With an explosion of ADHD medications prescribed I imagine that medication sharing and misuse will become an everyday reality:
A US suburban “supermum” has revealed how she became addicted to her son’s ADHD medication to help her do housework.
The woman is one of the growing number of mothers turning to prescription drugs to help them deal with their daily parenting responsibilities, the US ABC Network reports.
Betsy Degree, from suburban Minneapolis, said she started taking prescription medicine to deal up with the demands of being a mother-of-four.
“I grew up in a house where my mom was very neat,” she said.
“Everything was really clean, beautiful dinners every night and that didn’t come naturally for me.”
A few years ago after stealing one of her son’s Adderall pills she found she was able to be the mother she wanted to be.
“I was able to get all the stuff done around the house,” Ms Degree said.
“I was able to cook the dinner and have everything perfect.”
Many will argue that upkeep isn’t a sufficient reason for taking ADHD medication. I would argue that if maintaining concentration is a good enough reason to prescribe drugs to children why wouldn’t it be a good enough for adults who need help in getting stuff done around the house? Why is one problem so much more urgent than the other?
Another thing that interests me is this quote by addiction treatment facility Hazelden chief medical officer Dr Marvin Seppala:
Dr Marvin Seppala told ABC News the rising incidence of addiction was a “significant problem”.
Compare that with this from the National Institute of Drug Abuse:
Research thus far suggests that individuals with ADHD do not become addicted to their stimulant medications when taken in the form and dosage prescribed by their doctors.
I am deeply concerned that this is an addictive drug with or without prescription, whether it be taken by child or adult, homemaker or student, ‘supermum’ or naughty child.
Click here to read my post ‘Get Your Kids on Ritalin Before Their Grades Suffer‘.
Topical Teaching 