klmno

Active Member
I just came back from visiting difficult child in juvie. He was saying that kids on seroquel will sometimes cheek them, then use the seroquel as a bet while playing cards. He says the kids say it can make you high.

Did everyone except me already know this?

I'm kind of glad now that psychiatrist changed difficult child from seroquel to risperdal, just so he can't be doing this.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I guess it may be kind of common. Here's what Wikipedia says.

"Addiction and abuse Quetiapine is not currently classified as a controlled substance. Reports of quetiapine abuse have emerged in the medical literature, however. While the drug is usually abused through the crushing and snorting of tablets (insufflation), there have also been reports of intravenous abuse and intravenous co-administration with cocaine.[27] A 2004 report recorded a 30% rate of inmate use in the Los Angeles County Jail, where the drug was obtained by inmates faking schizophrenic symptoms and resold under the street name "quell".[28] Also known as "Susie-Q", the drug may be more commonly abused in prisons due to its capacity to be regularly prescribed as a sedative and the unavailability in prison of more commonly abused substances. A letter to the editor which appeared in the January 2007 American Journal of Psychiatry has proposed a 'need for additional studies to explore the addiction-potential of quetiapine'. The letter reports that its authors are physicians who work in the Ohio correctional system. They report that 'prisoners ... have threatened legal action and even suicide when presented with discontinuation of quetiapine' and that they have 'not seen similar drug-seeking behavior with other second-generation antipsychotics of comparable efficacy'. [29]
Along with benzodiazepines, atypical antipsychotics have sometimes been used to "come down" off amphetamines. When used in this manner the slang term "downer" is often applied."
 

Steely

Active Member
It can be used as a drug to get you high........anything can.........even cold medicine. Unfortunately Risperdal is almost the same chemical make up as Seroquel, and probably will be equally as coveted among his peers.

I think, most medications, can be mis-used. I remember as a teen, my peers thought it was cool to take Thorazine. (What?)
Whatever these kids can find to make them feel "drugged" out, and make them feel less connected to reality they want.

On another note - I must have missed some posts, sorry, but why is difficult child in juvy??? I thought he was not going to go to juvy, but remain on probation.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
So, Abilify and Ripserdal or any of the other 2nd gen. AP's don't get you "high" like Seroquel? Or are people getting high on all of the AP's? Did they just report on Seroquel, and your difficult child just hear about Seroquel?
K is starting Seroquel on Monday, while I don't worry about her getting high... most psychiatrist's have said in the past, "It is the same as the other AP's" Just different side affects, less or more, give or take. Kind of in the middle.

Pretty interesting. People will get high on anything...
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
Steely you kind of answered my thoughts...
Oh yeah I remember Qualudes! (Spelling?) Everyone tried to get those...
 

klmno

Active Member
Well, we're talking juvie here- where they don't know everything they think they do. :unimpressed: My guess is that 1) they "think" it's doing more for them than it is, or 2) maybe it is helping them sleep more- not really making them "high" by our definition

risperdal- well, either difficult child hasn't heard from the other kids "how great" it is, so he hasn't thought about it- or (hopefully not) he is doing this with risperdal and just hasn't gotten caught or told me about it yet. I think he's figuring out that he needs his medications though, because he told me "he lost it" the other day in his room and asked for a risperdal PRN, which he is allowed to do now.
 

klmno

Active Member
Steely, yep- difficult child is in juvy- I covered it in my previous 2 posts. He has court this Thurs., so we'll see what happens then.

I can't believe anyone would CHOOSE to take thorazine- but you're right- if someone tells a teenager that something is cool, they will do anything. Kind of like the baby that sticks anything and everything in his/her mouth.
 

Sara PA

New Member
Ok, I can't let this go....

That's why kids who have stimulant rebound are prescribed antipsychotics. Downers take the edge off when the stims wear off. Speed freaks (do they still call them that?) use(d) alcohol and/or pot for the same thing.

Just like so many kids who have taken stims for years end up on antidepressants -- long term chronic use of amphetamines/amphetamine-like drugs can cause depression.

We knew all this back in the 60's or 70's. Nothing's changed except the drugs are being prescribed rather than used recreationally.
 

klmno

Active Member
Are you saying that the kids on stims are probably really seeking this- and not just because "all the others" are talking about it?
 

Sara PA

New Member
Kids on stims could be seeking them. Some people just like downers. When you hate where you are and don't want to be a part of it, taking downers helps get you through. If you're lucky, you can get something that lets you sleep the days away. Or so I'm told. I hate the feeling.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I personally think its' NUTS how quickly psychiatrists hand out medications, sometimes without even being sure what's wrong with the child.
Stims can be and are regularly abused. My daughter abused them and told me the whole nine yards--kids fake ADHD or steal stims from siblings or just buy them off the street (Adderall is $10/pill), crush them in a pillcrusher and snort them either alone or with cocaine-like drugs. Then they need downers to sleep. They can be addictive. My daughter claims she was addicted to stimulants. She said all ADHD stimulants are abused, but Adderrall is coveted the most.
ANY drug can be crushed and snorted and abused. If Seroquel can, so can Risperdal. They are in the same family. Over-the-counter drugs are also abused and my daughter used those too. Many that she used to use now are behind the pharmacist's counter, and they log who buys them and how often.
Nothing surprises me after talking to my kid. Fortunately for her (and us) she quit using, and is a wealth of information on drug abuse. This isn't just teens, by the way. She knew many adults my age who sold drugs and used them. It's sick.
 

