I recently posted on the potential harms of overtreating ADHD and its overdiagnosis. Now, the NY Times reports on problems with a study that provided the foundation for the explosion on stimulant treatment for ADHD. Twenty years ago, more than a dozen leaders in child psychiatry received $11 million from the National Institute of Mental Health … Continue reading “The only thing we heard was . . . that medication is the answer”
Category: Treatment
Why FULL recovery should ALWAYS be our goal
Yesterday, we shared Bill White's views on the dangers of under-treating addiction. Today, we have Viktor Frankl on the importance of high expectations and addressing the need for meaning and purpose in the lives of people we're helping. If we overestimate man...we promote him to what he really can be. ... We have to be … Continue reading Why FULL recovery should ALWAYS be our goal
Personal Failure or System Failure?
Bill White explaining why inadequate treatment may be worse than no treatment: What we know from primary medicine is that ineffective treatments (via placebo effects) or an inadequate dose of a potentially effective treatment (e.g., as in antibiotic treatment of bacterial infections) may temporarily suppress symptoms. Such treatments create the illusion of resumed health, but … Continue reading Personal Failure or System Failure?
The Unintended Consequences Of Medical “Maximalism”
The Health Affairs blog questions the American Heart Association's maximalist approach with the use of statins. The issues sound familiar. The policy implications of these guidelines are staggering. Estimates show that if these recommendations are fully implemented, close to a third of all Americans will be placed on a statin. But these developments beg the … Continue reading The Unintended Consequences Of Medical “Maximalism”
Buprenorphine Overseas
“The history of the treatment of narcotic withdrawal is a long and dishonorable one. The trail is strewn with cures enthusiastically received and then quietly discarded when they turned out to be relatively ineffective or even worse, productive of greater morbidity and mortality… Any claim for a new method should be put forward modestly and … Continue reading Buprenorphine Overseas
Sentences to ponder
"If alcohol policies were a newly discovered gene, pill or vaccine, we'd be investing billions of dollars to bring them to market," - Dr. Tim Naimi
Treat The Symptoms Or The Cause?
This article was a good reminder that we're not the only profession struggling with whether harm-reduction should be the de facto treatment. However, it's worth noting that the statement here ("cut in half") provides considerably more information than most addicts get. A huge new study out today in The Lancet shows that reducing three … Continue reading Treat The Symptoms Or The Cause?
“Recovery High” a Respite for Young Addicts
Maybe this is a better way to address pediatric addiction? Called The Bridge Way School, the specialized high school in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia focuses on getting teenagers back on track with their education and lives after exiting rehab. It is the only school of its kind in the region – one of only … Continue reading “Recovery High” a Respite for Young Addicts
Pediatric use of buprenorphine
Drugfree.org has a piece advocating more use of buprenorphine with children. Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid dependence is a science-based and proven-effective option for teens and young adults. It should be administered with age appropriate psychosocial therapy and drug testing. Unfortunately, it has been subject to controversy and stigma. Yet the neuroscience of addiction and … Continue reading Pediatric use of buprenorphine
Drug Overdose Deaths Are Increasing Pretty Much Everywhere
These images speak for themselves. Here are a couple of important sentences: Between 1999 and 2009, drug poisoning deaths grew by 394 percent in rural areas and 279 percent for large metropolitan areas, according to the CDC’s county-level look at the data. According to the CDC, roughly 60 percent of all OD deaths in 2010 … Continue reading Drug Overdose Deaths Are Increasing Pretty Much Everywhere
Recovery Review 