Meds for mild ADHD? | ADHD Information

I agree with cr12345mr above. My son was on meds for a while, but his adhd was severe. His behavior was very poor in the classroom and he was constantly being punished. His behavior elsewhere was poor too, we couldn't take him to a restaurant, birthday parties were horrible, coaches had a tough time with him, etc.

After 2 1/2 years of decent results things went downhill. His tics got very severe (picking at his skin till he had scabs, constantly groaning, etc.). He was extremely skinny - he lost about 2 lbs during the years and only grew about 1 1/2 inches (between the ages of 7 and 10). Also, he had sleep problems with the meds, rebound issues to deal with, not to mention his own insecurities about taking meds. People found out, kids starting saying things to him, etc.

Now believe me they helped him get through those years, and I"m glad that I had them for that. But now that we've had to stop I've seen that they have their side effects and its not always great for long.

I agree that your son should get modifications and you should try to get along as long as possible without meds. You can always start later, grades at 8 years old really don't matter much. As long as he is learning and advancing I think he can wait with meds.

Hello and welcome. {{{hugs}}} Contemplating a stimulant for the first time is pretty scary. I agree with the others that the effect of the med is related to how the body metabolizes it, rather than the level of impairment due to ADHD. Your son sounds like he is doing pretty well in school, superior IQ, good in math, less good in writing and language arts, and perhaps a little immature with interpersonal relationships.

It sounds to me that with his mental potential, he could compensate somewhat for his ADHD in the classroom. Have you considered just having some classroom accommodations for his ADHD defecits? My opinion is that if the ADHD is mild, then a few tweaks in the classroom is all that may be needed. I don't think a stimulant is going to help much with the interpersonal relationship aspect. Perhaps some social coaching is in order there. Have you looked at the alternatives board here? Omega-3 supplements are one thing to try. Am I sounding anti-med? I'm not! My dd is on 20 mg Ritalin LA and 10 mg short-acting ritalin in the afternoons. She also takes an Omega-3 supplement (so do I for that matter!) Anyway, good luck with whatever decision you make. Remember, if the first thing you try(meds or behavior-modification-wise) doesn't work, then you can always try something else.

I would just give the stims a try and see if they help. Your son should be able to tell you how the meds make him feel and if they are indeed working. We went through various stimulant medications until we finally settled on adderall. All I can suggest is just to start out low and keep in touch with the doc on a weekly basis or till you get the correct med and correct dosage.

If the stim make him a zombie then they are either too high or he is better off without the meds.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

joemom38919.2543171296

My son has mild to moderate ad/hd and is able to only take 5 mg of Foaclin xr. He is doing awesome. We also are just watching his diet (not a diet to lose weight rather a diet to watch the type of foods entering the body) by giving him more high protein foods and less carbs. The diet was part of the doctors prescription as well as the medicine. Our son's doctor believes that you have to look at the whole picture rather than just medicine.

(Not sure if your doctor has ordered a 6 hour glucose tolerance test, but if not it might be a consideration... this is how we found our son to have reactive hypoglycemia. This condition can contribute to some of the same behaviors that ad/hd portrays.)

I don't think the degree of ADHD will affect the dosage of medication - it's how he metabolizes it in the body. My son also has mild ADHD primarily inattentive type, and although we haven't gotten the dosage quite right yet, the medication is a HUGE help.

My personal view on medication is that you should give it a try - you can always stop it. It's not like a tattoo or something permanent. It is also, in my opinion, unfair to the child to NOT give him the opportunity to be his best. If there is a chemical imbalance in his body that makes it hard for him to focus etc. etc. then giving him a medication to overcome it is fair. Why should he struggle when there is a medical diagnosis and something to help him?

Good Luck

His "level of AD/HD" should really not affect how the medication affects him. His own personal body and the way it works, etc, will. Just meaning, we are all different and we all react to medication differently. He may need a very small dose, or he may need a moderate one. It's really hard to say without trying it out.
I'm always a bit reserved when it comes to assessing a level of AD/HD in a child. I went undiagnosed until just recently, so I think I may have been considered mild back them. Yet I struggle significantly, and the more challenging my life is, the more I struggle. I would rate myself as moderate to severe. Not to say this is the case with your child, but just that I personally think it's hard to judge a scale with AD/HD in the absence of major hyperactivity and behavior issues.

