My 6 Year Old Daughter Was Recently Diagnosed with ADD

My name is L. I have ADD and my Daughter was 6 when placed on Meds for ADD. All I can say is the meds will help her in school,but watch her with eating. I also suggest that you start with a lower dose and work your way up if needed. This is your baby and we have every right to agree or not agree with the doctor. My daughter nearly wasted away on Ridalin( her weight withered to nothing.) In that case there was a time she spent with my exhusband and she was not monitored correctly.We switched to streterra I liked it better,not a stimulant.The side effects are things my daughter struggled with. Reading all the side effects and keeping a diary on her changes of any kind will help you and the Doctor. As for Adderall a NANNY I have play dates with watches a 7 year old who is on it and well again she does great in every area,but I noticed her eating is poor and she was small for her age. I pray you will receive wisdom through my experience. I will keep you in my Prayers,let me know how things go.

ps. You also could try diet changes.

Sincerely yours,

L.

My son was first diagnosed with ADHD when he was in first grade and we tried medications. We did see a great improvement on his attention but he seemed to be tired all the time. After about 2 weeks it did get better but we still had to battle him everyday to take it. Finally we gave up after a few months and tried the diet changes and having everything more structured. Unfortunately it did not work for us to the point of making the difference he needed. It is definately worth a try even while on medication to do as well though!

When my son was in high school he finally asked me to take him to the Dr to be put back on meds. We did and went through some extensive testing this time around but he was put on Aderall and did great... for a month! He stopped taking them when he thought he was "cured". He eventually changed schools because of problems, had problems in the new school and then we started to home school him since we were out of other options and he refused the meds again. He also is not a morning person so we would do his schooling in the evenings when he was more attentive and that helped us. I am not saying you should homeschool your child- I am just telling you our last resort for him to finish his education without the meds he needed.

I kick myself now for not "forcing" him to take them when he was younger and making it a part of his normal life. Join a support group with other parents who have children with ADD and see how they are dealing with this. Let her school also know that she has ADD and how you are handling it and what to expect from her if you do decide to do the medication.

I hope you find the answer that is right for you! Talk to your Dr about your concerns and fears. Go in there with a list of questions though so you do not forget them when he walks in! I have done that tooooo many times :)
Good luck and many blessings to you and yours!

C.,

I would avoid the medication unless she is truly unable to function having ADD.

I think just having the diagnosis, is enough to help teachers, parents, and family change and modify expectations and understanding on how to help her be successful.

i would never dream of medicated my kids... my daughter struggled with what i thought was ADD and worked for years to get a diagnosis, but it turned out her learning disability looked a lot like it... we were able to turn her into an honor roll student by simply understanding what she needed (one step instructions, redirection, and helping her focus by removing distractions, and prodding to keep her on track).

ultimately only you and your doc can decide what she really needs to be successful. i'm sorry i dont have any advice on meds... jsut wanted to give my perspective :) Good luck :)

Hi C.:

I have 2 children with Add and Adhd. My oldest has been on medication scince he was in third grade and my 8yr old for about a year and a half. I go to a class at a place called NAMI. It is a wonderful place you may want to check out thier website. www.nami.com Its for all kinds of parnets who struggle with all kinds of issues when your child has been diagnosed.

My 5 year old daughter has recently been diagnosed ADHD. I chose to hold off on medicines because it seemed to me that we could get some success with a diet change. I am not sure how extreme your daughters symptoms are, but my daughter had more problems at home than anywhere else. She did lack some attention skills at school, but she wasn't being bad or getting in trouble all the time. So we actually found some diet changes online and incorporated them. It is basically like a detox of all bad, sugary foods. You stick to it strictly for 2 weeks, then slowly add back one thing at a time to see it's affects on the child. We have eliminated all junk food and found a few trigger foods that really set her off, so she does not get those at all. We do most of the grocery shopping for her food at Trader Joes. Her school focus has improved tremondously. We also work with her teacher who gets ideas from the school psychologist to incorporate into the classroom for her. She has also seen a therapist outside of school a half dozen times. So there are other options...but like I said, I am not sure how your child is on a day to day basis. If the diet didn't work for my daugheter, then I probably would have tried the meds next. But we really have had great success just by changing the foods she eats! Good luck

Hi there-

My son is borderline ADHD and so we too have been faced with the idea of having to use medications. After doing some research, I have determined that I do NOT want to give him meds and that when and if he is diagnosed that I will try as many alternative therapies first. Whether it's behavioral therapy, vitamins or getting him involved with extra-curricular activities to help dispense of the energy. The idea of putting a medication into an undeveloped brain seems a bit much especially if it's a chemical-altering drug.

