New here--just diagnosed | ADHD Information

Hello to everyone. I am new to this site and forum. My daughter is 6 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD by her pediatrician this afternoon.

A little background--last year she was in kindergarten. The year started off well with the occasional "bad" day but as the school year progressed, her behavior problems got worse. Her teachers never said anything about her maybe having ADHD or anything, just that she needed to work on her behavior. She was always a little high strung but I thought that was just her personality. Her and my son (older) are just such polar opposites. Summer came and went and it was back to school time. New school and now in first grade. I thought for sure this year would be better. The first week went well, even her teacher said she had no problems with her, just "normal getting adjusted issues". The second week of school I got calls from both her teacher and the PE teacher and the calls haven't stopped since. She doesn't listen, gets up and runs out of the classroom, cries, isn't nice to the other kids, etc. We were supposed to have a meeting at the school with her teacher, principle, aide and psychologist but they "overbooked" and canceled us a few weeks ago. I was upset that they canceled as was her teacher. I spoke with her teacher last week and she said if she had to stop every time my daughter acted up, litterally nothing would get accomplished in class. After waiting awhile, we finally got in today to see the pediatrician and what a visit that was! We had to wait a considerable amount of time and during that time, I was at my wits end with my daughter's behavior there. Yelling, screaming, running around the exam room, trying to run out of the exam room, ripping and throwing things..... Finally the doctor came in. She said that my daughter does show all the symptoms of ADHD but she also wants us to follow up with a psychologist because she thinks there are more issues than just the ADHD. She prescribed Metadate CD 10mg once a day for her (does anyone else' child take this now or in the past? I know it's different for every child but I still would like to hear any opinions on it). She can't swallow pills yet so I was told I could break them open and sprinkle them in yogurt or applesauce. Could I sprinkle it in some milk? I figured I would start them on Saturday morning so I can monitor her.

After today, I am just physically and mentally exhausted. I really don't have anyone to talk to who is expierenced or knows about ADHD which is why I came here. I find myself breaking down a lot lately and have so many questions. I just need to talk to others who know what I (and my daughter) is going through.

So here I am and I am looking forward to participating here

Welcome to the club lunanik. This is a great place for help and support.

It is not unusual for kids with ADHD to have or develope comorbid conditions (anxiety, ODD, depression, learning disoders, etc). I would suggest you find a good child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist for diagnosis and med management. It can take time to get into one. They are more experienced at diagnosing through the complex symptoms and med managment than a pediatrician. Finding the right med(s) and optimization may take specialized experience and changes may be required as your daughter's needs change (think after school activities and puberty). My daughter is on concerta which is similar to Metadate (same active ingredient-methylphenidate) and is doing very well.

Also, take a look at the marble system by ogram at the top thread of this forum. It is an example of an positive reinforcement behavior modification plan. Rewards for the expected behaviors works better with these kids than taking things away for negative behaviors.

vickie39016.8237615741It is an emotional roller coaster.. For the child and the family. This is a great place to come and no you and child are not alone in this.

Hello, welcome to the med rollercoaster. Trying to find the right med combo is really stressful. You're not alone! Hang in there! If your child is really bad in the afternoon, that probably "rebound" from the stimulants. We have that here, too. We use an afternoon "booster" of short-acting Ritalin or else life would be pretty miserable around here. It wears off about bedtime. Down side--no appetite and sleep issues. We use melatonin at night to help with sleeping. Remember, it is probably going to take months of med trials to find the right one. Hang tough, educate yourself on the meds available, and don't be afraid to call the doctor and say "This isn't working".

Hello! I want to thank you all for such a warm welcome. It's nice to know that there are others out there who can relate to what I'm going through with my daughter.

So here's an update. We started the Metadate last Saturday. She actually swallowed the pill, which she's never swallowed pills before. Saturday we went to a Halloween party and she was really good...listened, didn't run around like crazy, just basically being GOOD. Sunday was the same. Monday came and when she got home from school, she brought her first GOOD report home saying she had a really good day. Made me so happy! The rest of the week seemed to go well in school. To me, it seems the effects of the Metadate wears off around the time we have dinner and then it becomes a struggle around here. Last night we went to an event and she couldn't sit still, couldn't be quiet...she acts like it's no big deal if she acts like that in front of other kids in her school. This morning was pretty bad. She was very onery, yelling and being mean. Came home from school with a "bad" report...she was yelling, crying, bullying and threatening other kids, got kicked out of gym class...and that was before lunch! I don't know WHY the change...she took her meds this morning, just like everyday this week. I just don't understand why such a big difference in her behavior.

Monday, we have a meeting at the school with the teacher, principle, psychologist, and other aides. I've been waiting for this meeting since the begining of October. So, we'll see what happens.

