Any experience with ADD?

[fivefordisney]

My DS is on Concerta and boy can we see a difference on days when he takes it versus days he forgets! He did have a small problem with tics on stratera, but again, like someone else said, some kids ae just wired that way. I haven't noticed any tics while he has been on the Concerta. If you have anymore questions, feel free to post them over at the DisABILITIES board! Lot of people with lots of experience there!

I seem to remember hearing that tics occur more with Stratera. It's great that your DS doesn't have them with Concerta.

I am just so overwhelmed with my DD. She is the sweetest, most loving child. She just is so disorganized and inattentive. We were managing this at home but now are feeling that we are definitely out of our league. It always ends up with my DH or I losing it...homework takes forever...just getting out the door on some days is a HUGE production. Have you ever found your child (after telling thim/her to hurry and get his/her shoes on because we may be late) looking at the woodgrain on the wall entranced because it looks like Africa? She'll be in the shower for 30 minutes and forget to wash --until we yell in and remind her! She has missed all of her violin lessons in school except for two since the beginning of the year because she just forgets when she is supposed to leave the room (the schedule changes each week so they don't continually miss the same subject). The teacher are so busy, and she is so quiet that they don't remember either! I used to characterize her as having her "head in the clouds." Now I am just worrying that her learning is affected. The teachers think she is sweet and because she is not a behavior problem, just are laid back about it.

We just moved and the gifted teacher who assesses all new students for the gifted program was extremely worried about her work pace (which is SLOW) until she realized that she got every item of the test correct. During another standardized test, DD was "instructed" to fill in five pages of answers randomly because she lost focus (or was hyper-focused on one problem) and ran out of time. Can't wait to get those scores! It kills me because she is so bright but is not working to her potential. Ugh!

I am hoping that the pediatric neurologist can shed some light on this. I am willing to try meds.--I'm just afraid of the tic thing. She is already having trouble socializing (joining the group, etc).

Any experience with this?

Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[goofyforlife]

I am just so overwhelmed with my DD. She is the sweetest, most loving child. She just is so disorganized and inattentive. We were managing this at home but now are feeling that we are definitely out of our league. It always ends up with my DH or I losing it...homework takes forever...just getting out the door on some days is a HUGE production. Have you ever found your child (after telling thim/her to hurry and get his/her shoes on because we may be late) looking at the woodgrain on the wall entranced because it looks like Africa? She'll be in the shower for 30 minutes and forget to wash --until we yell in and remind her! She has missed all of her violin lessons in school except for two since the beginning of the year because she just forgets when she is supposed to leave the room (the schedule changes each week so they don't continually miss the same subject). The teacher are so busy, and she is so quiet that they don't remember either! I used to characterize her as having her "head in the clouds." Now I am just worrying that her learning is affected. The teachers think she is sweet and because she is not a behavior problem, just are laid back about it.

We just moved and the gifted teacher who assesses all new students for the gifted program was extremely worried about her work pace (which is SLOW) until she realized that she got every item of the test correct. During another standardized test, DD was "instructed" to fill in five pages of answers randomly because she lost focus (or was hyper-focused on one problem) and ran out of time. Can't wait to get those scores! It kills me because she is so bright but is not working to her potential. Ugh!

Any experience with this?

OMG ....I have had too much experience with this... My DD just leaves whole pages blank on tests........ (and tests gifted too which means its a fight with school to get them to give you any kind of accomodations because as long as your kid gets C's they don't care)

Homework at our house takes forever too 4 hours or more some nights.....

but my DD has had behavior issues because of fustration with ADD.....

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

We were heading down that road.... but a BIG part of his attention difficutlies in school were due to the fact that he couldn't see well. He had undiagnosed amblyopia at the time. We went through 2 years of vision therapy, patching and drops and helped significantly. PLEASE double check your DS's vision!!!

 

[fivefordisney]

OMG ....I have had too much experience with this... My DD just leaves whole pages blank on tests........ (and tests gifted too which means its a fight with school to get them to give you any kind of accomodations because as long as your kid gets C's they don't care)

Homework at our house takes forever too 4 hours or more some nights.....

but my DD has had behavior issues because of fustration with ADD.....

