Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional I don't know where else to turn

I am glad you have a direction. I hope things work out for you and your son. Let us know how things go. I'm always interested in stories with ADHD kids, two of mine have been given this diagnosis.

mnmom,

If you've tried the other avenues, done your homework and met with the experts, then trying a medical intervention makes sense. For some kids, drugs are warranted. t's the parent's that don't do the research first that I have an issue with.

Very best of luck, keep us posted.

I was absolutely against medicine for the longest time but I'm at the point where I think that my son needs it to function. He is extremely bored at school but that doesn't explain all of his behavior. We have tried vitamins, diet, behavior mods...and nothing works. We actually go back to the doctor with him tomorrow for a final diagnosis.

If your son needs it then he needs it. In my case I figure we can try it and if I see bad side effects or that it's not working we can take him off of it.

Good luck! I know (for me at least) it was such a hard decision but now that we've made it I feel happy that we might have a partial solution.

I'm a little hestitant to post as I have no experience with ADHD.

A friend sent me a link a while ago that another country was banding food coloring becuase they linked it to ADHD and other problems. I'm sorry my info. is so incomplete. It might be worth looking into.

I'm not a big fan of ADHD meds and that doesn't mean it's wrong either. I think the parents in this type of a forum are likely to be well informed, seeking solutions, and willing to try alternatives first. In the end if you've made a thoughtful decision for your child then what more could we ask of you as a parent. We need more parents like you that put thought into the welfare of their children. And if it doesn't work, then the research can continue.

I'm so glad you gave us an update. I am so curious about how it works out for you guys. Please keep us updated. Thanks for posting.

mnmom23 - So glad you got some answers and some possible solutions. It is a difficult decision, but as a parent you clearly want what is best and have done your research. Nobody loves medication, but sometimes it is needed and can be quite helpful for children with ADHD. If it is not helpful you will know fairly quickly. You child is lucky to have parents like you that are willing to do whatever it takes to help them to be their best and be happy. I have worked all to often with children who are falling apart and could benefit from the medication and parents don't agree because they don't like meds and worry about possible side effects (when the side effects of not taking it clearly are outweighing the side effects of taking it). Anyhow, It really shouldn't be a controversial issue at all. You know your child best and have already tried other routes. Hope things work out for you. Keep us posted!

Sorry to hijack this thread but Shellymos what side effects have you seen? I'm almost positive DS will be put on medicine after our doctor visit this afternoon (he's going to evaluate DS and go over the worksheets that both the teachers and parents have filled out) and I'm not sure what to look for. Once he starts the medicine should the effects of it been seen pretty quickly?

I've done research and tried everything else that I can think of and I know this is the right thing to do but I'm still pretty scared.

Hi Jamie,
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a doctor so don't want to give you too much info as I am sure your doctor will...I just have a background working as a mental health therapist with children along with a psychiatrist and other doctors. The majority of kids I have worked with don't have side effects at all. Side effects depend on the med and some ADHD meds are stimulants and some are not. What I have most often seen is some loss of appetite, on some of the non-stimulants I have seen some initial drowsines that usually goes away fairly quickly. There obviously can be others that your doctor can mention but those are clearly the most common when a child has side effects at all. There are also two different classes of stimulants so those work differently as well. So doctors will usually try what has been most effective with the least amount of side effects and go from there...often at a low dose and increase as needed. If it is a stimulant medication then results will be seen quickly, if it is a nonstimulant medication then it can take a few weeks.

I am sure it can be pretty scary, but if you trust your doctor and they start at a good dose then that should alleviate some of your anxiety. And your doctor should be providing you with information about side effects. The doctors we worked with took all of that very seriously and read up on all sorts of research on medications to do what is best. I have been working with these kids for years and side effects are seriously minimal when prescribed correctly despite what you will read in some anti-med slanted articles. And like I said, for some kids you have to consider the side effects of not taking meds. I have seen some major self-esteem damage, continued behavioral problems, failing, not holding down jobs, etc. and and all sorts of problems that are caused from children that never did get appropriate treatment. To me that is much worse. Of course ADHD medication really only helps about 80% of kids from what I have read, but you still have a good chance it will help and can change it if it doesn't. Some kids only respond to certain meds, so while one may work well another may not. I did mention I am not a doctor, right? So take that for what it's worth...2 cents maybe? : )

This is somewhat unrelated but my son and daughter both have asthma and need to take meds for it. I have always hesitated to give them the inhaled steroid because it affects behavior and makes them irritable...but if they really need it then I give it to them for a while because they need it to breathe and hopefully not get worse. Sometimes it frustrates me when it seems that some don't understand that ADHD is real (like asthma) and that as a parent you have to make the right choice even though it isn't always easy. I imagine I would be considered neglectful if I didn't give my son the inhaler and he really needed it.

Thanks so much! I did some reading online and could tell which sites were the anti-med sites. I took those with a grain of salt. It's good to hear that the side effects from it don't seem to be common. If you look online it seems to suggest that almost all kids have it!

Yes, that is true about the asthma (and the medicine makes me extremely jittery). And I know my son well and I know that he needs something to function "normally".

Thanks again! We leave in an hour for the appointment so I should know more tonight.