Contest entry - Ritalin

[clamnebula.livejournal.com]

As an adult Ritalin user, this ad leaves me a bit worried!

(edit: re-sized the ad to make the lettering more readable)

Comments

[thejackaolf.livejournal.com]

O.o my husband was a original ritalin test subject, he was basically a zombie, glad they changed the formula but i doubt he would touch it agin after being on the original.

[fynoda.livejournal.com]

I took that stuff once and I was as jittery as a speed addict. This ad looks like a promo poster for the Exorcist or something.

[losingstreak7.livejournal.com]

ritalin is horrible, it's not medicine but a drug imo. and i read that 1/3 people diagnoses with ADHD constitutes a misdiagnose (this was a canadian newspaper, i wonder how much worse it is in the states...), which means that psychs are prescribing these pills just to put some money in their pocket. well, the ones who have that sort of deal with the pharmaceutical companies distributing these sort of pills.

[losingstreak7.livejournal.com]

for* distributing

[misstia]

i agree with you....there have been many studies in the USA that it is misdiagnosed and then ritalin, adderall, etc is prescribed with only a precursory exam...most often it's the medicaid dr's who see the low income kids who don't behave due to bad diets, no discipline in the home and the schools demand the parents do something....i have seen this happen first hand with parents in my neighborhood who didn't know any better (then)....

now there's a lady around the corner who's child is NOT on medicaid and she had difficulty paying attention in school, the dr. made them try a variety of things for MONTHS before they even considered prescribing medication for ADD/ADHD....

i feel there's a difference in the care that low income state funded parents get for their kids and that others with health insurance get for theirs....i am not saying that those medicaid dr's don't care, but i think they are overwhelmed and it's probably easier and cheaper to prescribe a pill....i don't think dr's get rich for prescribing meds though....

[cat-eyed-fox.livejournal.com]

I respectfully disagree. First of all I have ADD and have taken Ritalin since I was in 2nd grade. I am the daughter of a doctor and I like myself better with it, as do my family and friends. I understand that you added "IMO" to show that it is your opinion, but I have to ask, do you have ADD or ADHD? How many people do you know who have been on Ritalin? Or were misdiagnosed? Yes, misdiagnosis happens, and some people react different to different drugs (as in medicine) and finding the right dosage is vital and there can be a period of adjustment, just like antidepressants or any other kind of medicine.
Second of all your insinuation that doctors profit from prescribing drugs is, I believe, just wrong. Yes, there are drug reps who go around to hospitals and dr's offices to promote their drug of choice, but Doctors do NOT directly, financially benefit from prescribing something. I believe it is in fact ILLEGAL for them too. Again I am uncertain about this, but I can ask my dad about it tomorrow if you want, or you could google it.
Either way, and here's the biggest thing, I find what you said to be a very dangerous kind of fear mongering. It is like people saying that inoculating children lead to Autism. It's all second hand info and hot button words, and it does more harm than good. Yes, anything can be dangerous and there is a damn good reason it's a controlled substance, but it is still medicine and it has made my life and lives of many others so much better.

[misstia]

please see my comment above, i think it'd be silly to cut/paste and perhaps have 2 different conversations going due to the same comment!

i have to add though, to my prior comment, after reading yours, your father is a dr. so you'd have better quality of care than the low income kids i am mentioning above....

i've read where higher income people have a lower rate of diagnosis for ADD/ADHD than lower income people....i feel that that relates to the level of care (or lack of)....

[cat-eyed-fox.livejournal.com]

You make a good point about how the system is broken because it is. I may be the daughter of a doctor, but right now I'm a poor indebt graduate student and my meds- not the least of which being my Ritalin- cost a lot of money. But what bothered me about losingstreak7's comment was her patent dismissal of any good Ritalin has done in my life and others. There was no mention of how lower income kids get screwed across the board on health care and everywhere else.

[misstia]

do you get low cost prescriptions? there are programs with i think every pharmaceutical company to provide free or very low cost meds for people who qualify....i just helped my elderly neighbors get free/low cost meds cuz they fell into the 'donut hole'....this'll give you the info and link to the form for the ritalin program (since you pretty said you're on it! :)

http://www.rxassist.org/Search/Prog_Details.cfm?program_Id=38&PD_Id=247&Drug_Id=1428&Company_Id=32&search_type=2&CFID=5669785&CFTOKEN=18509428

gosh i sound like a salesperson! sorry! i like to help people though and i know a lot of people don't know there are programs that can help 'em with prescription costs!

the system is very broken...

[nekusagi.livejournal.com]

Ritalin fucked with my brain and probably also my hormones. I'm not a fan.

[flummoxicated.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I didn't know Ritalin had been around that long. And yeah, that's a pretty intense ad - give me the Zoloft sad rock over that any day.

[itskelp.livejournal.com]

hahah is it bad that i love those commercials?

[flummoxicated.livejournal.com]

I always want to give the sad rock a pep talk - "it's going to be okay, little guy!"

[cremepuff.livejournal.com]

THIS!

[ms-hissyfit.livejournal.com]

As cliched as the picture is and despite how frightening the concept of advertising for psycho-pharmaceuticals in itself is, I must admit that I find the ad chillingly effective. (Maybe it is the typeface.)

Yes

[crabofdoom.livejournal.com]

Bare feet, bare wood floors, big crack in the wall's corner... I know conditions would get even worse before a lot of the mental hospitals started being shut down, but I still can't believe someone thought that this particular hole would look good on an advertisement. But by the same token, I'm sure it's nothing that the doctors being sold to didn't see on a daily basis, already. Good god.

(edited 'cause I'm stupid and forgot to vote)

[tudorlady.livejournal.com]

Well, speaking as someone who pretty much needs Ritalin to function, I beg to differ with several posters above. While I honestly think ADD is overdiagnosed in kids (I really think it's mostly a discipline problem)and that behavioral treatment is is a better idea for them - there are some people who need it. Adults with severe depression, for instance. For me, it's pretty much what makes the difference between being in my pajamas, not brushing my hair or my teeth, or taking a shower - and being a functional self-supporting individual. In my case, antidepressants aren't enough, and I'm too smart to use street speed.

[pandora-nervosa.livejournal.com]

This is so me, I don't even have to comment.

[blue-sky-lark.livejournal.com]

Very similar to my case as well. I don't think I've seen it better put.

[misstia]

well i do believe that ADD/ADHD exists, but that it is over diagnosed....i know that ritalin and the ilk help many people who genuinely need it and that's what it's for! it's not to be used in lieu of discipline though or as an antidote for a 110% sugary diet that makes the kid all hyper, in my opinion....

[cat-eyed-fox.livejournal.com]

Hear hear! Nice to see that there's someone else on here who has benefitted from Ritalin.

[acksed.livejournal.com]

I'm just put off by the fact that they're advertising drugs.