A Life Sentence On Medicine

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

“A good clinician will not commit a child to a life sentence on medicine” reads a quote from a doctor interviewed for a recent article published recently in the Washington Post.

According to the article, a good clinician will work to stop medication after a child has had a chance to “regroup.” The same individual recommended that parents work with a clinician who is working to get your child off of any medication they may be taking.

Are children who are shy, afraid to go to school, or sleep alone, benefiting from taking psychiatric drugs? Despite criticism, a recent drug study suggests just that. The study focused on a drug called Luvox, which is widely prescribed for adults who suffer from depression, social phobias, and some other mentally related disorders.

It is not until the last paragraph of the article that a doctor suggests it looks as though the drug study was put together by an old boys drug pushing network.

According to the study, psychiatric illnesses effect as many as 1 in 10 U.S. children. Data from the article suggests that an estimated 575,000 children nationwide were diagnosed with anxiety disorders in the past 12 months. (last reported in March) Those children included 136,000 under the age of 10. Medical doctors recommended 390,000 children be put on medicine is such as Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac. Of those children, 89,000 were under the age of 10, according to a company that tracks pharmaceutical industry prescription activities.

A 12 month perspective:
575,000 children diagnosed with anxiety disorders
136,000 children under the age of 10 diagnosed with anxiety disorders
390,000 children medicated with drugs such as Prozac and Paxil
89,000 children under the age of 10 were medicated

A thought: 390,000 children is enough to sell out a 19.5 consecutive day live performance of Barney the Purple Dinosaur at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Can you visualize crowds of children filling an arena of that size more than 19 times, and all on drugs? That is a lot of children taking a lot of mind altering medications.

While some critics suggest that drugs like Luvox can cause lasting alterations in the brains of young animals, researchers involved in the study said the drug was well-tolerated and safe. The study was partly funded by the pharmaceutical manufacture that makes the drug and according to the article, Luvox sales in the United States were more than $2 billion last year.

Two billion dollars, I’ll bet Barney didn’t earn that last year.

Washington Post: Drug Found to Curb Kids’ Debilitating Social Anxiety