**ADD** Tell me about your kids and their meds **(Update 2/27)

[lbrown1618]

My 6 yr old has been struggling in school and exhibits many anxiety behaviors. I won't get all into WHY we think she has ADD. Bottom line is we have discussed with her teacher and a the school social worker....and are seeing the Ped this afternoon to discuss ADD meds.

(I know its called ADHD now) But we are clear in that she does NOT have a hyperactivity issue, strictly attention.

So tell me about what meds your child is on and the pros/cons.

I have so many questions, but don't want to get ahead of myself.


DOSAGE?
I'm hoping to find a med that can be given at home. Are there any that would allow us to administer the doses 100% at home
I really don't want her to deal with them at school and become common knowledge that she is on them. For many reasons, social reasons, being treated diff etc.

Side Effects? I know some meds have a bad reputation, what are the major side effects to know about?

Anything else??

[puakinikini]

I will let other people with kids with ADHD answer your questions - but I wanted to give 2 pieces of advice: 1) Pursue therapy for the anxiety and school issues - anxiety and issues within the school environment will not necessarily be improved with medication (even if he is better able to pay attention in class). 2) see a psychiatrist - rather than a pediatrician or general practitioner - for medication management. Dose is very important - and needs to be titrated for your child and changed as he develops (gains weight, etc). Psychiatrists are better at this. In a large scale study of medication management of ADHD, the group of kids seen by psychiatrists had less symptoms than those that were treated in the community (by GPs or pediatricians). You sound like you have quite a few concerns - and a psychiatrist would be able to answer your questions more thoroughly as they keep up on the latest advances in these meds.

Most likely you will be able to give his doses at home before school - they have slow release formulas for many of these drugs.

[clarkestep]

My son has the strictly inattentive ADHD as well. He was dxed about 3 years ago. We've had him on concerta and adderall (or the Adderall xr) or forms of each. Concerta is actually just ridalin (I can't spell it sorry) in a time released form. We gave it (either of the long lasting) to him in the morning and it lasted through the school day. It wore off at about the time he got home from school so we would give him a low dose of the short acting form if he needed it to get through homework. We didn't medicate on the weekends or any time he was not in school. We did it only 'as needed' by him.

Now, we don't use any medication, per se. We homeschool now and he has the same issues. We just don't have insurance anymore that we can use for this type of medication (really high deductable). Even the generic Adderall is about $50+ a month. So for now, as long as it works for him, we give him a huge mug of very sweet coffee (and lots of creamer). It really helps him to focus a ton. I was pleasantly surprised. I had 'heard' it could work and only tried it as a last resort for him.

Before we had him tested, we would go to the GNC and get some chewable herbs for him. They worked for about 1-2 years and then stopped. And I notice that with my son, now 12, that if he takes a whole food vitamin in the morning it also really helps with the focusing. This is with or without the medication.

As for my son, any of the medications he was on supressed his appetite. He had to take it with food in the morning or else he wouldn't want to eat anything almost all day long until late afternoon. If he took it with food he didn't have much of a problem.

Another thing that happened with him on Concerta is that he got weep/whinny. Now this doesn't mean this will happen with your daughter, but it is something to just look out for.

My advice, personally... since she seems to only have the inattentive, I would try her on the chewable herbs and whole food vitamins at the GNC first. They can give you the name of them if you ask about them. They were like sweet tarts and my son liked them. If they don't work for her then I would try the medicine if needed. We only used the medication for school/concentrated activities. I think it helps their body to not get used to it and build resitance. For me, less is best.

I am not totally against medication and I think that it can really be a help to some people. And honestly, if the coffee stops working for my son, and if I have the money to buy the prescription, I would. I know he needs it to help him learn.

Oh and another thing... when I was researching, I found a forum board that had a woman whose son was in the clinical trials of Straterra. She said it made her son go beserk. She said she called the clinical nurse/dr and they blew her off. She took her son to the regular pediatrician and he took the child off it right away and did some kind of blood work. Turns out it had depleted him of B12 and potassium I think. Anyway, I told my pediatrician no way and he agreed.... Then again, my nephew has been on it and it did fine. Just something to be aware of.