What do you do? Is she on meds? Did they work?

Can you tell I'm desperate???

It is harder for me that my DH to deal with it because I am fairly certain that I am ADHD and have been self-medicating for years. (Don't worry. I'm talking about caffeine!) I am pretty sure I have given her this gene and am pretty ill-equipped to deal with it...UGH!

 

[HOGFAN]

DS has been on Adderall for 3 years. DX is ADHD. He does wonderful on it, no side effects at all (except maybe canker sores once in awhile). It has not disturbed his sleep, appetite nor growth. He is on low dosage, 15 mg. He only takes it during the school year but not on weekends(what do I care if he climbs the walls at home?) His grades went from Cs and Ds to As and Bs. Dont hesitate getting your child help if they need it.

 

[ducklite]

Just be careful on the various ADD meds as they get into their teens, they can cause depression, suicidal tendencies, and psycotic episodes. Not fun. Doesn't happen to all kids, but it's a substantial enough population that you do need to be observant.

Anne

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thank you so much for your info!

Did any of your children develop tics from the medication? I am a reading specialist and have worked with a boy who developed very severe tics... The doctors say the tics were "hardwired" and already present and the meds just exaggerated them. I just worry about uncovering latent tics.

Does anyone have experience with that?

My son has tourette's and ADD. We have not had any luck with the ADD meds because they either have the opposite reaction (make him HYPER) or they make his tics worse. His tourette's medicine (when he actually takes it) seems to have a side effect of helping him to focus, so at least that's good.

Some meds do increase tics in a child that doesn't have TS. I know it happened to a neighbor of ours, but I'm not sure which medicine he was on.

Even if you get a diagnosis of ADHD, it doesn't mean that meds are always called for. It's really an individual call and there are other things to try.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

they put him on Risperdal instead. It doesn't curb his hyperness completely, but when he gets wound up it is easier to calm him down. It is like a good compromise. His teacher still complains, but at this point, I don't care - I would rather have him like this then blinking and making little noises and twitches all the time and losing his temper every day.

They put him on Risperdal for ADD or Tourette's? Risperdal is sometimes used for Tourette Syndrome--my son was on it for quite awhile. Normally, though, it is used as an antipsychotic for schizophrenia and there has been a lot of recent discussion about whether or not it should be used in children.

I haven't researched this a lot since my son isn't on it any longer, but here is some info. http://www.risperdalsideeffects.com/pages/children.html http://www.adrugrecall.com/risperdal/children.html

 

[ducklite]

They put him on Risperdal for ADD or Tourette's? Risperdal is sometimes used for Tourette Syndrome--my son was on it for quite awhile. Normally, though, it is used as an antipsychotic for schizophrenia and there has been a lot of recent discussion about whether or not it should be used in children.

I haven't researched this a lot since my son isn't on it any longer, but here is some info. http://www.risperdalsideeffects.com/pages/children.html http://www.adrugrecall.com/risperdal/children.html

My son is on it for his Bi-Polar disorder. He's being weaned off of that and onto Topamax for mood stabilization. If the dose is high it can cause weight gain and sleepiness.

Anne

 

[casey49781]

thankyou all for your information,,,i have ds 5 who is on the go all day long,i put him in young 5's program as he has a late b-day,,sept,,,,,,he also is being seen by his dr as she observed the behavior at a recent dr appt,,,,i told her he is like that all the time,,,constant,,,one thing after the other ,,he makes me climb the walls,,,lol,,,,he will battle and throw tantrum and know he not going to win,,i walk away and let him throw them,,,,you can talk to him til u are blue in the face ,he dont hear you,,,the teacher said he works things the way he wants them to be even after she shows the class a couple times the way it should be done,,,he dont get it,,,so will wait and see what happens with the testing,,,,i also have a dd who is on the honor roll so this is a real change for me,,,,,thanks for all your help

 

[indigoxtreme]

