Just learned ds10 has ADD

[princessh]

My ds has been struggling with anxiety and problems with school work for well over a year. After doing some testing with the school and his psychologist, they have come to the conclusion that he has ADD. He has been working with his psychologist for over a year on handling his anxiety and behavior modification, with not much success. She is now recommending that we take him to a psychiatrist, and might want to consider medication. Do any of you have children on add or adhd medication? Is there a dramatic improvement? Are there any natural remedies? I am very worried about putting my ds on something that might become habit forming. Any suggestions on how to deal with ADD would really be appreciated.

 

[Goofyta]

My ds9 was diagnosed ADHD (high on the hyper side) when he was 5. At first he was on adderal (for about 2 years), but the dr wanted to change him to something that was not habit forming. He has been on strattera for 2 years now and we really like it. He takes 25mg 2x a day. He used to take 40mg 1x a day, but was having a lot of stomach problems, but once the dosage was changed and split up, he has been doing much better.

One of the things we really like about the strattera is that it is a 24 hour medication. It stays in his system longer and he does not have those yucky rebounds when they are coming off their medication. Just remember not all medications affect all kids the same.

Best advise, research research research. Look at all the medications and ask a ton of questions. The better educated you are, the better you will feel about medication.

Good luck with everything!

 

[mmcguire]

Hi,

It's no fun to find out your son has a "condition", but if you're like me, it was a relief to finally have a name for what had been giving him so much difficulty.

Our DS, now 11, was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5. Treatment for ADD/ADHD varies for each child. We didn't want to put DS on meds at such a young age, and tried the conservative route first -- therapy, behavioral modification, etc., but that still didn't elminate his attention and hyperactivity problems. We've gone through the gamet of meds - Ritalin, Concerta, etc., to find what works best for him. DS has been on Adderall XR for about 3 years now, and it seems to be doing the trick. I like it because it's once a day, and he doesn't have to feel self-concious taking meds at school. We also don't have the problem of having to remember when the school's supply runs out.

All the ADD/ADHD meds he's tried have side effects (for DS, it's mainly a poor appetite), but we read online that fish oil has been beneficial for some people. We started Josh taking 1 fish oil capsule daily about 2 months ago, and his appetite has increase greatly. He used to NEVER be hungry for lunch, and would often throw away his lunch at school, but now he eats lunch every day, which is a real blessing.

Best of luck with your DS, and please PM me if you have any questions that I might be able to help with.

 

[Goofyta]

Fish oil, I have never heard of that to help increase their appetite. I will have to look into that. Thanks!

 

[chattyann]

I have a son that has ADHD. We went to the psychologist and he has been to a
psychiatrist also. We have tried numerous different things. I feel like working with the
psychologist helped some with the behavior when he was younger. He is 14 now.
They put him on medication when he was about ten. HE was on RITALIN, which
we had him taken off of because of all the bad side effects it can cause. We opted
to try Srattera since it is the only non narcotic available for ADD/ADHD. It seemed to
work for a while but it tended to make him very drowsy for the first couple hrs after
taking it. As he has gotten older it hasn't worked as well they actually took him off of
it for a while and because of his school work and problems in class they recently put him back on it. Since they have, it seems as if it is making things worse instead of better he seems to be very agitated and short and snappy with everyone. He has also
started to have more problems acting out in class. We think it may be because puberty
has set in also and that it may not be taking care of things now like when he was younger. In my opinion,in your shoes,before I would put him on anything I would make
sure to get a couple of doctors opinions and have him thoroughly checked out first. It
seems doctors and schools tend to throw the ADD/ADHD label on kids pretty quickly.With our son we went through a long process of having him tested and checked out because this started when he was about 7 ys old. My husband was ADHD and on Ritalin as a child, because back then that is pretty much the only option
they had back then to treat it. My mother in law always felt that it was a mistake that
they ever put dh on it because she sd it changed his personality as a child. I know one
thing the doctors recommended we try first was changing ds diet. It did seem to help
cutting down on sugar and caffiene. I would definately try the pshciatrist though. We
are actually going back to one again and I think they are more well equipped then the
regular doctors to diagnose and treat this. I wish you and your son success! Please let
me know what you find out that works well for you and your ds.

