ADHD--role of medication

[HIU8]

Not trying to start a debate about this. I have some questions though.

DS was recently diagnosed with ADHD. The person we saw at KKI was frank with us about meds. She asked if we wanted to use them immediately, to which I answered no. Honestly, for us we thought they would be a last resort. She said that normally when a child cannot do schoolwork and is losing friends due to the ADHD behaviors etc..., that is the time to consider it. So, I guess what I want to know is:

Is your ADHD child on meds?
What brought you to that decision?
Are you still doing other things such as OT, seeing a therapist etc?

I only ask this b/c I sometimes wonder if some of DS's issues could be better handled if he were on meds (we would still be doing other therapies, but I often wonder if meds would make those easier for him and for us to handle him?).

Just wanted some frank, honest opinions of folks who have BTDT.

[pinkmomagain]

My dd2 is on meds for ADHD. I think after reading "Driven to Distraction" and really seeing how the ADHD was impacting her self-esteem I was finally OK with it. She started on meds when she was about 9 yrs old. She is turning 12 next month. In our particular case, it has helped her enormously. Life changing. There are still issues that cannot be helped by the medication, but huge improvement -- socially, academically, self-esteem, family dynamic. The only therapy she has is seeing a social worker for her anxiety.

As the parent of older kids, when debating about whether or not to medicate, the concern becomes if you don't, will they start to self-medicate with illegal drugs, alcohol. So this was in the back of my head too.

[HIU8]

Gina,
Thank you for the book rec. It is something I will be reading.

[egoldber]

Well, we are not using ADHD meds, but are using different meds for my older DD. We are still in the trial stage so not sure how things will play out yet.

But her issues were definitely starting to affect her self esteem, whereas I did not feel that was the case when she was younger. So that is definitely something to consider as kids get older.

We also still do a lot of therapy in addition to the medication.

[JTsMom]

We are not medicating at this point, but I'm not sure what we'll do in the future. ADHD meds haven't been tested in cardiac kids, so there is no safety data. Jason is still young too, and we're able to get by without them, so we we do. Him not being medicated is one of the reasons I homeschool.

I'm not anti-meds, especially after all other avenues have been explored. It took a while for me to see how kids' self esteem is affected when they deal with ADHD, and how the other things that go along with the ADHD- like anxiety- can be crippling.

We do a lot of therapy and various types of interventions, and will continue to try to find something that will help DS, but honestly, I don't think anything will have the same effect meds would.

[Gena]

I don't know if any of this will help you, but I'm puttin it out there just in case it will.

DS has some ADHD qualities, does not have a diagnosis of ADHD right now. The developmental ped and a couple of his therapists believe it's only a matter of time before this gets added to the alphabet soup of his diagnoses. (I'm not going to go into the controversy of whether kids with ASD should also get an ADHD diagnosis). For now, dev ped has added "Hyperkenesis" to his diagnosis list and keeps the issue open for reevaluation.

Either way, DS has a very high energy level leading to hyperactivity and it is a problem at times. We have found that the suppliments he takes can have a huge impact on his hyperactivity:

For years, DS has been on Omega 3 (fish oil) suppliments to help with several of his issues and I have changed brands a few times. Last year I found some research that kids with hypereactivity respond best to a high EPA:low DHA ratio. So I switched him to Morepa Mini Junior (http://www.minami-nutrition.us/website/morepa_mini.php), which has the highest EPA to DHA ratio available (7:1)

A couple of months ago, I decided to add DMG to his suppliemnts to help with language issues and socialization. We saw immediate and dramatic improvements in these areas, as well as a big increase in DS's self-awareness. However, we also saw a huge increase in difficult behaviors. Hyperactivity, defiance, and running off all increased as well. I was not willing to give up the benefits of the DMG, so I searched out alternatives. I found a formula of DMG that includes B6, B12, Folic Acid, and Magnesium (Behavior Balance (http://www.foodscienceofvermont.com/vitamins-supplements/behavior-balance-dmg-liquid.php)) . Once I switched DS to this formula, his behavior immediately improved. He became calmer, less hyperactive, and more cooperative. The school and aftercare staff could not believe the change in him.

He also takes melatonin to help him settle down at night and get to sleep. Making sure he gets anough sleep is important for many aspects of his behavior.

I am not anti-med and I do not believe that suppliments can substitute for prescitption meds in all cases. We have done medications for DS when needed. (He spent a year on Risperdal while we worked on aggressive behaviors.) It's possible that in the future DS may need ADHD meds. But I do think it's reasonable to try suppliments and/or diet changes before going to meds.

(I'm not a doctor and I don't play one. I'm just sharing my personal experience.)

[MamaKath]

We chose to use meds when diet changes, therapy, behavioral modifications and other interventions weren't making enough of a difference and dc was being emotionally impacted by that toll. We recently changed meds and I was again awed by the impact the new med has had. Our feeling was that if our kid was diabetic and we tried all the alternatives without the needed result, we would move to meds. It is never the first choice for a parent, but for our dc it has turned much of the world around so others around can see what a delightful kid dc can be!

Not any easy decision. A good read for me was The Elephant in the Playroom which is a compilation of stories of various sn kids.