My Ds Now 22 was diagnosed finally when he was 9. We have to deal with his hyperness not remembering things, etc for a long time. He was tested a few times but kept coming up with 25% of ADHD trait. He was placed in classes for 30 minutes of his lunch time to learn to deal with his outburst, frustration etc. this helped some and finally in 4th grade his grades started slipping from A's etc (of course this took some time but he always passed teh test and tested gifted all the time). The county I live in hired a new Psycologist and he came in to test ms DS. He called a meeting with his teacher (a wonderful male teacher who worked with DS all the time) and me/ He said that he could not say that DS had ADHD but it sure did appear to be the case even though the normal test we not showing it. He believe that DS only had slight traces. (All during this time I had tried food, vitamins etc to control) I asked what else I should do as DS was getting more and more upset as he kept saying what is wrong with me. (DS realized this himself at this age) He copied all of DS file and mailed to my pediatrician for recommendations. As it turned out My Ped was a specialist in the field of ADD and immediately called me. We brought Jeremy in and he talked to me first and I told him I didn't want DS on any more medications as he had lived on the for ages 1 to 5 DS had reactive airways and was hospitalized 5 times with the last time almost losing him. He finally outgrew this and for 4 wonderful years had no meds (except of course the frustration of hyperness). I believe in punishing my children, but you can only time out so many times, take away items so many times and finally spank when called for so many times so by this point it was out of my hands as well. My ped said he didn't really think DS was ADHD but he would do a few little test on his own. Well within 10 minutes of Ped asking Jeremy or telling him to repeat what he said, it was clear DS was not getting all the info into his head. We had to put him on a low dose of Ritalin 10mg and within 4 weeks of school the last semester he was back to his A's and received from the teachers most improved student in the school for the 4th grade. I cried uncontrollably when this happened. He has always tested at the Guiness level. Come to find out that around 70-90% of ADD AdHD kids are Guiness. Thomas Edison was ADHD and several others. Any way Ritalin hurt DS stomache sso much as DS is lactose intollerant and Ritalin has lactose in it. Finally Adderall time release came out and it was 1 capsule a day He had headache for about 10 days and then no more trouble. Well he just graduated with a degree in Automotive Tech. He was in the Marching band in high school and he played the OBOE of all instruments. This is one of the most difficult instruments there is. My Ped was just in wonder over him and so proud of him. He uses DS as a model to parents now to show what can happen. Yes he is still on Adderall but up to 20 mg a day now as he is older and an adult now. Still unbelievably smart and surprises me all the time. I love to hear him debate a subject. He will beat any one hands down on subjects that he knows.

So there is hope and good outcome for our children out there. The main thing is when this all starts keep telling them what wonderful children they are build their self esteem as this seems to be one of the most significant areas that they need help in. Also give them a schedule, let them know what their duties are and their requirements. They need this type of regimen. The only problem I have had is his room until he was 18 was always such a mess, I never could get him to clean it and when I would go in with trash bags and clean he would have a fit. I spoke to his Ped about this and he explained to me that this is the one place that DS did not have to keep everything in order to function that is why his room was like this. I could understand this, so I chose not to make this 1 area a major battle. Once a week I would go in the room with him and get him to give me his clothes and dishes etc and help to take them to the kitchen etc. As he got older he has cleaned his room and now does his own clothes.

Also in any area that they want to participate ie baseball etc put them in a position where they know that they must stay alert like catcher. We did this with DS after the first year in ball and he loved the game and was great at it as well. He knew to stay alert so he wouldn't get hurt. Just like the Oboe he had to concentrate on this alot to do. The instrument was his choice not mine and was I ever surprised when he picked it out to test and play.

Sorry so long just want to give you hope.....

 

[Dznypal]

I'm new to the community board but this subject caught my eye as my DD had ADHA when she was about 10. She was always "busy" when she was younger but around 10 we noticed her grades started slipping along with other issues at home. We also went through a time where she thought if she wasnt with us 24/7 well except for school that is something would happen to one of us!! We felt like prisioners!!

We took her to her peditrician (sp) who gave us the name of a great therpaist who counciled her for awhile and came up with the ADHA theory so she sent us to a phycitrist(sp) all he wanted to do was shove pills down her so through one of her friends we got the name of another one and she was just great!!! She was on Ritalin for about 2 years her grades went way up, and the feeling of something happening to us left--she was a new kid In around 7th grade we noticed that she acted the same whether she on meds or not and her grades stayed up whether she was on meds or not so we just decided to take her off of them shes been great----she is now 21 and engaged to get married in Aug--after a few fustrating years she has been my best friend

hang in there I know its easy to say but hard to do--it does get better

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My son is on it for his Bi-Polar disorder. He's being weaned off of that and onto Topamax for mood stabilization. If the dose is high it can cause weight gain and sleepiness.

