Any mamas here of kids with ADD/ADHD?

[Twins2000]

One of my 9 yo daughters was preliminarily dx'd (the psychiatrist still wants her current teacher to fill out a lengthy questionnaire and wants us to have psycho/educational testing completed) with ADD last week. I always suspected ADD, but it wasn't until more recently (since about last Spring) that behaviors greatly worsened and began greatly affecting her in school as well as at home.

I never would have thought I would actually allow one of my children to be placed on meds for behavior, but things have progressed to the point where I've said that if my dd is not placed on meds, I need to be (between the tantrums over almost anything if she doesn't get her way, instigating fights with her sisters, perseverating/obsessing, etc, etc.). Of course now that the psychiatrist mentioned the likelihood of needing meds I've started researching them and am a bit uneasy about her taking any.

Does anyone here have a child taking meds for ADD/ADHD or have personal experience with someone close to them taking any of the drugs for it? I need to hear the good, the bad and anything in between.

Thanks so much for all of your help!


Leslie

[sariana]

I don't have any BTDT, just sympathy. Our 5-year-old son was recently diagnosed with Asperger's and ADHD. The doctor wanted to medicate, but we are waiting it out. DS already is enrolled in special education, and his SDC teacher is great. He also receives behavioral therapy (through the school district), which is mostly for the Asperger's.

We are concerned largely because the studies have been done only on children 6 and older. If DS were older, and if his life were being negatively impacted, we might have a different attitude.

With ADHD, something in the brain does not work properly. If medication can help repair that problem, the person can lead a much happier life. If you weigh the potential gains against the potential risks, what do you find? If your DD is suffering, it might be worth trying the meds for while. You will know whether they are helping. If not, you can discuss other options with her doctor.

There is a lot of scary stuff out there about ADHD meds. But I suspect there is a lot of scary stuff out there about any kind of meds. If my child had Chrohn's, I wouldn't deny him Prenisone, even though I know it can cause all kinds of problems with bone loss, liver damage, and whatnot. The Chrohn's can cause damage, too, so the benefits would outweigh the risks. (I use Chrohn's as an example because multiple family members actually have it or other related syndromes.)

Good luck in your decision. It can be so difficult to figure out what is best for our DC.

[Twins2000]

Thanks so much for your input Sariana. We probably will go along with what the psychiatrist recommends, since our dd's psychologist and my dh and myself have a lot of faith in her (well-known in her field, quoted often in child psych studies/literature, very thorough, etc.). I just get such an uneasy feeling reading about the possible long-term impacts of these meds on a developing brain, as well as long-term use heart-related problems, psychiatric problems, and their increasing potential for abuse. Additionally, my dd is showing signs of anxiety in conjunction with ADD.

Good luck to you with your dc. If I were you, I would be doing exactly what you are doing and wait it out. It doesn't seem necessary to medicate your child at this point.

Thanks so much again!

Leslie

[almostmom]

My younger sister had (has) pretty severe ADD/ADHD (the hyperactivity is gone now that she's in her late 20's). She has taken meds since she was at least 5, and it makes a HUGE positive difference in her life. Now she really is kind of an extreme example, but I am a huge supporter of meds in the right circumstance.

Her background - my sis had some obvious issues when she was pretty little - talked later than most, and when she did, she was a bit hard to understand if you didn't know her and her thoughts could be very scattered. Had some other difficulties as well - hand eye coordination for one - as I said, she has pretty strong ADD - and probably some other slight learning disabilities.

With the meds, she could actually sit in a seat at school and focus. Without them, I honestly don't think she would have learned to read or write - she just couldn't listen long enough, and her brain just worked a little differently. But the meds helped. On occasional days when she forgot to take them in the morning, but got them from the nurse at lunch on her regular schedule, she would get a note home from the teacher about the extreme difference in her behavior from morning to afternoon. The meds allowed her to be in school and enjoy it as opposed to fighting her wandering instincts all the time.

With ADHD, it is so hard for these kids because they don't conform to what you're supposed to do. I remember vividly every morning (she is 7 years younger than me), my mom saying over and over, get dressed, get dressed, come downstairs, come downstairs, eat your breakfast, eat your breakfast, etc. Everything was difficult because she was on her own wavelength. Many of these kids are constantly yelled at and badgered, by even the most patient and loving parents, because it is tough! And that constant feeling of doing the wrong thing is really hard on a child. I think meds can turn that around, which is huge for their self esteem and development. In our house, I believe my sister took her meds on the weekends as well (Ritalin when she was young, though she has changed meds through the years), because it made life for her, and us, but mostly her, more manageable, and less stressful.

I may be rambling here. But I know there are a lot of people who feel meds are bad, that there are other ways to work on behavior and to get positive results. And I'm sure that's true. But for some, ADHD meds can change their life for the better, making everything easier, and learning actually possible. I don't think there's any harm in trying them. If they work, hooray, you've helped your child tremendously. As she gets older, you can always reevaluate, and you will, if they are necessary, and at what level.