I seem to be having the same issues with my son. He is on Dexerdine 10mg and the school says that he does fine there so we did not increase his meds. He swallows his pill in the morning and then because he attends an afterschool program I do not see him again until about 5:30 or so. By then his meds have worn off and he seems to be worse. I was warned that I would not see the effects of the meds until the weekends because his would start to wear off about 3pm or so. They said that if he needed a second med in the afternoon that we could possibly do that. I did not want to do that cause I wanted him to have some down time. His down time consists of giving me grief over everything I say or just being defiant. The only time I see a difference is the weekend when he has taken his med and I am with him during the day. My boss gave me an insert from a magazine that is regarding a new patch called Daytrana. It is the first and only patch for ADHD. In the advertisement for it, it states that you put the patch on their hip in the morning and it can be worn for 9 hours and then it still relieves symptoms for 3 more hours. It is designed to stay on in water. You can talk to your doctor about how the patch can be taken off sooner to manage potential late day side effects like lack of appetite and difficulty sleeping.
One thing the doctor has told me that all her moms that have ADHD children swear by Benedryl. It is not habit forming etc. We give it to my son at 7:30pm before he goes to bed at 9:00pm. It helps him relax and actually fall asleep before 1:00am. The doctor said that his brain does not allow his body to actually relax at bedtime and so that is why he constantly getting up to "take care of things".

I am at a loss now. He started to take his meds over a month now and they were working great but now I think that he acts worse when he comes down from them which just makes life at home more like hell. I love him with all my heart but I just feel that somedays I can not take it anymore. Then I sleep (some) and wake up hoping for a better day. Please help with your comments. If you know anthing about this new patch please let me know so I can gather as much information as possible before contacting the doctor.
Thanks and God Bless

Hi and welcome. Wow, you sure had a rough day. {{{{hugs}}}} Getting started in treating ADHD can be very emotionally draining. Dealing with doctors, schools, and insurance companies can get overwhelming. On top of that you have to educate yourself on ADHD and all the various treatiment options. Go to the library and get some books to get yourself started. If you suspect LDs then you should get an eval by a neuropsychologist. Also, you need a specialist to prescribe the medication, not your regular pediatrician. We see a developmental pediatrician.

Also, you need to request that the school evaluate your daughter so she can get an IEP. That will give her the support she needs in school. That is another topic you have to educate yourself in. When you have an IEP meeting with the school, it is very beneficial to you if you take an expert with you. At our last one, we had our neuropsych attend. We also have a regular psychologist that we see that gives us extra support dealing with the school.

I could have written that word for word.

I am new to the forums also. My daughter is 8 and just recently diagnosed with adhd and odd. We only started meds last weekend and things are not going so well here. I will be making my own introduction post soon.

Hang in there!

Welcome to the board!!

We are relatively new to this as well, just started meds two weeks ago. It is an emotional rollercoaster, and it is so helpful to know you are not alone, as well as having this board to gather as much information and tips from others who are going through the same thing as you are.

HI I am new to the site as well, and I cannot beleive how nice everyone is....

I wish they all lived in my community. My son is now 6 diagnosed when he was 5. We have tried several meds and I not convinced we are on the right track still. It is a long road but hang in there... Some books I reccomend is The Authorative Guide to ADHD, by Russel BArkley...

Hang in there, you are not alone....

I guess there are a lot of new friends to be made here! I am also new. This really is a great resource and I think it's going to be a sanity saver for me. Here everyone understands, out in the world noone does, not even the teachers or the grandparents. My son's not diagnosed yet, he has had several people say they think he has it, but we're going to the paed soon - I want an accurate diagnosis.

What freaks me out big time is that people make up their minds about my son and don't give him a chance, just because they don't understand him. And they judge me as a parent which is a cheek as they don't know the road I walk every day.

Anyway I think you can be glad you've got the diagnosis. I will be glad when I know what's going on with my son. And I've got another son who was diagnosed with Beckwith Weidemann Syndrome. The doctor just said to me, so now you know. If there's something that he does that you wonder if it's got something to do with the syndrome, or that's worrying you, phone me,and I can put your mind at rest and tell you how to treat it. That's a fantastic thing. He was diagnosed at five years old, and believe me before that it was five years of me worrying what the heck was wrong. And I've relaxed so much about him now.

Yes, it can be disheartening. I so often got told she needs more discipline or spanking or etc. No one really understood. My family and very close friends are starting to which is a big help for me.

I am recently new to this forum also. My son was diag 1 month ago and he is on Dexedrine 10mg. He started off really well (he is not a pill swallower) but the doctor said that if he puts the pill in his mouth and drink a whole cup of water the pill will go where it needs to. He can swallow now without issues. He had his follow up appointment on Wednesday and my concern now is that he cries all the time. He is very emotional. The doctor said that once he is on the meds a while longer it will even out. Is this true?My heart goes out to all of you newbies. I hope you find much help and support here. My son is now 18 (adhd, LDs, gifted, disgraphia) and doing very well, but it was a rough road to travel to get here. It would have been so helpful to have a site like this when I was trying to figure things out with him in the early days of dx. Much luck to each of you and your families.