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My son is eleven and the school keeps urging me to put him on medication. He doesn't focus and currently has horrible grades. I'm so afraid of the side affects. I've heard such horrible things about it turning the kids into zombies and how they become suicidel and causes depression. Have any of you encountered this? ↓
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| Name: kim | Date: Mar 5th, 2006 9:55 PM |
| I am wondering this also, any replies?? ↑ |
| Name: Sabrina | Date: Mar 14th, 2006 3:30 AM |
| Visit an ADHD conference when there is a chance, they can have a wealth of information. Wouldn't you consider medication if you knew the potential risks of your child going unmedicated? Did you know that your child is 6 times more likely to become an alcoholic and drug addict if he goes unmedicated? Did you know that he is likely to drop out before high school graduation if he goes unmedicated? Did you know that he is more likely to commit suicide if he goes unmedicated then if you place him on meds? These are good stats to read up about, they are informative, they are out there, they are real! It's scary, but I think the chances of side effects are less risky then letting him fail if any of these things above happen to him. Besides, there are many types of medications out there, if one doesn't agree, try another.... until you find one that fits perfectly. ↑ |
| Name: Christine | Date: Mar 14th, 2006 10:46 PM |
| I have not personally encountered this with my son who is almost seven and diagnosed ADHD, but I do know someone who has suffered with ADHD all their life and when younger suffered from depression because ADHD has its tendensy to have that affect. Imagine yourself with the constant daily struggle of not being able to focus. A specialist at my son's doctor's office gave me the best example of a person suffering from ADHD. Let's say that you have not slept a single minute for two or three days. Then you go to work on one of the most hectic days. Wouldn't it be pretty frustrating and stressful? This is the way a person with ADHD struggles every day. I have refused to put my son on medication so far. I know that they can become zombies if they are over medicated or not given medication regularily. I have enrolled my son on at a non-treatment facility. The program just began, and we are both pretty anxious for this to help. If you do give your son medication, make sure that it is monitored carefully and you might want to start on a weekend where you can watch him to see how he reacts. Then if you do give it to him before school, don't tell the teacher that he's on medication right away and see if he/she notices his progress for the first week. Good luck!!! ↑ |
| Name: Tommy | Date: May 29th, 2006 3:38 PM |
| I myself have not been exposed to ADHD that I know of but I have a 13 year old who is a prime example of what I hear people relate ADHD to and I don't believe medicating him is the answer. I watch the way he handles different situations with different people and I believe his behavior is up to him. It seems to depend on who he is relating to, not that he doesn't have control over the situation. He decides if he will behave the way he should or not. This is what I've seen in him. I don't know if this relates to your child but it dies to mine. He decides how he will react to whatever confronts him and I firmly believe this. Good luck with finding the secret remedy because I'm still looking myself. ↑ |
| Name: Serina S | Date: May 29th, 2006 10:06 PM |
My Sister inlaw has her son on a special diet no sugar, & no soda . He now takes his med during the week only and the dose is lower.I would talk to the Drs some meds are very helpful. So ask & ask them about the fish oil. Omeg III can be bought in a gel cap it also can be found in Hepm seed oil( you can fry & cook with this) . If you go to your local health food store they can help you.( Just make sure the store has a nutritionist on staff that you can talk to) . Alos look at ADHD DIET noted in this blog
Very best of luck ↑ |
| Name: Ruth | Date: May 31st, 2006 1:25 AM |
| I know of some kids personally that are on medication and it is working very well for them. When they are not on it, you see the difference. I recently found out my daughter has ADHD nonattentive and am going to put her on medication. ↑ |
| Name: Emeralddawnn | Date: May 31st, 2006 7:55 AM |
Deb... my son is now 11 and he is on Adderall. He has been since he was almost 5. On the medication, this child is an eye of perfection and his schoolwork shows it! In the beginning before the meds, he was horrible in school and his grades reflected it. However, now on the medication.. he is consistently on the honor roll and strives to maintain that status. When he comes home from school, schoolwork is the first thing on his mind and he gets it done ASAP! If he begins to have an issue, he realizes he needs to take a step back and ask for help.