 

[Disneyrsh]

Scientific American (a very well-respected academic magazine) published a very good article about ADHD last year, here's the link:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000560D5-7252-12B9-9A2C83414B7F0000&sc=I100322


If that doesn't work, go to www.sciam.com, search under Ritalin in the upper right hand corner, and look for the article titled Training The Brain from July 2005. It's a real eye-opener. I showed it to a friend of mine who's kid may or may not have it, because we're subscribers. She said it was very, very helpful.

 

[princessh]

Thanks for all the insights. I have a ton of research to do!

 

[jmsvss]

There are probably as many opinions on this as there are people in this world. It seems that even those who have never had to deal with it will offer an opinion.

My DS15 and DD12 are both diagnosed. DS has the hyperactive/impulsive type, DD has the distraction. For us, a combination of medication and counseling for behavior AWARENESS and modification have worked.

As with any treatment it is based upon the individual. Please don't discount medication because you fear it may be habit forming. There is tons of info out there pro and con. However, I think you will have trouble finding info that proves medication treatment is habit forming in properly diagnosed people with ADHD. The most helpful comparison I received when I was struggling with this decision was what if the condition was diabetes rather than ADHD? Would you treat only with diet and exercise or would you include medication? My other fear - and well documented in the literature I read - was the danger of self-medication with illegal drugs and alcohol.

I found that accepting the diagnosis and educating my children as early as possible was most important.

Just type adhd into your search engine and you will be amazed. I generally stay away from drug company info but it may help you form a well-rounded opinion. For example, someone on this thread like Strattera. I like the drug company campaign as well. I changed my son's meds in 6th grade and it was a huge disaster - for us. But, it is working for someone else and that is good. I found the book entitled Attention Please for helpful as well.

Unlike when my children were younger, there is now testing available to check the efficacy of the adhd medication children take. In most cases you will know right away whether it is effective or not.

In case you can't tell, after dealing with this for 10+ years it is a passion of mine. So research and don't worry. Lately, what the literature used to label a "syndrome" and disease is being "repackaged" as a gift. I certainly believe my children have a gift - although I don't always understand.

Take care,
Suzanne

 

[Figment1964]

My son (8) was just diagnosed with ADHD about a month ago and we began giving him medication to see if it would help any at school. Teachers who knew nothing about his being on the meds have said that he's as different as night and day from the way he was before. His teacher even told him yesterday that he was the most well behaved kid in the class for the day! He has said that he likes how he feels now and can focus.

 

[pweyl36]

MY SON WAS 5 WHEN I TOOK HIM TO A NEUROLOGIST,WHO DX HIM WITH ADD.THAT WAS 12YRS AGO.ANXIETY AND BEHAVORAL PROBLEMS TO ME JUST DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ADD,MY SON PROBLEM WAS NOT BEING ABLE TO SIT
IN CLASS.HE WOULD GET UP AND WALK AROUND THE CLASS ROOM,COULD NOT CONCENTRATE .HE THE NEUROLOGIST TRIED SEVERAL MEDS,BUT ADDERALL SEEMED TO WORK THE BEST.IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE MED.THEN HE WOULD NOT BE AN A-B STUDENT IN THE 11TH GRADE.IF POSSABLE,ASK YOUR CHILDS DR FOR A REFERRAL FOR A NEUROLOGIST. I THINK THEY ARE
MORE QULAFIED TO TEST YOUR SON.THATS JUST MY 2 CENTS.

 

[DW mouser]

Dr. Phil had a show about this several months ago. He had a DR. on the show that said too many kids are being diagnosed with this without doing the proper tests. I wish I could remember that DR.'s name because he'd written a book about it. Maybe you could search DrPhil.com and if you can't find it, send them an e-mail. It was a really good show!!