HUFFINGTON POST: "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" Has Been Replaced by "Hello Druggist, Hello MD"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariann...-_b_25975.html

Summer Camp 2006: "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" Has Been Replaced by
"Hello Druggist, Hello MD"


As Labor Day approaches, it's time to look back on our favorite summer
memories: family vacations, cookouts, days at the beach... children
being plied with powerful pharmaceuticals.

When my 15 year-old daughter returned home from sleep-away camp this
summer and began recounting her typical day, I was surprised to learn
that it started not with swimming or camping or arts and crafts -- or
even breakfast -- but rather with her fellow campers lining up to get
their "morning meds."



That's right, popping prescription pills for attention deficit
disorder, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders has become standard
operating procedure at camps all across America -- as much a part of
the summertime ritual as campfires, color wars, and "I wanna come
home" letters.

According to one trade group representing 2,600 camps and 3 million
campers (yes, even Camp Poison Ivy now has a lobbyist!), roughly a
quarter of the kids at its camps are taking regular doses of
psychopharmacologic drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta, and Straterra
(ADD/ADHD), Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft (anxiety and depression), and
Clonidine, Lexapro, and Risperdal (mood disorders).

Of course, this pill-popping phenomenon is not just a part of summer
vacation -- but rather an extension of the epidemic of legal drugs
being prescribed to America's children. We now have over a million
kids on Prozac and its equivalents and more than seven million on
Ritalin.

During the school year, most kids take their meds at home -- so it's
not as noticeable. But at camp, it's harder to hide. Then again, so
many kids are now being given drugs it's become no big deal. As
reported by the New York Times, some camps divvy out the drugs in
their mess halls, others do it in the infirmary. One camp in Copake,
New York has built a special medication wing where kids hang out
waiting to get dosed. "You going to archery?" "Later; first I'm
getting my midday antipsychotic."

Dispensing prescription medications to campers has become such a
regular part of the summer camp experience that one company, CampMeds,
was created to help beleaguered camp nurses keep all the different
drug combos straight. CampMeds ships an entire summer's worth of
prepackaged pills to member camps with each child's Rx regime
contained in shrink-wrapped packets marked with a name, date, and
time. The better to dose you with, my dear.

"This is the American standard now," says one camp owner. More's the
pity.

"Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" has now become "Hello Druggist, Hello MD."
With apologies to Alan Sherman:

Hello Druggist,
Hello MD,
Here I am at
Camp Poison Ivy
Camp is very
amusin',
And they say we'll all have fun if we take our Wellbutrin.

~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.BreastImplantAwareness.or...WatchWatch.htm

No surprise. For every unhappy child there has to be an organic cause . It
would be politically incorrect to think that the parents divorce, peer
pressure, and unmet expectations are to blame. Then there is the perception
of an entitlement to be well which must inevitably lead to pills, testing,
additional consultation and eventual blaming of the medical profession for
contributing to high health care costs. I haven't met a child yet with
tension headache who hasn't had at least 2 MRI's, neurologic consultation,
and a course or 2 of antidepressants. Then they get labeled as ADD and get
extra time to complete their SATs to "level the playing field". What BS!!!!


On 8/28/06 3:18 PM, in article ,
"Ilena Rose" wrote:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariann...6-hello-_b_259
75.html

Summer Camp 2006: "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" Has Been Replaced by
"Hello Druggist, Hello MD"


As Labor Day approaches, it's time to look back on our favorite summer
memories: family vacations, cookouts, days at the beach... children
being plied with powerful pharmaceuticals.

When my 15 year-old daughter returned home from sleep-away camp this
summer and began recounting her typical day, I was surprised to learn
that it started not with swimming or camping or arts and crafts -- or
even breakfast -- but rather with her fellow campers lining up to get
their "morning meds."



That's right, popping prescription pills for attention deficit
disorder, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders has become standard
operating procedure at camps all across America -- as much a part of
the summertime ritual as campfires, color wars, and "I wanna come
home" letters.

According to one trade group representing 2,600 camps and 3 million
campers (yes, even Camp Poison Ivy now has a lobbyist!), roughly a
quarter of the kids at its camps are taking regular doses of
psychopharmacologic drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta, and Straterra
(ADD/ADHD), Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft (anxiety and depression), and
Clonidine, Lexapro, and Risperdal (mood disorders).

Of course, this pill-popping phenomenon is not just a part of summer
vacation -- but rather an extension of the epidemic of legal drugs
being prescribed to America's children. We now have over a million
kids on Prozac and its equivalents and more than seven million on
Ritalin.

During the school year, most kids take their meds at home -- so it's
not as noticeable. But at camp, it's harder to hide. Then again, so
many kids are now being given drugs it's become no big deal. As
reported by the New York Times, some camps divvy out the drugs in
their mess halls, others do it in the infirmary. One camp in Copake,
New York has built a special medication wing where kids hang out
waiting to get dosed. "You going to archery?" "Later; first I'm
getting my midday antipsychotic."

Dispensing prescription medications to campers has become such a
regular part of the summer camp experience that one company, CampMeds,
was created to help beleaguered camp nurses keep all the different
drug combos straight. CampMeds ships an entire summer's worth of
prepackaged pills to member camps with each child's Rx regime
contained in shrink-wrapped packets marked with a name, date, and
time. The better to dose you with, my dear.

"This is the American standard now," says one camp owner. More's the
pity.

"Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" has now become "Hello Druggist, Hello MD."
With apologies to Alan Sherman:

Hello Druggist,
Hello MD,
Here I am at
Camp Poison Ivy
Camp is very
amusin',
And they say we'll all have fun if we take our Wellbutrin.

