What age did they put your kid on meds?

[MrDavidAlan]

Alright, I don't want to tell my whole life story here...

When to star the medication would be something to talk to the Dr. about...

I started in 5th Grade. My life changed; I had friends, I had fun, I was happy. I had nothing in the years prior to me being medication other than frustration, a lot of creativity, and fits over being frustrated.

However back then (in 2000/2001) the spotlight was starting to shine on how individuals such as myself are much more likely to engage in drug abuse, commit crimes, etc. (More on this later)

Then, thing changed. My parents were concerned about the risk of drug abuse, and decided I should learn how to cope instead of being left on these medications. My mother is on that believes Ritalin IS Meth. Though, they may be similar... they are not actually the same thing; and regardless the dosage is quite small compared to what meth users take. (She thinks that they are indeed the same, no difference at all).

With my parents concern (and what parent wouldn't be concerned) they made the choice of taking me off my meds. I was alright with it, as I didn't want to be on them all the time anyway. However I feel that I should have had more of an option in this regard.

I also at the time was underweight and would not eat as a side effect of the Ritalin (Now I am 100 pounds over weight). It wasn't a huge concern though, I think things would have turned out better in that regard.

However, I then had to finish middle school and high school, and my first 3 years of college.

I struggled to keep up. I was never known to hand in assignments late. I have always managed to get them done. However the amount of work to grasp concepts took a lot of work. With no social life I felt somewhat worthless, however I do think I was depressed, having mental illness such as that "just are not real" in my family. Somehow they have accepted my ADD, but that is the "only real mental illness". Regardless. I did not successfully keep up with what i needed to learn, sure I could do the homework on-time, but I'd fail every test. I never grasped the material. The fact that I was accepted at a technical college and then later transferred to a 4 year school is proof that god does indeed love me.

I struggled and struggled. Then, my world feel apart even more. My best friend, my only friend, the only person whom I had regular contact with feel off a roof (38 feet) onto concrete a week after having a child. I was in even more of a mess than I already was. I was working 40 hours a week, had a job that didn't care about what I was going through... it was awful. I had missed a few classes that I should have not missed, and I was never able to recover. This semester, I am retaking those classes in order to have a GPA left.

I started elementary school where everyone else did. I left there behind. I then went to middle school and started to make some progress on getting back to the normal level, however that failed.

Then I was taken off medication, I feel further behind. I left high school too far behind (graduating with a 1.97 GPA, and not a single missed assignment).

I then went to the 2 year college. I found it easy, I was mostly in the business area and finance classes as I did not yet know if I would ever make it to a 4 year school. That is the stuff that I grew up with having a family that is a major holding in a large publicly traded bank. I had no problem there, I was ahead of everyone. I could correct my teachers. However, this part of my life we can skip in regards to being behind, I never got caught up to be a "real college student".

I left there with a 3.7 GPA. I had one bad class at the 4 year, and since GPA points do not transfer here, my GPA was hurt, but still recoverable. Then I had my friend die.

I now have a 2.1 GPA. I have so many transferred classes all I can do is take classes I have already taken to improve the GPA until I can get accepted back in my major.

I also made 1 new friend earlier that year. He was telling me how horrible my driving was, and it hit me.... I'm not doing ok. It is not just school that I am struggling in.. When I would drive I would forget that I was driving. It explained all the medians I have driven over, all the times i have driven off the road, all the times where the car has come to a complete stop simply because I forgot i was driving. All the grass in the hood that I had no idea where it come from, the giant dent that the insurance company said was a deer, the complete missing of turns, getting lost, etc... (once, I drove to Iowa, I grew up in central Minnesota... a solid 4 hours in the car extra...) FOR THE MOST PART MY ENTIRE LIFE WAS BEHIND.

I want to be clear here... MY ENTIRE LIFE WAS BEHIND.

I then made the decision to go back to medication, at the age of 22, and for the most part, having 22 years of slowly falling behind to catch back up on.

Currently I am making in the getting the medication stage. I am currently on Straterra, been on it just under 3 weeks. I have had horrible side effects that tell me this is not the medication for me, however this medication takes forever to build up. However, already the positives have been amazing. It has been over 2 weeks since I have driven my car off the road. My brain finally feels quiet. Other than the awful side effects my body feels more at piece (but I have the whole flu like side effects going on).

For me, at least I feel my only hope is to be able to be medicated. I want to have relationships again. I haven't had a serious (in the sense of "love") relationship since high school.

