Comments on: Consumer Reports on Vacuum Cleaners? Maybe. On ADHD Medications? Definitely Not!

By: Gina Pera

Gina Pera — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:12:14 +0000

Thanks for chiming in, Mark.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:23:37 +0000

I was not aware of this report until I read your blog so I’d like to thank you first for sharing. For me, ADHD is a serious illness and in critical conditions like this utmost care and proper medication are needed. I do not know of anyone suffering from ADHD but when I talk to my friends who suffer from diabetes I always tell them to go for trusted (although) expensive brands and never to trust articles or reports you read online on expensive and generic brands having similar effects because it ain’t true. Branded medicines are way much, much better.

Mark

By: allen

allen — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:02:20 +0000

I have never whished Bad things on strangers before but this definitely takes the cake.
Let’s hope when he gets Cancer that his Insurance Company will pay for the rite radiation not just a couple X-Rays and 2 aspirin for the pain.

Merry Christmas Santa

By: Gina Pera

Gina Pera — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:45:52 +0000

Thanks Jeff, Paul, Scott, Dr. Parker, and Sue. I appreciate you joining me in speaking out. A “report” like that gets picked up by many papers and blogs, and there should be a counter-balance somewhere.

Just in case readers miss it here, I added a closing post to the CR blog: http://tinyurl.com/l479h7

By: Scott Hutson

Scott Hutson — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:31:05 +0000

Gina,

Thank You for allerting us all! I can give an example from personal experiance about Brand name-vs-generic(not adhd med). I must take Dilantin to prevent asymptomatic seizures. I must have blood tests regulary to maintain Dilantin level, or risk a life threatening seizure.

The short story is…generic Dilantin was not keeping me at a safe level, after I switched to it. My Dr. was very concerned(me too). Switched back to brand name, and next blood test was good. Thats all I know about this subject. In my case,the old saying “You get what you pay for” is a matter of life and death.

Scott

By: Vacuum Cleaners and Meds | Jeff's A.D.D. Mind

Vacuum Cleaners and Meds | Jeff's A.D.D. Mind — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:44:08 +0000

[...] prepare you for the latter, then you will definitely want to read Gina Pera’s post about Consumer Reports dispensing bad medical information. This should be of great concern as we (potentially) move into the era of controlled/controlling [...]

By: Paul T.

Paul T. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:12:48 +0000

Right on, Gina. When I first heard about this Consumers Report on ADHD meds, I thought I was mishearing. How could they get it so wrong — and so confidently think they’re right? It boggles the mind. The height of irresponsibility.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:19:10 +0000

If these are the kinds of “gifts” delivered by Santa…I think it’s time to change our iconic image for the next Christmas Season.

Thank you again, Gina, for alerting us about issues that are vital to the ADHD community.

By: Dr Charles Parker

Dr Charles Parker — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:39:24 +0000

Gina,
Thanks so much for keeping those of us who work everyday with ADHD up-to-date with the superficial vagaries of economic priorities, pop science, and unverified street gossip! For Santa, quality, titration, medical specificity, compliance, and good patient care appear to reside downstream from the priorities of casual platitudes.

Maybe we should simply forget about the needs of the real people who suffer with inadequately treated ADHD for years, having taken the medications Santa suggests should become the ‘best consumer choice.’

His conclusions simply do not match the opinions of informed street consumers who regularly report with painful clarity the problems with those outdated medications that encourage capricious dosing, occasional use, irresponsible diagnostic/treatment strategies, and, as you accurately point out, drug abuse.

I submit for Consumers this Report: Those immediate release medications have significantly set back the accurate diagnosis and scientific treatment of ADHD, and have fostered many derogatory beliefs regarding those who suffer with ADHD. Given the choice, far more in my office prefer the newer medications for their efficacy, their duration, their precision and their increased safety. Immediate release medications are not considered first choice even by the most autocratic and penurious managed care companies who make their living denying adequate patient care.

C’mon Santa, your ‘consumers’ are obviously not patients, but those who are still in denial that ADHD is an actual disorder, – and think it’s a belief system.

Thanks, Gina, for precise reporting… – and for the concerned consumers: caveat emptor!
cp

By: Sue Teschke

Sue Teschke — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:16:17 +0000

How irresponsible for an agency like this to make medical recommendations such as this without consulting the experts. In this case they’ve thoughtlessly and recklessly used their power of consumer persuasion. As a Consumer Reports subscriber, how can I trust their opinion again?

Consider my Consumer Reports subscription canceled!