ADHD-H + general anxiety disorder? WTD?

[Gardenia]

Our 9 year old has GAD (general anxiety disorder) which is serious enough to need meds - right now, Prozac.

He has ADHD, we are in the process of getting a diagnosis. Based on the Connors3, it looks like ADHD-combined (T=70% for inattentive, t=90%+ for hyperactive)

I have ADHD-I and take strattera, which works. I would prefer to have our son on strattera as opposed to stimulants. (stimulants could exacerbate anxiety) Our psychiatrist says that strattera works well for his patients with adhd-I, but not for adhd-h.

Any non-medical treatments available for the H part of adhd? I have heard of weighted blankets, any other options?

all advice appreciated :-)

[sarahsweets]

Unfortunately theres no real non medical treatments for adhd. Fish oil can help but meds are a first line treatment.

[LynneC]

There is also Intuniv (gaunfacine slow release), or Tenex (the shorter acting version of guanfacine) that is a non-stimulant.

[Gardenia]

Looks like we are doing concerta+ prozac. When i asked about non-meds, i was wondering about add-ons.

[PamelaM]

My DS is also 9 with a general anxiety disorder and ADHD Implusive. He is on concerta. We discussed trying prozac in conjunction with the concerta as he was acting out physically and his dr believe it was due to the anxiety. The dr recommended that we try an increase in the concerta as it might be enough on its own to help him. We increased in December and things have been good.

Best of luck to your guy.

[ccom5100]

Originally Posted by Gardenia

Any non-medical treatments available for the H part of adhd? I have heard of weighted blankets, any other options?
all advice appreciated :-)

Chemical food additives have shown to cause or exacerbate hyperactivity. You might want to do a trial of eliminating them to see if it cuts down on your child's hyperactivity:
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/2991.html

[silivrentoliel]

Originally Posted by ccom5100

Chemical food additives have shown to cause or exacerbate hyperactivity. You might want to do a trial of eliminating them to see if it cuts down on your child's hyperactivity:
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/2991.html

I have found for myself that Red Dye 40 makes me insanely hyper, and I'm ADHD-PI - always have been. I have to be careful when buying stuff sometimes for that reason.

[ccom5100]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

Unfortunately theres no real non medical treatments for adhd. Fish oil can help but meds are a first line treatment.

There are many alternative methods that have been effective in treating adhd; however the medical community does not recognize them. That does not mean that there are no non-medical treatments for adhd.

Just as there is NO ONE adhd drug that is effective for all patients, there is NO ONE alternative method that is effective for all patients.

[Flory]

Hi there im ADHD -H , i found creating a calming environment in which i can 'simmer down' and lots and lots of exercise have really helped in addition to my meds, im using eskimo oil (its pure fish oils sourced in low mercury areas) also look up things like eye-q, though the main thing that will help with the Capital H is the concerta

[Flory]

ahh siliv you and me both, some of the colours they use in chinese food (whatever it is) sends me bloody loopy it also affects my Dad (noone else in my family though) when i was younger and my parents were still together my dad & i would become absolute pains in the backside to the rest of the family when we'd had chinese my mum said it was like being a single parent with 4 kids >.< lol

[beltoller]

What are some of the symptoms of GAD in your son? We have a 10 year old boy with severe ADHD - I and OCD. He may have GAD as well. Its hard to say whether the OCD is triggered by GAD or the other way 'round.

He also takes the generic form of Prozac which is Sertraline. We've noticed that given him the Prozac without the stimulant does absolutely no good for his impulsivity and ability to focus. Also, if he goes beyond a certain low dosage of Prosac, he gets a bit weird with respects to crossing boundaries - you never know what he might say to someone.

However, we've also found that without the anti-depressant, he has extreme moodiness - negative attitude, nothing satisfies, no motivation. This is evident with or without the ADHD medication.

The two (ADHD stimulant and the Antidepressant) together tend to cancle out each other's negative side effects. Our son has OCD with or without any of the medications.

I think you might be alright with respects to a stimulant ( if the Concerta turns out it doesn't work for you ) as long as you have the Prozac or similar. But everyone's biochemistry is unique to them and just because thing 1 works for person A, it won't necessarily work for Person B.

Cheers,

[PamelaM]

My son's GAD showed up with hand wringing, picking at his cuticles (to the point where he was getting infections), loose bowel movements, and some negative/nervous thoughts. These have almost been completely alleviated with the increased dose of concerta.

[beltoller]

Originally Posted by PamelaM

My son's GAD showed up with hand wringing, picking at his cuticles (to the point where he was getting infections), loose bowel movements, and some negative/nervous thoughts. These have almost been completely alleviated with the increased dose of concerta.

Hmmm....that sounds like our son - picking at his cuticles till they are torn and bleeding and then obssesively worrying himself and us to death about acquiring an infection. If he's not doing that, he'll be fingering the tufts of his hair, so we have to shave his head close or else he looks like Stanley from 'Oliver and Hardy' scratchin' his head all the time like there was a trumpet sitting on top his noggin .

Bless their hearts.

You say that the symptoms were totally eliminated by the Concerta? We've had Ian on Guanfacine for that but the medicine seems to not be working now as he has returned to nail/cuticle pulling in addtion to fiddlin' with his hair. It seems that Guanfacine has a tolerance level, then?

We'll look into the Concerta as a backup in case the Guanfacine doesn't cut it when we increase the dose

Cheers,

[CrazyLazyGal]

What are his anxieties about? Stimulants can increase anxiety, but for me, so much of the anxiety was caused by my ADHD symptoms. When that got treated with stimulants, I became less anxious about ADHD-related stuff.

[beltoller]

Originally Posted by Florence1989

ahh siliv you and me both, some of the colours they use in chinese food (whatever it is) sends me bloody loopy it also affects my Dad (noone else in my family though) when i was younger and my parents were still together my dad & i would become absolute pains in the backside to the rest of the family when we'd had chinese my mum said it was like being a single parent with 4 kids >.< lol

Stay away from MSG (monosodium glutamate) as well. That turns even 'normal' people into looneys. You really have to check the ingrediants on the labels. Seems like everything from canned soup to Dorito's chips has it.