Ok, my daughter was officially diagnosed with ADHD at the end of kindergarten. This was NOT a request/recommendation of the teacher, but my concern over her "crazy" behavior at home and her inability to listen to me when I asked her to stop (example: constantly turning on the hose in the backyard and spraying everything down, including me when I tried to tell her to stop....or just not hearing me when I tell her to do something).

Marley is VERY smart and good problem solver, so when her grades were only average and showed a few beginnings of struggle, I wanted to tackle it immediately (I didn't with another daughter and now she has MAJOR problems).

We have tried Daytrana, Addaral, and Vyvanse. I don't remember the Addaral that much (I struggled with her taking it), but the other two turned her into a zombie. She was NOT my child. She walks around, clutching her blanket, grunting at me. She doesn't eat. My child is happy, loving, talkative and smart. The meds take away her personality. I just want her to be able to sit still a little better. Of course, the teacher loves the medicine because she is a model student while on it.

We did do small doses to start.....maybe we didn't give them enough time to work?

We have been doing Daytrana. We put it on at about 6am, take it off at noon, and then she is more like herself after school....but harder to get her to finish homework than when she was taking it off after school.

Hey. Totally know how you feel. My son is so smart in science, so vibrant and witty. I'm scared that medicines will rob him of that too. He was on one that seemed to work OK in the past, but it was short working, as in it helped him at school, but by the time I picked him up it had worn off- and so it offered no relief with the struggles at home (well, maybe 30 min to 1 hour). It was called Metadate (I think that's how you spell it). Good luck, let's just try to stay positive!

My son was diagnosed at 5 yr-old. We started him out on Adderal (sp?), then we went to Stratera (sp?) and that made him volent. At 10 we put him on Ritalin but it quit working like it was supposed to. Now he is on Concerta in the mornings with Ritalin at lunch at school. He also takes Risperidal at night to sleep. It took months of choosing a dosage then waiting to see if it worked and if not changing the dosage. Once you find the right dose it is wonderful.
My suggestion is talk with her teachers and see if they are seeing the same changes. Explain your concerns and ask the teacher to keep an eye on her. While you (and the teacher) want her to do well in school I completely understand not wanting to loose her personality. As a teacher I understand the need for meds (if in the best interest of the child) however I am always on the look out for zombies and drastic changes in personality. If her teacher is a good one (and I am hoping so) he/she should be willing to listen to your concerns and be willing to help you.
Good luck

medicine issues -what the teacher wants? Did I miss something?

Some people do the feingold program with no medicine, medicine and also lower doses of medison.
My son was 5 when we started. He didn't listen either. It was like he couldn't hear me. We had hose issues too (lol). He basicly didn't listen to anything utill I blew my top and screamed at him. Which was awful because it's not my nature and It was a horrible example.
For kindergarten the priorities on his IEP were hyperactivity, he was off the charts hyper, and impulsivity. They are no longer an issue.
He improved in so many areas. I could go on and on. If you have any questions let me know.
I just want to say that I didn't think changing his diet would work. I was going through the motions of being a good mom. I was trying to please my husband who was anti med. I was for meds btw. I was shocked when it actually worked. We do the feingold program. feingold.org.
Also my brother saw James a few weeks after the diet at a party. He called my mom the next day and said "I can't believe they medicated James".
My cousin put her son on the diet, didn't tell his teachers and they also thought she had medicated him. My sons teacher just joined for her own son.
Just something to think about along with everything else.
Good luck finding what suits your family. This is just what worked for us so I want to pass it along.
Shirley

PixieTrix:

Try low doses of dextro-amphetamine sulphate twice a day? Maybe 2.5mg per dose (so one full 5mg tablet per day). This drug is instant release.

Dexamphetamine doesn't last long (about 3 to 4 hours). Adderall is made from 3/4 dexamphetamine, but it is built into an extended release tablet. If you only want your child to concentrate better at school, then Adderall isn't the drug you want.

These drugs are designed so that they make dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the brain normal. They're 'changing' her personality only insofar as normal dopamine levels would change her personality. Normal people taking these drugs get 'high' instead because they increase their dopamine levels from normal to high. Take that whichever way you will.

