Better Living Through Chemistry (Part 4, I think)

Ooops --- I forgot to mention that my daughter has a part-time job on the weekends that she really enjoys.

Depression is a medical condition that is alleviated with talk therapy, drugs, or a combination of both. It is not a "problem" or a "phase" that is to be endured. We wouldn't ask someone with pneumonia or cancer to just get better. So, why expect people with depression to just get better?

Life is for living and not for suffering.

I totally agree that people with a true need for anti-depressants or anti-psychotcs should take the meds -- especially when it runs in the family.
No matter what the physical problems were due to Robert taking the anti-psycholtics -- the good that came from them definately out way'd the bad from taking them. Unfortunatly, so many doctors put kids on these meds that really dont need to be on them -- and before they realize it -- they don't know how to deal without them.

I'm really glad to hear your daughter is doing so well in school -- high school can be such a demanding time in our life -- but if she's doing that well NOW I can imagine she's going to be quite a success in later life !!

Like I said in the first post -- I'm just playing "devils advocate" -- my husband is diabetic and takes necessary meds -- he gets his liver checked every 3 months. I take estrogen -- I'm not happy about the negatives I've heard about -- but I don't really have any choice -- but none of those meds are anywhere near as "potent", shall we say, as the meds effecting the chemical balance of the mind and I just want you ladies to be aware of the dangers the doctors rarely tell you about.

And there are lots of people, like me, that have mental obstacles to overcome that don't have meds out there to help -- so please understand I'm not coming from the stand of an "outsider" looking in and judging -- I'm just looking out for my fellow forum-ers

Again I agree with you Lionspaw. It is critical that we be informed and weigh the options. Misfire, it sounds as if you are doing just that.
smile

I'm hoping that my description of how and why I decided to go with the antidepressants will be helpful to others in a similar situation. More and more empirical evidence supports the existence of the genetic component in depression and the efficacy of the drugs.

As always, we've all got to gather as much information as possible and then decide what's best for us.

What a great conversation. Drugs and kids. What a topic!

I believe as parents we need to consider the quality of life issue for our children. I have 2 children who take medication for ADD.

I was one of those mothers who SWORE my children would NEVER be medicated. I even talked aobut kids who were. God forgive me! I was ignorant.

I'm afraid of drugs, side effects, long term effects, etc., but there is much to be said for quality of life. If a child can't learn because they are so distracted, they can't do their homework, they are made fun of because they fall behind, they stick out like a sore thumb in the classroom and become the brunt of all bullies. Self esteem drops, withdrawal occurs, and life becomes miserable for some.

Medicine has its place, but only after consulting with pediatricians, psychiatrists, therapists, teachers, and ESPECIALLY the children. They know how they feel.

My youngest son is a great kid. Never a behavior problem, always compliant in class, loved by teachers and peers...but he couldn't focus. He was fortunate in that he didn't have the social issues that some children with ADD have. The older he got, the more distractions at school, the harder it was for him to keep up.

After all kinds of testing (private and through the school system) many doctor's visits, much heartache, and research, we chose to put him on Adderal.

The first day on the medicine, he got in the car and said, "This is the way I've always wanted it to be! I felt like I could writer forever in English." He sat down and did his homework. The teacher used it as a sample in class to show the other kids what a great job he had done. His self esteem jumped.

By this time he was a Freshman in high school. I felt terrible guilt that I hadn't given him this opportunity sooner. We had him tested in 7th grade and chose to have tutoring done and ignore the ADD. First things first. I could kick myself.

He's a Junior now, is taking the teeniest dose (half of what he started)because he doesn't like how he feels when it's leaving his body, but he knows it helps him with his school work.

The doctor explained that it's very possible he won't need this in the future. It depends on the type of work he chooses. If he gets in some creative field, his quick mind that spins and brainstorms will be an asset. He won't want the medicine. But for now, he needs it.

We must listen to and observe our children continually. We must also talk with them.

Thanks everyone for discussing this. It's a topic that's near and dear to my heart.

I can't stand medicating youth, but on the other hand, if it helps, why not?

Now if you see changes that you don't like, or if your child tells you they don't like the medicine then it's not the right medicine for them.

Prayers all around for htose of us who suffer at the needs of our children.

About the subject of being yourself, and happy with who God made you, I was watching TV this am and heard something interesting. The lady was in Africa and she was asking the women before her if she liked her body? The lady looked at her like she was crazy for asking such a question. The lady replied: See the tree over there, isn't it beautiful, now look at that beautiful tree, the one next to it. She continued by saying that each of those trees are beautiful, but in a unique way. She loves her body because it is the body God gave her and therefore it is beautiful and she loves her arm, hands, legs etc. Each of us should love who we are because it is how God made us and we shouldn't want to look like someone else, we should look like ourselves and be careful to take care of what God gave us, and to love it and cherrish it. This really hit home with me. Maybe I can take this and start to love the ME that there is. After all God made all of us and variety is the spice of life, so they say.

Hear! Hear!

I love that Swimbo...

Just out of curiousity...have any of you ever heard of Lorrainne Day? She wrote the book "You Can't Improve on God." She also offers a video which has a title of "Cancer Doesn't Scare Me Anymore." This woman says three things makes us ill/overweight, etc...

Malnutrition
Dehydration
Stress

I watched her hour long program. She is a medical doctor and use to have cancer. She changed her diet and it went away. This according to her now so don't be jumping on me...I'm just asking if any of you know anything about what she says? Here is her website

http://www.drday.com/itvdirect/index2.htm

The very next program was about a man who wrote the book, "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About." It is about how the pharmacy companies and insurance companies run this world and dictate what the doc's give us AND what laws are passed, etc. He says there are lobbyist right now that are lobbying for additives to be OKAY (FDA approved) which can be added to the foods we eat to make us ADDICTED to the food. Probably already in Oreo's....He says that the reason we are hearing so much more about cancer/depression, etc...etc... today is that doctors don't FIX anything....they just give you a drug to take which compounds things. He says that there are natural cures for every disease known to man. here's his link.

http://www.calcompnutrition.com/natural-cures-kevin-trudeau.html

I haven't checked out either website, just thought I'd post them in case someone else wanted to. To me, alot of what they are saying rings true...I mean, have you noticed the children who at a younger age have breast? Just for an example? Did you know that vinegar could CURE acid reflux? Anyway...this is worth checking out. I do beieve them both when they say the FDA is dangerous and out for the almight dollar, period.

JJ

Isn't Lorraine Day an old time movie star? Maybe this woman is a different lady.

swimbo, you're so right about loving the body God gave us. He created us in His image. We need to nurture ourselves for His sake and our own.

Georgia, I agree with everything in your post. I think girl's breast develop earlier because of something they inject in cows.

The older I get, the more I'm interested in learning about natural remedies. I'll have to check out those sites. Thanks!

Dotsie, the cows are given an estrogen-like hormone to fatten them up. That's why girls develop earlier (fat from estrogen) and one of the reason breast cancer rates are soaring.