Death From Ritalin The Truth Behind ADHD

This story was published at http://www.RitalinDeath.com


Hello, my name is Lawrence Smith; I am here to let you know about the death
of our fourteen-Year-old Son Matthew. He died on March 21, 2000. The cause
was determined to be from the long- term (age 7-14) use of Methylphenidate
a medication commonly known as Ritalin.

The Certificate of Death under due to, (or because of) reads. Death caused
from Long Term Use of Methylphenidate, (Ritalin). According to Dr. Ljuba
Dragovic, The chief pathologist in Oakland County Michigan, upon autopsy,
Matthew's heart showed clear signs of small vessel damage, the type caused
by stimulant drugs like amphetamines.

The medical examiners told me that a full-grown man's heart weighs about
350 grams and that Matthew's heart weight was about 402 grams.

Matthew did not have a preexisting heart disease or defect that we knew of.
We, his parents never ignored his medical needs. The medical examiner said
this type of heart damage is not easy to detect with the standard test
necessary for prescription refills.


While visiting the doctor with the schools diagnosis and the recommendation
for Ritalin, he seemed very frustrated and asked us to let the school know,
I am not a pharmacy. This leads me to believe that we were not the first
parents sent to this doctor, with the schools diagnosis and recommendation
for Ritalin.

No one ever informed us of other crucial tests (echocardiogram) that we
could have had done that would have discovered the enlargement of the heart
muscle, caused from scare tissue which these types of drugs cause. The
standard test performed consists of blood work, listening to the heart,
questions about school behaviors, sleeping and eating habits.

It all started for Matthew in the first grade the school social worker in
Berkley, Michigan kept calling us in for meetings. One particular morning
before an IEP meeting, the school social worker Monica Fuchs and my wife
and I were waiting on the others to arrive.

Monica made us feel very threatened when she said that if we wouldn't
consider getting Matt on Ritalin for their diagnosis of Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder, that social services (child protective services)
could charge us for neglecting his educational and emotional needs. My wife
and I were scared of the possibility of losing our children, if we did not
comply.


I believe that some school employees like having children medicated
because, it makes frustrated students that are having a difficult time
learning and understanding, easier to manage, regardless of the physical
and psychological risks this practice poses to children.

Not all families can afford hundreds of dollars for a drug free, private
evaluation, so they will not be cornered into medicating their child.

I am hoping that Republicans and Democrats will work together and fight
this horrific war against the future of America, our children.

Medical diagnosis should remain outside the realm of education and stay
there. Pressure to seek specific medical treatment is not the job of the
school system.

We did not want Matthew on any medications, even though the school social
worker or the doctor never informed us about the dangers of Ritalin and
other stimulant medications used for ADD and ADHD. We just didn't feel good
about putting our son on drugs and we made it very clear to school
officials.

Informed Consent", which states in part A person's agreement to allow
something to happen (such as surgery) that is based on a full disclosure of
the facts needed to make the decision intelligently; i.e. knowledge of
risks involved, alternatives etc" and "the probable risks against the
probable benefits"

The violation of parent's rights is when they are not told of the
unscientific nature of so-called disorders such as ADHD or the risks of the
treatments involving (drugs) and they certainly are not told of
alternatives to their child's behavior such as undiagnosed allergies or
food sensitivities, which could manifest with the symptoms of what
psychiatry calls ADHD.

If we weren't pressure by the school system, Matt would still be alive
today. I cannot go back and change things for us at this point. However, I
hope to God my story and information will reach the hearts and minds, of
many families, so they can make an educated decision with more than a
little selective information, if any, paid for by psychology and drug
companies.

I have created this website in hopes that parents will learn the health
risks involved in using psychotropic medications on growing children. I hope
you will be spared all the suffering and heartbreak this whole ADHD
issue has caused our family and many others.

Please do not be intimidated by family, school staff, doctors, or anyone
into medicating your child for ADHD or ADD. These mental illnesses are
scientifically unfounded with no scientific validity what so ever. The
dopamine theory is nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of
psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry.

I truly believe this must have been my son's purpose, to save the health
and lives of many others.

How old will people live after taking these types of drugs as a child?
Every time I hear about a child or young adult that has died from heart
failure, I always wonder if they were ever on a psychotropic medication
used for ADHD or depression.

If I would of known about all the children that have died from these
psychiatric medications, I would have never given Matt the first pill.

Did you know that children that are diagnosed as having ADHD or ADD and
take medication, the school labels them as learning disabled, and the
schools receives additional state and federal funding per-child,
per-semester.

I wonder if that is one of the reasons why school administrators are so
adamant about medication, and the other would be to control their behavior,
in their drug free school zone.

One of the hardest things for me to deal with is the fact that, Matthew
never wanted his medication.

How many more 11-year-old Stephanie Hall's and 14-year-old Matthew Smith's
will have to die before someone puts a stop to the biggest health care
fraud ever? How many times will school psychology and drug companies get
away with this?

In 1998 at the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on ADHD
The NIH issued the following statement regarding ADHD:

"We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there is no data
to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction"

Children, do not need to be made into little robots with medication. I feel
that good parenting, structure, diets, and teaching methods can make all
the difference in the world. Different children develop in different ways;
you cannot put children all into one box.

Did you know that the ADHD diagnosis checklist of behaviors is almost the
same as the list of behaviors for gifted children. www.nfgcc.org

Did you know that doctor's use to give amphetamines out for diet
medication? They stopped because of the dangerous and sometimes fatal heart
related side effects.

Now drug companies have a new market, with new names for the drugs and have
went from adult weight medication to children's ADHD.

The DEA has classified Ritalin as a schedule two drug, comparable to
Cocaine. Ritalin is also one of the top ten abused prescription drugs on
the streets today.

 From the research that I have done on amphetamines, when they are used,
all the veins and arteries constrict and get very small which makes it hard
for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. The extra force it takes
to circulate blood causes damage to the heart.

There are many other drugs that are given to children for ADHD with
different names; Adderall, Concreta, Metadate, Ritalin, the list goes on
and on, most if not all are stimulant drugs with Amphetamine-Speed.

We are coming to a point in our history were children have been taking
these drugs for some time. Now the information is starting to come out.
This is a very sad why for us to find out the long-term side effects, by
using our children as guinea pigs.

Are you sick of the harassment and threats from school administrators to
have our children medicated with stimulant drugs for their evaluations of
ADHD? If so it's time we as parents pull together and put a stop to this
inhuman practice. School administrators need to stay out of our personal
business with their psychology and do the job we pay them to do!

If you are concerned about the following things taking place is our
schools? Handing out pro-drug information paid for by Psychology and the
Pharmaceutical industry, which is a violation of our informed consent,
profiling, labeling, coercion, manipulation, even the threat of educational
neglect by child protective services because parent's chooses not to
medicate their child with dangerous drugs?

Please feel free to post your story on the discussion board so state and
federal lawmakers can see first hand what is going on in our public and
privet schools.

If you are being harassed by school administrators to medicate your child?
for ADD or ADHD Tell Them Where To Go! http://www.RitalinDeath.com