Anyway, again, the medication will just depend on him, and everyone is different. The thing I would keep an eye on though is where his sensory issues go with this. I tend to go on sensory overload very quickly, and medication helps this a great deal (I think just because I'm overall more calm). For some though, stimulants can exacerbate sensory issues. So just keep an eye on that.

Good luck. I hope you see great results with the medication. They really can make a world of difference.

Hello. I'm a mom of a recently diagnosed almost 8 year old boy. I am a school psychologist so I'm familiar with ADHD symptoms, but can't diagnose them. After a full school eval (psych, educ, social, OT) a neurodevelopmental pediatrician agreed with me and my son's eval team's suspicions that he has Mild ADHD-combined type, but no specific learning disabilities (he's gifted in math, but relatively weaker in reading/language arts, and writing). Josh is bright, with an IQ within the superior range, yet he struggles with completing work accurately and neatly, has difficulty maintaining focus and attention in school, is impulsive with emotions and behavior, and has weak interpersonal skills. His teacher says he's working hard, but not performing up to his potential, because his focus, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are getting in the way. Along with several other useful recommendations, the developmental pediatrician suggested that we consider a trial of stimulant medication, which I have seen has helped other children in school with moderate to severe ADHD. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with stimulant medication for a child with Mild ADHD and mild sensory integration issues. I don't know what to expect- it is possible that he will he need a lower dosage, will he be zombied, or will he have more side effects? Just thought I'd ask you all out there, so I can know if it's worth trying. My husband is reluctant to try medication, but I am hoping that our son may work closer to his potential if he can be successfully medicated.

Any input would be appreciated.

Welcome SueFin. A vast majority of children diagnosed with ADHD are average to above average intelligence. Its not a learning problem but rather a problem with learning due to lack of focus and distractibility. Its not an academic problem but as the grades get higher, academic performance is affected as the work gets more complicated and more demands are put on the children to be more responsible and accountable. The use of effective ADHD medication allows the child to meet their full potential. It will not make them smarter but rather allow them to achieve to the best of their ability and that applies both in and out of school. For a child to be diagnosed with ADHD, it has had to have a severe impact on the quality of the childs life in general. If the child is having severe struggles in school and struggles in every day life as well, its nothing mild.

For many children, once they are on effective medication, many accommodations thought to be necessary prior to medication may no longer be necessary but again, each child id different so accommodations needed is all very individual.

Initially the child is put through a trial of meds until the right medication and the right dose is found. The goal is maximum benefit, minimal side effects at the lowest dose possible. The protocol is all the same regardless of whether the subtype is Hyperactive/Impulsive, Inattentive or a combination of all three.

Good luck with and I hope our opinions and experience will bring you closer to making an informed decision.

Thanks for all of your input. It was really helpful to hear a few different perspectives and experiences. What has me finally considering meds at this point is that Josh's eval team, including the neurodevel. ped., feel that Josh should be classified as OHI to go into the resource center for reading/language arts because they don't think that mods and accommodations in the regular classroom will be enough for him because of his attention issues (maybe because they know that a lot of times the accomodations are not consistently implemented). Although his skills are on or above grade level on the Woodcock (individually administered achievement test), his school performance and Terra Nova (group test) scores are below average and he seems to need more individual attention than other students. It is my hope that meds may help him maintain focus on his school work so that he can perform more successfully in the large group. We are concerned that placing him in the resource center will have a significant impact on his self-esteem. He has already told me during the eval process that he doesn't want to go into that class, and named some of the kids that go there... I am not opposed to RC, but have concerns about whether he will be challenged. So that's why I'm considering trying the meds to see if they'll have a positive impact, hopefully without too many negatives. Never thought there would be so many things to consider after an ADHD diagnosis, now that I'm the parent on the other end of the conference table in school, instead of the school psychologist.

My neice put her son on meds and he also has the mild form of ADHD. She has him on Concerta and tells me that its like a miracle. He is a twin and before, his brother was absorbing all this knowledge and he was having a terrible time in spite of his intelligence. Now he is keeping up with and passing his brother.

