"We discontinued the medicine
a few months ago and now we want to try homeopathy since it has
helped her brother."
"It's Not the Real
You. It's a Fake Person"
Not all children with ADD feel better
on Ritalin. John Merrow interviewed four teenagers who clearly
did not want to continue taking Ritalin. They complained, "It's
not the real you. It's a fake person. It's totally not me."
One of the boys had discontinued the medication by his own choice.
A second had been on Ritalin for seven years and begged his parents
not to make him take it, but one of his teachers would not allow
him in her classroom unless he had a note signed by the school
nurse that he had received his Ritalin at school that day. The
boys complained of dizziness, stomach upset, inability to sleep,
a buzzed feeling, and appetite loss as a result of taking Ritalin.