Hi all,

First post after joining.

My wife and I have come to the reality that we'll need to have our daughter (6yrs) treated for ADD/ADHD. Obviously there are non-medicative options, but my wife and I have both had successes of our own with ADD medicines and it seems as if that's the option for our daughter. We haven't gone to get the 'official' diagnosis but are preparing for that eventuality. I'm sure our concerns are fairly typical, but we're scared and worried.

What will the different medications do to our creative and outgoing daughter? Will she be stiffled or zombified? Other mental side effects? Physical side effects? I think we're mostly worried about her being 'changed' by medication, and not just in the desired positive ways. How do we deal with any stigmas she may have by having to take the medicine?

I don't think we're worried about being 'bad parents' for having to look at the medication option, but it's still a difficult decision. What have been any of your concerns about medications and how did you deal with them?

As I said, I'm sure these are typical concerns, but that doesn't mean we know how to deal with them yet. Any guidance - no matter how many times repeated through these forums - would be appreciated.

have fun,
Aaron (and Jennifer)

Welcome. This is what I have learned since I started coming to this forum. Medicine effects everyone differently. Side effects do diminish in time. Stimulants (ritalin, adderall,concerta, Etc.), which my 6 year old daughter and I are on, can effect appetite,
sleeplessness, indigestion, dry mouth, upset stomach and weight loss. The weight loss is common so you may have to weigh her often. There are ways to deal with this. You will have to find what works best for you and your child. AND may have to try several differant medicines and differant amounts to find what works best for your daughter. My daughter was at the bottom of her class and fighting with everyone
before she was medication. Now she is getting good reports in class. We still have problems and are still working on her medication to find the right one but she has made
alot of progress. I also recommend you send time looking at this forum because you are not alone. That can make all the differance in the world. It has to me.

Debbie

P.S. I forgot to mention the other type of medicines that are also used. Anti depressants are also recommended. I am afraid I do not know much about these.
I have used them in the past and they do not work for me. I am sure someone will be able to provide more info about them here.

When I was diagnosed at age 22 in 1972, what we now call ADHD-Combined type was called MBD(Minimal Brain Damage; later amended to Dysfunction).

I had just "escaped" undergraduate college with a 2.53 gpa = C avg.

(Along the way, I had amassed 8 F's in HS & college + 2 D's in handwriting in the first grade).

I had just been accepted to a Master's Degree Clinical Psychology graduate program on a probationary basis due to my low GRE (Graduate Record Exam).

I started medication (Dexedrine) for the first time, as I had nothing to lose.

I jumped straight to Deans List and never got off.

I finished with a 3.66 gpa. = A

Without meds, I couldn't have done that.

I wish you all much luck & success with your kids.

tc
mctavish23
(Robert)

my wife and I have both had successes of our own with ADD medicinesThat's a good indication that you have no need to worry about your daughter trying medications.

Repost from me (one of these days I have GOT to put this on a document, instead of using the search function):

Medications when prescribed correctly can be likened to eyeglasses, and ADHD can be likened to poor vision. The meds allow us to "see" properly and levels the playing field for us...a field that is clearly and scientifically proven to be biased against us.

Sure, a person with poor vision can see without glasses, but it becomes very frustrating when things are not in proper focus. Without the glasses, you get headaches, try over and over, in vain, to see clearly, and probably bark your shins a few times in the bargain. Its very painful to know that your glasses exist, but have been placed far out of your reach.

I might add to that also that children will not become robots (or zombies), nor will they become dolls. A response to meds that resembles any such thing means that this is the wrong medication for the child and should be discontinued. It does NOT indicate that the child will respond this way to every medication they try.

Oftentimes, children with untreated or improperly treated ADHD are treated poorly by others, through no fault of their own, because to the other children they seem, quite frankly, to be an annoyance. A rollercoaster that they did not ask to ride is something that NT children may flat-out reject. This can be absolutely devastating to the child with ADHD, and wreak havoc upon their self-esteem.

For a peek into the world that those of us with ADHD live in, I encourage you to please give this a try:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/attentionbasics.html

Click both options that say "Try This"...and see for yourself. I have done this myself, and can verify that although they are not absolutely 100% perfect (and I don't think that this will occur until we perfect VI someday), they come close enough as to be almost spooky. I have offered this link to many, many people and not once have I gotten negative feedback. People tend to report a degree of empathy for the ADDer in their lives that they have never known before.

I would support your decision not to medicate your child of course, if this is the conclusion you come to, as it is your decision to make and yours alone.

having just put our 8 yr old boy on meds i can say that the difference has been really noted..mind you its not been easy to find the right drug ..he was fine on ritolin 10mg for 30 days then they moved him to concerta 27mg which was an awful experience, he became very over anxious and had huge panic attacks he just wasnt well and was visably suffering, so we took him off the meds after 3 days and called the dr..he now yesterday has started equasym 20mg and he seems ok so far, the test tho will be when he goes back to school, but i would say go for the meds as it does replace only the drug in there brain they are missing and does give them a more peaceful life and less anxious, feel free to e mail me anytime to chat further if you have any worries, take care and hope you get the results and answers you seek.x

Wow, was that ever annoying.

Wow, was that ever annoying.What's got you annoyed, LadyLark? I'm curious now...

What I find strange, and I always find this strange, is that the OP posted once then vanished. Hit and run always seems odd to me. I hope the OP comes back to read the replies they got!