As others have said, if he is having serious problems with school, you can always try the meds and just stop them if you don't like what they do. It takes time for most people to find the right meds and the right dosage but once you do, the results are amazing.

SueFin,

I wish you and your family the best of luck in this journey.

Hey Carb,

I have read that traits of giftedness (especially in a non-challenging environment) can overlap symptoms of ADHD:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/eric/e522.html

If you throw in a preference for visual-spatial learning:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/visual-spatial.htm

and this may explain your experience... you need to judge this for your circumstance. Also, the lack of efficacy of the meds is a reason to go back and re-evaluate the diagnosis.

My daughter is bright/gifted, LD and ADHD. It was quite a diagnostic process to weed all of this out as best as is currently posible. Medical science needs to continue to progress until all forms of ADHD can be catagorized and the best treatment for each individual can be determined without the trial and error of meds (nice dream, but look at the progress in individualized cancer therapy).

There are many personal stories to take in...Those who do not believe they had any benefit from meds (or bad experiences); and those who wish they had been treated as kids and not been denied success until an adult diagnosis and treatment changed their lives for the better.

IMac38942.9496527778Hello,
We're back from vacation. No news yet, we're not going to the ped. for another week. I'm going to look into magnesium and omega 3 supplements in the meantime, once I'm done catching up with the laundry. Carbohydrate, thanks for your input. According to his teacher and staff, Josh is an enthusiastic student who works hard in school, it just doesn't always look that way. He's spinning his wheels a lot of the time, putting forth the effort, but not always getting the desired result. I am concerned that if this continues his self-esteem and motivation will decrease. I am hoping that if we try meds, his efforts will be matched with improved performance, which may motivate him to continue putting forth the effort. If meds don't seem to make a difference or are no longer effective, I would take him off them. I also hope that with maturity, he will be able to continue to put forth the effort without the use of meds, but I can't count on that yet. We will have to wait and see what the future brings.

IMac38942.9147916667

[QUOTE=carbohydrate] .

Your sons diagnosis sounds like a carbon copy of mine when I was his age with one exception, my emotions and behavior were simply out of control. I am 26 years old now and pretty much had pills rammed down my throat (methylphendate/amphetamine) from the age of about 6 until my senior junior year in highschool when I refused to take it any longer. As I grew older I realized my difficulty with completing work was a matter of motivation and not medication. I simply was not challenged and it frustrated me. Its hard for children to express themselves. I sure didnt perform up to my "potential" back then but what does that mean? My parents were told by countless Drs, teachers and school officials that despite my superior IQ and strenghts in mathmatics my handicaps in english, poor performance, attention problems, misbehavior and hyperactivity were due to this "dissease" called ADD/ADHD. All the medication did was curb my disruptive and inatentive behavior just enough to keep me from getting kicked out of school, it didnt motivate me or help me to acheive what I have so far in my life. I posses a BS in biochemstry and am entering law school next fall. My grades were terrible when I was younger yet I graduated college in one of the hardest disiplines with a 3.5 GPA. I personally beleive the problem with ADD/ADHD is not being able to understand it at a young age (The scientific and medical industry still has a poor understanding of it to this day). Depsite being on the medcation or off the medication I am fairly confident the outcome of my life would of been the same.

Try not to medicate your child, be patient. Just because your child isnt performing up to his/her potential at the age of 8 should not necisarily be a cause for alarm or an indication of his/her future success. I hope my story is of some help to you.[/QUOTE]

I seriously have to question whether you were misdiagnosed. I was unmedicated as a child and in spite of my above average IQ, I absolutely couldn't make myself focus and understand what the educators insisted I could learn easily if I wasn't lazy and unmotivated.

There is a big difference between can't and won't. You were lazy, I worked my tail off. Don't assume that ADHD isn't real because you scammed everyone when you were younger. There is nothing worse than being told you aren't trying when you are working harder than anyone else you know.

Here's the update:
Took Josh to his ped last week. Doc precribed 5 mg Focalin XR (with 30 day free trial). Tried him on it this weekend, with no effect so far (no side effects, no noticible change in behavior or attention span). I am thinking he probably needs 10 mg., so I'll continue it for a few more days and then call the doc to see if I can give him two 5 mg. to see if 10 would be better for him. I'd like to try to get things straightened out for him (dosage and side effects) before school starts after Labor Day. Has anyone had experience with Focalin XR? We couldn't go with Concerta because he can't swallow any pills yet.

