Patients Call Frantically After FDA Warnings on Ritalin

Phones are ringing constantly in many psychiatrists’ offices. Patients are worried about their own or their child’s treatments for attention-deficit disorder with a stimulant such as Ritalin. Since an FDA panel voted 8-7 recently to put a block-box warning label on each prescription bottle, patients on stimulants are exhibiting high anxiety.

Most doctors who treat patients with stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall say the risk for cardiac problems is “remote.” Out of the 2.5 million children and 1.5 million adults on stimulants, it is estimated that a handful of them will die suddenly each year, whether taking the drugs or not.


 Psychiatrists and cardiologists agree, however, that people with high blood pressure, heart murmurs, or other cardiovascular problems should be cautious in using these drugs. If their physician feels there is sufficient risk, they should taper off the drugs or reduce their dosage.

Patients should ideally be screened for potential problems before receiving prescriptions for these drugs, according Dr. James Waxmonsky, a psychiatrist at the University at Buffalo, New York.

Adults with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a family history of heart disease, and those who smoke should be concerned about being on stimulants. If these risk factors can be eliminated or stabilized, using ADD medications would be more advisable. Certainly, patients with these medical problems should be closely monitored while taking stimulants.

William Pelham, a psychiatrist at the University at Buffalo who studies psychosocial treatments for attention-deficit disorder, points out that some children would benefit more from an intensive summer-long course of behavior modification. He indicates that most parents don’t even hear of these alternatives to medications.

Many adults feel that stimulants help them to lead a more normal and productive life. These individuals plan to continue on the drugs, despite any small risks they might be taking.

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