ADHD Child Update and Have a Question About Meds for ADHD

Yes, I do understand. There was a program on PBS last week, you may be able to find a copy on their website. I think it was called Living and Loving Life with ADD. Anyway, they dispelled all the myths about ADD. Medication helped my son tremendously, it was an extremely hard decision to make. I'm also anti-medication. Medication was mentioned in the film; AD(H)D has been studied for over 30 years and the medications that people have taken have not had any major side effects. Although, it could potentially lead to a smaller appetite and is a stimulant, so watch sleep habits. Neither of these issues have affected my son.
My son is taking Adderal, you can get it generic. This medication is nice because it doesn't have to be taken every day. In other words, it doesn't have to build up in his system. If he misses a pill he can start over the next day. This in mind, teachers, etc can tell when he hasn't taken a pill. He has told me he doesn't feel any different taking them except that he can focus more. He has told me that he notices how much they help him and he wants to continue to take them. I chose not to do the extended dose because I wanted to have more control over the dosage. What they did for him was start him on the absolute lowest dose to see what would happen. He's been on it for almost 3 years now, and we added 1/2 dose at lunch, yet he's still on the lower side.
One of the thoughts about medicating is- try it out for a few months and see if teachers/etc notice a difference. This is using the medication as a diagnosis. If you see negative changes, most likely ADD is not the correct diagnosis.
Good Luck!

You're going to get slammed with a lot of "try this instead" garbage, so be prepared.

Anyway, I'm the mom of a seven-year-old who's been on medication for his ADHD three years now. It's been totally transforming in a very positive way. There is no "best" medication out there. What's great for one child can be not as good for the next. The key is talking to the prescribing psychiatrist and really listening to his/her recommendations. Our son takes Concerta and is doing great on it. However, your son might not. That's why it's critical to talk it out with the doctor. It can take some trial and error to find just the right medication but don't give up if the first isn't perfect. There are so many to try and if you get that right one, you will be amazed.

The decision is never made lightly but I can tell you it's worth the leap of faith. Our son went from a boy who was out of control and kicked out of preschool to receiving the highest possible grades academically and behaviorally on his last report card in second grade. He's thriving and it's entirely due to the medication. His personality is exactly the same, only he can focus and control his body. Therapy has helped us get through the times when the medication isn't active, but otherwise, medication is like giving me glasses ... it connects the dots in his brain in ways we couldn't do on our own.

Best of luck! I hope medication is just as positive experience as it has been for us. For what it's worth, I don't know a single family that has tried medication to help their child with ADHD who has stopped medication. We've all been very happy with the results.

After reading your article, and the responses, I can relate to alot of what these moms have gone thru. I, too, struggled with accepting my son had ADD, and that he might indefintely need medication. I was very sad for him, and felt as if though I had failed in some way. But after much thought and conversations with my husband and close friends, they reminded me about how I had tried to help my son with his school work and had lots of patience and about all the extra time I had spent teaching him on my own, to stay on track with his class. His teacher encouraged me and helped all she could on her end. So, after a few weeks, and speaking with a psychologist and getting my son tested, and doing research online, I could grasp my mind around what was going on with my son, and recognize that medication could only benefit him. I was only hurting him by not accepting all the help that was out there for him to help him have a better learning experience in school. I felt bad that he could not enjoy school or making friends easily. After the meds. he has flourished in all ways. Of course, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Their appetite, their moments of tummy aches, maybe a little zoned out here and there, but you will definitely give them the opportunity to learn in a better way, and they will better for your acceptance of the medication. Just watch for side effects, always, dont be dismissive of little quirks you might notice. Sometime those little quirks do go away, but sometimes they might be a new reaction to the medication. Don't want to scare you, but just don't think that the med. is a cure all, it helps, but your diligence and patience, and motherly instinct is what will keep your child growing in the right direction. Right now, my son has been on it for three yrs., he is 10. I have always made him aware that just because you take a vitamin to help you focus, you still need to push yourself and train yourself to pay attention. In our household, we have never let him know he has ADD, only because I don't want him to feel carries around a label, a learning disabilty he should feel embarrassed about. We have always said he needs a vitamin to help him focus and he was fine with that. I am very proud of how far he has come, not the A student, but at least he feels like part of the class and not unsure of what is going on in the class. His dots have been connected, due to persistance, acceptance, ecouragement, and medication. My goal is to train him to be always be aware of staying focused, and taking notes, so as to hopefully ween off the meds by highschool.