Anne

I should have added the bi-polar, too.

I'd never heard of it being used for ADD.

Interesting about the Topamax. I was on it briefly for migraine prevention, but I started getting constant cold sores (4 cold sores in 3 weeks), so I came off it. I'm on something else now, but the neurologist wants to try the Topamax again if the stuff I'm currently on doesn't help my migraines (he's never heard of a corrolation between Topamax and cold sores). Let me tell you, with menopause approaching, a mood stabilizer sounds good.

I'm sorry about your son. How old is he? So tough when our kids have issues. It really does put a drain on the whole family.

 

[ducklite]

I'm sorry about your son. How old is he. So tough when our kids have issues. It really does put a drain on the whole family.

Thanks. He's 19. I think we're over the worst, as the teenage hormones are
stabalizing. He's got a job he likes that is just challenging enough to keep it interesting while not overwhelming, and the structure he needs in his life.

It does get easier--I promise

Anne

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thanks. He's 19. I think we're over the worst, as the teenage hormones are
stabalizing. He's got a job he likes that is just challenging enough to keep it interesting while not overwhelming, and the structure he needs in his life.

It does get easier--I promise

Anne

We are all hoping certain things will get easier, aren't we? My son's issues are minor compared to what some people have gone through or are going through, but it still breaks my heart when he asks if he will still have the tics when he's older. Don't have any easy answer for him, even though I am hoping that he won't have them as severly. There have been some breakthroughs in TS research, so hopefully they'll find out how to cure it in the near future. We can hope.

 

[Rella Bella]

Well Jennie, You're getting the whole picture here! Life can be a bit adventurous in the land of ADD/ADHD.

The hardest part for me is how long it all takes. Took forever to get a diagnosis. Then they try this and you wait and they try that and you wait.

My DS was finally diagnosed last May. He's now on 10mg of Adderal XR and doing much better in school. He does great while it's working but has a hair trigger temper when it wears off. In some respects it's like learning to live with a different kid. He used to sleep 11 hours a day (8p to 7a)... I guess he wore himself out. Now we struggle to get him in bed by 9:30 or 10. His appetite is not great during the day... it REALLY kicks in about 8:00 -- when I wish he was going to bed. Sometimes he'll eat two full meals between 8 & 9! And how can I say 'sorry, it's bedtime' when he hasn't eaten more than three bites of anything all day.

We did a lot before trying medication: complete food elimination diet to check for food sensitivities (found out he was sensitive to dairy), that brought a big improvement. Then started a vitamin supplementation program... that brought another big change. These made the most change in the Hyperactivity part. But he couldn't pay attention in class, and the Adderal has made all the difference there. But we're still working to get it all in balance... enough to help but not so much to get side-effects. It's a long road.

I can't find it now but I really appreciate who ever said "you have to keep telling them they are good and valulable kids"... exactly! They can't hear it too often, they have to deal with so much! Thanks to everyone for sharing!!

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

They put him on Risperdal for ADD or Tourette's? Risperdal is sometimes used for Tourette Syndrome--my son was on it for quite awhile. Normally, though, it is used as an antipsychotic for schizophrenia and there has been a lot of recent discussion about whether or not it should be used in children.

I haven't researched this a lot since my son isn't on it any longer, but here is some info. http://www.risperdalsideeffects.com/pages/children.html http://www.adrugrecall.com/risperdal/children.html

It's for the ADHD. She said she doesn't believe in giving stimulants to kids under 6 anyways and since he had so many reactions to the Adderall she thought this would be a better option. This is the standard drug she prescribes when kids under 6 need medication for ADHD. (She being the psychiatrist...) My son is also in counseling and they're saying the medication would be temporary - a year or two at most. Luckily, we picked a psychologist in a different practice, so it is nice to hear them back each other up and agree with their suggestions for treatment. Kind of like a good second opinion.