Nurses for Human Rights

As suspected, more long-term studies are now available on the effects of psycho-stimulants on our children. The BBC reports a multimiodal study of 600 children since 1990 in the US finds that the ADHD medicated children DID NOT do better in learning as compared to those who were not placed on medication, that the children suffered stunted physical growth, and long-term use has been reported to create children/teenagers with aggressive behavior. The study made the bold summation “There’s no indication that medication’s better than nothing in the long run.”  Here is evidence-based practice staring us in the face. Nurses who blindly go on supporting this practice are violating our CODE OF ETHICS and pass off some written form of consent for FULL INFORMED CONSENT which should be informing parents of these findings. At this point in our knowledge base on psycho-stimulant use in children, we should be demanding an FDA reversal on approving these drugs for anyone under 18 years of age. Sign this petition and let’s correct our mistakes before we damage a whole generation of young minds:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

In this article from Advance for Nurses online magazine, author Sandy Keefe, RN outlines the need for early detection of lead poisoning in young children. Once more, she identifies the link between lead toxicity levels and ADHD and learning disorders. In her article she notes that there are health centers on campus at schools with Nurse Practitioners available to test any child who is identified as having learning disabilities. They do the correct action of doing a full physical workup looking for known causes of ADHD symptoms, namely lead poisoning. There is no quick referral to psychiatry for psycho-stimulants that only mask the real problem. My hat is off to those nurses who see the light. Physical illnesses can and will produce mental and emotional symptoms that can be corrected with proper testing and medical intervention.

http://tinyurl.com/2949ls

CNN reports that a new science is emerging in the last 10 years called Biomonitoring. Essentially, we can now test for traces of chemicals in humans that we couldn’t before. In a recent study, high levels of industrial chemicals were found in children at toxic levels as young as 18 months old. This should give us a clue as to why an increase in Autism, ADHD, and other “mental health” disorders emerge at earlier ages. Here’s an excerpt from the article,

“We are the humans in a dangerous and unnatural experiment in the United States, and I think it’s unconscionable,” said Dr. Leo Trasande, assistant director of the Center for Children’s Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Trasande says that industrial toxins could be leading to more childhood disease and disorders.

“We are in an epidemic of environmentally mediated disease among American children today,” he said. “Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and developmental disorders have exponentially increased, and it can’t be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we’re being exposed to.”

An article in the New York Times today points out that people who take sleeping pills tend to gain only 19 minutes more of sleep time versus a placebo. A side affect of using sleeping pills is memory loss. Some people just didn’t remember that they had difficulty trying to get to sleep. If you remember the problems we had with Ambien, people would sleep walk and do odd things while apparently sleeping peacefully. One woman in the article woke up with a broken wrist and didn’t remember how she did it. Some people reported taking sleeping pills before traveling on airplanes only to wake up in another city and forgetting what they were going there for. Many nurses have observed the “sleep hangover” effect in patients in the morning. They are less alert, sometimes falling asleep eating breakfast, etc. This phenomena prompted the FDA to put warnings on sleeping pills about driving and using heavy machinery.

Read the article and note that it speaks about the lost “awake” time these pills cause. It is a concern for us, as a society, to have people who take sleeping pills and then getting up early morning (or early evenings like us late shift nurses) only to climb into an automobile and drive to work “half asleep”. Would it concern you as a patient if your brain surgeon was going to operate on you first thing in the morning after taking Halcion, Lunesta, or Ambien? It does me because our society has turned into pharmaceutical junkies and the collective “awakeness” or “present time concsciousness” is lowered by the proliferation of anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, anti-psychotic and now sleeping pills in our general populatioin. There are actually healthy supplements for falling and staying asleep. I would recommend my personal sleeplessness remedy. To calm my “nerves” I take 2-3 ProDHA omega oil capsules, 1-200 mg of Thiamine/B-1 tabs, and 0.5mg to 1mg of Melatonin. I take them 30 minutes before retiring to bed and I can’t keep my eyes open. This may not work for everyone, but there are plenty of heath food stores with sleep remedies and they don’t cost $3.50 a pill!!

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On September 21, 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report via The Lancet on what issues are apparent in children’s medications today. They point to the issues we speak of here, that is, off-label use, long-term effects, drug efficacy in pediatric “dosages” and the problem of over-medication, and identification of side-effects on younger children who can not verbalize a sensation or feeling or mental ability. Once more, I contend that there is no possible way an MD, Psychiatrist, or Pediatrician is giving a full INFORMED CONSENT to the parents because the MDs (and Nurse Practitioners) have no way of knowing what damages psychiatric drugs are doing to these children. To me, this falls under the definition of “experiment”: 

1.     a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc.: a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living. 

