in a nut shell... | ADHD Information

Thanks to everyone for the advice and support. HAPPY TO HELP ! 

Hi stressed!  Welcome to the boards.  Well..... you have one huge thing working in your favor..... you're familiar with the Serenity Prayer!!  (signature)

As the infamous Mae West would say....."buckle up boys.... it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"   Rollercoaster is an understatement.

Stay on the boards.  You'll find tons of parents walking in your shoes.

Okiemom

Our kids are alike, two peas in a pod.  Welcome to the board.

OH sounds a bit like Jude !!

Jude  is four and really never sleeps if not medicated, would sleep only three or four hours a day and still be really hyper. This would cause him to be pretty   aggresive to as he was tired inside but with his ADHD he just didnt feel it.

When we finally went to the child PHSYC he gave us Mellatonin to help him feel tired and want to sleep we give it to him (6 mg) half an hour before bedtime and do the quiet time routine of reding a book and a hug and usually he drits off. If he is too high it wont work though and then you have to calm him down usually a hot bath helps.

You can also put lavender in her room and our homeopathy doctor gve us peat oil to message onto himto calm him down and relax him. Although the mesage hasnt really worked to well with jude he uses it as a chance to wressle but might work in calming down your wee girl.

Happy Halloween

 

It is just trial and error!  Rollercoaster is such a great word to describe medication testing!!!!  I had one child who hit the jackpot first time and then the other has been a nightmare with many types of meds and strengths.  The best way I have found is to draw up a table with 30 minute slots.  Then observe her behaviour with + and - .  Look at concentration, focus, compliance, speech,rate / accuracy / fluency of her  reading,  etc.  Decide on behaviours that you are wanting to alter.  

For example - I'm testing meds with my son at the moment after the concerta resulted in 6 hour span to complete a 1 hour maths test  (I had to help at every stage!!! So after talking to his specialist we decided we needed to alter his meds and as a result we are now testing him. 

You need to know when the meds work at their maximum and then observe this carefully to see his reaction!  For example it may be one hour after meds.  Record everything on the table to see what is happening.  Maybe you cannot see what need to be done, but this is the job of your specialist to interpret.

Also ask your doctor when would you see an improvement - what would be the likely negatives.  (We had a baseball bat at my head in a 6 hour rage when he was 12 being on respidal!!)  Some meds take a numbers of days to build in the system, while others like ritalin are in and out of the system in the day.  Watch out also for rebound as the meds drop out and the devil returns!!

Goodluck - no suffer negative side effects - if something isn't working contact your doctor to alter the plan.

 Yes, a rollercoaster.. sigh.

Thanks for the support.

8yr old girl with AD/HD ODD --> poor social skills, less mature than peers, angry, defiant, fidgety, talkative and loud.

Trouble since birth.  (colicy, clingy, screamy, tantrumy, non sleeping since day one, ball of energy)

First year in public school (2nd grade)--> was homeschooled

Mom going crazy. Dad in denial.

First week on meds, Focalin. Symptoms seem worse. Lots more crying and totally uncontrollable fits of rage. Did not give meds today, saw pediatrician, today going better.

This is where we are now and I am not sure where we will be heading.

 

Hi and welcome.  Welcome to the rollercoaster!   I don't have any experience with Focalin, but his reaction doesn't sound good.  ADHD meds are supposed to curb their impulsivity and improve focus.  It doesn't sound like that is happening for you.  Maybe your doc can change his med.  Remember, if the first med doesn't work, that doesn't mean that no meds will work.  You have to keep trying to find the right one.  It will take a while.  Good Luck!I didn't know what rebound time was until a few minutes ago, LOL. But she did cry often in school and the yelling and tantrums started the moment she got home. I thought the meds were supposed to last longer than just school time. She is also on a low dose we didn't think would work to begin with. (but be safe with a low dose to start type thing).

Were the fits of crying and rage during the rebound time?  Or all the time?

We found that our son for the first week and a half of Focalin XR had some pretty severe rebound, but the last couple days almost none at all. 

Good luck, hope you find the right plan.