Beware of dangerous ‘zombie drugs’ to treat ADHD
What could a failed diet drug and an antidepressant that bombed during its clinical trials possibly have in common?
They both have kids and adults in their crosshairs to “treat” “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” otherwise known as ADHD — one of the best money-making conditions Big Pharma has ever had the good fortune to stumble on.
That failed antidepressant is none other than Strattera, which the FDA has just approved in generic form for the first time. That means it will be cheaper, and much more likely to be prescribed.
The diet drug, mazindol, is currently being “tweaked and made over” into a new potential blockbuster to treat adults and even kids with ADHD.
Another thing they both have in common are side effects that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
I’m always amazed that the FDA would even think about approving such dangerous drugs for little children, let alone give doctors the green light to prescribe them.
Strattera has been on the market for a while, first hitting the pharmacy shelves in 2002 after being repackaged for ADHD when it proved to be a dud of an antidepressant. And a few years later the FDA made Lilly add a black-box warning about putting kids and teens at risk for “suicidal thoughts or actions.”
But that’s just one horror in a long list of Strattera side effects. Parents of kids taking the drug have reported effects like extreme weight loss, depression, obsessions with death, bouts of violence and a rapid heart rate.
And if you look at the drug’s label, you’ll find warnings for “liver injury,” “heart-related problems,” and “sudden death.” Another serious side effect is something typically associated with male “performance” pills — a condition called “priapism,” or an erection that doesn’t go away. On Strattera, however, it can happen to even little boys who are far from going through puberty.
Now the drug has been turned into a cheap generic, with the FDA tooting its horn about continuing its “top priority” in bringing generics to market so “patients have more options to treat their conditions.”
Well, thanks for nothing, FDA.
Then there’s mazindol, an expensive diet med sold under the brand name Sanorex that the FDA approved back in the 1970s. With side effects such as an irregular heartbeat, sky-high blood pressure, hallucinations, “abnormal behavior, or confusion,” tremors, and possible addiction, it’s no wonder it disappeared from the market.
Currently, however, a Swiss drugmaker is claiming to have given the med a makeover for adults with ADHD.
But researchers also aren’t forgetting about all those kids — close to five million who are currently taking heavy-duty drugs for that condition. Mazindol already has a phase II study in the bag involving kids as young as nine.
Last month I told you how more parents are realizing the clear and present danger these drugs represent, and rediscovering how eliminating certain foods and food additives is not only a common-sense approach, but one that really works.
HSI panel member Dr. Allan Spreen has been advocating those kinds of dietary approaches for years. He says that many kids who are hyperactive are also chemically sensitive, and that the improvements with some simple dietary changes “can be absolutely amazing.”
Some of the worst offenders where these kids are concerned are artificial colors, preservatives, MSG and aspartame.
So instead of being pressured to give your child or grandchild some zombie med or even one of the shiny new ones on the market, as Dr. Spreen has said, don’t believe for one minute that drugs “are the only answer.”
And especially don’t believe that meds like Strattera and mazindol are any kind of answer.
“FDA approves first generic Strattera for the treatment of ADHD, FDA, May 30, 2017, fda.gov