2.     the conducting of such operations; experimentation: a product that is the result of long experiment

3.     to try or test, esp. in order to discover or prove something: to experiment with a new procedure 

This subject should not be glossed over by nurses. We are the advocates of our patients.

We must decide as a group how we are going to voice our concerns as it’s our Code of Ethics that is being  challenged and the children’s Human Rights being ignored.

“Safety of medicines in children as an afterthought is an unacceptable state of affairs. Children have a right to safe and effective medicines and nations’ health systems should be judged on how they treat their children.” (The Lancet)

 Sign this petition:

 http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

You would think that our society has a conscience, that the medical community was interested in safe practices, and that nurses were vigilant and conscientious about what we give some patients as drug therapy. This article is from 2006 but is still relevant today. Nurses still give children off-label psychiatric drugs like it’s an antibiotic. One drug is equal to another drug is equal to all drugs, etc. We don’t question, as a group, what we are assenting to when we give that ADHD drug to a child at school, or to that pedi cancer patient who “might” become schizophrenic or depressed. Moody kids at age 1 are given anti-depressants because they “might” become depressed later on and/or suicidal. Despite no real evidence from researchers in biological psychiatry’s academia for physical reasons for their mental disorders, we treat them “as if” they were real brain or chemical disorders. This violates our Code of Ethics for Nurses and Human Rights Article 5. We have Nurse Practitioners writing prescriptions for Zyprexa and Zoloft because it’s the standard that their MDs use. No questioning about alternatives or better solutions ever cross their minds because this might upset the MD and they could lose their jobs. All I have to say here is that if I have to live a life as a nurse and in performing my duties I knowingly harm my patients future with harmful drugs, then I should quit the profession and go back to hammering nails or waiting tables. Even that is more honorable than to continue to give children nervous-system-damaging drugs that are going to ruin their lives while I put my hours in and pick up my paycheck without a thought of what I’m doing to our future adults. Shame on us !!! Read this article, then sign the petition and let’s change this practice…

http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/157/31/

Petition:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

Major concerns on the practice of giving anti-depressant drugs to infants and children under age 8 in New Zealand. This report identifies the concern of practitioners that this practice is a bit shady. In the US, the FDA has not approved their use on young kids, yet, psychiatrists and pediatricians continue to push these on our youngest population. This is a human rights concern BECAUSE there is no long-term effect study available on the effects on the nervous systems of growing children and at this time there ARE known, negative side-effects of these SSRIs on nervous systems in both teenagers and adults. This is experimentation and violates basic Human Rights. There are NO safe psychiatric medications for children. Read this article and give me your opinion.

http://www.pharmalot.com/2007/09/babies-given-antidepressants-in-new-zealand/

Sign this petition to stop this abuse:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

“The investigation by Kern, DuPaul and their colleagues is the most ambitious study ever conducted of non-pharmacological, psychosocial interventions for young children with ADHD.”

The results were significant. Using a variety of early intervention strategies, parents reported, on average, a 17-percent decrease in aggression and a 21-percent improvement in their children’s social skills. Teachers saw similarly strong results; in the classroom, there was a 28-percent improvement in both categories. Early literacy skills improved up to three times over their baseline status.

“Medication may address the symptoms of ADHD,” says DuPaul, “but it does not necessarily improve children’s academic and social skills. And because this is a lifelong disorder, without any cure, it’s important that we start understanding what tools and strategies are effective for children with ADHD at such an early age.”

Read the whole article here:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/80359.php

In this article, author Evelyn Pringle exposes the questionable use of psychiatric drugs on children and the illegal marketing of these drugs to MDs for their off-label use. The questions NURSES should be asking themselves is should we be condoning this practice by following such physician’s orders to give them? How do we consent to give them without first being sure that the family understands completely what they are being given and what the side effects could be? Isn’t it about time we collectively said “Wait a minute, let’s stop and check this out!”?  Please read this article, then sign the petition below:

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1825.shtml

Petition:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

From the website: http://www.paxilpayback.org/media.html

“If you are the parent or guardian of a child who took the antidepressant Paxil or Paxil CR before the age of 18, you qualify to get your money back. The company that makes Paxil recently settled a class action lawsuit rather than go to trial and answer charges that it withheld important safety information about the drug.

“Even if you have not kept your receipts, you can get a refund of up to a hundred dollars if you submit a claim before August 31st.

“To learn more, call toll-free, 1-866-494-8404, or visit this website: www.PaxilPediatricSettlement.com. More than $60 million has been set aside to settle this lawsuit, so remember: if your minor child was on Paxil, you’ve got money coming.”