I hope things work out well for her. Take care.


PS. I'm sorry my spelling is horrible this evening. I usually spell very well. LOL

[Jillibean]

My daughter was in first grade when diagnosed with ADD (no hyperactivity). We went through several oral meds, but for her they caused her to have unbelievable mood swings. She now uses the Daytrana patch and LOVE it for her. It is so easy. Just stick it on her hip about 30-45 minutes before school and you are good for the day. It does cause some skin irritation, so I put Eucerin cream on her patch site when she takes it off and the redness is gone by morning. Not a big deal given the huge benefit she gets from it. The med hasn't completely taken care of her ADD but it does make a HUGE difference. She repeated 2nd grade because of immaturity, which is associated with ADD (same part of the brain). She was a little bored academically that year, but it was the best thing we could have done for her! She is in a traditional class but is considered a part of the "Exceptional Child" (no longer called special ed.) program so she will be allowed to have extra time for end of grade testing. She is super smart (honor roll) as I'm sure your daughter is. Our kids just process things differently. My mom (who is a 2nd grade teacher) said that even though she isn't hyperactive on the outside, her brain is hyperactive on the inside; going a million miles a minute all the time! Good luck to you and your family. Hang in there. Things will get better. We did see a psychiatrist for a while for her meds but went back to the pediatrician after a while and have been just as happy with her pediatrician. Guess it depends on your choice of docs in your area.
Oh, and we only use it on school days too. I like to give her little body a break when we can.

[kmmmom]

One of my sons had ADD and one has ADHD and aspergers.

My son that was just dealing with the ADD took Adderall XR with great success.

[my3girlz]

My 8.5 yr old daughter has ADHD & takes Concerta 54 mg. Out of all the meds we've tried, this one seems to work the best. She takes it in the am before she goes to school. It usually wears off by the time she gets home, so sometimes homework time is a bit tough. The dr gave us an Rx for 18 mg for her to take in the middle of the day in order for it to last longer, but I don't send it to school....we just tought it out. I can tell a hige difference when she's not on it.

She used to go every two months for a weight & blood pressure checkup, but now it's every four months & she gets an EKG every year. So far her weight has been stable, she eats fine, no headaches & she isn't having any problems sleeping.

[justmama]

My 10 was diagnosed with mild ADD in the first grade, we chose not to medicate. He, too, drinks coffee, works WONDERS his teacher notices when he doesn't have it. We tried it for a week and didn't tell her. After a week she told me how wonderful the week was and how he caught up on the work he was behind it. I would suggest trying an alternate 'fix' if you can. Good Luck.

[brixtonrileightaylor]

I don't mean to threadjacj but am curious as to what symptoms are for ADHD? I've been suspecting recently that my 4 yo DD might be ADHD

She goes all day non stop, i cant get her to listen no matter what. constantly getting in to things. she's twice pulled the tv on top of her *thank goodness she wasnt hurt badly* has went through a window from banging on it. EXTREMELY strong when she's having a tantrum.

i feel like im always yelling at the poor child =(

[MamaBird06]

I don't have a child w/add or adhd, but my nephew was diagnosed with a mild form of add-I think he didn't have though, i think he just had behavioral problems. My question for you is how is your lo's diet? And sleep? Is she eating a well balanced breakfast? These things seem small, but lack of sleep/lack of a healthy breakfast could drastically disrupt the learning process. Also try to avoid dyes, and preservative in food, those are possible causes in poor behavior. IF I were you, I would research the issues further, look for possible alternative treatments before putting her on a drug for a long period of time at such a young age. Possibly see a chiropractor, they are good for more than just back problems. Just remember food is the number one medicine, I would suggest researching the Feingold Program too.

[Jonathon&MadsionsMommy]

I have two children, one with ADHD and one with ADD/ODD. They both take the Adderall XR. That is what works for my children. DS tried Concerta and Focalin and returned to the Adderall. The side effects we see are decreased appetite, difficulty falling asleep if it is given too late in the morning. I will tell you that you will meet people who support your decision and people who try to make you feel like the worst parent ever. You have to do what is right for your family.