Hidden dangers of adhd medications

Trends That Need A Closer Look

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a psychological health condition that affects a lot of children, teenagers, and even in some cases, adults. The affected person demonstrates signs of impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention. People with ADHD suffer tremendously because they do not know how to manage their emotions and also being organized. They tend to quickly get into trouble with other people because of their inability to process the information correctly, something that makes them take action before thinking things over. The brain is unable to process information effectively because of high levels of imbalance between dopamine and norepinephrine chemicals that help the brain function. To promote the chemicals balance in the brain, different types of medications are used. A prescribed drug should not make a diagnosis worse by adding more symptoms nor should it be addictive.

First, as much as a prescribed drug helps to improve and contain the condition, there are some hidden health dangers that the drug has, and users may be unaware of. In recent times, the trend has been addressed by some healthcare organizations and specialists to create some awareness. This essay shall hence focus on analyzing the hidden dangers of ADHD medication trends. Both stimulant and non-stimulant medications are used to treat ADHD in children and other personnel from other age groups, that might be affected. However, the condition is more predominant in children as compared to older age groups. The reason being, a child diagnosed with ADHD grows up and continues to get treatment. The condition is gradually stabilized and by the time the child gets to older, the condition is manageable and may not require medication. However, there are some hidden health dangers in the continuous use of ADHD medications. The sad reality is that many people are not aware of the right action to take (Martinez-Raga, et al., 2017). Stopping the medication places the patient's life in more danger as the brain chemical imbalance continues to affect the person negatively. One of the hidden health dangers is that some medications are addictive in nature (Craig, et al., 2015). This means that some medications are made of components with addicting substances which makes it hard for the user to stay a single day without the prescription. Any failure to take the medication, the patient feels weak, anxious, uneasy, and fatigued. This is a grave hidden health risk because the body of the patient becomes dependent on the drug.

Second, according to Moreira-Maia et al., (2018); some ADHD patients have been forced to go through a rehabilitation process in order to flush out the toxins and addictive elements of the chemicals from the body system. ADHD medication cannot be entirely stopped. According to (Bhang, et al., 2017); another hidden danger on using ADHD medication is that it interferes with the sleeping pattern of the person. This is a danger because any person suffering from a specific condition needs adequate sleep (Martinez-Raga, et al., 2017). Sleep helps in promoting adequate body growth and consistent body development, which is vital to a growing kid. Interfering with sleep makes the patient fatigued and anxious, something that affects the patient's physical and psychological state.

Finally, medications can be considered strong, especially on children and can reduce appetite and increases mood swings (Habel, et al., 2011). Mood swings make it hard for people with ADHD to socialize and interact with other people freely and lack of appetite reduces the stamina to engage in different activities leadings to feeling like drowsiness, nausea, and stomach aches. Further, Habel, et al., (2011); claims that the long-term use of ADHD medications leads to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

In conclusion, the hidden dangers of ADHD medications trend are one of the most essential and valuable trends that society has in present times. It is a trend that is raising attention on the condition and making involved stakeholders look deep into the issue. The more reason is that medication should be used to serve the purpose and not to cause more hidden problems that the users cannot easily associate with the medication (Martinez-Raga, et al., 2017). The trend hence can be viewed as an action that needs to be taken so that the medication can be tested to ensure that the elements that negatively affects the users are eliminated and improvement are made. Certain drugs are still needed in the market, which means that they cannot be entirely done with, but they should be tested to prove the claims made through the trend wrong or right. A prescribed drug should not make a diagnosis worse by adding more symptoms nor should it be addictive.

References

Bhang, S. Y., Kwack, Y. S., Joung, Y. S., Lee, S. I., Kim, B., Sohn, S. H., ... & Choi, H. Y. (2017). Factors that affect the adherence to ADHD medications during a treatment continuation period in children and adolescents: a nationwide retrospective cohort study using Korean Health Insurance data from 2007 to 2011. Psychiatry investigation, 14(2), 158.

Craig, S. G., Davies, G., Schibuk, L., Weiss, M. D., & Hechtman, L. (2015). Long-term effects of stimulant treatment for ADHD: What can we tell our patients?. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 2(1), 1-9.

Habel, L. A., Cooper, W. O., Sox, C. M., Chan, K. A., Fireman, B. H., Arbogast, P. G., ... & Andrade, S. E. (2011). ADHD medications and risk of serious cardiovascular events in young and middle-aged adults. Jama, 306(24), 2673-2683.

Martinez-Raga, J., Ferreros, A., Knecht, C., de Alvaro, R., & Carabal, E. (2017). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication use: factors involved in prescribing, safety aspects and outcomes. Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 8(3), 87-99.

Moreira-Maia, C. R., Massuti, R., Tessari, L., Campani, F., Akutagava-Martins, G. C., Cortese, S., & Rohde, L. A. (2018). Are ADHD medications under or over prescribed worldwide?: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine, 97(24).