I think every parent has these same concerns at first. I know I was terrified that my creative son would turn into a complete zombie. I have read horror stories about some of the side effects people where having with the meds but I took a chance and tried anyway. My son will be 6 in December, his problems are mostly at school, when he comes home he really isnt a disturbance to me and I think thats just because its me and him, he is hyper but not to the point where its a big problem at home. Now when he gets in a room full of children he turns into a completely different kid. His doctor started him on Addrerall XR 2.5 mg a day, no difference, 5mg no positive changes, we started on 10mg a day and there is a wonderful difference, I am lucky so far we have not had any side effects. He eats well, sleeps well, and is very cooperative in school. All of his pre-k teachers said there is a big difference from his performance last year.

im so pleased that your experiencing a better life for you and your child, its great when the right dosage is found, i know myself it sometimes takes a while for that to come but to see your child more relaxed without being zombied out is great, i know i had great concerns about putting my child on meds but to see the difference is lovely, after all the main issue is that the child is more relaxed and living not such an anxious and confused life

Wow, we are overwhelmed by all the kind and helpful responses - thank you!

This is Aaron's "better half" Jennifer. I registered a long time ago but have lost y original password and user name (LOL - how many people can relate to that!) anyway I will get my own user name set up again. In the meantime we both hope to become more active on the forum. I have been a happy lurker on and off for over a year now and hope to help some other folks since I have been helped so many times just by knowing other people are going through some of the same things we are.

Anyway we have an appt. with my daughter's pediatrician tomorrow and will probably start a trial medication run. Some of our frustration (mainly mine not as much my husband's) is with the public school system in general. when I look at these worksheets our daughter brings home I get bored, too!

So far we have managed to get her to be allowed to use colored pencil in class for the worksheets she fills out as well as at home for her homework. She has an incredible vocabulary however she is lagging behind in reading and writing. To get through homework we have come up with a few creative solutions which I will share in the appropriate section.

I will review these responses again tomorrow when I'm thinking more clearly - just didn't want you to think that the "OP" was MIA.

What's got you annoyed, LadyLark? I'm curious now...

What I find strange, and I always find this strange, is that the OP posted once then vanished. Hit and run always seems odd to me. I hope the OP comes back to read the replies they got!

Sorry, I meant that test on the link you posted. With the text fading in and out like that it was really annoying.

Sorry for any confusion.
:foot:

For a peek into the world that those of us with ADHD live in, I encourage you to please give this a try:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/attentionbasics.html

Click both options that say "Try This"...and see for yourself. I have done this myself, and can verify that although they are not absolutely 100% perfect (and I don't think that this will occur until we perfect VI someday), they come close enough as to be almost spooky. I have offered this link to many, many people and not once have I gotten negative feedback. People tend to report a degree of empathy for the ADDer in their lives that they have never known before.

I would support your decision not to medicate your child of course, if this is the conclusion you come to, as it is your decision to make and yours alone.
[/QUOTE]Dragonlady, this is an excellent resource . thank you for the link. One of the reasons we have reservations about medication for our daughter is because I was able to "get by" and do rather well in school without meds and didn't get officially diagnosed with ADHD predominantly inattentive type until my mid-20's. My husband, Aaron was just recently diagnosed. I always just thought of as my "absentminded Professor" and he started Focalin and it has really helped him at work. It has been an overwhelming year for us. He actually has lost more than one job in the past due to ADD symptoms out of control and with increased knowledge about ADD and his own strengths/weaknesses is much happier with his current position. He was the one who would go around shutting cabinet doors after me, which I am still awful at despite the Adderall I take so it just goes to show you how ADHD manifests itself in such different ways. Through further deliberation I have been able to come to the conclusion that our daughter is in a much different school environment than I was and we are lucky to have the ability to diagnose her challenges much earlier than it was "caught" in our own cases. Plus I had a much different childhood than her - my father was in the military so we moved quite a bit and I really think that all that novelty and readjusting almost helped fulfill a need for stimulation at the time. We are such more stationary except for the occasional escapes out of town and the simple fact of the matter is that my daughter is a diff. person than me and although she is extremely creative and has an excellent vocabulary , she struggles to complete homework and is not paying attention in class.

I decided to quit my job after almost 4 years with the company and stay at home full-time for while in part to devote more time to our family and make changes to our environment - more structure, enough down time etc. which helps us all. The fact that my job was getting harder and harder to manage even with medication made it an easier decision for me. What started out as a fairly straightforward sales/customer service postition became more and more cumbersome over the years with rules and regulations about when we could take our breaks, what we had to say on the phone, etc. Normally I wouldn't recommend a call center job for someone with ADHD, however it was a big company so every time I got bored I could switch departments and somehow the job just worked for me and was a decent fit for quite awhile. Having a terrific boss and some good coworkers helped, too and that part was hard to leave along with the regular paycheck. I look forward to getting a job better suited to my abilities when I rejoin the "work for pay" world. I tell people that I traded a job with a paycheck for one with more manual labor and NO paycheck at all. It's almost been a month since my last day and I have not regretted this decision for a single moment though!

Thank you again to the other parents who posted and to McTavish23 for sharing how dramatically your life was changed when you were diagnosed and treated. It feels better knowing that there are lots of other folks on similar journeys to our own.