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Mesa resident Pepper Draper’s son was put on Ritalin eight years ago. Now, she’s crusading against the use of antidepressants in children.
"I put him on it because his teacher said he had some concentration problems and if I didn’t put him on Ritalin he would eventually drop out of school, become a drug user and an alcoholic," said Draper about her son, Broque Draper, now 17 and a junior at Higley High School. "I was scared because there is alcoholism in my family. I ran to the doctor and he put my son on the medicine."
A few months after using the drug, a mix-up in the dosage given to her son caused an overdose.
For years following the incident, she said, her son had problems from Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by repeated and involuntary body movements, to extreme depression.
Since then Draper has been on a crusade to get people, especially children, off the class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such at Ritalin and Prozac.
Draper, who for the past year and a half has been the Arizona director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness, plans to present her views at a Feb. 2 Food and Drug Administration hearing concerning the use of such drugs in children.
The FDA is reviewing studies that suggest there is an increase of suicide and violent acts in children who are on antidepressants. After reviewing the studies, an FDA committee will consider if any changes need to be made concerning prescribing antidepressants to children.
"I would like any parent who has had a child commit suicide or a violent act while on or coming off of these types of drugs to call me and tell me their story," Draper said. "I will then take these stories to the hearing for the FDA to review."
Dr. Eric Benjamin, section chief of child psychiatry at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, said the studies are misleading because they don’t individualize the dosage to each child.
"The dose of Prozac needs to be tailored to the individual," he said. "Thirty milligrams in one child and they will just start to come around. Five milligrams in another child and they will be dancing on the table."
There are certain mental disorders, such as bipolar, where these drugs should not be prescribed because they can cause problems, he said. But in the appropriate cases, the drugs are beneficial, he said.
He said it is important to go to a specialist that understands the behavioral changes that could occur while on drugs.
"Without the proper education, you can get into trouble," Benjamin said. "These drugs are felt to be so safe by general doctors that they can be misprescribed. If a general doctor says treatment is needed, it is best to seek out a specialist."
Paradise Valley resident Sherri Walton has two daughters on Prozac. Her daughter, Jordan Walton, 14, has been on various selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors for seven years and her daughter Katie, 12, has been on them for five years.
Walton, who has been on the board of directors for the Mental Health Association for five years, said her daughters went on the medications for obsessive compulsive disorder.
She said she often talks to concerned parents who are told their child has a mental illness. She said she encourages parents to become educated on the subjects of mental illnesses and medications.
"Parents should always ask lots of questions," Walton said. "If they aren’t comfortable with their doctor, they should go to another one."
To contact Pepper Draper about a child committing suicide or violence that might be linked to antidepressants, call (602) 526-3899.
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