As far as any side effects from the Adderall, he takes 30XR in the morning only, I havent seen any. I wont say he is perfect all the time.. that would be a lie... but I have never seem him act like a zombie, become suicidal or be depressed! In fact, rather just the opposite. The only thing you need to be concerned about is what type of medication will work for him. You may use one and instantly it works like a charm or another that will knock him out for days on end. With so many out there, each child is different for each medication. *my best friends son could not use Adderall but could use Ritalin easily with no side effects*
The main idea is not to give up after one failure and keep trying which I am sure you are. The only thing my son has been wishing for is for his new little baby brother to be born without ADHD. I think he realizes how much of an issue it is for him and he doesnt wish it on anyone including his brother.
One more thing.. kids on medicine.. yes, I am set against it too. But sometimes, in the most extreme cases, there is a need. If my son isnt on his medication, oh Lord... someone get me packed and out of there. Hes like a 2yearold with a temper tantrum and they get bad. But when he is on it, this little man will surprise you with the most brightest smile and kindest thought and actually do the things that is asked of him!
I hope my experience helps you out a little bit. Nothing is guaranteed A1 perfect but we can get as close as we can and give our children the best we can. I never thought in a million years my son would be medicated everyday of his life and I certainly hope that one day... like he wishes.. he never has to be.. to concentrate. However, he even knows he needs the meds to function well in school. Take care and good luck with whatever you decide to do. ↑ |
| Name: sarah | Date: Jun 12th, 2006 5:56 PM |
| i need some advise, ADHD runs in both families i mean my little cuz has ADHD ASPERGUS and AUTISM and so does my boyfriends brother. is there a chance my baby will get it im 15 weeks now and 21??? ↑ |
| Name: Layne | Date: Jun 12th, 2006 8:14 PM |
| You can always give meds a try if they show bad side effects stop the drugs. with a doctors supervision. alot of the issues your speaking of are hyped up in the media. my child went through about 3 drugs before being put on ritalin and stretrra and yes we tried every natual remedy. diet and doctor you can imagine before drugs. he is 11 and doing very well with a iep home and school. hopefully school wont be as diffecult for your son as mone he is a extreme case. but God love him he is doing very well. not medicating your child because of a small number of kids that have a bad reation to meds is a shame in my opinion. all meds have side effects just do your homework talk to your doctor and you'll be fine im sure. ↑ |
| Name: KC | Date: Jun 19th, 2006 1:36 PM |
| Have you tried herbal options? ↑ |
| Name: Melissa | Date: Jun 30th, 2006 12:35 AM |
| I think you're son should someone to talk about their problems. I don't think you should put him on medication. In the mean while help improve with or get him a tutor. ↑ |
| Name: iamlisa | Date: Aug 1st, 2006 3:34 AM |
| hes better off on meds to help him, studies show that kids that are not medicated for their disorders are more likely to self medicate. also the benifits outweigh the risks BY FAR ↑ |
| Name: veena | Date: Aug 15th, 2006 9:55 PM |
| My kid is 7 yrs old. she is hyper she is making so much noice. and at the same time she is not listening parents words at all. so i consulted a doctor. he told me that she is having ADHD. so what to do really i shocked when iheard from him ↑ |
| Name: htrdladyrose76 | Date: Aug 19th, 2006 2:36 AM |
| tell them you don't wanna take the risk of dangering your son. If he's have so much trouble ask for special help for him. My kids school worked with me. good luck and god bless ↑ |
| Name: Georgiana | Date: Aug 26th, 2006 6:38 PM |
| I have a 10 year old boy and he has ADHD. He has been put on med's since he has been in the first grade. He was getting bad grades and now he is in the 5th and doing great. Straight a's, b's and c's. I have him on concerta. That is the only med. that we have tried just because I have done my research on the rest of them. My husband and I both have ADHD. My husband is on med's too but something different because he is an adult. My son doesn't act or look like he is a zombie. But it all depends on the doctor that you find for your son. But the concerta does great for my son. It helps him with being able to focus. I hope that this helped. ↑ |
| Name: Lisa Thyr | Date: Sep 13th, 2006 4:01 AM |
I have an 8yr old son who also has ADHD his pediatrician said that if your child is on medication for ADHD and are zombielike they should not be taking that particular drug it may be alot of trial and error but if there is amedication that is right for your child you will see a difference within the first couple of DAYS.!!!!