I think, if I were you, I would hold of on the meds and try other things first. Give her brain time to develop. Time and maturity helps these conditions. If not, then maybe the meds are necessary but try other things first.

Hang in there and do your research. You will know the best decision once you explore further.

Good luck.
N.

Have you thought about dietary changes and adding supplements? I know many of moms that have done that with success, including getting a detailed food and enviromental allergy tests. I suggested to others about getting Dr. Doris Rapps book, Is This My Child? Who discusses how food and/or environmental allergies can diagnosed in kids with ADD/ADHD and when you eliminate the culprits, the kids function fine. It is a great book and she devotes a couple of chapters regarding ADD/ADHD. She believes it can be treated without med, you also have to find a doctor who is supportive of your efforts. her website is www.drrapp.com
Good Luck!

hi C.,

My son - now 18, has ADD.

Adderal is one of many drugs we tried for him with success when he was younger. I don't know about your daughter, but it would have been next to impossible for my son to function successfully in school without medication.

The reasons we switched between meds over the years (Ritalin, Aderal, Straterra) were at times he developed headaches and loss of appetite, however as long as your child is monitored closely with regard to side effects, your doc will want to check her liver functions regularly as well - in my opinion, it is worth it.

best of luck to you and your daughter,

W.

Listen to your doctor and your heart, and don't let anyone who hasn't been through this try to tell you what to do. My daughter was finally diagnosed at 16 with ADD inattentive type. We spent her school years trying to figure out how to help her get through school (tutors mostly) and had thoughts that she might have a learning disability, but people and their opinions kept us from moving forward. Finally a high school guidance counselor suggested testing and soon thereafter she was diagnosed. She was much older than your daughter, and we tried other medications before adderol and it was difficult to find the right level for her. I hope it will be easier for you. It may take some time, but you'll be able to see the results when you get the dosage right. I have good friends (adults) who take adderol and couldn't function without it. It works wonders if you need it so I hope it all works out for you. Mainly though, I just wanted to say trust your doctor or doctors and your instincts and don't let busybodies get involved. Everybody thinks they know all about ADD and they don't. Take care!

My son, almost 8, just started taking Concerta a few weeks ago. We were able to help him with other things - behavioral techniques, occupational therapy - for several years after his initial diagnosis but we decided to give medication a trial and it's been very effective for him. There are some things about the medication we don't like, also, but with trial and error I think it's really going to be helpful for him.

Anyway - stimulant medications for kids with ADHD have a long history and a track record of being safe and effective, and they leave the body quickly. You aren't crossing a line you can't cross back easily, in other words. I wouldn't be afraid to give it a try. But you should also learn about other things you can do to support your daughter and push the school to help where needed.

Best wishes!

My son was diagnosed in 1st grade. He is now in 6th grade and he is doing GREAT! He has taken lots of different kinds of medicines. Some work better than others. He started out on Adderall. It helped him a lot. It did upset his stomach a bit, actually his appetite decreased. He has also been on Concerta, another popular drug. He is currently taking a patch called Daytrana.....which is FANTASTIC! It doesn't decrease his appetite and he doesn't have to swallow a pill. It is more expensive than oral pills but for him it is very worth it. I honestly believe that without early diagnose and treatment with medication, a good doctor and lots of parental attention, my son would not be doing as well as he is right now. Hang in there! ADD kids are great, fun and energetic kids. There is lots of help out there for you.....if you haven't already, check out the CHADD website. I have been a member since my son's diagnosis. I have gone to conferences and tried to learn as much as I can to help my son succeed. Keep us posted on her progress!

I have spoken with a friend of mine in the field with these kids and she says although that drug can have good affects, the side affects of coming off that drug are not good. She recommends a ridulin based drug. She said that although all of them have the potential for addiction, she has found that one (adderol) to be the worst so when going off of it for any reason can be really rough. Listen and ask a lot of questions, I know you will, and well, I pray a lot for answers. So I pray for you it will become clear as to what route you should take.

Hi C.--I feel for you! I have 2 friends who put thier son's on Rx's for ADD and both ended up taking them off after a while because the meds created even worse side effects! Both had thier growth and wieght stunted, and were walking around in a stuper--no personality, it was terrible.
I shared some info. wth them and will share it with you if you contact me. By learing how to making some simple changes and learning how to work with nature and the body, you get great results--with no side effects. You can always do the meds as a last resort.
If you would like some info. on the above, just email ____@____.com or call ###-###-####. If it makes sense to you we can take it from there.

Hope to be of help:)~J.