My daughter was just diagnosed with ADHD | ADHD Information
Ok... I am new at this. My daughter has been having trouble with kids her age, being mean to others, and staight out bouncing off the walls. Ive been waiting for 3 months to get her evaluated for behavior problems. Today I learn she has ADHD. I thought she did just took it hard when they told me. She starts meds tomorrow and we do family theropy once a week for now. Shes 4. We knew she had signs of it due to as many family members there are in her dads side and mine and seen how they were. I dont know...I am so comfused. The dr is giving her the lowest dose of med he can and said it will be a long road maybe till we get to the right dose. I just need support. I really dont got anyone. Her dad works 9-16 hours a day, I am a stay at home mom, and no one else to talk to. Thank you for listening.
Confused in Kansas
my son is the same age and had to have a shadow at the nursery to prevent him from attacking others.
he is doing better since he has his sleeping undercontrol with the help of melatonin, he is less aggressive.
my son will not be medicated for another year and we are trying homeopathy,behavioral therapy and play therapy.
how is she during the day?her behavior to you and others and how do you react?
Hi. I'm Zena, new to all this aswell! My son is 11 and recently diagnosed with ADHD and ASD. I know what you mean about feeling alone, I can't really talk to my partner and friends about my sons condition they don't really understand! My son started meds about 3 months ago, he was on Equasym and then concerta but these didn't suit him so the doc has prescribed Strattera. It's good that your doc has told you it could take time to get the right med and dose, my doc didn't really explain this and I was so disappointed(and felt guilty!) when I had to stop the concerta because of side effects. I read alot of the posts on here and have noticed alot of people have had to try several meds before finding one that suits, it's abit of trial and error. What med has the doc gave you for your daughter?Its called Dexedrine. Ive been reading alot of the posts on here last night nad this morning due to this has hit me hard and i cant sleep.
Confused in Kansas
Our daughter just started meds yesterday. We can see a slight change but dr said its going to be maybe a long road till we get the dose right. With her being young there is only a few differnet meds she can take. We went to the stiore earlier and she didnt act all hyper like she normally does.
How do u get them to eat? thats what im worried about.
[QUOTE=kmmillerbates]
Its called Dexedrine. Ive been reading alot of the posts on here last night nad this morning due to this has hit me hard and i cant sleep.
Confused in Kansas
[/QUOTE]
What a coincidence I was so excited about asking my doc about Dexedrine and Desoxyn (after doing some further research on Dexedrine) and didn't go to sleep.
OH dear. My daughter got diagnosed Thursday and I havent really slept since. I dont know what to do...Everyone tells u not to stess out but sometimes i think how can u not be. Ive seen other ppl with kids with ADHD and Im hopeing I can also get it under control but I know it will be hard.
Anymore advise is much appriciated!
Unless your daughters case is severe (which evedently it is not if the Dr. gave her the lowest dose he could) ADD/ADHD really isn't a big a deal. You get up in the morning, take your pill, and go throughout the whole day with the ability to concentrate and not be distracted so easily, and that's about it. Unless you are me, and has to use his ADD meds everyday to avoid depression and other horrible feelings. But other than that I think you're good.
Welcome aboard. How do you get them to eat? Here are a few things I do:
In the a.m. I make her a Carnation instant breakfast which is chocolate milk with extra protein and I give her something else to eat also like a bagel, waffle, etc. Along with that she gets her meds. After that she isn't really hungry until later in the evening. I find that shakes are the most efficient way to get them to ingest calories. She has a real sweet tooth and now she won't really eat anything that isn't sweet. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are much more popular around here than before meds! 
I felt the same way you did when my daughter was first diagnosed. Dont worry...it passes & ADHD just becomes a part of life. My daughter also has 2 LDs so I had a lot to ingest & learn about at first. I cried for days. Now m y daughter is just my daughter..I realized that nothing had changed about HER, just that now we had a name for the way she acted. Its actually better to have that DX, because now you can do things to help her!
I am so happy I have someone to talk to about this with advise. Thank you for suggestions and keep them comming please!
I wanted to get the dr's to start something now instead of later do to we can get her under control hopefully by the time she starts kindergarden. She is in a preschool last fall and starting fall again for children with special needs.
I really am sorry to hear about your son having to redo kindergarden.
I also finally go the dr to increase her meds alittle so she takes some in the afternoon since it wore off. So we will see what it will do tomorrow.
Julianne....7/4/02..... 
I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 40. I have been helped by medication and now by crawling exercises from the book Stopping ADHD by Cook and O'Dell. A child needs to be 5 before they can start the exercises, according to the authors.
The idea is that there is a primitive reflex (a reflex we have as a baby) that makes you uncomfortable when your arms and legs are bent at the same time. When you mature this reflex, you are no longer uncomfortable and you can focus. I believe that you also make connections in your brain.
I would definitely check this book out of a library or purchase it online at amazon (you can get used copies for only a couple of dollars) and read it. It makes so much sense and it can really help your child if they are bothered by this reflex.
The exercises have helped me to be more organized, more focused, more aware of things around me. I no longer have to take medication. If you are interested in this theory, check out the "crawler's unite" thread on the alternative section of this board. There are parents there who are trying it with their children.
good luck to you
Hi kmmillerbates!
