Do you have experience with ADHD and children?

Question

Please, I don't want to be confused with more "opinions". I want experienced people who know first hand. I need 'word of mouth' sort of speak, not your values or hearsay.

Sorry to be blunt, but I just want to hear from other parents:

Can someone give me as experience you had with medicating your ADHD child with ritalin in the LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, good or bad.

Info: 10 year old girl with lack of organization, and fidgity. She gets headaches and is too talkative in school. Dr. said ADHD. Might be, should I medicate?

Thanks for sharing any experience, I just want my girl to be sucessful, and a little less miserable.

Why do I feel good after reading answers about positive results, and burst into tears when I read the bad ones? =(

These are all very helpful answers, and I see how it is right for some of your children, and not others. Great websites, I thank you all for sharing your personal experiences.

Answer 1

Ihave an 11 year old son that was dx. at the age of 6 with adhd. He also suffers with migraines which put him down for at least a day or two when he gets them. So far we have jumped around the board with meds. we have tried Ritalin LA which worked for a while then concerta which only gave a short term effect for him then beck to Ritalin LA because concerta did not give him much help, we have also tried strattera with not much luck, he is now on focalin which has helped immensely. But this school year has been the hardest year for him, I have now gone the extra step and had our first appointment with a psychologist (not the school psychologist) to determine if there are any underlying issues and to determine exactly which type of adhd he has (I had no idea there was 6 catagories until this doctor told me). Giving meds is a major decision that I had a hard time coming to grips with but if it helps them to focus in school so they can get the most out of their education it is worth it. There are other alternatives like diet and natural supplements that are also available to try. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Go online to used booksites. Get the book, "Allergies and the Hyperactive Child" , by Dr. Doris Rapp. Read it cover-to-cover. My daughter began with ADD (no hyperactivity) and some headaches. The headaches will also be addressed in discussions in the book, as there can be many additional symptoms. We currently struggle with symptoms, including headaches (chronic), because I did not treat while she was younger. Mayve you will be able to find a medication that will remedy all of her symptoms, and if you do, tell us what it is. In the mean time, headaches can get worse. The book discusses how foods and other things can cause these problems. It recommends a specific diet which can help, as well as other precautions. My 21 yo daughter is convinced her symptoms are not due to this (I know better). A 21 y.o. is a lot harder to convince than a 10 y.o. Does your daughter wear any jewelry? Pierced ears?

Answer 3

I have one son diagnosed with ADD. He was in 4th grade when diagnosed, the second was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten. With the first we did not want to put him on medication (thought it was a bunch of baloney but when he finally went on Ritalin his grades went from failing every subject to honor roll. He no longer takes medication for ADD and is 24 years old and copes through other behavioral modifications that work for him. Our younger son is now 18. Took Ritalin for a few years, switched to Adderal, at the recommendation of a local pediatrician that specializes and teaches in medical school about the topic. We even tried Stratera, which made him fall asleep in class. He just graduated from High School and is looking forward to college in the fall. His hyperactivity has diminished as he has matured. Whatever medication you find that works for your child, it is also highly recommended that she receive behavior modifaction therapy also. Family therapy is also a good idea so that you can learn to reinforce the therapy she gets. Good luck to you. ADHD is more common in boys but girls too can have it. By the way. I too talked too much as a child and got in trouble in class for not settling down. Headaches could also be alergy related. There are some people that think teachers are too quick to diagnose children as ADD/ADHD just because they don't fit the norm for children their age... There are psychiatric evaluations that can confirm a diagnosis.

Answer 4

My son is 9 and has been diagnosed with ADHD also. Your daughters headaches bother me. Sounds neurological. Bacterial? Viral? Perhaps, there was a sudden change in this child's behavior. History is relevant. Think of it as a symptom. Possible causes? Lead? Genetics? No one knows for sure. My son was diagnosed at the end of kindergarten. He started on Ritalin and is now on Adderall XR for 1 dose daily in the AM. I'm thankful that he was caught early. He's doing very well socially and academically.
I'm here if you have further questions or need to talk.

Answer 5

My opinion comes from a medical opinion as a pediatric nurse not as a parent of an ADHD child. DON"T medicate her unless you determine it to be a necessity. Have her seen and evaluated by at least one other doctor. ADHD is an overused diagnosis and one that shouldn't be used prematurely. Children can become dependent on the meds and there still isn't much long range information on the long term effects of medication on a still developing system. Do your research and trust your instincts.

Answer 6

My best friend's son was diagnosed at 5 years old. He was unable to control his impulses or focus on anything. He was an adorable, but difficult, child.