I hope this helps. I feel really passionate about this because it just helped my sister SO MUCH.

[egoldber]

I'm glad you're getting the complete testing. I was pretty convinced Sarah had ADHD, but testing showed otherwise. Accurate diagnosis is important because there are other things which can have distractibility/inattention components.

Wishing you and your DD the best. It is so hard to watch them struggle. :(

[ladysoapmaker]

My DS#2 has ADD and I am one who is reluctant to medicate for that with out additional therapy. Unfortunately the waitlist for the only place in the area that does that for ADD is huge.

He is on Concerta 18mg (lowest possible dose). He now complains about the other kids being loud in his class.

Misha is almost 9 and he's smart enough to be aware that he "doesn't" need the medication to live but that it does make his life easier. We try to emphasize how he feels when on it and how he feels off it and how he need to work harder off it to behave the same way on it. We don't want Misha to get into the habit of not taking them when he's not in school or doesn't have to concentrate so we try to have him take them daily.

There is a great book out there about ADD called Parenting children with ADHD : 10 lessons that medicine cannot teach by Vincent J. Monastra. I especially like the nutrition section. I have found it really helps.

Jen

[SammyeGail]

My son is young, the twins will be 4 next month, but we have suspected N has some sort of ADD AD/HD for almost 2 years now. He is extremely high spirited most of the time, other times not so extreme. When we found out my other son had autism, at 22 months, the first thing we did was cut out wheat and dairy (the gf/cf diet). Several months went by and N was such a picky eater we took him off the diet, he went on a mac'ncheese binge, seriously gordged on cheese/dairy, bread, etc. He was almost like a wild monkey. It took about 6 weeks for us and his teacher at his 2 day a week MDO (like a less structured pre-school) to figure out it was the diet. So we had to put him back on wheat/dairy free, it was hard, but he sure did calm down alot. From my readings on the GF/CF diet, I had heard it helped some children with ADD AD/HD. N has gotten into some dairy on occassions, he is very wound up for about 3 days but it passes.

Thats just my story, I know cutting out wheat and dairy at age 9 would be *nearly* impossible, and studies have show its effects are not the same as a child with autism, not as effective, again, this is just my story.

If N were on a normal 4 yr old diet, I might be in a mental hospital, LOL. Once back in the summer I had 2 horrible days with him, I called his pedi and left a mssg with his nurse saying I wanted testing and meds for him. Glad they never called back that time, I was just having a really, really rough time.

N is severly speech delayed, we live in a rural county and I fought to get J in an autism school when he turned 3. Its the only contract they have, I was discouraged for a few weeks when I asked for help for N when school started, but then talked to the director at J's school, the school system's special ed director and N is starting his 2nd week (2 days a week) at J's autism school. I was wonderful how the autism schools director said she didn't care if he had autism, she just wanted to help him. Also to help him interact with his twin brother, who he pushes, hites and sometimes bites.

I really hope this works, this is what we have for now.....As for the future, the diet is supposed to be permanent, but I have heard as adults they can tolerate it, I don't know what they will do out of my sight.

As for meds, that will be a hard one for me too.

Leslie, I know I gave no advise here, just letting you know I will be where you are one day and my heart goes out to you :hug:. Best of luck on making a hard decision. N does have more concentration when taking fish oil, a dosage recommended by our pedi that is slightly higher than for a typical child his age, if that helps any.

Sam

[spanannie]

Medication worked miracles for my DS. We went through extensive testing to determine that he does have ADHD (we did this a year ago at age 6). It was obvious to me that this was a possible problem from age 3 on, but we tried everything else under the sun first.

We settled on the 2nd medication that we tried, and he's upped the dosage once. He is doing phenomenally in school and at home. He would be struggling at school if he weren't on the medication (he's mainly the inattentive type). He functions almost completely "normally" without any accomodations and is excelling in school behaviorally and academically.

The medication started out rough because he would have major "rebound" in the evenings. That did get better as time went on. It is a little frustrating still in the evenings when the meds wear off. I think you just notice the difference a lot more because you are used the the controlled behavior. Like I said, that did get a lot better over time, though. We haven't seen any weight loss and it doesn't affect his sleep too much. Sometimes he needs melatonin, but not all of the time. I haven't seen any other effects.

I was really scared of trying the meds, too, but it had to be done, in my opinion. I didn't want him to struggle through school. I am really glad that we made the decision we did. Hopefully, as he gets older and is better able to self manage, he might not need meds. We shall see.

We are also trying fish oil (high dosage of 7:1 EPA: DHA ratio), probiotics and Magnesium. I think it's still too early to see if it's making a difference. There is a lot of information out there about these supplements.

Good luck to you and your family. I know that last year was very stressful for me when we were working on getting a diagnosis and finding the right treatment.