Anyone With Children With Adhd

[barkley]

after ruling out every possible med/allergy/hearing/vision issue my ds was diagnosed with adhd at age 3 (he was diagnosed via extensive questioneers to preschool teachers, pediatrician and us-these were followed up by in person observation and evaluation by a child psychiatrist). he has been on meds for 6 years-it is a life saver for him. he literaly cannot sit still enough to concentrate (unless it is a visualy fast paced circumstance like computer or video presentations). he could not lie still enough to sleep at night. he was constantly being 'corrected' by teachers for inappropriate behaviour (not sitting still during story or desk time). with meds (dextrostat) he is not 'spaced out' or 'muted' as some fear meds will do-it simply enables him to sit still enough/focus his thinking such that he can do what he wants to do-interact with others, learn, complete tasks...

when folks complain about adhd meds it upsets me-while some doctors may rush to a diagnosis, while some may over-medicate, it is not the case with all. my ped. went through a many month process to rule out any other cause, conferred with the diagnosing pediatric psychiatrist and then discussed with us the benefits and possible side-effects-after which we all made a joint decision to pursue meds. it was no different than when i was diagnosed with depression and learned of the chemical advantages of appropriate dosages of medication.

anyone interested in understanding a bit more what it's like to be an adhd kid (both on and off meds)-try reading the "jimmy pigza' books by jack gantos. while i would not reccommend them for kids to read (the story line is a bit too adult for younger ones)-the author manages to relay in first person form what it 'feels' like to have adhd, and what it 'feels' like to be perceived as such. persons who have adhd and have read it relate that the author somehow manages to 'crawl inside my skin'. they are in the kid's section at most libraries.

 

[4chitlins]

Just had to throw my 2cents in real quick.
Our ds was tested, and tested, and tested in the 1st grade. He was diagnosed ADHD w/ Impulsivity. We medicated him....the first year he didn't gain any weight and looked skeletal.....the second year & the second meds, he didn't gain much weight, but he did gain, but he was a total zombie....the third year & third medication he gained weight, wasn't a zombie and did pretty good in school. (Strattera)
We also, every summer, had him seeing a counselor every week and that helped too.
We decided to take him off for the summer and he is doing GREAT!! As of right now, we are not going to put him back on anything. I am in the process of changing his diet and getting him into working out a little bit. (he's almost 11 and going into 5th grade).
Yes, I worry about when school starts and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Good luck!

I'm with you.A lot of people don't go the diet route because it can be alot of work to feed one child differently than the others. But my DS is very thin and could not afford to lose any or not gain it. We have a shelf in the fridge that is just for him with snacks and drinks that he can have and he thinks it's pretty cool.And I know that most people will not believe a diet change can make a difference, but his teachers can always tell when he is on or off his diet.By the way Concerta is what was making him fall asleep

 

[simpilotswife]

2 kids with ADHD here as well.

DS was diagnosed when he was 4 1/2. Tried the diet and while it helped it did not help enough to warrant continuing. Put him on Ritalin which helped a bit but he metabolized the methylphenidate too quickly and so was needing it after 2 hrs or so. Finally we got him on Dexedrine and that really helped a lot, although we've had to change meds a couple of times since then. We still struggle, not academically, but socially he is still impulsive and he also seems to have a writing disability.

DD was diagnosed at an earlier age but we waited until she was 5 before trying meds. She also does well academically but struggles socially.

I have no doubt that DS would not have been able to remain in a general education school if it weren't for meds. He was that hyperactive. A self-contained classroom in a general education school just would not have met his needs.

Just wanted to make a comment about meds and appetite. DS was as thin as a rail until he was about 10 or 11. Now he's 14 and eats like a champ. DD (10) doesn't eat much but I'm sure that will change too. One doc told me that meds do not interfere forever so chin up parents.

 

[JoiseyMom]

My dd10 was diagnosed with ADHD around 6 or so. We discussed with pediatrician and we all agreed that no medication was needed. At her 8 year old check up she was diagnosed with Petite Mal Epilepsy. We spent a year going back and forth with meds with her neurologist getting her on the correct dosage. Her seizure meds made her ADHD worse, so we put her on strattera. Well the strattera lowered her seizure threshold, so we took her off it, and she has been seizure free for a year. She has a 504 in school, and we deal with her concentration and behavior issues that way. She also was just diagnosed with the possiblity of Tourettes. Now you need to have tics for 12 months before you get a definite diagnosis. We haven't medicated her with this yet either. DD takes way too many drugs for a child, or anyone but that is the way things are. We plan on talking to her neurologist about taking her off the seizure meds to see if the seizures are gone.

Now ds5 has ADHD, but our pediatrician wouldn't medicate him until at least first grade. I do not want to medicate him and want to see if we can do other things, and see how he behaves in kindergarten this year. He will be going to private school, with the same teacher dd had, so we will see how things go. He will be seeing dd neurologist in a few weeks. We want his take on the situation.