May 12, 2006, Newsletter Issue #21: Ritalin Side Effects

Tip of the Week

Ritalin (Methylphenidate) Side Effects

The drug has become such a common element of schooling that the New Yorker magazine listed it as one of the three R´s . . .

“Readin - Ritin - Ritalin” . . .
on its cover.

We begin with a quote from this report on a Congressional Investigation into the use of Ritalin and other drugs given today´s children.

Peter R. Breggin M.D. Testimony September 29, 2000
Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives.

" Parents throughout the country are being pressured and coerced by schools to give psychiatric drugs to their children. Teachers, school psychologists, and administrators commonly make dire threats about their inability to teach children without medicating them. They sometimes suggest that only medication can stave off a bleak future of delinquency and occupational failure. They even call child protective services to investigate parents for child neglect and they sometimes testify against parents in court. Often the schools recommend particular physicians who favor the use of stimulant drugs to control behavior. These stimulant drugs include methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, and Metadate) or forms of amphetamine (Dexedrine and Adderall)."


Side Effects of Ritalin!

Insomnia, Nervousness, Insomnia Skin Rash,
Hypersensitivity, anorexia, Nausea, Dizziness,
Palpitations, Headache, Dyskinesia, Drowsiness,
Blood Pressure, Pulse Changes, Tachycardia, Weight Loss, Angina, Cardiac Arrhythmia, abdominal pain And More

The following side effects have also been reported in patients taking this drug:

Instances of abnormal liver function ranging from transaminase elevation to hepatic coma.
Isolated cases of cerebral arteritis and/or occlusion; leukopenia and/or anemia.
Transient depressed mood
And a few instances of scalp hair loss.

In children, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, weight loss during prolonged therapy, insomnia, and tachycardia may occur more frequently; however, any of the other adverse reactions listed above may also occur.

There have been reports of Tourette´s syndrome.

Toxic psychosis has also been reported.

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