Whatever your kids have told you about these drugs – which are primarily Adderall and Ritalin – here is what you as parents should know, and should look into further.

Here are the side effects for each drug – taken from drugs.com. The lists are long, and there may be things on them you don’t understand. You can look them up online. But, even if you didn’t look up anything, there’s enough there that you will understand to make you realize that these drugs are nothing to fool around with. And if your kids are taking them, it might be time to contact a drug rehab program and speak with a professional to see if there’s a problem.

Adderall

Cardiovascular: Palpitations, tachycardia, elevation of blood pressure, sudden death, myocardial infarction. There have been isolated reports of cardiomyopathy associated with chronic amphetamine use.

Central Nervous System: Psychotic episodes at recommended doses, overstimulation, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, euphoria, dyskinesia, dysphoria, depression, tremor, headache, exacerbation of motor and phonic tics and Tourette’s syndrome, seizures, stroke.

Gastrointestinal: Dryness of the mouth, unpleasant taste, diarrhea, constipation, other gastrointestinal disturbances. Anorexia and weight loss may occur as undesirable effects.

Allergic: Urticaria, rash, hypersensitivity reactions including angioedema and anaphylaxis. Serious skin rashes, including Stevens Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis have been reported.

Endocrine: Impotence, changes in libido.

Ritalin

Nervousness, insomnia, hypersensitivity (including skin rash, urticaria, fever, arthralgia, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme with histopathological findings of necrotizing vasculitis, and thrombocytopenic purpura); anorexia; nausea; dizziness; palpitations; headache; dyskinesia; drowsiness; blood pressure and pulse changes, both up and down; tachycardia; angina; cardiac arrhythmia; abdominal pain; weight loss during prolonged therapy, Tourette’s syndrome, toxic psychosis has been reported, abnormal liver function, cerebral arteritis and/or occlusion; leukopenia and/or anemia; transient depressed mood; aggressive behavior; scalp hair loss, neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS).

So, now your kids are going to say they’ve already taken it and nothing like that has happened to them. But, that doesn’t mean it won’t. It’s probable that they won’t have some kind of severe physical allergic reaction to it if they’ve already taken it and nothing has happened – but it’s not true that none of the other things will happen. They could happen at any time.

Another really worrying thing is that kids often get their drugs from other kids – not from doctors. Their friends either sell them to them or give them to them free of charge. And your kid might do the same – give someone a few of their pills to ‘help them out’ during exams time.

But they never know how that person is going to reaction. What if they did have a severe reaction? What if they wound up in hospital or, heaven forbid, dead. Your child would feel horrible about that for the rest of their lives. It might even ruin their life.

Also, if your son or daughter knew about the possible effects of these drugs, continues to take them and also doesn’t tell others about how dangerous the drugs can be, and then someone they know is injured while taking these drugs – that’s another guilt trip.

Don’t take your son or daughter’s word for what is safe and what is not – no matter what their friends have told them and how many of them are doing it. Learn the information you as parents need to have to make certain that something is safe for yourself.

And don’t get fooled into thinking “Oh, that could never happen to my son!” I’m sure you could guess that that’s what most parents of kids who’ve gotten into trouble with drugs or alcohol told themselves.

If you’re not successful at getting your kids to stop taking drugs by reasoning with them and giving them the full and correct information – they need drug rehab.

Did you know, for example, that …

• More than one in five kids who drop out of college do so because of something related to alcohol?

• Each year there are nearly 2,000 college students die from alcohol-related incidents?

• Over 600,000 college students are unintentionally injured due to alcohol?

• One in four people aged 18 through 34 binge drink – five drinks or more in one sitting?

• Alcohol is involved in 90% of college rapes?

• 70% of college kids say they had unplanned sex because of alcohol and that 20% did not use protection?

• 22.9% of college students meet the medical definition for alcohol or drug abuse or dependence. The rest of the population averages 8.5%.

• That the number of kids using prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet non-medically is rising dramatically?

• That more than 20% of college kids use Adderall as a study drug or to party?

• That 90% of the students who use Adderall also binge drink and are heavy drinkers?

• That full-time college students who use Adderall are 3 times more likely to use marijuana, 8 times more likely to use cocaine, 8 times more likely to use tranquilizers, and 5 times more likely to use pain relievers?

This is pretty serious stuff – and not at all what parents had in mind when they sent their kids off to college with the money the family had been saving for years.

