hi
my 5 year old is going to the peadiatrician in 10 days and i really want to hear peoples opinions on medication. i dont want her on medication but if things continue like this then our lives are going to be hell. what are the advantages and the disadvantages of meds? i know the doctor will tell me all this but i would really like to go in there having some idea about what she is talking about.
also has anyone found that the meds also work on violent behaviour?
any comments would be greatly appreciated
cheers
sam

also has anyone found that the meds also work on violent behaviour?
when I take Concerta I calm down loads. I'm not really a violent person but I can be quite explosive.

For example if someone was really frustrating me I might explode with anger (not hitting) when im not on meds, but if they did that while I was on meds I probably wouldn't even care that much and I dont react as bad.

Scooby, I don't have a lot of experience with meds other than about 6 months of my son on one.

If you are interested in some non-medication therapies or supplements, there are some interesting options on the miscelanious threads section. I have done a lot of reading on many of the non-medication therapies, tried some, would not recmmend some, and have had some sucess with some.

DS has been on the high EPA fish oils for a few months now, and boy do they make a difference on behaviour! For some they don't though.

We are also both undergoing targeted amino acid therapy to balance the neurotrasmitters and the neurological chemistry. We are too soon into it to report on that, but there was an interesting, VERY promising study funded by the Scripps clinic by a Dr. Purvis on a group of adopted children with many behavioural issues. Many of their issues resloved or decreased on the therapy.

If you'd like more info on these things, feel free to ask.

hi boone1
thanks for that. jade is in a gifted programme and i dont know if putting her on meds would dull her brain or sedate her. i have no idea on what affect meds have on kids.
what part of the uk are you in ? we are from birkenhead originally.

hi frazzle
jade has been on the fishoil and it made absolutly no difference :( my mum and i are investigating the dore programme as well coz we have heard really good things about it :) when the police came out to her the other day they referred her to a councilling scheme so hopefully we should hear about that soon. i am willing to give anything a go and i think the last resort would be meds but if they are the only thing that gives us all a better quality of life then maybe thats what i have to do.

Scooby, if you are looking into Dore, they start taking children at age 7. :-(

Sorry the fish oils did not help. What mixture did you have her on? The mix effective for behaviour best is the very high EPA ratio. The one my son takes is 20:1 (EPA:DHA) meaning there is a lot more EPA than DHA. If you did that sorry to be redundant.

Keep the ideas coming.

Scooby, here is the study with Dr. Purvis and the TAAT:

http://mtenergie.com/docs/tcu%20abstract.pdf

And another article about it:

http://www.newsevents.tcu.edu/274.asp

The testing is relatively inexpensive, and you get a load of information that even if someone decides NOT to pursue TAAT, it may help in knowing better which classes of medications to try and to avoid, avoiding the trial and error period many individuals experience until the right one or combo is found.

If the original poster (scoobydoo) would like more information on Dore, please start a thread to learn more about it.

To get back on topic, Sam's original post asked about meds:

here it is:


hi
my 5 year old is going to the peadiatrician in 10 days and i really want to hear peoples opinions on medication. i dont want her on medication but if things continue like this then our lives are going to be hell. what are the advantages and the disadvantages of meds? i know the doctor will tell me all this but i would really like to go in there having some idea about what she is talking about.
also has anyone found that the meds also work on violent behaviour?
any comments would be greatly appreciated
cheers
sam

i dont want her on medication
]my mum and i are investigating the dore programme as well coz we have heard really good things about it :)
My apologies, Sam and LC, I was responding to these portions of the posts.

oh no thats a shame they dont take children until they are 7 :( thats another option out the window . well for another 2 years at least

Scoobydo. Why do I feel the urge to laugh at that username? Sorry. You are in the right forum. You've still got some time before your appointment and there are lots of posts for and against medication. If it works, it's great, in my opinion and I have been taking Ritalin for eleven years myself.

Scoobydo. Why do I feel the urge to laugh at that username? Sorry. .
i dont know, why do you ? i love the show scoobydoo and have allways had that as my username .

It was one of my kids' favourite shows. I can still hear that voice saying Scoobydo, where are you? it was a good family show.

lmao yeah i know me and my kids love it as well :) i got brought up on scoobydoo . my friend alex was in the first scoobydoo movie :) hes a cutie and he also has adhd

hi boone1
thanks for that. jade is in a gifted programme and i dont know if putting her on meds would dull her brain or sedate her. i have no idea on what affect meds have on kids.
what part of the uk are you in ? we are from birkenhead originally.I live in Essex. :D

I don't think meds will sedate your daughter, if they do then the dose is probably too high. The right dose is when she is able to concentrate and control her self a bit more. Medication is like a tool so they shouldn't change her in any way. It's more like how a person in a wheelchair uses a slope to get up stairs.

Also remember that if you do decide to try out meds then she can stop taking them at anytime if you feel that they are not helpful.

Also remember that if you do decide to try out meds then she can stop taking them at anytime if you feel that they are not helpful.
That is the key to remember with meds. If one doesn't work good enough or has icky side effects, she can stop taking the med. There are plenty of ADHD meds out there to try.

The advantage for me taking Adderall is a longer attention span. I'm able to follow conversations easier, when i was in school I was able to study longer and retain MUCH more. I'm more apt to finish projects and to observe in finer detail.

For me, there really hasn't been any disadvantages. I have 1 side effect - that's indigestion. Which isn't a big deal.

i also think one of the other things to remember is that meds isn't a cure. She'll still need to work on coping skills, she'll need you to help her with that.

Good luck!

I live in Essex. :D

I don't think meds will sedate your daughter, if they do then the dose is probably too high. The right dose is when she is able to concentrate and control her self a bit more. Medication is like a tool so they shouldn't change her in any way. It's more like how a person in a wheelchair uses a slope to get up stairs.

Also remember that if you do decide to try out meds then she can stop taking them at anytime if you feel that they are not helpful.
cool , we are moving back to england in july next year :) we will move down south somewhere this time like dorset or devon :)
thats great to hear about the meds that she can just stop taking them if she has any bad side affects.
i think with councilling and maybe meds we will get on top of her behaviour eventually and hopefully give her a better quality of life :) and us as well.