[QUOTE=SueFin]Here's the update:
Took Josh to his ped last week. Doc precribed 5 mg Focalin XR (with 30 day free trial). Tried him on it this weekend, with no effect so far (no side effects, no noticible change in behavior or attention span). I am thinking he probably needs 10 mg., so I'll continue it for a few more days and then call the doc to see if I can give him two 5 mg. to see if 10 would be better for him. I'd like to try to get things straightened out for him (dosage and side effects) before school starts after Labor Day. Has anyone had experience with Focalin XR? We couldn't go with Concerta because he can't swallow any pills yet.
[/QUOTE]

I don't have personal experience with Focalin, but it's a unique medication in how it is made. It's supposed to have less side effects because of it's structure. It's like everything else, some people love it, some don't.

I hope you find the right dose for him soon, good luck!

II SOUNDS LIKE YOUR CHILD IS OK TO ME, BUT IT'S YOUR THING IF YOU WANT TO PUT HIM ON MEDS. I HOPE IT DOESN'T MAKE HIM INTO A ZOMBIE, OR SLEEP IN CLASS, OR NOT WANT TO EAT, MORE SO, I HOPE IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOUR CHILD'S HEALTH. I HOPE HIS LEARNING WILL NOT BE IN THE RED ZONE BECAUSE OF THIS. IF YOUR CHILD IS VERY MILD THEN WHY BOTHER. GIVE YOUR CHILD ANOTHER YEAR, HE MAY GROW OUT OF IT. ANOTHER LADY SAID HER CHILD DID AND SHE WAS A TEACHER TOO. IF MILD, OVER THE COUNTER THINGS WOULD WORK FOR HIM. WELL, IT'S WORTH A TRY. GOOD LUCK !

lOOK ON HERE MORE. I'M SURE SOMEONE WILL TELL YOU OR HAVE POSTED MORE ABOUT WHAT YOUR CHILD IS ON. LOOK THE DRUG UP ONLINE. YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IT THAT WAY.

[QUOTE=IMac][/QUOTE]

RIGHT ON !

I have a son, now 14 who was classified with ADHD back when he was 7. We had alot of problems with him in school as well as socially. Our son was on Ridalin, Strattera, Aderall and so on, but they made my son into a zombie. We have found that children with ADHD, ADD have lack of minerals in their body and with extensive research we have come up with some natural vitamins that have worked. My son had a "C" average up to 6th grade on all the ridalin and other drugs until we put him on these vitamins (with NO ridalin or any other drugs) in 7th and 8th and he was on the honor roll. He was a true success story for the school. They are all liquid because my son cannot take pills. Fish oil (omega3), Body Balance (high anti-oxidants) and OsteproCare (calcium/magnesium) are the 3 liquid vitamins we give him along with a multi-vitamin. If you are interested in reading more on the Body Balance and the OsteoProCare the website is www.lifeforce.net/20458118. The Fish Oil website is http://www.vitacost.com/CarlsonTheVeryFinestFishOil-500ml. Vitamins are not the only antidote though, it takes alot of work of the parent as well. The parent must understand that self esteem if the most important factor of a child with ADHD/ADD. If that goes you will have an extremely hard time bringing it back up. Sports, kickboxing and any other active activities are very important in their lives. Sports for the activity, kickboxing for the discipline. My son is a very active soccer player and also takes kickboxing. He does not have alot of friends but these are issues that need to be dealt with as well. I hope this helps.

Focalin was not the best for my son...it made him grumpy but all kids respond differently. My son takes Adderall which many kids can't tolerate without the grumpy side effect. This is a trial and error approach I would not spend too much time on a med if it is not working you should know almost immediately if the med and the dosage are correct.

Good luck I hope you can get this worked out before school.