Sara PA

New Member
Adderall is the most desired because it's nothing more than amphetamine salts -- speed. Same with Dexedrine. Ritalin/Concerta/Metadate/Daytrana are methylphenidate, an amphetamine derivitive which is considered an "amphetamine-like" substance.
 

klmno

Active Member
Now that you mention it, I remember years ago, before difficult child was a difficult child and thus, he was not on any medications, I heard from other parents that some parents got their kids on stims so THEY could take the stims.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I have a friend who used to work in Disability. She said that this is a common problem--parents take the child's ADHD stimulants to get high. Sad, sad, sad.
Our doctors need to make sure that the medications they prescribe are being used correctly. Most of all, they need to be more cautious in prescribing them. It would be nice if they spent more than one hour with the child before bringing out the prescription pad...JMO
 

susiestar

Roll With It
MWM - The docs spend an HOUR with a child before sprescribing stimulants??? One practice here will take a parent's (that is ONE parent, not both parents) word about ADHD and have you paid and out the door with a prescription in under FIFTEEN MINUTES!!!!! No tests, questionairres, teacher questionairres, etc...... And they will write it for 90 days if you have mail order pharmacy with your insurance!!!

Of course, once the "diagnosis" is made, then you can get your monthly refills for a YEAR (or 90 day refills) as long as you give them 3 days notice to get the scrip written.

These are Family Care Docs, not pediatricians, and they truly have a scary way of operating. My niece goes there.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
That's pathetic, and why I like neuropsychologist exams. THey are very thorough. Unfortunately lots of parents, and some professionals too, think that every hyper, inattentive kid has ADHD and needs stims. Frankly, after what I've learned about abuse and the fact that stims affect mood, even if my son had ADHD, I wouldn't medicate it. in my opinion they often make things worse, and I wouldn't want to take that chance. I tried stims on my kid and each one made him mean and aggressive.
I wish they spent more time diagnosing and less time writing out prescriptions. Again, that's why I recommend NeuroPsychs.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
Yes it is sooo scary, When I was at a NAMI meeting here. I stood up and asked, "Who is prescribing all of the medications here in this town?" "Who is prescribing to the kids!!! I can understand who is prescribing to us as adults, but who gives the kids the medications?"

Everyone just kinds of looked at me... blank. One person said,"Well the psychiatrist's" I said, "No, there are only 3 psychiatrist's here and not one takes any new patients, let alone 13 and under, and there are NONE up here in North Idaho"

More blank looks... I asked if any one had any ideas? I said, the Peds... I asked who was diagnosis'ing the kids? blank looks... One person said, "Well what about Spokane" I said the same thing, none taking patients, only a couple even practice...
So I said, "This isn't a problem in this community?" Do any of you see a problem with not only getting your own medications from someone who knows very little about Mental Illness, but our own kids?

Mumble, mumble... no one would look at me. About that time I stopped getting asked to start the kids Mental Illness support group!!!

and we have a huge Meth problem... self medication! Ya think...
I "need" some coffee...
 

klmno

Active Member
I agree, MM, and I was appalled to find so many parents who just automatically put their kids on stims the first time someone even mentioned ADHD- and these were kids that were 5, 6, 7 yo. I'm not saying that some kids don't need them, but it would take more than one opinion for me to do it- or, some real time spent with someone qualified to make that diagnosis. What was worse, scripts were given before there was effort to cut out caffeine drinks at bedtime on a school night, decrease sugar intake, increase sleep hours, decrease stress and stimulation at home (people who were constantly having friends over), increase routine and structure at home. And this isn't meant to blame the parents- I was seeing a counselor at the time who counseled families where adhd was involved. He was telling me all this stuff the counselors cover with these families and the kids. None of it had to do with educating the family about effects of overstimulation. And many parents we knew were very young (unlike me!) with their first kid. They probably did this innocently and unknowingly.

Obviously, this situation doesn't fit all parents or households, but I did see it in many people we knew in our neighborhood and at difficult child's scout troop.

Anyway, I'm trying to get a counselor set up at the place that did difficult child's MDE in October. The psychiatrist there believed in dealing with as much as possible through adequate therapy (not rewards and punishment- but cognitive- where difficult child actually learns to identify triggers and how to cope with daily life better, etc) with the goal of minimizing the amount of medications he will need in the short term and long term. And, he needs to develop these skills anyway- medications or no medications. Also, there is supposed to be work with me to learn more about helping him de-esscalate and things like that. It sounded a little more along the line of CPS, which I would love to find through counseling.


difficult child said today that when he'd lost all the good friends he had (really, one good friend and a few mutual friends from that friend), the only kids that wanted anything to do with him were the ones doing drugs. He said he never did any (he was on drug testing) but now he doesn't want to hang out with those kids anyway. I'm sure there will be plenty more situations like this coming up, but I just keep trying to support and encourage him when he seems to be making good decisions. Hopefully, if he's home by the end of the summer, he'll be able to make friends with kids who aren't doing drugs once school starts back.
 
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