Hi! I've been lurking for a few weeks and wanted to introduce myself and tell you all about our journey through this. Our daughter is 14 and is currently a freshman in high school. She has struggled since jr. high and has just recently been diagnosed with add (no hyperactivity)...she "cannot" pay attention in class, forgets to turn things in (heck forgets she even had homework), daydreams, doesn't comprehend reading, disorganization (I should take a picture of her locker and show you all...lol)...etc. She flunked 2 main courses last semester with c's and d's in the others. Her 6 week update into this 9 weeks showed all F's except vocal and PE. Her grades have never been nearly that bad. She struggled before, but at least passed. I'm suspecting she has given up on trying. I do know that she is intelligent since I can sit down with her at home without distractions and I can explain something like a math problem and she can comprehend it very quickly. I should ad that she's in a private prep school, so I think her school materical is quite difficult and often self taught since teachers give basic instruction only usually. We are switching her to a public school next year since she claims she is miserable there and we think that there will probably be more assistance at a public school for this type of problem.??

We did the conner's test and had a teacher fill one out too. We had appt. with her psychologist last Friday and results basically showed what we expected with high level of inattentiveness and moodiness. She was diagnosed with ADD and depression. The doc. thinks that the depression might be caused by the add, so we're waiting on treating that. She saw her pediatrician today (since psycologist can't prescribe) and we started adderell xl today 10 mg. This seemed like a small dose to me since she's 5'8" and 170 lbs., I guess that's o.k. we can always go up. Maybe the appetite suppressent effect will help with her weight too. She is also trying to keep up with an agenda better to help her keep up with homework. She went to school after the appt. with adderall on board for the first time, I'm so nervous and excited to talk to her when she gets home.

I suspect ADD/ADHD in several members of our family including myself and my husband (daughter's dad). I did very well in school, but find myself horribly distracted/disorganized as life has gotten more complicated with 3 kids and work etc... My dad has 9 brothers and sisters and they are all major hypers...lol. My dad is almost 80 and cannot sit still for a minute. I won't go on, but my husband's side has more the inattentiveness. It is very obvious. Thank you all for listening this long! If you have any advise or anything plmk!
Amy

Welcome to the forums, Crazymom!:) Your daughter sounds like a classic inattentive, especially with the family history of ADD. We've got a whole household full of ADDers too, so I know what that's like. Since you think you might be as well as your daughter, you might check our Sari Solden's book Women with Attention Deficit Disorder -- ADD looks a bit different in us gals and she does a great job of addressing those differences and making suggestions of lifestyle changes that need to me made.

As far as the meds go they usually start low and titrate the dose up to an optimal level, but strangely enough it has little to do with size unlike some other kinds of medication. Some little pint sized kids take large doses while some adults only need a bit -- from what I've read inattentive ADDers frequently need lower doses, but I'm no expert in meds.

I hope the meds will prove real successful for your daughter -- education about ADD, structures, and lifestyle changes are also needed to reinforce progress made with medication. Hopefully the Adderall will also address the depression, if not something else can always be added later if your doctor feels it is warranted. Sounds like you're taking all the right steps. Let us know how it goes.

Scattered

Thanks for the reply scattered. I will get ahold of that book. I think the medication is working, she said she was able to follow what the teacher was saying for the first time. That makes us so happy. She also isn't so moody. I'm hoping it doesn't take away her personality too much. The only problem we have is that she has only eaten about 5 bites of food in the last 2 day. She refuses to eat breakfast and says the smell of food makes her sick. The medicine doesn't seem to be wearing off in the evening so she only eats a few bites of supper. Maybe that will get better. She can stand to lose a few pounds, but that's not good for her I'm sure. Anyway, all in all good news.

The appetite should come back pretty much -- at least that was my experience after my body adjusted to the medication. Unless she's on too much medication her personality should be just fine! I felt when I started meds that it actually freed me to be myself without having the fight the anxiety, depression and distractibility of ADD so hard.