Other notes:

A decent number of other individuals I know that remained medicated did end up having abuse issues with other drugs (not their prescribed ones, and it was a little more than pot, all the way to blown out meth.. however she was the only one that also left the medication about a year or so before she started experimenting).

I believe that those with these conditions are just more likely to use poor judgement, thus resulting in the increase of drug use. I don't think it has to do with the medication. However, for the most part my experiences do not match this.

Let me know if you have questions.

[sarahsweets]

I think the important thing to remember is that statistically, people who are medicated have less of a chance of abusing drugs and being dangerously impulsive...its not a cure all but it helps. I look at it as a tool, if you were building a house you would bring all of the tools necessary to do it right? So why not give your child the tools for success.

[ajatho]

I agree Sarah. I do not want to have my son struggle the way I did in school. I was actually talking to my BF about my medication tonight. My doc wants me to take it everyday. I talked to her about IR pills so I would only have to take them when needed. She wants me to take the xr daily to keep me on track. I was telling my bf that I am afraid of getting addicted to them. I am do not have an addictive personality what so ever, but when you are taking medications long term I suppose that could change. My BF told me he thinks I should listen to my doc. If the benefits of the medication help me in my life than maybe I should just take them daily like the doc said. I just really hate the idea of being dependent on a drug. But I suppose there are people out there that need insulin and stuff like that to stay alive.

[happytexas]

Originally Posted by ajatho

My doc wants me to take it everyday. I talked to her about IR pills so I would only have to take them when needed. She wants me to take the xr daily to keep me on track. I was telling my bf that I am afraid of getting addicted to them. . .

...My BF told me he thinks I should listen to my doc. If the benefits of the medication help me in my life than maybe I should just take them daily like the doc said. I just really hate the idea of being dependent on a drug. But I suppose there are people out there that need insulin and stuff like that to stay alive.

Addiction in relation to ADHD medication seems to be attributed to those who are not taking it as prescribed or without medical supervision (ex. taking someone else's medication).

Stimulant ADHD Medications - Methylphenidate and Amphetamines ...

I've had to stop taking my medication(Vyvanse) twice for 4-7 days while treating a sinus infection. The first day I don't notice negative effects, the second day I have a headache, the third day I have a lesser headache, then it goes away. I drink Starbucks Via heavily diluted in milk for a few days to deal with the headache; while I'm taking the medication I avoid caffeine (other than in tea), particularly Starbucks coffee).

I think that taking a stimulant intermittently is going to cause the effect you are seeking to avoid; not necessarily addiction, but a temporary "rush" from introducing a medication to your body that it isn't accustomed to.
Going back on the medication is actually more disruptive for me as I get an initial head rush in the morning for a few days and am more tired in the late afternoon. When I take it daily (which I normally do) I don't feel weird/different/high. Once my body adjusts (going from a period of not taking the medication to taking it daily, I don't mean a daily adjustment) I don't feel it "turn-on" or "turn-off"; I just feel normal, without most of the difficulties being unmedicated causes for me.

[JANAE]

My son is four and we just started him on meds. He was diagnosed ADHD and ODD. He was supposed to go into VPK this year, but with his behavior we couldnt. His daycare was calling me to come get him because he was literally climbing the walls, crawling under tables, jumping off chairs, trying to run out fire exits, and just plain not listening to the teachers. So we had him evaluated through Child Find. Its a program his daycare actually put us in touch with. He was evaluated by a school district Psychologist and she was the first to tell me he has ADHD. His behavior Qualified him for a special program with the school district. At four he is very behind academically. He is very very bright and smart, but he cant concentrate very well. So instead of putting him in main stream VPK he is being held back and he is going to Pre K, but he is in a special ESE program and he has teachers with masters degrees. He has an IEP and so far its only been three weeks but he is doing great. Instead of fighting me in the morning he loves going to school. His meds have helped significantly for his behavior. He is much calmer with fewer outbursts. We tried family therapy with little to no improvement. If you are worried about school look into other programs now. See if Child Find is available in your area.

[JANAE]

I forgot to say my son is on a NON-STIMULANT ADHD med called Kapvay.

[ajatho]

A little update.... The Child Psychologist office called me today, and they had a cancelation. They moved my sons appointment up to next wed. Now I don't have to wait until the end of October!! YAY!! I am excited and nervous at the same time. I can not wait to find out what is going on with him. I just want to get him some help. I will let you all know how everything goes once I find out. I do have a question tho.... With your kids, were they diagnosed when they first went in? Or did it take a couple of sessions to get a diagnosis? I am just wondering if this is going to be a drawn out thing, or if I will have some closure next week.