Before trying meds have you tried a behavior plan first? Meds are awsome my daughter takes them for school but I took her off for the summer and the meds have performed miracles so I am not anti-med.Thanks again for everyone's input. It has really helped me think things through. Jillette, a behavior plan is a good suggestion. Josh responds well to behavior plans. As a school psych, I have him on a few at home that keep him on track (behavior, checklists for completing tasks, and reading motivation). At school, he seemed to respond to simple behavior charts as part of his pre-referral plan, but the overstressed reg ed teachers in our school system are usually not consistent about these things (I know from working in the schools myself) unless if a child has a personal aide, which Josh does not need at this point. In Sept, I will be suggesting some accommodations/modifications for his IEP that will incorporate behavior mod strategies, and find out how far the teacher will be willing to go. A behavior plan could be used if Josh goes to resource center, which is a consideration at this point, particularly if he isn't on meds. Right now we're leaning toward trying meds. I'm hoping we can start a trial before school starts, to monitor side effects. I'm not sure what his pediatrician is going to suggest when we go in August. I may need to follow up with a neurologist if the ped. does not seem on top of things.
[QUOTE=SueFin] Hello.� I'm a mom of a recently diagnosed almost 8
year old boy.� I am a school psychologist so I'm familiar with
ADHD symptoms, but can't diagnose them. After a full school eval
(psych, educ, social, OT) a neurodevelopmental pediatrician agreed with
me and my son's eval team's suspicions that he has Mild ADHD-combined
type, but no specific learning disabilities (he's gifted in math, but
relatively weaker in reading/language arts, and writing).� Josh is
bright, with an IQ within the superior range, yet he struggles with
completing work accurately and neatly, has difficulty maintaining focus
and attention in school, is impulsive with emotions and behavior, and
has weak interpersonal skills. His teacher says he's working hard, but
not performing up to his potential, because his focus, hyperactivity,
and impulsivity are getting in the way.� Along with several other
useful recommendations, the developmental pediatrician suggested that
we consider a trial of stimulant medication, which I have seen has
helped other children in school with moderate to severe ADHD.� I
was wondering if anyone has had experience with stimulant medication
for a child with Mild ADHD and mild sensory integration issues.� I
don't know what to expect- it is possible that he will he need a lower
dosage, will he be zombied, or will he have more side effects?�
Just thought I'd ask you all out there, so I can know if it's worth
trying.� My husband is reluctant to try medication, but I am
hoping that our son may work closer to his potential if he can be
successfully medicated.�

Any input would be appreciated.

�
[/QUOTE]

Your sons diagnosis sounds like a carbon copy of mine when I was his age with one exception, my emotions and behavior were simply out of control. I am 26 years old now and pretty much had pills rammed down my throat (methylphendate/amphetamine) from the age of about 6 until my senior junior year in highschool when I refused to take it any longer. As I grew older I realized my difficulty with completing work was a matter of motivation and not medication. I simply was not challenged and it frustrated me. Its hard for children to express themselves. I sure didnt perform up to my "potential" back then but what does that mean? My parents were told by countless Drs, teachers and school officials that despite my superior IQ and strenghts in mathmatics my handicaps in english, poor performance, attention problems, misbehavior and hyperactivity were due to this "dissease" called ADD/ADHD. All the medication did was curb my disruptive and inatentive behavior just enough to keep me from getting kicked out of school, it didnt motivate me or help me to acheive what I have so far in my life. I posses a BS in biochemstry and am entering law school next fall. My grades were terrible when I was younger yet I graduated college in one of the hardest disiplines with a 3.5 GPA. I personally beleive the problem with ADD/ADHD is not being able to understand it at a young age (The scientific and medical industry still has a poor understanding of it to this day). Depsite being on the medcation or off the medication I am fairly confident the outcome of my life would of been the same.

Try not to medicate your child, be patient. Just because your child isnt performing up to his/her potential at the age of 8 should not necisarily be a cause for alarm or an indication of his/her future success. I hope my story is of some help to you.Good luck SueFin and please keep us posted[QUOTE=good1

I'm not saying that they shouldn't be concerned, but life can be a problem (a stuggle) and hard to deal with at times for ALL of us, not just the people with ADHD. I'm not saying that they shouldn't help their child, but I would try other things before meds. Not saying they shouldn't give them meds, if all other things you have tried didn't work. Parents do what they feel is right for them. It's the scary stories that people tell on here about the medicine they have given their child, and what it did to them, that scares me to death. I'm sure that the ones that did give meds to their child, and it cause something worse to happen, would agree with me. Yeah, the meds may help (a little), if it doesn't make them into zombies or sleepy(can't enjoy life that way). It can't re-do any bad side effects that it causes, and it certainly can't bring them back to life. I don't know about you, but I rather the only person to take my children out of this world is God.

