I spent some time thinking today about my words on medicating children, and my heart told me I should clarify one important point: I DO believe in medicating children.  For example, I’m not anti-vaccination (although I am very pro alternative vaccination schedules and would support an aggressive research campaign into the possibility that genetic variants create weak metabolizers of vaccines, causing extreme nervous system chaos in certain children).  A similar theory has been proven in mice, a study that has always intrigued me.

I worked tirelessly for years, advocating for the proper treatment of children with ADHD and/or depression.  I personally worked with members on the advisory council to the FDA, a group of brilliant physicians and scientists who advised AGAINST the anti-depressant black box label, surrounding the use of anti-depressants in children and adolescents.  Suicides have spiked in that age group since the black box.  I cry inside, knowing there are great medication options for depressed adolescents who desperately need help before starting a lifelong cycle of Major Depressive Disorder.  And I’ve read hundreds of well-executed research studies, proving that early and long-term treatment of ADHD yields the best outcomes for kids who truly have the disorder.  ADHD is no joke…those kids need help or their entire lives just pass them by.

But I won’t lie, it has jaded me.  Because of the nature of my work, I occasionally answered research questions surrounding the sickest of patients.  Case studies that were so complex, that even the best psychiatrists in the world were at a loss.  Remember, I worked in “research”…which is where you find very, very sick people.  I heard stories of polypharmacy that would make your hair curl.  You can only blockade 100% of the receptors you have; after that, you’re just buying side effects.  Layering psychoactive compounds, one on top of the other, with similar mechanisms of action (and I’m talking about the patients on 8 different meds…GOOD LORD, that was horrible), is rarely a good idea.

I guess my point is, I take medications very seriously, especially medications that affect your central nervous system.  They are serious medications with serious side effects.  I’ve heard countless stories of patients being prescribed these meds for conditions upon which there is ZERO data supporting its use.  Anti-psychotics being prescribed for anorexia, or for alcoholism…WHO on earth thought THAT was good idea?  Anti-depressants for very mild dysthymia; word to the wise: if you are mildly depressed, meaning you do not reach the full threshold for a major depressive diagnosis…skip the meds and get on the treadmill.  Time and time again, 30 minutes per day on a treadmill beats medications for mild depression and anxiety.  That data isn’t new, but people keep repeating it because they can’t believe it’s true…moderate exercise truly is the best medicine for moderate illnesses.

Admitting I have a child who could benefit from some CNS intervention is a difficult step for me, maybe because I fear its attachment to a larger picture I might not yet be ready to see.  Parenthood is not a clear path for any of us.  Maybe it’s best that wisdom comes suddenly, like a bullet.  Anything more foretelling would cause such anxiety that we might not survive the journey! Regardless of what I know to be true about any medication or diagnosis, I’m still just somebody’s Mother, finding out each day just how much my heart can bear.  Motherhood isn’t for the meek, this much I’ve learned!  Thanks for sharing the journey, as your council has often lit my path.  Godspeed to all of us…