I am sorry about your daughter. I actually cried in the psy. office when she was first diagnosed. We were pretty sure she had ADHD, but hearing the doctor say it just made it seem so much more real.
After you get past the initial shock of it, you will feel better knowing that there is a name to what is wrong. It really is a relief to have some sort of place to start. Before my daughter was diagnosed, we were both really confused, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Things are just as hard today, but at least we feel like now we have the tools to help her, and that makes me feel better as a mom. (knowing that there is something I can do).
BethnPaul-
your daughter sounds a lot like mine. Our psy. told us that she has the form of ADHD that is more popular in boys. We are having a really hard time worrying about the future and her impulse control issues.
It's good that you found out at 4 years old. We didn't find out until the middle of first grade, and that was a horrible year (trying to figure out what in the world could be wrong with her).
Ok i dont know if i should be worring right now or not. My daughter started medicine on Friday. She hasnt slept hardly do to they took her off her sleeping pills. Also she is calm in the morning and then about 1pm its like CLICK shes bouncing off the walls. I dont know what to do....called the dr and he said he wants to wait longer to up her dose but will think about the sleeping pill and call me back. I hate that. I dont know what to do. I feel so impacient. Any suggestions?
[QUOTE=susieb] One of the things I have learned from this board is that however bad I think I have it, someone has it worse. It puts a whole lot into perspective.
[/QUOTE]Yes! and some kids have cancer, cystic fibrosis, aplastic anemia, or a slew of other, WAY WORSE diseases! I count myself lucky every day that my daughter "only" has ADD!
By the way, melatonin works super for my daughter too. I give it to her on nights she cantt sleep. In the summer we use benedryl (dye free) which causes drowsiness AND helps ease DD's allergy symptoms.
Hi There:
I am new to this too. My 4 1/2 year old daughter, Shannon, was recently diagnosed too with Hyperaactivity and Impulsivity. I have been going our of my mind for over two years. I am just so grateful someone was willing to test her this early. I feel like you and I have been living the same life. My daughter is uncontrollable, has no fear of injury or consequences. I have two other children; an 8 1/2 year old girl (Abby)who is so good and it makes me sad that she does not get a lot of attention. Then I have an 8 moonth old son, Andrew, who thankfully is such a good baby. I joke that in utero, he heard all the commotion Shannon was making and decided that he didn't have a fighting chance.
What do you do when you feel like you want to pull someone's hair out? How do you not lose your temper? How do you keep it together?
Can you give her a dose at lunchtime? Maybe split the dose if it's a pill that can be split. About the stress you're feeling. Have you talked to your dd and asked her what her take on being on meds is? I picked my ds up after school the first day he took meds and without being prompted, he said "Gee mom, I like myself a whole lot better on this pill." That made me feel a whole lot better about him taking meds. Welcome to the board and hang in there. One of the things I have learned from this board is that however bad I think I have it, someone has it worse. It puts a whole lot into perspective.Ask your doctor about melatonin to help with sleep. I asked our doc today what to do about the no sleep issues, and that was his recomendation. Just don't get overly frustrated about the meds. Sometimes it takes awhile to get it right. My ds was diagnosed almost 2 months ago, and we just now seem to have the right med, after 4 different dosing and 2 different meds.
I know what you mean about feeling alone in this. My dh works at least 12 hours a day, mostly 7 days a week. When he is home, he usually catches up on sleep. I am also a stay at home mom, and most of the time I am alone. When the doctor was questioning me when ds was getting diagnosed, he said, so basically you are a single parent. It hit me, yah, I am.
Hang in there though, when you get the right med, it is like night and day. Life is so happy for ds when he is on his med. He calls it his happy vitamin. Good luck!
Donna
[QUOTE=kmmillerbates]Ok i dont know if i should be worring right now or not. My daughter started medicine on Friday. She hasnt slept hardly do to they took her off her sleeping pills. Also she is calm in the morning and then about 1pm its like CLICK shes bouncing off the walls. I dont know what to do....called the dr and he said he wants to wait longer to up her dose but will think about the sleeping pill and call me back. I hate that. I dont know what to do. I feel so impacient. Any suggestions? [/QUOTE]
Ask your doc about melatonin. We use it at night and it really works. Some of the other folks in this forum also have used it.
Hi there just to let you know that my son was been diagniosed with adhd and started ritalin 15th March this was after a long 6 years of shall i take him to the Dr's or not as i must admit i thought it was my bad parenting but everybody encouraged me to get him evaluated anyway he is now doing superb on them and at first i was like you really worried thinking he was alien but now its normal life we get up at 7 in the morning i help him get ready give him his breakfast then off he pops into the kitchen for his meds at around 8 then at school 1pm the school nurse gives him his lunchtime dose after he has had his lunch the school have even given him a pass to get into lunch early to make sure he eats first. then when he gets home at 4pm he gets his tea time dose after his tea i now have learnt to make sure i give him food and plenty of it just before he is due for next dose as if not he will not eat for hours and then have bedtime munchies lol.
My Dr has gave me melatonin (think thats how you spell it lol) just incase he needs help with his sleeping but i have only given it him a handful of times.
Hope this all helps and dont worry your not alone were all in the same boat mate
Hope