oh, blackcat, that resonates with me! Crying in frustration and anxiety! So much that!! My son couldn't even PLAY without medication. He was so miserable! Receptionist at the medical clinic was talking about "those crap meds" meaning Ritalin, whilst at the same time talking stories about her dosing with coffee. Riiiight.... whatever. She doesn't know my son and I both have ADHD and medication (well, mine is discontinued, but at the time I was on it).
The anti-med propaganda is misleading and results in unnecessary suffering of children who would benefit from medication, and lifetimes of paralyzingly shame.
As far as the "long term effects of stimulant medication" -- that's always an eye roll from me. ADHD symptoms were first hypthesized to be medical rather than a "defect of moral control" in 1932. The first stimulant medications were used in children in 1937. Stimulants have been used long enough to assess long term effect.