i hope that i have helped you even a little. If you don' t feel comfortable with medication there is always the natural aproach but I have heard that the process is as well gruelling. ↑ |
| Name: def11152 | Date: Sep 13th, 2006 2:03 PM |
| My 6 year old son has developmental delay across the board. But on top of that there is learning disailities and ADHD. He has been taking ritalin for about a year and it helped greatly. Although we are starting to have many other problems arise. such as mood swings, crying over basically nothing, not eating, not gaining wait. I have to say the mood swings are the wose he can be very loving, hugging, caring , happy boy but i I say for instance we're going to Nana's. He says will his cousin be there. I say no and e freaks. Screams, spitts, swears like a trruck driver.(which is not alowed by any one in my house hold) I am currently trying to take or switch him from this medication. don't get me wrong it works for attention and concentration but It also can cause other things to come out. expecially (I've read if the child has anxiety) It will highten it to the extreme. Well I do not know how much this will help you but I am just a mother trying to help my child be healthy and happy. ↑ |
| Name: Eileen | Date: Sep 14th, 2006 6:12 PM |
| Hi my son is 7 and is on retalin la 20mg. I'm not happy putting him on meds because what you hear it can do to their health. But I talked to a few people and they took thier son of med and they put him on iep at school. it is individual help and thay can work at thier on speed. I don't know much information on this every school might be diffrent. But I been thinking of doing that. when I have a meeting with the teacher I'll ask her what would be best for my son. Just rember don't be afraid to ask because most teachers don't give to much information until you ask. ↑ |
| Name: JAB | Date: Sep 17th, 2006 3:53 AM |
| I would strongly consider other options before beginning meds. At least you would know you tried for your child to see if there was another alternative before you opted for medication. I do have an option to recommend to you and I can get you further info you would want it. [email protected] ↑ |
| Name: BrendansMom | Date: Sep 29th, 2006 11:34 PM |
| My son is 5 and has been on Ritalin for 6 months. It has turned our house from a nightmare into maybe not a dream but pretty darn close. We tried EVERYTHING before putting him on meds. Nothing worked. Look at it this way you can always take him off meds if you don't like the results. It's important to give you son any chance he can get for a normal life. All the best. ↑ |
| Name: parksmomof4 | Date: Sep 30th, 2006 11:23 AM |
Hi Deb~My 10 yr old has been on Concerta for about a year and a half. In the beginning we also did not want to medicate. But after being referred to a wonderful pediatrician who specializes in ADHD/ADD we thought that would be the best decision we could make for him. In the beginning we met w/ the dr. every 2 weeks to reevaluate the meds. & my son. We are FAR from being at the end as it is a constant thing, but there is such an improvement in my son that I would not change having him on meds. for anything. He does not act like a "zombie" or any of the other bad things people tell you he will be like. We had a hard time as well w/ family asking how we could do this to him and tell us that he is soo smart, yes he is smart and a wonderfull child, but on meds. he truely shines. Our dr. explained to us that it's like he has light switches in his brain and the one that controls the focus & his sensors, he can't turn it on. With meds. he can turn that switch on. As far as suicidal & depression what I have read is that this is for the kids who are NOT on meds. or kids who were NOT dx. properly and should NOT be on meds. in the first place. I would suggest finding a pediatrician who specializes in ADHD (we switched dr.s after our original ped. talked to me for 5 min. said yup he needs meds. I'm putting him on 50mg. of Concerta, call me if there's a problem...that's NOT how it works!!!!, I followed thru w/ that I could have walked in w/ any of my boys and said he's hyper he needs meds. and she would have done it) who can sit and go over everything(from behavior, meds., things to do/not do) with you. Has your son been dx. with ADD/ADHD? I have so much more from our experience I could talk all day. If you or anyone would like more: [email protected]
Hope any of this is useful!! ↑ |
| Name: dsyflw2 | Date: Jul 14th, 2007 9:54 PM |
| I need some advice on a boy I like. I can't tell if he likes me as a friend or more than that. He gives me mixed messages. EXSAMPLE: He walks me home.... Then he asks were I have been lately.. Then he get's really weird around me and kind ignores me .. Not really ignoring me just being annoying.. How do I know if he likes me, as a girlfriend or a friend??? we also never hang out on rare occasions... But I have know him mosy of my life... please help sort out my problem..?? Thank you if you can help.. ↑ |