Glad it seems to be working!:)
Scattered

cryzmom, she sounds like my son. He really started going downhill in school the higher in grade he got. 8th grade, we did have him tested. ADD. STarted strattera, hated it. went off. Tried it again in 9th, nothing, so didn't do anymore. Tried the consistancy thing with him, loss of priviledge, nothing worked. He is a junior now and first semester he failed 2 classes, got by with C's in the others. We finally got him a different doctor, he was put on 20mg of Adderall XR. He is appr. 5'11, 148 lbs. Yes, thin. This was amazing for him. We did have it adjusted a couple weeks ago to 25mg. He is now holding A's and B's. From C's, D's and F's. Your daughter will show much better self-esteem when she see's she CAN do it. My son's self-esteem was just going down, but so much better now. As for breakfast, my son hates breakfast, but knows he has to eat somethign with his meds. He started out have fruit smoothies every morning that I would make. Now I buy fruit cups, mandarin oranges are his favorite. I set it out and have him take it as soon as he gets up. Good luck and know she is smart and will do great.

Thanks Sheri and Scattered! Your encouragement is very appreciated! I just wanted to update a little. My daughter has been on the Adderall over a week and except for that one time, she is now saying it isn't doing anything. She is doing psychotherapy also by the way. Last night she had a pretty major blow up because "we are way into her business"...lol..long story, but when we went to pick her up at church she was arguing with her boyfriend and she was visably upset and we were somewhat upset that she would argue at church. Anyway, it esculated (me and hubby did keep our cool) to her throwing a fit about being grounded from her cell phone, radio...basically unable to deal with consequences for her grades, lying etc. She ran out of the house (we live in a large town ie...not so safe for a 14 y.o. to be running around in the dark). I ran after her and finally caught her. She tells me she's depressed, can't do anything right, hates us, wants to get away from our family. I'm struggling between my gut instinct telling me she's hurting and is majorly depressed and feeling manipulated by her telling us things to get her privliges back. Wow, this teenage stuff is way out there...lol. I talked to the pediatrician this morning and she doubled her adderall to 20mg/day. We did that this morning. I have a call into the psy...he is so busy it takes a while for him to get back with us. I personally strongly think she is ADD, I know the medication not working could be a sign that it is not, but she just fits it to a "T". Are consequenses cruel for add kids if they can't help it? Maybe depression added in is messing everything up...I don't know. Sorry this got so long and thank you so much for listening. We are going to stick with this.

crzymom,
The trouble with consequences with ADD kids, it doesn't work. Well, didn't for my son. Alot of praise is great for him. He also started out on 20mg of Adderall XR. Did fine with it for a month and a half, then he decided it just didn't seem to help. So our doctor put him on 25 mg, seems to be doing great. Your daughter could very well have depression, so these meds alone may not be helping for now. When I would ground my son or take things away, like the computer, he would just tell me it doesn't help. I sure hope things get figured out. Your daughter is 14, maybe she is to young and immature yet to handle having a boyfriend. How old is he? We started our son on Adderall Dec. 27 due to failing grades the first semester, and the 3rd quarter just ended. I have to brag. He has never had this good of a report card. He got two A+'s, one B+, one B, one B- and one C. Talk about a happy mom. He was just thrilled. Of course, being 17 and a boy, he doesn't show that part to us. Just a nice smile. I hope things come around for you daughter.

Response to medication alone doesn't indicate ADD. 10 - 30% of ADDers don't respond to medications we currently have. She may need more, may need a different medication (sometimes someone who doesn't resond to Adderall will resond to methylphenidate or something else). Also measuring response isn't always immediately clear cut. I didn't suddenly becoming this superorganized mom on meds. But I started listening better, remembering better, feeling less anxiety, etc. Sometimes other people are a better indicator of how the meds are working. I can't even imagine how confusing it all much be to a teenager is who trying to figure out who she is to start with. I'm glad she's seeing a therapist. If she's willing to read about girls with ADHD there are some new books out on the subject by Nadeau and Quinn and I believe (see: www.addwarehouse.com (http://www.addwarehouse.com)). It took me a while to be able to enumerate the changes, also things continued to improve as my depression improved -- depression symptoms can mimic ADD symptoms or exaserabate them.


Hang in there! Remember ADD is a developmental disorder -- subtrac 30% from her age and that's about it emotion maturity wise. But she will continue to get older and more mature -- just takes longer!:) You're obviously very caring parents! Be sure and take care of yourselves too!