Most parents do try other thing first and do not make the decision to medicate lightly. There are many parents that come here and post on the Alternative forum and some are seeing progress for their children and some aren't and have exhausted all other options. No parent wants to give their child any kind iof medication but when its a quality of life issue and nothing else has worked they will do whatever they have to do to help their child and using medication doesnt mean it will take the child out. I speak of my own personal experiences as my child is grown and flourishing and had I bought into the myths and misinformation, things would have played out very differently Medication alone doesn't totally manage the symptoms of ADHD but when its truly effective, it doesnt help a little, it helps tremendously. It in fact allows the child to experience quality of life. Being able to achieve to their full potential in all areas of life is truly enjoying life. When bad side effects occur, there is a multitude of reasons and many other factors play into the equation when the child has a bad reaction. Any medication is dangerous when not taken as prescribed or there are undetected pre existing or co existing conditions that would in fact esacerbate the already exisisting problem. A zombie like reaction is corrected throught an adjustment of medication or a change of medication.

The information being put out there needs to be accurate information so that parents are better able to make an informed decision. Much research needs to be done whether the parent is considering medication or alternatives and I don't know about you but I made such serious decision for my child based on accurate information, not fear. Thats why its important for parents to gather information but not assume its accurate based on here say.

There are many well versed parents on this board and then there are trolls who make a hobby out of instilling fear in parents This leads to misinformation which delays effective treatment or denies it completely because people fear what they dont understand. With regard to taking a child out, untreated or improperly treated ADHD can do catostrophic damage to the child. Every parent has to decide what is best for their child in terms of treatment. There is no right or wrong as every child has different needs or treatment but the best way to make such decisions is through reliable, accurate information. Parents, when gathering information, not only consider the information but also the source of information.

Luvmykids0238921.9220601852Thanks all for more informative input and some interesting dialogue... MegMaguire, I am considering both magnesium and omega-3 supplements for Josh. I have visited the alternatives section of the board, and they may be worth the try if I can get Josh to take the stuff (it's hard enough to get him to eat fruits and vegs and drink milk). I just don't want to start anything without my ped's okay. I have checked out a GNC and a drug store but I didn't see much that I liked- I will have to search more after my vacation. We're leaving for Beaches in Negril early tomorrow morning (I should be sleeping now but have that ADD insomnia thing going on). Good1, I agree about what you said about schools today. Working in schools helping children with problems, I see first hand what the expectations are, and what children are being pushed to do today is not what we were expected to do when we were in school. But with Josh's strong intellectual ability and at least average academic skills, he should be able to keep up with the other kids in his classes, not be lagging behind. That's why we're considering medication, and as luvmykids02 said so well, it's not a decision we're taking lightly, and we're looking into several options for how to best help our son. We will be back in a week, and then I will be back on the board. Hopefully my ADHD son and my 4 year old undiagnosed ADHD daughter (she's more hyper than he was at that age) won't drive us and our friends too crazy!

I'm late to the "party" here but I cannot stress enough how much a supplement program has helped our son. We are currently on Omegas, Magnesium and an amino acid regimen. We did the Omegas and Magnesium on our own and they worked wonders! It does take some education on your part as parent but, in our opinion, was well worth our efforts. Again, as some have suggested, this info is on the Alternatives to Meds section of this board.... good luck.Maybe it isn't even that he has problem. How fast things have gotten to be, you have to work twice as fast (and harder) than when you and I were in school. They shove so much in the kids face and give them hardly any time to finish before they are on to another subject. In today's world, everyone is in a hurry and so stressed out. Kids can get stressed out too. School certainly does put lots of pressure on students today but ADHD is not just a problem in school. It affects every area of life in or out of school. If the child has stuggles with life in general, its a real red flag and a good cause for parents to be concerned.

[QUOTE=Luvmykids02]School certainly does put lots of pressure on students today but ADHD is not just a problem in school. It affects every area of life in or out of school. If the child has stuggles with life in general, its a real red flag and a good cause for parents to be concerned.[/QUOTE]

good138921.722025463