Since he started on ritalin 6 months ago, things have been great. His mom chose to use a patch instead of a pill to deliver the medication. Within 45 minutes of putting the patch on in the morning, he is able to focus and enjoy his day. (We are so blessed that he has not had any negative side effects.) She removes the patch before bathtime/bedtime each night, and within an hour he is all over the place again.

I encourage you to seek as much information as possible before deciding to medicate your child, but I have seen it work beautifully without any side effects.

Best of luck.

Answer 7

My 7 yo son has been diagnosed with ADHD. He is not on medication and will not be put on it.
He finished 1st grade with the highest GPA in his class. He is personable and socially adept. His teacher and we (his parents) have invested a great deal of time and energy in helping him learn coping skills that are necessary to do well in a school (controlled) setting. It helps a lot to have a teacher that is willing to direct a ADHD child and does not demand that your child be drugged to make her job easier.
You child will learn how to control herself. It takes time and lots of patience. Some take until adulthood to fully master that self control. That is why so many kids come off the drugs as adults. They finally "get it".Every person learns at their own pace our ADHD kids have trouble learning physical control and focus. I have chosen to homeschool my son from this point (until he is adept at self control) to teach him the skills that he will need to be sucessful. You can do it too. If homeschooling does not work for your family that doesn't mean that you can't have sucess. You will have to be very involved with her teachers and be like I was...a regular in the classroom. I accompanied my son to class everyday and helped him organize his daily work and his teacher used a timer to help him get back on track (it had a beep every 5 mins).
Here are a couple of very uplifting sites that will let you have a great deal of peace about your daughters outlook and outcome. She will be fine as long as you give her the extra help she needs.
http://www.pedsforparents.com/articles/2784.shtml
http://www.westfieldacademy.org/adhd/

Answer 8

my son is 10 and was diagnosed with ADHD he's on a super LOW dose of ritalin and its done wonders for him. he can pay attention in class and it makes my life a lot easier and his as well.
i tried everything and didn't want to put him on anything. i cut out certain food colorings (they affected him, every child is different) i gave him tea twice a day, and that did help. (caffeine has adverse affects on children with ADHD)
it really did make a difference when i did put him on the meds though.
and i know that your just looking for answers, however its a personal decision to put your child on meds and its up to you. don't let people make you feel bad because you decided what was best for YOUR child.
good luck to you and your daughter.

Answer 9

I dont know about medication BUT I do know that studies were done and ADHD kids seemed to do extremely well when exposed to nature - it held their attention longer...

I also know that its proven that TV for kids has contributed to ADHD - becuase the shows "jump" too much it trains the brain to "jump" commercials - short skits - etc... all fast and jumpy...

kids NEED to learn at a very young age how to slow down - how to deal with boring times - too much stimulation causes problems for which its too late to reverse...

Answer 10

My 14 year old son is ADHD. We put him on ritlin and stratera at one point, he may have been about your daughter's age....and he did not like the effect. He said it made him tired. So we discontinued it at his request.

I enrolled my son in the after school program. They have snack, academic support, and time for the kids to interact, and field trips. He was required to at least go to academic support. He could opt out on interaction with peers if he wanted.

She isn't paying attention when she is given instruction. You should reinforce skills that help her in school. Have her read directions to you, off the pancake box, or the street signs (No right on red, etc...) or off her homework instructions, etc. See how much of it she internalizes.

She knows she has ADHD. Talk to her about what it does to a kid (hyper, inattentive, figity...)
Tell her with ADHD, she is going to have to control it. Ask her every day how she did with it (for awhile). Help her become aware of what she needs to do to help herself.

My son only gets soda on a rare occasion. Makes him toooo hyper.

Serve nutritious meals, and a healthy snack. Diet makes a difference. Incorporate a good multi vitamin for balance. Cut out as much sugar and starch as is reasonable.

At 14 my son is developing a growing sense of what he needs to do in school. Mind you, he starts HS this year....

Puberty makes it very difficult. He's known for a long time how to do what he needs to do to be successful, and therefore, minimally happy, at school. (How happy can you be, after all?)

He did not associate his grades with his sense of well-being. He's perfectly capable, he just lives in avoidance mode for anything that required Focus. He's getting better now.

I'm really pushing myself to make him follow through on things, and I have had support from my partner for two years now, which I find has had a great effect.

Help her build her focus, her concentration. Play concentration games with her. My son loves chess and beats me now, a lot.

It's hard, it's worth it, and it does get better. Just hang in there. God bless you and yours, dear.