Scattered

Thank you again! That maturity figure really makes sense to me...she does seem very immature in some ways. I will look into getting one of the books. I should call the boyfriend more of a friend...he sees her at church and talks to her on the phone occasionally, other than that he's been to our house once for supper. I do think that she is too young for a boyfriend too. The psychologist got her in yesterday and was asking about symptoms oppositional defiant disorder behavior. I told him she does have episodes often of anger, and doing physical things to herself and us. She has slammed her head on the kitchen island and has taken a book and hit her forhead very hard. She has also pushed me and my husband when we don't give into her. She also shows some of the other signs, although she can be very obedient and sweet most of the time. He didn't say if he thought she had that or not, but it just got me thinking that maybe we're dealing with more than just ADD. Thanks again!

Hi,
I am new to this forum too - but also a past lurker. My daughter is 14 also, but in 8th grade. She has shown symptoms of ADD since third grade, but she managed well with understanding teachers (parents) and some tutoring. She has been on the honor roll most of middle school too somehow. She was tested earlier this year and indeed she has been diagnosed with ADD - non-attentive type. After the diagnosis, I met with her pediatritian who warned me this was a long process but to meet with a psychiatrist who specialized in adolecent ADD. My daughter and I met with a Psych. Dr. and she wrote a perscription for Adderal XR. She built up to 15mg and then all hell hit. She was not only hardly eating, but severely irritable and wanted to be alone all the time. She stayed in her room with the door locked all the time. This was not like her at all - she's usually a giggly, fun kid. At the same time she was pulling away from her friends. She told a couple of them that she was having bad thoughts about herself and her life - they were scared and told the school guidance counselor. The counselor pulled my daughter in with her friends and they all spoke to her about their concerns. I got a call at work that afternoon with this news - I was so upset and worried. I went to school - picked my daughter up and went straight to the Doctor's office. She said to obviously stop the meds and put her on Zoloft to turn her severe depression around. She stayed on Zoloft for only 5 days, but it was so nice to see her laughing again. I will never complain about her giggles or goofiness again. So trust your gut, if you daughter is behaving that differently, take her off of the Aderall! Don' t wait.
We just tried Strattera but after 5 weeks, the nausea and stomach aches are too much for her to bare. We will try the natural route next...Attend. I am tired of playing around with her brain - these drugs are severe!

We have a foster daughter the same age that came to us with major, major behavioral issues. I'm talking about hurting herself, running away, acting out at school, fist fighting, obnoxious inappropriate behavior, scary mood swings from severe depression to manic episodes. rages and anger, etc. It was a scary thought even trying to take on dealing with her and we wouldn't have had she not been in a shelter and getting a lot of testing and trial and error with therapy and meds. Through trial and error (before she came to live with us - while she was in a shelter) she started on a mix of meds that seem to be just right for her and her current needs. She is happy and alert, stable moods, sweet and helpful at home and doing well in school. no behavior problems, gets up early, goes to bed early on her own, is doing all her homework, has friends, teachers like her and is getting A's and B's. She is on Adderall XR 25 mg 1x a day, takes Zoloft (for depression) 1X in the morning along with the Adderall and in the evening she takes a dose of Risperdal which is a complex anti-psychotic drug that covers a broad range and has a great side effect of making a person very sleepy soon after taking it and helps her get a good nights sleep. She takes that one at 8PM and before 9PM she is usually in bed. Sounds like a lot of junk to have in your system and she can't do it forever, but until all her baggage with her family and her personal issues are resolved and thing s even out in her life they will help her get by. She also sees a therapist every week and a psychiastrist every month and they say they have seen an incredible change in her and she personally also recognizes all the positive benefits.

Unfortuantely, teenage girls often get worse and start acting more like the boys were acting earlier. It probably has to do with hormones. You might check and see if things get worse premenstrally. Thomas Brown in Attention Deficit Disorder says that estrogen levels appear to effect the release and reuptake of dopamine which is of course one of the biggies in ADD. Also serotonin levels drop premenstrally. A lot of girls who hurt themselves have low serotonin levels -- and of course for an ADHD gal there are also impulse control issues. Self injury probably raises serotonin levels as well as providing an adrenalin rush which helps the focus problems. John Ratey in Shadow Syndromes also states that intermittant anger disorder is often helped by increasing serotonin levels. You might discuss this with her doctor. Depression is also a very common comorbid condition with ADHD (around 30% of the time, I believe) and that is also helped by serotonin levels being increased as well.