New York Times writer Gardiner Harris exposes the dirty secret behind closed doors and under the table dealings. If you are wondering if someone is profiting from the disproportionate increase in psychotropic drugs given to children at an increasingly earlier age, here’s an answer. But I’m betting that most nurses think this is acceptable treatment and that America has the most mentally ill children on this planet. I DON’T AGREE. Nurses have a Code of Ethics that puts us responsible for our patients welfare before any other socially acceptable, “don’t rock the boat”, we are the hand maiden’s to the all-knowing doctors of psychiatry. Let’s don’t be asleep at the wheel. Nurses drive the quality of healthcare. It’s our interactions with patients and behind the scenes coordination with other healthcare workers that produces positive outcomes for our patients. It’s obvious to many of us, including other MDs and Psychiatrists, that the pharmaceutical industry has undue influence in the treatment of the mentally ill. And if they aren’t diagnosed with the new “disorder” of the week in the DSM, they’ll make one up soon enough. What I am asking of you, my fellow nurses, is to LOOK for yourself and see if you don’t find something amiss in this area of medical practice. It’s my intention to change the course of treatment of the mentally ill to less coercive, more humane treatment. Back in the late 1800′s, in America, the mentally ill were housed on farms with clean rooms, open windows to look out upon pastures of nature, and given work on the farm as therapy. This was actually a workable environment until WWII and the German Psychiatry infiltrated America with it’s Eugenics viewpoint. Look for yourself, read this article, support House Bill 2387, sign the Nurses Call to Arms below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/health/psychology/27doctors.html
Sign Here!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

Dr. Lawrence Diller practices behavioral/developmental pediatrics in Walnut Creek, CA. He brings to the forefront what nurses should be questioning for themselves. The Standard of Care for children with bipolar disorders has no substantiative evidence as a biological illness and the drugging with psychotropic drugs should be stopped. It’s a bad practice. It’s going to be found that we are worsening our children in the long run. Let’s don’t bring up the fact that the FDA has not approved any of these drugs for children or the fact that the parents are not given FULL INFORMED CONSENT about their side effects. Nurses should be searching their own personal ethics before giving another child or young adult psychotropic medications. Read the article from the Boston Globe and sign the petition below it.
http://tinyurl.com/3a7ozc
Sign Here!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

The Boston Globe is providing a follow-up report on drugging children for mental health disorders and questioning the ethics of such proliferation of using psychotropic drugs on infants since the tragic death of 4 year old Rebecca Riley. One of the leading child psychaitrist, Dr. Joseph Beiderman of Massachusettes General Hospital, has been promoting the use of drugs on infants on the assumption that mental illness can be diagnosed “from the moment the child opened his eyes”. Despite the fact that there is no substantiating research evidence of any physical or physiological condition causing any mental illness, much less be reproducible in a lab setting, psychiatrists continue to push damaging psychotropic drugs on children at an ever earlier age. Nurses should not condone this damaging practice just because some “experts” say it’s real. Most of us are parents and know how to handle an unrulely child. It doesn’t require medication. It requires good parenting skills and good nutrition and proper rest. Go here to see the article and make any comments you want about it here. Also, sign the petition below.
http://tinyurl.com/23b79z
Sign Here!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/

Go to this website: http://thomas.loc.gov/
Type in Bill number “HR 2387″
This legislation is important and should be supported by nurses as it puts into law that all Parents will be given FULL INFORMED CONSENT before any mental health screening or intervention is initiated toward their children. It also highlights the current situation and research regarding mental health in general. Rather than nurses just taking orders and robotically administering drug therapies, nurses should be protecting HUMAN RIGHTS by using our own Nurses Code of Ethics. Informing parents and patients of the side effects of psychotropic drugs and offering them alternatives to these therapies hits into the heart of nursing…treating patients to get them better, not worse. You can see the bill also on this website under Pages labeled HR 2387.

This article points out two very important issues for nurses. The story of Anya points out how parents are not given FULL INFORMED CONSENT before their children are being drugged with off-lable and atypical psychotropic drugs. Anya’s mother did not know what side effects she could expect from Risperdal nor was she given any alternative treatments for her daughter’s condition. This violates our Nurses Code of Ethics and should not have happened. Secondly, there was no evidence that Resperdal should be used for eating disorders, so a psychiatrist decided, and without consent, to experiment with using the drug on this 12 year old to help her gain weight. Human experimentation without consent is a violation of their HUMAN RIGHTS. Nurses should be calling for a cessation of this practice. Are you going to help me fight for their rights? Read the article, sign the petition:
http://tinyurl.com/yretun
Sign Here!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NrseCall2Arms/