We meet with a Child Psychiatrist tomorrow to discuss whether or not to medicate my DS9 for ADD. DS9 was recently diagnosed by the psychologist that did his psycho-educational assessment. Apparently, this Dr. has ADD himself, so is supposed to be very good and understanding. Does anyone have any advice as to what I should bring up in discussion or what questions I should be sure to ask?
Make sure he screens for any latent heart problems and does a complete blood work up to rule out Thyroid, Lyme and other issues that may present like ADHD. Otherwise, it sounds like you are in good hands!
Mich, is the heart screening just listening closely, or do they do more? I never knew heart issues could masquerade as ADHD.
Do tell...
DeeDee
Reading mich's post closely, the first sentence only says that thyroid problems, Lyme disease, and "other issues" may present like ADHD. Maybe the reference to heart problems is due to worries about exacerbating them with stimulants used to treat ADHD?
ETA: It makes sense in retrospect. Oxygen levels-- of course.
After reading that it occurred to me that the results of my particular heart problem could infact be misconstrued as inattentive ADHD... Extreme low blood pressure leads to very erratic functioning of the brain.
http://www.gmhcn.org/files/Wellness/50ConditionsthatMimicADHD.htmlThis webpage lists 50 conditions that mimic ADD. Might be worth browsing to see if there might be an alternative issue.
Wow, thanks for that list Mamabear.
Would things like worms (egads!!!), hyper/hypothyroidism, lead poisoning, strep etc normally be revealed in regular health screenings/blood tests etc or do you have to be looking/testing specifically for each problem?