~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.BreastImplantAwareness.or...WatchWatch.htm

"Alan Briker" wrote in message
...
No surprise. For every unhappy child there has to be an organic cause . It
would be politically incorrect to think that the parents divorce, peer
pressure, and unmet expectations are to blame. Then there is the
perception
of an entitlement to be well which must inevitably lead to pills, testing,
additional consultation and eventual blaming of the medical profession for
contributing to high health care costs. I haven't met a child yet with
tension headache who hasn't had at least 2 MRI's, neurologic consultation,
and a course or 2 of antidepressants. Then they get labeled as ADD and get
extra time to complete their SATs to "level the playing field". What
BS!!!!



Well who do you blame for this state of affairs?






On 8/28/06 3:18 PM, in article ,
"Ilena Rose" wrote:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariann...6-hello-_b_259
75.html

Summer Camp 2006: "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" Has Been Replaced by
"Hello Druggist, Hello MD"


As Labor Day approaches, it's time to look back on our favorite summer
memories: family vacations, cookouts, days at the beach... children
being plied with powerful pharmaceuticals.

When my 15 year-old daughter returned home from sleep-away camp this
summer and began recounting her typical day, I was surprised to learn
that it started not with swimming or camping or arts and crafts -- or
even breakfast -- but rather with her fellow campers lining up to get
their "morning meds."



That's right, popping prescription pills for attention deficit
disorder, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders has become standard
operating procedure at camps all across America -- as much a part of
the summertime ritual as campfires, color wars, and "I wanna come
home" letters.

According to one trade group representing 2,600 camps and 3 million
campers (yes, even Camp Poison Ivy now has a lobbyist!), roughly a
quarter of the kids at its camps are taking regular doses of
psychopharmacologic drugs such as Ritalin, Concerta, and Straterra
(ADD/ADHD), Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft (anxiety and depression), and
Clonidine, Lexapro, and Risperdal (mood disorders).

Of course, this pill-popping phenomenon is not just a part of summer
vacation -- but rather an extension of the epidemic of legal drugs
being prescribed to America's children. We now have over a million
kids on Prozac and its equivalents and more than seven million on
Ritalin.

During the school year, most kids take their meds at home -- so it's
not as noticeable. But at camp, it's harder to hide. Then again, so
many kids are now being given drugs it's become no big deal. As
reported by the New York Times, some camps divvy out the drugs in
their mess halls, others do it in the infirmary. One camp in Copake,
New York has built a special medication wing where kids hang out
waiting to get dosed. "You going to archery?" "Later; first I'm
getting my midday antipsychotic."

Dispensing prescription medications to campers has become such a
regular part of the summer camp experience that one company, CampMeds,
was created to help beleaguered camp nurses keep all the different
drug combos straight. CampMeds ships an entire summer's worth of
prepackaged pills to member camps with each child's Rx regime
contained in shrink-wrapped packets marked with a name, date, and
time. The better to dose you with, my dear.

"This is the American standard now," says one camp owner. More's the
pity.

"Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda" has now become "Hello Druggist, Hello MD."
With apologies to Alan Sherman:

Hello Druggist,
Hello MD,
Here I am at
Camp Poison Ivy
Camp is very
amusin',
And they say we'll all have fun if we take our Wellbutrin.

~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.BreastImplantAwareness.or...WatchWatch.htm

"Alan Briker" wrote in message
...
No surprise. For every unhappy child there has to be an organic cause . It
would be politically incorrect to think that the parents divorce, peer
pressure, and unmet expectations are to blame. Then there is the
perception
of an entitlement to be well which must inevitably lead to pills, testing,
additional consultation and eventual blaming of the medical profession for
contributing to high health care costs. I haven't met a child yet with
tension headache who hasn't had at least 2 MRI's, neurologic consultation,

You must run around with a very hyperchodriac crowd. I've got a kid who has
had seizures and gets migraines... he as only had one CAT-scan (as an
infant), and not one MRI. All he ever gets is a couple of Aleve at the
first sign of a migraine (which for him is preceded by his vision turning
the world purple).

He does not have ADD nor ADHD, neither of which have any relationship with
migraines, nor depression. He does, however, come from a family where
migraines are fairly common(the most common treatment is being in a dark
quiet room with a damp rag over the forehead until the pain goes away after
taking the maximum allowed dose of ibuprofen or Aleve... that is for my
spouse. I have not had a serious headache since I was in high school, so I
cannot relate to the pain). For some migraines there is a very small line
between them and seizures. If you read _Migraine_ by Dr. Oliver Sacks you
would see a chart where the similarities are illustrated.


and a course or 2 of antidepressants. Then they get labeled as ADD and get
extra time to complete their SATs to "level the playing field". What
BS!!!!


Actually, my son will not be taking either the SAT or ACT since he is not
going to college. The seizures caused enough neurological damage that he is
severely learning disabled. His status of "most severely disabled" does
give him priority in vocational rehabilitation training.

Good resources are http://www.ldonline.org/ and
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/


Also, contributors to Pediatric Grand Rounds are starting to post NON-drug
solutions to health issues every week. You might want to be on the lookout
for that: http://www.pgrarchive.blogspot.com/



....

Alan Briker wrote:
No surprise. For every unhappy child there has to be an organic cause . It
would be politically incorrect to think that the parents divorce, peer
pressure, and unmet expectations are to blame. Then there is the perception
of an entitlement to be well which must inevitably lead to pills, testing,
additional consultation and eventual blaming of the medical profession for
contributing to high health care costs. I haven't met a child yet with
tension headache who hasn't had at least 2 MRI's, neurologic consultation,
and a course or 2 of antidepressants. Then they get labeled as ADD and get
extra time to complete their SATs to "level the playing field". What BS!!!!

Yes, your post is BS.