To Medicate or not!!

[T-Rex65]

I agree with JenE and Ms. Mango about the risk of addiction. Someone with untreated ADHD may unconsciously seek ways to either make up for what their brains are lacking, or else seek ways to avoid dealing with the fallout. Putting your son on prescription meds now means that you will be able to monitor the dosage and to observe the effect it has on your son. If the meds work, he will end up performing better in all areas of his life, and he will probably feel better about himself. Therefore, he will be far less likely to self medicate in dangerous ways as he gets older.

I don't mean to say that putting him on meds now is the absolute correct decision. I'm not a medical professional and I don't know your son. But please don't let your fear of meds be the deciding factor in your decision.

[SquarePeg]

yes, I hear you, I think you have some valid points there. I need to wait for our next appointment in a few weeks to hear the suggestions. At the end of the day I think my son needs to play a big part in the decision regarding meds.
thanks

[amm8589]

I shared your concerns before ultimately starting my son on meds last year at the age of 12. He was about to enter 7th grade and we were so tired of hearing about his poor attention span, distractibility, impulsivity, etc. Our bright son was starting to deteriorate academically and socially so we finally broke down and started meds.

We started him on metadate but switched to concerta. He never lost his appetite nor did he suffer insomnia, and his attention and behavior significantly improved. What we were not prepared for was the Tics, which are a side effect of stimulants. Never even dawned on us that he would have such a thing. It was a horrible thing to see - shoulder shrugging and then eye blinking, and even though the meds were working so well, we were not going to allow that to continue.

After extensive research, I read about magnesium deficiencies, tics, and stimulants. We put our son on magesium and his tics vanished within a few days.

Let me fast forward one year. My son, now 13, has grown 5.5 inches, gained 22 pounds, and continues to grow like a weed. He was not on meds over the summer but we kept him on 400 mg of Magnesium Glycinate and 2000 mg of fish oil. He started 45 mg of Concerta a few weeks ago and has had no side effects. He continues to eat more than my 200 pound husband, and he sleeps at least 10 hours every night.

Medicating our son has not only helped him academically, but socially. He has more friends now because he isn't isolating himself with impulsive behavior. Just last night he went to a football game with 6 buddies, and he is always being included in activies. This wasn't the case last year.

My only regret is that we didn't do this sooner. It would have saved a few years of heartache.

Good luck!

[SquarePeg]

Originally Posted by amm8589

I shared your concerns before ultimately starting my son on meds last year at the age of 12. He was about to enter 7th grade and we were so tired of hearing about his poor attention span, distractibility, impulsivity, etc. Our bright son was starting to deteriorate academically and socially so we finally broke down and started meds.

We started him on metadate but switched to concerta. He never lost his appetite nor did he suffer insomnia, and his attention and behavior significantly improved. What we were not prepared for was the Tics, which are a side effect of stimulants. Never even dawned on us that he would have such a thing. It was a horrible thing to see - shoulder shrugging and then eye blinking, and even though the meds were working so well, we were not going to allow that to continue.

After extensive research, I read about magnesium deficiencies, tics, and stimulants. We put our son on magesium and his tics vanished within a few days.

Let me fast forward one year. My son, now 13, has grown 5.5 inches, gained 22 pounds, and continues to grow like a weed. He was not on meds over the summer but we kept him on 400 mg of Magnesium Glycinate and 2000 mg of fish oil. He started 45 mg of Concerta a few weeks ago and has had no side effects. He continues to eat more than my 200 pound husband, and he sleeps at least 10 hours every night.

Medicating our son has not only helped him academically, but socially. He has more friends now because he isn't isolating himself with impulsive behavior. Just last night he went to a football game with 6 buddies, and he is always being included in activies. This wasn't the case last year.

My only regret is that we didn't do this sooner. It would have saved a few years of heartache.

Good luck!

Thanks for that input, i didn´t know that magnesium could help with the tics. This is one of the reaons my son gives for not wanting to try it as he knows two brothers on medication who have constant facial tics. I know we have concerta here in Spain but there are far fewer licensed drugs for adhd treatment here so I have yet to find out what the options are.

Hope your son continues to shine.

[T-Rex65]

I think I'm going to look into magnesium for myself. I sometimes get very twitchy because of my meds. Thanks for that tip!

LindaGreen, you are right to involve your son in the decision making process. He is far more likely to comply with his treatment plan if he is one of the planners. Good luck!

[amm8589]

In respect to magnesium, please be aware that there are several forms of magnesium. Magnesium oxide is what is most common and inexpensive, however the human body only absorbs about 4% of this form. Make sure that, when taking magnesium to counteract tics, that it is either Magnesium Glycinate or Magnesium Taurate. I can't stress how critical this is. I orginally bought some Magnesium Oxide and it did nothing. I bought then bought Magnesium Glycinate and it worked within a few days. I have read that Taurate works just as well, but I have not had any personal experience with that.

Good Luck!