I totally believe in meds and it amazes me that some people don't. I just heard of a case that had to go to court because the parents refused to take their child to the doctor & "believed" they would be just fine & then the infant died & would have survived if put on an antibotic.
THAT'S SAD (poor baby)
I believe that if a doctor thinks a child should be put on meds (no matter what kind) then the parent(s) should have to at least try all options the doc suggests or be liable for any reprocusions. (physical or mental)
Not to add fuel to a fire over here I want to have a legitimate discussion of something close to my heart. As a newbie I have an honest question so here goes...
I have a son, on medication who just entered kindy. He struggled the first couple of weeks to settle in and we debated adjusting his medication to help him but we have always held to the belief that letting him struggle a little was healthy. We are very pleased with his progress now and no adjustment to his dosage or change in medication was required. We have seen a child we did not know existed emerge as a result of being willing to work with the side effects created by the drug. His report card indicates he is a functioning at a near normal level in his personal development and above grade level in acedemic development. We are proud and hopeful for his future thanks to a good team of doctors, loving parents and medication.
I have a friend with another little boy who has been diagnosed with ADHD and is not medicated. He has been home his entire life with a SAHD and just entered kindy this year as well. His learning has been put on hold because the teacher can not manage his behavior, he is about to be removed from the classroom entirely due to his impulsive and increasingly aggressive behavior. He has taken to lying to his mother about his daily behavior reports and now is wetting/soiling himself at home. Prior to school he displayed a giftedness that is now completely shadowed by his behavior. She has tried many alternatives to medication but nothing has been successful and yet she still refuses to even try the medication recommended by his pedicatrician.
In this situation I feel she is failing to do what is best for her child. By not being willing to try medication for him she is closing doorways to his future potential. Instead of learning and growing he is failing and regressing under the strain of trying to be functional in his peer group. How can that possibly be a better choice then the one I made for my son? For those of you who are anti-medication so fiercely I would ask you what would you do to help this little boy?
I disagree meds don't help all. There are many disorders meds will not help. At one time there were no meds for disorders. Try liquid supplements and a high protein low simple carb meals first. These do help. OnlySoSpecial,
Jen,
What happens when the drugs don't work anymore ?
Drugs are foreign substances to your body and your immune system goes to great effort to get rid of them or to reduce their "effectiveness".
Are you going to follow the crowd and just keep adding more meds ?
Drugs should be used as an absolute last resort... as in a life threatening situation.
Reality,
I am begging you. Go away! You have said the same thing over and over and over and it is totally crap!
EVERYBODY WHO IS NEW ON THIS SITE:
REALITY, ADHDisBOGUS, CURUS, AND BALANCED ARE TROLLS. THEY ARE ROBOTS TRAINED AND BRAINWASHED TO ATTACK FOLKS WITH ADHD AND TO LIE TO US ABOUT THE DANGERS OF MEDICATION!
Man reality - I'm keeping this quote from you - it's priceless!
REALITY /QUOTE " Drugs should be used as an absolute last resort... as in a life threatening situation"
Ah - you show your TRUE bias now! Even I don't say as a pro-med person "drugs should be used in every situation" I say "use meds if you like - they worked for me and many more". I recommend therapy a LOT - and if someone is worried about meds I tell them that the can either use them or not - they are an option and they worked wonders in my own personal experience.
You see reality - I HAVE experience in meds, ADHD. You do not.
So - let me get this straight - you go ahead and cut and paste here as you always do.
You don't believe a person should take tylenol if they have a headache - rather they should struggle to work through it - maybe try and remove the underlying trouble (without therapy as psychiatrists et. al are all just zombies under pharma control)? Nobody should use tagamet or other meds for ulcers unless they are bleeding to death?
Nobody should take meds for arthritis, corticosteroids for muscle injury, painkillers for any reason? No hormones for people who feel gender switched? No birth control for a woman who wants to have control over their life and still have a sex life? No viagra for a man with erectile dysfunction? No meds for glaucoma, incontinence, insomnia, anorexia, colitis, enteritis, esophogeal ulcerations, vitaligo, rectal itch, gonnorhea, severe menstrual bleeding, high cholesterol - none at all?
All these are non-life threatening. So - all these are off limits - verboten by your judgement?
Under your rules the only people who should "have" meds are people with imminent heart attacks, deadly infections, transplant rejection, insulin dependency and the like?
Hmmm - amish paradise.
You're no scientologist - you're a borderline christian scientist! Only step you need is to amend that quote to say "none at all - pray for hope".
Glad to see you finally tell us what we already knew.
Sham.
GlenW38675.0314583333[QUOTE=pastmember]I disagree meds don't help all. There are many disorders meds will not help. At one time there were no meds for disorders. Try liquid supplements and a high protein low simple carb meals first. These do help. [/QUOTE]Disorders at one time had no treatments except nutrition changes and a institution. My wife did a report on this in high school.
Sorry you don't get what is said. Most chemical changes in a body can happen with supplements. Maybe you are not high enough amounts.
Psm have you tried adding all forms of Vitamin B. Folic acidIt is always good to have therapy going on too, but this kid may have ADHD or more going on and some people require medication forever to stay out of the hospital. Remember when people were in mental institutions because there was no treatment? Given lobotomies? Meds have freed people with bipolar and schizophrenia from that fate. In my case, my meds have worked for over ten years. Many people use meds long-term. They can work forever. ADHD is a bit different and not as severe. I support parents who attempt to use alternatives, unless the child may be exhibiting dangerous behavior. In that case, I recommend seeing a Psychiatrist or Neuropsych to make sure it's only ADHD. ADHD doesn't often stand alone and it's the other disorders that may require medication. If somebody has a child, and wants his quality of life enhanced, and he does well on medication, I'm just grateful there is something to help the child. There are brain differences in certain people and some NEED what the meds do to change their brain chemistry. I am one of them. If not for meds, I'd be one of those people in an an institution. With them, I have five great kids, a wonderful hub, a great life, and I feel "normal." THe meds have not made me different. They have simply stablized my crazy moodswings which made it impossible for me to function. I say thank God for meds.[QUOTE=Guests]What happens when the drugs don't work anymore ?
Drugs are foreign substances to your body and your immune system goes to great effort to get rid of them or to reduce their "effectiveness".
Are you going to follow the crowd and just keep adding more meds ?
Drugs should be used as an absolute last resort... as in a life threatening situation.
[/QUOTE]
My son has been on the same drug, same dose of that drug for over 18 months. We have lowered it over the summer and returned to the previous level for school. We have had good days where I wonder why I give him the meds and bad days where I wonder if he needs something more. However, if the day ever came where his life was as effected by his ADHD as it was before, I would exhaust myself once again looking for solutions that will give him a chance at normalcy. Perhaps someday that will be with supplements or perhaps because he is so gifted he will learn to manage himself better at a young age, time will tell. As far as I am concerned for a child so dramatically effected by ADHD this is a life threatening situation. Not the end of his life but the future of his life!
My question was not about my son. I can not be swayed regarding our treatment plan for him. I asked what my friend should do for her son who she has chosen not to medicate. This woman has tried many different diets and supplements. The school the child is in is very good about working with him. However, he is still failing, regressing and overall suffering in life right now because she choses not to try medication for him. I have supported her in this decision until he entered school and the teachers could not reach him I felt her choice wasn't harming him. Now her child's over all well being is at risk.
It is very easy to stand back and say "these drugs are dangerous" or "you shouldn't give these to your children" but when your child is losing ground in relationship to his peers you need positive ideas not negative comments.