Ritalin vs Placebo

[islander]

My nephew changed from Concerta to Ritalin sp because his mother felt he was withdrawn/depressed on Concerta.

I just read that Ritalin is not recommended for children/people that are depressed that it could exaccerbate the problem.

Also that in more than 50% of the cases studied via MRI,most had brain atrophy regardless of being on a drug or not.

In addition, my nephew has a first cousin that has Tourette's and the packaging also states you should not take Ritalin if that is in your family.

My questions are:

1)What is the percentage of improvement to children on one of these ADHD drugs compared to placibo?  
2)Is ADHD considered a mental disability? Brain defect/abnormality?
3)Do these drugs carry a side effect of brain atrophy or is that a result of the ADHD itself?
4)Do the drugs cause potential neurological damage?
5) Should they consider taking him off the Ritalin because he has shown to be depressed prior?

I take medications for my own health problem and am fully aware of all the risks medicines bring along with all their good. I just am concerned because he is only 10 years old and his ADHD is genetic and long term use of these drugs seem to have pretty scary affects on the body as a whole.  Do we want him to function in society and do well in school at the risk of him having health issues later on?

Not asking you to answer that last question just my own mind commenting.

If you could answer my numbered questions above I would appreciate it. Thank you so much :)

[sunf]

In response to your specific questions, just put "ADD Myth" into your google search engine and you will find the answers to 1, 3, and 4 of your questions. ADHD is considered an inherited, biological brain defect by orthodox psychiatry. As for your last question I've seen people on anti depressants as well as ADD medication, but perhaps not ritalin. They probably figure that while on the anti-depressant the depression is fixed so they can take the ADD medication. Who knows. haha.

Just don't expect a psychiatrist to care about your child's (or any child's) health when it comes to medication.

[sunf]

there are alternatives to medicine. It just sucks that your kid is already diagnosed with ADHD. You might have a hard time refusing the medication for alternative treatments.

I don't even believe in ADHD. Someone once said it is like a doctor seeing someone with a cough and diagnosing them with "coughing disorder." There could be many reasons why someone is hyperactive or not able to pay attention. One of them is boredom. One of them is laziness. One of them is lack of proper nutrition. I see people with horrid diets who wonder why they can't focus.

Everyone wants their kid to do well in school. But good grades are not determiners of success. Do not sacrifice your child's health for performance in school. You can work on self esteem issues surrounding performance in school with your child. Just don't "medicate" them. You don't want them to grow up with that kind of mindset. You know?

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I wish I could reply as you requested, but I don't know all of these answers. There is a better forum on medhelp for children's behavior and they specialize in this, and they can give you these answers.  I have a bias against these medications except in very extreme cases.