I am against adhd medication. Does anyone have suggestions for my 8 year old daughter?

Question

I believe adhd is highly misdiagnosed. The doctor and teachers have suggested medication. I do not want to do this to her. She is always recognized as being an above average student. She is diciplined by us very well and still nothing seems to work. She is very inattentive and this gets her in trouble at school. We have had meetings with her teachers and they say she is very talkative and disruptive in class. She can not be still sometimes, and then she will sit down and read a book at other times. I do not want to make a mistake by making a beautiful child a medicated mess....please help.

Answer 1

Get a second opinion. After that, get a third opinion if you are still not comfortable. If the consensus is that your daughter does have ADHD, then provide the medication that she needs. It's unfair to give a child medications that she doesn't need. However, I also think that it's unfair NOT to provide medications that she does need.

Basically, just find out what your daughter needs in order to succeed, and provide that for her. You seem like you are a good parent, so keep up the good work.

Answer 2

Sounds like you described my daughter. We tried every possible alterative we could find to help her. Have you tested her for sleep apnea or had her tonsils out yet? She was a heavy snorer and would occassionally pause breathing while she was sleeping. It was very scary. Removing her tonsils eliminated the apnea and helped a little bit with the attention issues since she was better rested.

Unfortunately, we were not able to find anything that worked for her besides medication. I strongly disagree with your feeling that you will be making your daughter a medicated mess. If your doctor is making the recommendation for medication then go get a second opinion. I felt the same way you did about medication and I still keep a close eye on her for side effects just to be safe. I think it would be worse if there are no other options for her besides medication and she was not able to receive it.

Some ADHD medications do not need to be taken constantly. My daughter is only given her medication on school days and it has made all the difference in the world. She is now able to concentrate and she has turned from a struggling C-D student to a solid A-B student.

Answer 3

There are tests that should properly diagnose, OPTAX, or Q-EEG. Usually they are covered by insurance. Most parents that do not want to use conventional meds have opted to find a chiropractor that understands the ADD/ADHD diagnosis, and knows how to use chiropractics and natural remedies for ADD/ADHD. Sometimes if a child is not stimulated enough in the classroom(kept busy with extra work or reading), then they will become disruptive. Also, I have known other parents to give their child a cup of straight, black, coffee, no sugar or creamer. It has a calming effect on an ADD/ADHD child, unlike someone without. Ihave a son with ADD, and he was medicated from age 7-11, with a very low dose of Concerta, but has since matured enough to understand what he needs to do to focus. He is an Honor Roll student, and always has been. He just came off his meds for the summer, and I am hoping that he will stay off once school starts. Please remember that ADD/ADHD is a chemical imbalance, and if the person's body is not producing enough of the needed chemical, then that is why the lack of focusing, hyperactivity, and attention is present or noticable.

Answer 4

I read the answer from "browneyedgirl" and have had a very very similar experience with my 8 year old and agree with her advice strongly. Medication is not for everyone but when you have truly tried everything else then sometimes it is the next step. I cried when we decided to start and then I cried afterward when I saw how much better he felt and how much better things went for him. He was a happier kid and so proud of what he was now able to accomplish. He could actually sit down and play legos! I wished that I had done it earlier for him because his self esteem had gotten so low. I still need to make sure he gets plenty of sleep, plenty of exercise, eats rights etc. probably more than other kids but at least now when I do those things it makes a difference!!
One word of advice about the medication; my husband also has ADHD and takes medication even as an adult. We argued over whether to tell him what it was really for and he was strongly against telling him it was for ADHD because he said it would make him feel strange or like something was wrong with him and lower his self esteem more. I felt like this was lying to him. I ran it by our pediatrician and he said there was no reason to tell him and he agreed with my husband. We call it his allergy medicine.
Good luck.

