ADD / ADHD – What Every Parent Should Know

Did you know that one of the greatest minds of our time could not talk before the age of four and could not read before the age of seven? I am referring to Albert Einstein. It is also known that his teacher said he was mentally slow, unsociable, adrift in his foolish dreams and had severe temper tantrums. He was expelled and refused admittance to the Polytech Institute. In today’s world, he would be on Ritalin.

Ritalin is a very dangerous and highly addictive drug. Under Federal Law, Ritalin is classified as a schedule II controlled substance, the same rating given to cocaine, opium and morphine. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and include depression, fatigue, paranoia, increased dreaming, irritability, bedwetting, and even suicide.

The United States has the highest use of Ritalin consuming 95% of the total amount of Ritalin used in the world. This is in a country where only five percent of the total population is living Ritalin free. If ADD is so prevalent, then how and why are we taking all of it? In some elementary and middle schools, as many as six percent of all students take Ritalin or other psychiatric drugs, according to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

The side effects of Ritalin are numerous and severe. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the side effects include stunting of growth, depression, insomnia, nervousness, skin rash, anorexia, nausea, psychosis, dizziness, headaches, abdominal pain, blood pressure and pulse changes, and Tourette’s Syndrome (a permanent and irreversible condition characterized by body tics, spasms, screaming obscenities, and barking sounds).

The researchers also reviewed 8 years of injury data on more than 61,000 children ages 3 to 17 and found that those with ADD/ADHD were nearly 80% more likely to be involved in a serious accident resulting in hospitalization for trauma.
According to a Canadian report, Ritalin is responsible for more street crime than any other drug. Kids are selling their Ritalin to other kids. A USA Today report indicated that some kids crush Ritalin into a powder and snort it like cocaine, while others cook it and inject it into their bloodstream.

A well-known criminal attorney, Melvin Nash, from Marietta Georgia, indicated that approximately 60% of the people he defends from everything from DUI to armed robbery have been on Ritalin at some point in their life.

So what are the ADD criteria? Here are a few: often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly, often talks excessively, is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor", often has difficulty awaiting turn, often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat. In order to be classified as ADD, you must have the majority of these characteristics. To tell you the truth, I still possess the majority of these traits. I asked a teenage ADD patient in my office what he thought about school. He said he was bored and didn’t feel challenged. What an answer. How far will we go to control, mold, and conform our children to make them “normal?” Are we turning our geniuses of tomorrow into drug addicts today?

For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206)367-2224.

Balancing Hormones Naturally

Headache, backache, abdominal bloating, cramping, fatigue and mood swings are just some of the symptoms associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). No one's completely certain what causes premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but there's no denying the pain and distress millions of women suffer 7-10 days before menstruation every month.

Most women suffer some symptoms of PMS during their childbearing years, but between 10-20% experience severe or disabling symptoms. Drugs and psychotherapy have proven ineffective or undesirable treatment options, with many patients reporting unpleasant side effects and only minimal relief of symptoms. Previous research has suggested the potential benefit of chiropractic care (see "Chiropractic for PMS" in the August 1999 issue of To Your Health), and a recent study provides further evidence of this association. The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported that in a nine-month clinical trial involving 25 women with diagnosed PMS, 16 patients received active chiropractic treatment (spinal adjustments and soft-tissue therapy) 2-3 times in the week before menses for at least three menstrual cycles. The remaining nine patients received a placebo in the form of chiropractic "adjustments," using an instrument set for minimum force, such that patients did not effectively receive treatment. The two groups eventually changed over, so that both groups received treatment and placebo during the study period. In both groups, results showed that PMS symptom scores decreased after chiropractic adjustments, with a significant decrease in scores for the active treatment phase compared to the non-treatment (placebo) phase.

In another study from The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics involving 84 subjects (54 with diagnosed PMS and 30 without) evaluated the potential for chiropractic to help relieve PMS symptoms. Complete chiropractic examinations revealed that the PMS group was more likely to show signs of spinal problems (i.e., spinal tenderness, muscle weakness, neck disability, etc.) than the non-PMS group. In another study involving dysmenorrhea, the results were fewer episodes of pain with decreased intensity.

The studies suggest that chiropractic care to correct these spinal problems may be an effective way to reduce some of the symptoms of PMS and Dysmenorrhea. If you're still searching for relief from the pain and frustration of premenstrual syndrome, make an appointment at Northgate Chiropractic by calling (206) 367-2224. A complete spinal examination could be an important step toward finding a solution for PMS.

For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at

(206) 367-2224.