Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS)
ILLEGAL MEXICAN WORKERS IN DARRINGTON ACADEMY
Deborah91:
Hey! Thank you so much for posting all of this information..
I went to Darrington Academy in 2004 when I was just 14 years old. I was there for 6 months & never made it past level 2.
I would compare this place next to hell.. I wouldn't know how to tell my story yet because I'm still trying to get past some things that happened there.. I have nightmares about that place. Every time its a different facility, staff, & people there, but its always the same trapped feeling. It was clearly unsuccessful because my real journey started AFTER I left the program. I had never been exposed to such horror before I went there. I was in 8th grade. I'm a Christian so they let me have my Bible, but NEVER talk about my religion or express it in any sort of way, and I deteriorated further from there.. When I was sick, I thought I really needed to go to the doctor but they would not let me since I didn't have those privileges. They separated me in the intervention room and all I ate for days was a small bowl of soup for each meal; as if I was going to gain health back with just soup... The doctor there had me start on a very high dose of Depakote several times a day also. I passed out several times on it, but no one seemed to care! I was shaking so bad and people had to help me walk to the next place we had to go, but still, the doctor would not take me off of the unnecessary medicine for days after my reaction. I was one of the smallest girls there and was one of the first to go on what they call "150%" for meals. I had told my mom I was really hungry there with eating strictly 3 times a day and that's it. Normally I would eat 6 small meals a day. I have a fast metabolism and I was getting so weak there. We would also run right after eating lunch so that would make me so sick.. Run run run. I'm very fit and always have been, but I was so overworked like an animal. Over a few months, my scalp started scabbing up... The very cheep shampoo used for our 5 minute everyday luke warm/maybe cold, shower was making my scalp react terribly.. It was infected basically and the nurse did not care! No one cared.. I remember seeing a girl go into a severe asthma attack once and she was looked at like a weakling. She didn't have her inhaler and I felt so bad. I knew something could have gone terribly wrong and she should have been rushed to the hospital..but of course that didn't happen.. I had also got my first 2 cavities ever there. Still//no dentist. I couldn't have midol for my SEVERE periods that I would have either. I found it funny that the boys could have razors but the girls were not trustworthy to have tampons, or razors. Boys got showers first//so we get the leftover hot water, if there was any. This is just a few things off the top of my head right now. But I'll end it here. Btw, I'm doing just fine today, finally. :)
BuzzKill:
A "doctor" at Darrington gave you Depacote? Well, he really should've known better.
The NIMH warning quoted in Part I is worth repeating here:
"According to studies conducted in Finland in patients with epilepsy, valproate [Depacote] may increase testosterone levels in teenage girls and produce polycystic ovary syndrome in women who began taking the medication before age 20. Increased testosterone can lead to polycystic ovary syndrome with irregular or absent menses, obesity, and abnormal growth of hair. Therefore, young female patients taking valproate should be monitored carefully by a physician."
The University of Toronto study also bears repeating, where half of those on Depakote reported menstrual abnormalities vs 15 percent among lithium users. Those taking Depakote had higher levels of male sex hormones, with half the overweight women with menstrual abnormalities having hyperandrogenism
http://http://www.mcmanweb.com/mood-stabilizers.html
see also: http://http://www.psycheducation.org/hormones/Insulin/weightgain.htm
BuzzKill:
And also:
http://http://crazymeds.com/
Depakote's pros and cons:
Pros: Proven to be effective for wide spectra of epileptic and bipolar disorders. It's been around for so long that the long-term effects are well known and well documented. If you can get past the initial side effects and get used to a valproate medication, you don't have to worry about anything biting your ass in the long run.
Cons: The side effects suck donkey dong! The valproates are amongst the harshest meds to take. Everyone hates them so much that they've given the entire class of anticonvulsants a bad name.
Depakote's Typical Side Effects: The usual for anticonvulsants plus a special set for valproates: instant old age. You'll get fat, bald, tired, confused, uninterested in sex, unable to hold your liquor and everything will give you heartburn and/or the runs.
For tips on how to cope with these side effects, please see our side effects page.
Depakote's Not So Common Side Effects: Edema. Being more prone to respiratory infections. Getting a ringing in your ears.
These may or may not happen to you don't, so don't be surprised one way or the other.
Deborah91:
Btw, I'm not taking any sorts of medications now. There is nothing wrong with me. I just think Darrington Academy wanted to drug me up. -& the Depakote certainly wasn't monitored with me, as I told you my very bad side effects. I was taking it as early as 14 years old there; big 2 doses a day. I didn't even know what it was for until after I got out. When I was 16 or 17 a doctor took an ultrasound because I was having really bad pelvic pains. They said cysts were bursting and it was endometriosis. Another doctor told me recently that it was impossible for me to have endometriosis because I was so young, but if I have polycystic ovary syndrome then it says it can start as early as 12. & Depakote hormones could cause it? hmm
thomasC:
I remember "butt hurt" from my program days. Isn't it sad how they get you to accept the programming by making you feel special for having submitted to it? Getting you to be an asshole for the program's sake like they were to you when you first got there? That's the real effect of having gone through the program. They replace whatever personality you had when you came in with that same elitist cult personality that you find in Scientologists, Marines, etc.
I still have those dreams, too. It isn't always the same staff, the same program, whatever. It's the same environment of complete domination, the same helpless, hopeless feeling, and I have been trying to escape it in my dreams for 5 years now. The actual events aren't as important to this trauma as the feeling of being completely isolated, having lost everything you thought you knew, all of your safety, your belief in a just world, your ability to influence your surroundings and so on.
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