[Ms. Mango]

In our case we went to a psychologist for a few sessions before a diagnosis. This was after seeing the behaviorist. We also completed some checklists and had one sent to DS's teacher. The psychologist wanted to see DS in action a few times and collect and score the checklists.

Btw, I can't remember if it was mentioned above, psychologists can diagnose but can't prescribe. If your son does get a diagnosis, and you decide to do a med trial, you'll need to go back to your DS's pediatrician or a specialist like psychiatrist, neurologist, developmental pediatrician. My personal recommendation is to go to a specialist who understands ADHD meds rather than going back to your son'd pediatrician.

[ImpatientMom]

I was against medication for about 3 years because I heard a lot of stories about kids turning into "zombies" when they were medicated. Basically, I wasn't educated about it and chose to believe stories rather than take the time to find out facts and find something that works. I realize that some medication does in fact cause negative side effects but I was assuming all of them did.

When my daughter was finally diagnosed (which took 3 years and a lot of money because her school doesn't test... do any of the schools test for ADHD anymore?) I took her to a required appointment at her pediatricians office and one of the psychologists there explained to me that she herself has ADHD and her life is infinitely better when she takes medication. She took the time to explain what life was like before medication and what life was like now. The conversation opened my eyes a lot.

The actual decision to medicate was made by my daughter. I sat down with her and asked her if she wanted to try out a medicine that might help her concentrate better in school and she responded with a "yes" without hesitation. If she would have said No, she wouldn't be on it. I realize this is not an option with all parents/children but leaving the decision up to her was what I thought was best and it worked out for us.

I just realized I never answered the question... She was 6.

[Lacy1026]

When first diagnosed I was reluctant to medicate. I was worried my daughter would lose her personality and/or be lethargic. I tried natural methods but ultimately decided to medicate her at age 8. She was diagnosed at 6. The medication has helped her. Not a quick fix, but it definitely has benefitted her ability to function in school.

[silivrentoliel]

I was just barely six- but this was back in 1987...

[sarahsweets]

We chose to medicare our so at 3.5. Even here on these forum there has bee flack for it although noting at all when his grandparents could inflicted. He left the housr to play with the neighbors trainrack at 3am. He climbed trees when he wanted to. Ripped the blinds from his windows kicked me. He alwost set hows on fire cause he was curious what would happen to a light bulb under a blanket.





he tried to help his sisters highchair tray by spraying. It with clorox. He said he was running away from home at age 4 and o my pack underwear'toys and his blankie and mittens. His intentions were always good and more often than not funny like how he cut the bottles ofd the back of toothpast or rubber bandes the sink spray and a fell for it all the time. This goes on forever.

My point is dont rush you could be right but let so him be a romantic rebunciots kids first then go from therewith.

[sarahsweets]

Dontqknow. What happened ro anything I wrote but he his hug eays us out of hom and the though of himqleavig college scares me

[SquarePeg]

It´s almost impossible to answer, it´s like everyone says each child is different and it depends how it impacts on their lives. For my son he is nearly 14 and I think it´s about time to start meds.

My son doesn´t isn´t hyperactive, his main problem is that he can´t concentrate and whilst he did ok at school in the early years, when he reached about 10 years old he began to really struggled.

I didn´t investigate the options before as I was in denial about ADHD, I just panicked and thought Ritalin everytime a teacher mentioned the possibility. Now, for me, it´s time to face reality. Despite having extra private tuition he is still struggling and I have to face the fact that we need to at least give meds a try, provided that my son also agrees.
Remember it´s your decision so don´t feel pressured.

[ajatho]

So I brought my son to the Doc today. Just as I suspected. ADHD Impulsive type. She also said his communication skills are behind, and she thinks that is why he gets frustrated so easily. She also said a few of his behaviors are odd. He likes to wrap his scrotum skin around his finger and pull on the skin too. The other behavior she thought was odd was his obsession with socks. He likes to take everyones socks off, but he is obsessed with one of his sisters socks. Everyday when she comes home from school he wants her to take them off and if she doesn't he has a fit. So diagnosis today- ADHD impulsive type, communication barrier, and a couple odd behaviors. She did not even mention aspbergers or autism, which I was very thankful about!! Now to decide if I should try behavioral therapy or medication or both.......