Answer 5

I felt the same way, but when my younger son was in kindergarten I was forced to change my mind. He is very bright, and his teachers rave about how smart he is. But he could not sit still in class. If he got bored he would act out. And even a small provocation from another child would cause a violent outburst. He was sent home about once a week for fighting or other inappropriate behavior. It got to the point where we were spanking him every day with absolutely no effect. And I cried every day because he is the sweetest little boy, but nobody could possibly know that from his behavior. We finally broke down and took him to a pediatric behavior specialist who diagnosed him with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin. 30 minutes after his first dose, he sat down and watched TV for 2 hours. He never sat still for more than 5 minutes before that. He is not a "medicated mess". He is active, happy, healthy, and a straight-A student. Not a single negative side effect. Yes, it takes some trial and error, and yes, there are risks. But there are greater risks to your child if you leave this disorder untreated. Teens with untreated ADHD have a higher incidence of pregnancy, STDs, drug and alcohol abuse, and fatal car crashes. They "self-medicate" with thrill-seeking, risky behavior. You owe it to your child to do some research and get the facts before you make this decision. If your doctor has actually given the diagnosis and you are not comfortable with it, get a second opinion. Seek out "natural" remedies if you're more comfortable with that. None of them worked for my child, but they might work for yours. Read books, learn about the disorder, and re-structure your life to accomodate her needs. But do not ignore it or hope that she will "outgrow" it. Good luck.

Answer 6

I noticed a problem with my child after she was put on some medication for an infection. It led me to removing Red#40 and Yellow#5 from her foods. More research led me to remove other chemicals and it made a big difference. In time I found the Feingold Association of the US and follow their program now. When my children eat things that contain the artificial food colors and flavorings, BHT, TBHQ, BHA, aspertame, etc they get totally out of control. If they avoid those things they are the most well behaved children around. People talk about how the medications are so bad for kids, but there is little talk about the other poisons we put in our bodies by way of food and drink every day. We weren't designed to digest/ingest petroleum products but that's what those compounds are. Gross huh?

Answer 7

I grew up with adhd and was on ritalin for some time, my best suggestion is to be a very strong willed parent and look into focusing classes or some kind of sport that enhances mind control I.E. Karate or martial arts. The key to beating it is to get the childs focusing ability high enough to drown out all the chatter within its mind.

-Also there are breathing exercises that can be done to bring down the amount of synapses (thoughts) a child has to draw them into focus. Basic persistance is key here.

Answer 8

i think if she is do so well in school with out medication something is right i think she is a 8 year girl that is just maybe bored have you thought about having her tested to see if maybe she need to be put in a special class for children who are above their grade level if she is bored in class she is going to act up i have a 6 year cousin who is very smart but she is also lazy because she is smart. I would NEVER let a teacher or school tell me that my child needs to be medicated.

Sit her down she is old enough for you to ask her why she is acting this way and their are great herb out their if your in to the natural way that you can go mom take them and she is very healthy i took them for my anxiety and they helped me some I even had my dog on them when he was a puppy because he suffered from separation anxiety and my vet was OK with it after a year i took him of and he is doing great so their are other alternative.

Good luck and stick to your guns.

Answer 9

My teachers said I had ADHD when i was around your daughters age and they kept on suggesting to my mother medications and doctors but my mom stood strong and instead came to school with me every now and then and helped me focus and supported me in my work, i never took any medication and im just as normal as any other 16 year old today.

Answer 10

I also believed that ADHD is grossly overdiagnosed.

That said, my nephew finally got on medication after YEARS of torture. His parents did not want medication for their child and tried years of other things. Finally, they put him on meds. Within days, literally, he said "Thanks! It was like being on a Merry Go Round with no way of getting out". He's a beautiful child and not a zombie. He's just normal now. And a pleasure to be around. His grades have improved, his friendships have thrived.

If your child is truly ADHD, then holding back medication that could help her "get off the merry go round" would be wrong.

She needs your help - and you aren't going to let her down if the answer happens to be medication. It's not about failure...it's about giving your child the tools she needs to be the best person she can be.

Good luck.