Attention Deficit Drugs and Quotas

The seventh grade was a change for me after excelling in the sixth grade.  I lost interest in mathematics and was doing poorly.  My mind was always somewhere else.  My academic testing showed that I was capable of doing the work.  My parents and teachers encourage me to do better to no avail.  I was bored with school and just not interested.  I was a well-disciplined child with no trauma or events to cause my poor classroom performance.  Today, I probably would have been labeled with ADD and given a prescription.  I think my wife would tell you I still have attention deficit but I’m not really sure what she said.

The DEA sets manufacturing quotas for controlled substances based on demand.  In 2000, the amphetamine quota was 9,007 KG and the 2010 quota was 18,600 KG.  The 2000 quota for methylphenidate (Ritalinâ/Concertaâ) was 14,957 KG and the 2010 quota was 50,000 KG.  To put this in real numbers, in 2010 there could be 930 million 20mg amphetamine tablets and 2.5 billion 20mg methylphenidate tablets. This could support approximately 9.34 million individuals taking one tablet daily.  Adderallâ sales alone in 2002 were $520 million.  The United States consumes at least 80 percent of the world’s production of “legal” stimulant prescriptions.  I wonder how that compares with the illegal cocaine consumption. 

There is something wrong with this picture.  Why have childhood diseases increased?  We have more Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, and ADD.  There are of course cases that seem to have no other alternatives and take the drug with success.  But are there really millions of such cases?

Keep in mind amphetamines and methylphenidate are stimulants we use to call speed.  The recent death by suicide of a college student raises serious questions.  Without speculation, there are those who take these drugs in order to attain a performance goal for the future- all the while the future risk is real.  As with most drug therapies, the immediate promise of relief outweighs any potential unrealized risk.

These types of stimulant drugs cause changes in brain chemistry.  This is a form of long-term stress where you are pushing your short-term physical assets beyond your long-term capabilities.  There will be a price to pay.

Common effects (not side effects) include headache, insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, delayed growth, and a roller coaster effect of up then down.  Serious effects include addiction, sudden death, dependence, and serious cardiovascular adverse reactions.  Psychological disorders include behavior and thought problems, new or worse bipolar illness, aggressive behavior and psychotic symptoms (hearing voices, believing things that are not true, or manic behavior).  

 

Alternatives to drugs may include homeopathics for the individual.  Combination products include Focus CP (for children),Gaia Kids Attention Daily Herbal drops, Focus HP HP (for adults) and Cerecomp.  Food allergies can make behaviors worse as they can increase cortisol resulting in racing thoughts.  Red and yellow food dyes are known problems in some individuals.  It should be obvious that a sugar and heavy carbohydrates can produce hyperactivity and hypoglycemia.  A successful alternative approach can be individualized without serious risk.

Natural Addiction

It had been just 14 hours since the last one.  As he drove home the thought emerged and grew as a compulsion.  The route changed toward the closest store.  Even as he pulled into the parking lot, he thought, “I can’t do this”, but he was soon back in the car and lit one up.  The relief was immediate, and the guilt short-lived.

Addiction in an amazing thing, for no matter the cost, the addiction is king.  You can lose your health, money, friends, family, and life all for the temporary stimulus that supports the neurotransmitters of the brain.  The definition of an addiction is simply something that you cannot stop.  Most think of addiction in terms of substance such as cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, coffee, or food.  It could also include a risk-taking behavior, sex, gambling, a job, religion, or even the emotions we create.  Emotions could include anger, self-pity, or continuous drama.  Rarely would one think of such emotions as addictive, but in reality, the brain activity is the same.  As it happens, you are doing what the brain is telling you to do which begs the question, “Who is in charge?”  The brain is screaming, “Give me my fix!

Your brain is hard wired for the brain chemistry that you experience.  This means that the more you experience something, the more normal it becomes, and the more you have to have that thing to feel normal.  Some substances are so potent, they can immediately change the brain chemistry to “require” that particular substance.  Cigarettes are designed to be addictive.  Some will say, “It helps me relax.”  What is missed here is the cigarette creates withdrawal and anxiety that must be satisfied by smoking another.  Of course it helps you relax, but the addiction created the need. 

There is a hereditary aspect to addictions.  In foods, such as wheat and dairy, the body changes the proteins to opiate like compounds.  Individuals that are asked to eliminate one of these may actually ask, “What can I eat?”  They cannot conceive eating anything else.  In other hereditary aspects, the dopamine receptor in the brain can have a defect that allows individuals to be susceptible to some substance.  The use of amphetamine type, Attention Deficit drugs can contribute to this problem. 

When you consider making a change, eliminate all addictive substances to avoid substance transfer.  If you stop the smoking, but drink coffee, you may increase coffee consumption.  If you quit drinking alcohol, you can transfer the addictive process to cigarettes and coffee.  (Of course, for the serious alcoholic, coffee and cigarettes is better than the alcohol.)  Any use of any addictive substance will keep the addictive process alive.

So, how can you quit a substance?

1. Reach the decision point for change.
2. Pick a date.
3. Pray.  All well recognized addiction programs suggest praying to God for help, as recognition that you can not do it alone.
4. If the substance is cigarettes try Natural Creations Tobacco Snuffer Spray
5. For other addictions, try Addiction Formula
6. Increase the body’s detoxification by drinking water, exercise, and sweating.
7. Activated Charcoal can adsorb drug toxins in the body.

Support systems can be helpful depending on your perspective.  I do prefer programs that are positive.  Programs that are negative may suggest that you can never be anything else.  Change your mind.  Change your body.

Stay Well!

This information is not intended for a serious dysfunctional drug substance abuse problem that may require substance abuse counseling or inpatient care.