, called "anti-psychotics," which are known to cause brain shrinkage--brain damage--as well as a host of iatrogenic illnesses; AND have the potential to cause sudden death. How can so many doctors prescribe these drugs "off-label" and not share the very real risk for lasting of harm--OR the fact that the prescribing of the drugs themselves to children under the age of eighteen is NOT approved for ADHD, aggressive behavior, or PTSD?
My son is seriously impaired due to the neuroleptic drugs he has been given. I was never given appropriate information about the risks, I was never told the drugs were not even approved for use in children! My son had an IQ of 146 at the age of seven and could do triple digit math in his head---he can not do it on paper today at the age of twenty-three.
Two days ago I met with his new psychiatrist, who has no idea that I write this blog or the content of the article I posted early that morning. Three times during our very first meeting, he told me that neuroleptics "Do Not Cause Brian Damage," and demanded that I respect him. The best I could do was not tell him what I think of his demand for respect, or his (I assume based on his repeating his outrageous claim 3X) ignorance about the actual effects of these teratogenic drugs.
My brother asked him a question three times about how to better deal with what we believe to be the cause of my son's distress; to have this psychiatrist avoid answering the question all three times. It is difficult, to say the very least, to respect a person who lies to your face; and avoids answering questions, to have it be a professional who is "treating" your son, not acceptable; it is unprofessional.
But, I have the type of respect generated by a healthy fear due to the fact that he has the courts and the Washington State Law granting him the ability to do whatever he chooses---no consent required---while my son is Court Ordered, and under his "care." The fact that I have my son's Medical and Legal Power of Attorney mean absolutely nothing, to the psychiatrist. Typical of my experience with psychiatrists---the man seems to believe that his opinion is the only one relevant. Individual and Family Rights are irrelevant when effecting "Practice Parameters" derived from the subjective opinions of the American Psychiatric Association membership.
In determining diagnoses and treatment protocols by consensus, it is not, practiced like any other "Medical Specialty." In reality because it is practiced this way, psychiatry is more a social control strategy than a "Medical Specialty," as bio-psychiatry's practitioners proclaim. It has never even come close to adhering to the Ethics Guidelines of the American Medical Association for Informed Consent, the United States Constitution, or the Nuremberg Code.
In 1996 when my son was first prescribed neuroleptics, the professional literature had ample evidence of the dependence and multi-systems that are at risk of permanent damage from taking this class of drug---I was told nothing about these risks. As I shared above, even now I am still reliant on psychiatrists who will lie to my face while demanding my respect. I do not understand how misleading patients and parents of children qualifies these "professionals" to be Authorities with the power of the Courts. It is not acceptable to blatantly lie about the effects of the "treatment!" Especially a psychiatrist who is expecting to be helpful, much less respected! How can I trust a psychiatrist who lies to me? Would you? It is critical that psychiatrists, and indeed all professionals who are to be helpful, be perfectly honest and respectful.
I for one, hope to God that the AMA does not give the American Psychiatric Association a place at the table until they practice Ethical Research, and Ethical Clinical Care, or at least learn to define it...
But, I have the type of respect generated by a healthy fear due to the fact that he has the courts and the Washington State Law granting him the ability to do whatever he chooses---no consent required---while my son is Court Ordered, and under his "care." The fact that I have my son's Medical and Legal Power of Attorney mean absolutely nothing, to the psychiatrist. Typical of my experience with psychiatrists---the man seems to believe that his opinion is the only one relevant. Individual and Family Rights are irrelevant when effecting "Practice Parameters" derived from the subjective opinions of the American Psychiatric Association membership.
In determining diagnoses and treatment protocols by consensus, it is not, practiced like any other "Medical Specialty." In reality because it is practiced this way, psychiatry is more a social control strategy than a "Medical Specialty," as bio-psychiatry's practitioners proclaim. It has never even come close to adhering to the Ethics Guidelines of the American Medical Association for Informed Consent, the United States Constitution, or the Nuremberg Code.
In 1996 when my son was first prescribed neuroleptics, the professional literature had ample evidence of the dependence and multi-systems that are at risk of permanent damage from taking this class of drug---I was told nothing about these risks. As I shared above, even now I am still reliant on psychiatrists who will lie to my face while demanding my respect. I do not understand how misleading patients and parents of children qualifies these "professionals" to be Authorities with the power of the Courts. It is not acceptable to blatantly lie about the effects of the "treatment!" Especially a psychiatrist who is expecting to be helpful, much less respected! How can I trust a psychiatrist who lies to me? Would you? It is critical that psychiatrists, and indeed all professionals who are to be helpful, be perfectly honest and respectful.
I for one, hope to God that the AMA does not give the American Psychiatric Association a place at the table until they practice Ethical Research, and Ethical Clinical Care, or at least learn to define it...
An excerpt from a recent article from online Heartland from TIME:
"In a presentation this week at an American Psychiatric Association meeting, Dr. John Goethe, director of the Burlingame Center for Psychiatric Research in Connecticut, reported that over the last 10 years, more than half of all children aged 5 to 12 in psychiatric hospitals were prescribed antipsychotics — and 95% of these prescriptions were for second-generation antipsychotics.
Many of these children didn't have a condition for which the drugs have been shown to be helpful: 44% of youngsters with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 45% of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were treated with them.
Pharmacologically, the ADHD prescriptions make no sense: FDA-approved drugs for the condition raise levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, while antipsychotics do the opposite, lowering them.
Goethe also noted another study that showed that the number of office visits by children and teens that included antipsychotic drug prescriptions rose 600% from 1993 to 2002. "The obvious second-generation bias is very apparent in these data, as is the irrational use of antipsychotics for indications such as PTSD and ADHD for which there is no controlled evidence whatsoever that these are safe or effective treatments," says Dr. Bruce Perry, senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston. (Full disclosure: Dr. Perry is my co-author on two books.)"
Read more: TIME Healthland
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