These kids aren’t just having a good time – they are doing things that are very dangerous.

If you have a son or daughter that’s drinking or taking drugs, don’t take it lightly. It’s easy to think that something bad won’t happen to your kid, or that your kid’s drinking or drug taking won’t get worse – some parents even think that going to college will straighten them out. But, statistically, that’s just not true. Get them through a drug rehab program – they also address alcohol – before they go to college. A good program will help them resist the temptation when college comes around.

And, remember, 25% of college students say that drinking alcohol has adversely affected their performance as a student. Don’t be afraid to take your college kid out of college for a while to sort them out. They have far more chance of getting the education and having the future both they and you envisioned.

Lindsay is no stranger at this point to the world of alcohol and drugs, or the court system. She was put on probation for a three year period and has been wearing an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet since May, and well before that, ordered by the court to attend alcohol treatment classes. But, she keeps pushing her luck. She’s been caught drinking with the alcohol bracelet on and she’s missed several of her treatment classes.

Well, it looks like her luck ran out. She’s been sentenced to 90 days in jail and has to go to an in-patient drug rehab program. When the judge came down with that sentence, Lindsay started to cry and plead with the court not to do that to her, but it was too little, too late. The judge basically looked at the apology as insincere and the tears as those of a crocodile.

News has also surfaced about Lindsay being prescribed a very strong painkiller called Dilaudid. This is a drug that has been compared to morphine and even heroin. She’s also prescribed Ambien (to help her sleep) and Adderall (to combat anxiety). There are too many bright, young stars being prescribed whatever drugs they want with tragic outcomes like overdose and death.

Honestly, I think the judge is doing right by Lindsay to up the ante in terms of her consequences. So far, probation and an alcohol-detecting ankle bracelet haven’t worked. And, with doctors being willing to prescribe whatever drugs she wants, coupled with the idea that she’s basically untouchable, she obviously doesn’t have a clue about responsible behavior and moral values. If she’s not willing to help herself, the law will.

Hopefully she actually dives into the drug rehab program portion of sentence and gets a clue. It would be awful if she wound up dead like so many of our favorite celebs and singers in recent years.

When I say prescription drugs, I’m referring to drugs like prescription painkillers (Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocent), prescription stimulants (Ritalin and Adderall), anti-anxiety drugs (Valium and Xanax) and prescription sleep aids (Ambien). All of these drugs can have physical and mental affects on teens along with a high chance for addiction problems.

The drugs that I mentioned are all highly addictive and can cause physical dependence issues. Because this is possible, drug detox and drug rehab may be required in order to help a person stop taking them.

In teens, the use of these drugs can cause their brain to stop growing. And, with most teens being unaware of the dangers involved, they think it’s ok to experiment with them. It’s important to educate kids about what can happen to them. It’s also important for us, as parents, to be educated, especially if doctors want to put kids on drug therapies for attention disorders, anxiety or depression.

Kids get a hold of these drugs not only from their friends, but from their parents’ medicine cabinets. It’s important to stay alert to this and make sure that prescriptions don’t fall into the wrong hands.

Another factor that can perpetuate this, is kids seeing their parents taking prescription drugs. They think it’s not dangerous because, if their parents are taking them, it must not be bad. The same goes for alcohol abuse if you, if kids see their parents drinking, especially abusing alcohol, there’s a good chance that they will drink.

Have you had enough of a drug problem of your own or perhaps a drug problem that a loved one is going through? Call us at Drug Rehab Referral to find a successful alcohol or drug rehab program. We help people get through this every day!

Now another drug called Provigil is being used as a study drug. It is approved by the FDA to treat daytime tiredness associated with sleep disorders like narcolepsy.

As usualy, it’s being abused. As is just about every other prescription drug that can give you a high, keep you awake, help you sleep or alter your awareness and perception.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) says Provigil is more addictive than they thought. And plenty of students are buying and selling it – legally. They call it the ‘smart drug.’

Watch out for your college kids taking these drugs. Kids in college can get overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do, the learning curve and, often, trying to cope with all that and keep up a busy social schedule.

It’s not unusual for one kid to offer another a drug – here, take this, it will help you study. Many kids won’t refuse.

Kids whose parents educate them about drugs are 50% less likely to use them. Make sure you include Provigil, Ritalin and Adderall in that education.