Take care,
Scattered

All these posts make such interesting reading.


My daughter was diagnosed about eigth months ago with adhd. She is eight years old. I had tried to get my family doctor to listen to me for weeks but ended up going to see a private doctor. This was because my daughter was threatening self harm with knifes. One day after being told no to something she had a massive temper fit and ended up standing on the upstairs window ledge threatening to throw herself off!! It was terrible to see my child in so much pain and so unhappy. Also I was going off my head with the worry and stress of it all. She would also storm out the house without me knowing. I have chased her down the street shouting for her to come back. Good knows what the neighbours think of us :D

Well my daughter is now on concerta and I am so glad to say that we have had no more threats of self harm. I am not saying that it is a wonder drug but I think that it is right for her. She still has a terrible temper but this I can deal with. Some days better than others :)

From reading books and what I have read here it seems I am going to have even more fun when puberty starts !!!

Good luck.

I just finished reading the Sari Solden book and was going to mention that about hormone levels affecting ADD symptoms, but someone already did it. :)

Scattered, you mentioned seratonin levels. My granddaughter is 8 years old and given the family history will probably start having periods within a year or a bit more. We have always struggled with her on bedtime issues, clearly she can't get her brain to quiet down at bedtime and let her sleep. I expect this will only going to get worse in the near future. Can you recommend a source for seratonin that is safe for such a youn'un?

I'm not aware of any studies done on children (that doesn't mean they're not out there) about natural serotonin supplements. In adults, I know the St. John's Wort and 5-HTP have been studied and show some promise, but I don't have any idea how safe they are for kids. You might take a look at Daniel Amen's book Healing ADD (some people think he's brilliant others have a low opinion of him -- I kind of pick and choose what seems valuable to me. I've found some of his dietary supplements and behavioral suggestions helpful). As far as medications go the SSRI's are probably safest (IE: Prozac, Zoloft, etc) but they have a warning about increasing potential suicidality in children. This is definately a question for a doctors who is very aware of how medications effect children, especially ADHD kids.

Some ways to raise serotonin levels that are safe are regular vigorous exercise combined with getting plenty of Omega 3 Fatty Acids according to Hallowell and Ratey in Delivered from Distraction. Sunshine also helps keep those levels up. Being on ADHD meds may really reduce the chance of things getting to such a bad point. Building on a child's strengths (IE: music, sports, art, etc) can help them feel better about themselves too. Our minds are powerful tools for helping balance our emotions when directed in the right way.

Scattered

Recently we have tried another route with DD (14) ADD. She is on Zoloft - built up to 50mg 1 X a day, taken at night with trying Focalin in the mornings(short acting). She is up to a 7.5 mg/day dosage 1 x day now. We are taking it slow, 2.5mg to start and increasing dosage by 2.5 mgs after each week. The doctor hopes to get her up 10mgs. (maybe even 10mgs 2x day - before school and after school for homework time) We think that her taking Zoloft will work against the depression that stimulants tend to bring out in her. So far, very successful. She is still happy and pleasant. We will see as dose is increased whether things are still positive.

Has anyone tried the Focalin short acting? It is supposed to be just like Ritalin without some of the negative side effects.

This has certainly been a journey. This is third med we are trying...I hope my daughter meets success with this one. At times it feels so frustrating. School gets out at the end of June, hopefully we can get somewhere by then.:rolleyes:

It can be very frustrating, especially when it is your child you're dealing with. I hope this turns out to be an effective combiation for her. Is she doing any kid of exercise at all? One of the most useful things I did as a teenager was start an active exercise program of running, biking and so forth. It helped both the anxiety and ADHD symptoms. Hallowell and Ratey in their Distraction books say it is like taking a dose of Ritalin and Prozac holistically. The effect can last up to four hours, so multiple times a day is best, but any exercise really helps. It can be a nice adjunct to the other things you're doing and help build her self esteem while leveling out some of the bumps.

Take care and let us know how it goes!
Scattered

Yes she is quite athletic and runs, plays lteam acrosse and plays team soccer. She is more active than many - and she is usually very happy in doing so.

Yes she is quite athletic and runs, plays lteam acrosse and plays team soccer. She is more active than many - and she is usually very happy in doing so.Very cool!:)