Personally, I was also diagnosed in kindergarten, took Ritalin for 5 years (started in year 3), Dexamphetamine for another 5, then stopped at the end of year 10. It's been another 5 years since, I'm almost 20, and I've decided to go back on Dexamphetamine at very low doses (2 * 5mg tablet each day at 8am and midday). It's working well so far.

As far as I know, stimulants do not cause permanent mood or personality changes, especially in controlled, small, clinical doses. I'm guessing your child bounces back to her usual bubbly self once the medication has worn off?

In fact, stimulants in normal people cause less apathy, talkativeness, increased motivation, less inhibition, more open-ness. The deviation in symptoms between normies and those with ADHD has to do with neurotransmitter levels as mentioned above. With enough of the medication, people with ADHD also achieve these symptoms. Perhaps increasing her dose would reduce the 'zombification'? I'm not sure, and your doctor probably isn't either, but it can't hurt to ask.

Perhaps you could try a single dose of dextro-amphetamine just before she goes to school (delaying it till the last moment)? This would provide increased dopamine and norepinephrine for at about 9/9:30, through to about 2 pm, and it doesn't instantly cut out after 4 hours; it is simply less effective after this until it is removed from the blood completely after 8 to 10 hours.

A variety of studies have shown that lack of attention to studies in class and homework up to about year 8/9 does not affect a child's chances of doing well academically in later high-school. Further, just because she's not paying attention doesn't mean she's not learning (speaking from experience here). Perhaps you should focus on teaching her how to enjoy learning, to ask questions, and to try lots of different things rather than trying to use medication to fit her into the mould of the archaic, rigid learning regimes of the typical primary and high school.

As a final point, there is a lot of pressure on kids to achieve (even if the requirement is only for an average level of achievement). For kids with ADHD, this can really translate to fear of failure and rejection (due to an inability to concentrate, not low intelligence), low self-esteem, and a variety of other nasties. Girls with ADHD are especially vulnerable, as whilst ADHD symptoms are to a degree expected from the average guy, the same is not the case for girls (who tend to be expected to be more studious). So be on the look-out for low self-esteem and depression as she grows up.

Query: How long did you trial each drug for?

Final final note: She's only 4 or 5. Maybe lay off the meds till she's 7 or 8. She'll still learn a fair a bit at school, while picking up many many more things on her own, and if she does go on meds, catching up (assuming she's even noticeably behind) won't be a problem.

As a clarification: all those 'zombification' symptoms you mentioned are ones I experienced to varying degrees on Ritalin and Dexamphetamine. I'm not getting any side-effects now, but that's probably because my body and brain are mature and I'm taking small doses (5mg twice a day). My reasoning is that I only need the bare minimum that lets me focus in uni/college. All ADHD symptoms improve once the brain finishes maturing at 20/21 (many before than), but hyperactivity is perhaps the most improved of them for me. Man, I'm like an Everready bunny; I just keep going and going, don't I? Sorry if you actually read through all this.

My son also is zombie-like .. and very irratible when his meds are too low! We uppded his Adderall to 20mg and he's doing much better! But, his dr will only increase by 10mg increments, every couple weeks .. so that he's got a good two weeks in his system to see the effects.

Unfortunatly, finding the right medication is just as hard, if not harder than going through the actual diagnosis of an ADHD child. I'm still not satisfied with my son's dosage and I feel like it's been forever!!

When the meds are at optumum theraputic level, you're child will not be a zombie. I think this is a major misconception amoung society, and a fear of a lot of ADHD parents contimplating medication. If your child is acting like a zombie it means the meds arent right.. and it's time to change dosage, or medication type. It doesnt mean all meds are bad.

something to keep in mind is that meds don't work for everyone. there's a significant group of people who will just get negative effects or no effect at all.

My son started his meds at 5 (he is now 6) we started Adderall 2.5 mg a day, it didnt help at all, went up to 5mg that didnt help, he is now taking 10mg a day and I guess I am lucky because he has shown no signs of side effects, he eats the same, still gaining, weight and sleeps all night. However, he doesnt take his meds on the weekend because I like to give him a break plus I dont have major problems at home with him. Some people have to try a few until they can get it right but I was a lucky one. Dont give up.