Hi
I have a child who was diagnosed with add inattentive so a bit different than the most common types of add. We had no behavior issues just lack of focus. Anyway we did try meds after doing everything else. I would recommend that you get a really good psychiatrist who specializes in add to monitor and prescribe the meds. The pediatrician is another source but they are not as good in following up and giving recommendations...they just prescribe whatever the pharm company they have a good relationship with. There are so many kinds out there and they may have different side effect profiles so you have to try a few different ones and monitor for the first few months to see dosage and efficacy with low side effects.

You as the parent really need to do the research and even after monitor constantly. In my sons case he did well on the meds but weight gain was a issue...he had little appetite so I had to front load at breakfast and again at dinner. He Ate no lunch. However after 5 months we had to pull him off bc he developed tics...we decided that was not a side effect we wanted to live with. He now goes to a small private school and is having a great year bc of the class size and environment. I still have to stay on top of him but not like before. I also monitor his eating and give him supplements which help.....however its not the same as giving the meds. People who claim that doing Alternative therapy will "cure" or fix the add are NOT being accurate. Some of it helps certainly but not to the extent claimed! And meds when they work, work very well but do have side effects...we have nothing that compares to the efficacy of Ritalin type things for add. Some people do not want to do the research or accept this in our culture. For a percentage of kids it makes make no difference to be on meds. But for many kids it works very well.

Unfortunately for my son he developed tics so we had stop it but when you have tried everything else and not meds I do think you owe it to your child to at least try it and see. Good luck!

I have two friends whose children are on Adderall. They tried Ritalin first and experienced side effects. The Adderall has been working well for them. I would ask your doctor to explain the different options (instant release, extended release, etc.). The first one you try may not be quite right for your son, so be open to observing the effects son and switching if necessary.

An area to watch is the drug's effects on your son's appetite. My friends have to give the pill after breakfast, and then the child's appetite tends to be depressed through lunch, then they actually provide a meal after school and then a later dinner, as the effects wear off. They also make sure the protein content of their child's diet is high. Otherwise these stimulants can lead to weight loss.

Wow, I could have written this myself. My daughter is the same age as your son and she too was diagnosed with ADHD by two different doctors. I like you was againist medication but finally had to resort to it. Let me tell you what the pediatrician told me to help it clear some confusion up. It helped me make my decision. There was a group of kids all diagnosed to have ADHD and they were divided into three groups. One group just did behavioral therapy, second group just did medication only and the third group did both. Which do you think had better improvements? The third group of course. We tried just doing the behavorial therapy and it didn't work because there has to be consistency, not just by you but by everyone involved in the child's life. Now you know that is close to impossible! Medication alone can only do so much so it makes sense to me that the third group would have had better results. In my daughters case, once she was put on meds, her focus level increased dramatically. She started to really go in the right direction in school. For an example went from a reading level 1 to a level 4 withing a month after taking the meds. She is currently on Vyvanse and we have been pleased with the results so far. Along with the meds, we of course are doing some positive reinforcements and she is in counseling as well. It's a tough call and I completely understand. The problem is there are a lot of misconceptions out there about the meds. At first it might be trial and error until you find the right med that works for your son. Just be patient and stay strong! Good luck!

First of all, *hugs*. It is heartbreaking to realize and admit that your son needs chemical help and is not just "acting out". You also don't have to choose 1 solution. You aren't married to the med you choose and you don't have to stick to medication vs alternative therapies. You can do both.

No matter what meds you pick, there is a high chance you'll have to play with the dosage or switch to a a few different kinds before you find the EXACT perfect formula that he needs. When I went through this, I looked at the side effects and decided which I could live with for a while if they did show up.

A specialist will be able to give your son a blood test to get some more in depth info on his ADHD. The type of medication that ultimately works for him will be determined by the biggest factor that is causing his ADHD symptoms. Now, 90% of all kiddos will have a combination of factors so may need a combination of treatments for it to be truly effective.

My son's ADHD is severe and we went through 5 different meds last year including adderall and focaline and the side effects were just so darn hard for him. He went through violent mood swings with some, others turned him into a zombie. The Dr. just kept upping the dosages and everything was getting worse. His anxiety alone at the medications and having to go to school had him in tears almost everyday.

We finally were referred to a specialist who diagnosed the ADHD as being primarily metabolic. We took him off all meds temporarily for the summer so we could play with his diet while he was out of school. He now eats 6 meals for a total of about 5000 calories a day (no joke!) and on a good amount of b vitamin supplements with tons of excercise.

We also have been doing a good deal of cognitive therapy at home (I bought some books at Borders) and that is helping him be able to recognize when he is slipping and know which "tricks" to use to get himself back to focus.

Even with all this, it is obvious that medications will be necessary. We will be starting a small dose of daily focaline over the christmas break to get him transitioned into it without the added stress of school.

Have You tried the feingold program? It is worth a look.