| Name: jhj | Date: Aug 29th, 2007 5:27 AM |
| Name: Carla | Date: Aug 29th, 2007 3:32 PM |
| I am going through the same thing, I don't want to medicate and I even had to hold back my son to repeat 3rd grade again. I don't know what to do but if anyone else out there does please help us both out. Any alternative things we can do without medication??? ↑ |
| Name: mar22 | Date: Aug 29th, 2007 5:06 PM |
| my first questions would be does he sit in the front row to cut out distractions, my second question would be what is his learning style and is the teacher meeting this need, also can he get a tutor or Educational asstant? Has he been tested for learning disabilities? I would recommend starting in those areas first before medicating because of what a teacher thinks. although im not sure if hes having outrages behaviours in the class because it not staed, but assuming there isnt i recommend getting him tested, even blood work to rule out hormone inbalances as hes hitting the puberty age. akos someone once told me that adding more boiled eggs and blueberries increases there attention span not sure how true this it but thought id pass it on, also others ive noticed are trying the omega 3. i wish you the best of luck, wish i could help out more, take what you want and leave the rest. good luck ↑ |
| Name: Michelle | Date: Aug 29th, 2007 5:23 PM |
| I was able to cure Cadee's adhd with a diet. I wrote about it. The title is cure for adhd. She is 7 now and shows no signs of adhd, however, she can be adhd if we give her anything that ends in ose like high fructose corn sugar. The diet worked for me so that is how I learned about it. I have read the side effects of some drugs so I know why you would worry. Some of the effects don't show up for years. The food and drug administration is a good source for the side effects of drugs. I was lucky with Cadee by being able to cure her using food. I don't know if this would work or not but you might talk to a professional dietician first. It is just an idea. ↑ |
| Name: Karen ARELLANO | Date: Jan 20th, 2008 11:07 PM |
My kids school the teacher are mean to them and me also
I need help and what to do also my kids are Mexican and
thay were born in USA ↑ |
| Name: Richard | Date: Jan 21st, 2008 1:06 AM |
| Sure I have, I have ADHD. No, the drugs don't do that, if they actually have the disorder the medication has been prescribed for. I would say, try adderall. That's the medication I'm on, it works well. Now with non-attentive ADHD, remember even on medication, she won't become extroverted. She will still enjoy keeping to herself, not hanging around much or going out much. That's OK though. I do the same. People with this disorder are happy in a mild relaxing setting. Even if it means just sitting at home and reading. They don't look forward to getting bothered by others much, and at times aren't really up to the party. They also handle stress better than most, and don't feel much emotion in tragic situations that happen to them, but the medication will help them in handling everyday tasks, and getting things done, instead of putting them off. ↑ |
| Name: lisa | Date: Jan 22nd, 2008 3:58 AM |
| i wish i could help, but my son was 14 before anyone suggested he was ADD. i am still floored, but he is still failing every class in 10th grade and now i find out he's using pot (because his now deceased dad used it for his cancer relief). he blames ADD for everything now - he has an excuse for unacceptable behavior. HELP! ↑ |
| Name: lisa | Date: Jan 22nd, 2008 4:02 AM |
| are u there deb? i also need to talk about ADD, it's ruining my son ↑ |
| Name: Dixon L. Moore | Date: Jan 16th, 2011 8:09 AM |
| i have worked with a great number of kids with differant types of issues. when i was a kid i had a hard time my mother was a crack whore and i was not raised in a very good envirnment. i was i was labled with all these terms adhd, depression levels, anger issues but that is part of growing up. sure there are real issues that require medication to help. however I have found that more so than not kids just need to realize that they have control. most kids like myself a long time ago would like to think otherwise so people expect less, but are actions require choices and we make our choices based on our knowledge, desires, and feelings and all that requires thought. the lession i learned was if you can realize this you can keep control by controling your thoughts. which requires desire and desire is driven by some source of motivation. you will notic a lot of kids will not be able to do there home work do to whatever the school counsler would have you believe but can memorize every one of those pokemon creaters or whatever kids get into these days. do you think that makes sense to you? i hope i could help. ↑ |
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