HI all, I've been reading the forums for some time now, have found so many posts that I can relate to. I'm hoping some of you on here might be able to help me sort out what I can do regarding my Special needs 6 1/2 yr old. He was diagnosed with adhd aprox. a year ago, he was started on trial basis of ritilan, 3-4 days into trial he started having chest pains , rapid heartrate , along with headaches and nausea. With such severe side effects we immediatly had to stop the ritilan, and his ped. suggested we try another med but after all that had taken place I decided against putting him on meds.

With the start of first grade this year it didn't take long before my sons adhd was a huge issue. Every day i was getting reports about his attention span, constant fidgiting, not being able to concentrate etc. I went back to his ped. and talked to her about again trying another medication as I was at wits end on any other options. After several months of starting up at 2mg a day of adderal xr then slowly increasing we finally have gotten up to 10mg with minimal side effects. He's been on this dosage for almost 2 months.

I've seen a drastic change in my sons behavior he's a lot calmer easier to handle, more attentive. However, Ive been sending an assesment scale in every couple weeks to his teachers to evaluate whether they feel that the meds have been helping his behavior and according to them his progress has remained the same! no progress ,no improvements, and it's so frustrating. I'm uncertain on what to do. I myself feel that the only reason i even agreed to put my son on meds was so that he would be able to function during the school setting and its not working, so I'm just about ready to give up. I hope someone on here can add some ideas on his adhd. Thanks
Summer

I can relate. My son who is 5 has had trouble since preschool - completely hyperactive, wouldn't focus, disruptive, etc. He started Kinder in Sept and 2-3 weeks into it his teacher was wanting to have a conference with me due to all the same issues. I also had an extremely hard time thinking of putting my son on meds but I was also pulling my hair out not being able to control him. We started him on Adderall XR (5mg) which did absolutely nothing, went up to 10mg and he was having some pretty bad anxiety attacks. The dr. decided to stay in the middle at 7.5mg which helped but very inconsistently.

After 3 months or so on the Adderall, he also developed this cough which he has barely been able to get rid of. I've read another post on this forum where I realize it was probably a tic relating to the Adderall. They put him on inhalers, antibiotics, the works and nothing would help, but when we recently switched him to Focalin XR, the cough disappeared (we battled it for 3 months!):(. The Focalin XR is working like a charm, lasts 7-8 hours (compared to 4 on Adderall), very little rebound and his teacher says he seems more on track.

He's also been taking (for about a week now) pharmaceutical grade omega 3 and he seems to be calmer, more focused. The true test will come tomorrow since I give him weekends off on the Focalin but will continue with the omega 3.

I know how frustrating it can all get. We all want the best for our kids and I know for one that I suffer when I see him struggling. I would suggest looking into omega 3 fish oil (since I've read so many posts as well as other areas that it is extremely helpful) and the right stim med is also key. Don't give up and good luck:).