my dd started adderral today...and today was a good day!!! we tried the focus and brightspark, the omega's etc without any success. i read about 30 books on ADHD, i joined CHAAD, and i learned everything that i could learn here regarding meds and their side effects. it truly has consumed me...but all worth it.
starting meds is a hard choice to make...but for us, one that we just had to try. our dd was struggling in too many areas...and she's a bright girl...with so much potential.
only you can make the decision for your child...read everything you can here and go with your gut. in our case the psychologist thought it might be a learning disability after a short visit with my dd, instead of adhd. but, after today...her first day on meds i truly saw a difference...and my gut, and her teachers gut, and my husbands gut, all said ADD/ADHD.
my dd is 9...and we always just thought she was *spirited*...until i read all the books. i hope that meds put us on the right path...she sure seemed happy tonight! parenthood isn't always easy...but you will make the right choice for you and your dd. how old is she anyways? just curious.
feel free to pm me if you have any questions. and good luck!
shelley
How old is your dd?
I have 4 kids, all ADHD.
2 on meds, two not.
Two grown up and out,
two not.
We adapted their environment to their learning processes. e.g. home school and self employment...
HelloI have had improvement in certain areas with alternatives, but it does not "fix" the problem. I get the impression that meds is also not a magic pill, and you need other modalities to combine with it.
So far, my son's focus has increased with 1000 mg of high-EPA fish oil and an antioxident daily. There are no homework struggles anymore. There has been a decrease in what I call "goofy" behavior -- sheer silliness, which I directly correlate to a homeopathic remedy. This is just a few drops of a remedy diluted with water prescribed by a homeopath.
Now I am trying adding a behavior plan to his IEP. The school wrote what looks like a really good plan. And I am also starting him in cognitive behavioral therapy with a marriage family therapist to increase the odds of the behavior plan working. No news on that yet of course, since neither have actually started.
NoTellin39042.9414236111We received a diagnosis when my son was 1 month shy of his 5th birthday. We waited until 1st grade and it is one of my biggest regrets. My son ended up receiving unncecessary labeling, a lot of it also untrue. It has taken over 2 years to change the labeling, only some of it. If we had medicated him earlier, he would not have been labeled due to the behavior that he demonstrated before. For my son, medication has SAVED his life! He is 9, in fourth grade, ahead of grade level, and anxiously awaiting his first report card with letter grades!!
That is our experience and it is a personal decision, however, do take into consideration your child, not your fears, when contemplating medication. Kids in general are cruel, but when these children can't control things, one shouldn't make it harder on the child who is only trying to survive at school by not doing something that may very well help, and NOT hurt as sometimes people are often lead to believe because of their own fears.
It is personal and does take a while(it took us over 6 months to find the right medication and dosage). For us it was worth it! My son also knows he will take his medication for the rest of his life. We also medicate every day because every day my son has adhd. His body has adjusted and is on a growth at the moment. He skipped the size 12 and went from a 10 to a 14 in a year. He is tall and well built in the correct proportions height/weight that the ped. looks at. He also gained 10 lbs.that pleased the pediatrician! His pediatrician said it is due to his body having adjusted to the medication.
I hope this helps - please seek out factual information before believing what people who are afraid will tell you - look at it from both sides, and always keep your childs best interests first!
Regards
Welcome to the board Nina C. I had no success with any alternatives so when my son was 7 years of age, I opted to try medication. Medication doesn't cure ADHD but when the child is on the right med and the right dose for the child as its all individual, it very effectively manages all the symtoms of ADHD. Medication in combination with behavior modification will allow your child to meet his full potential. It will not make the child smarter but rather bring out their personal best. It is also not a behavior pill. Medication allows the child to ability to make a choice rather than act on impulse. It will not make the child a well behaved child but rather a child that now has the ability to choose the behavior. As already mentioned, seek out factual knoweldge and make your decisions based on accurate information, not fear. Hope this helpsWe HAVE had lots of success w/ alternatives, specifically diet modifications and supplements. We work with a Naturopathic Doctor. I will say alternatives are not a "quick fix" -- you hvae to be patient. There's tons more info on the Alternative and Complimentary Meds section of this board........