Getting Started | ADHD Information
Ok, I’m writing this all down and am going to bring it up at our next appointment. Interesting! Great points!. The reason we were leaning towards ADHD is her difficulty towards focusing, she just can’t sit still and do her homework or anything, she in kneeling on the chair then she is climbing on the table then something will catch her attention then she’s off onto something else. She does really well once I strap her down (figure of speech) and get her into it but it takes sooo much effort for her. She is definitely a daydreamer, the teacher is constantly telling her to pay attention, she looses everything, I swear I buy her 5 jackets a year because she never knows where she put them, always forgetting things. Her doctor never mentioned anything about any outside analysis i.e. Psychologist, I should ask him about this. Thanks!…Do doctors always start with Ritalin then go from there?.
Hello everyone! I’m new to this forum and new to ADHD. I guess the first place to start is with our story (so far) I have a wonderful 8 year old little girl. Over the past 3 years she has been struggling in school every teacher says he has a difficult time focusing, following through with task, unorganized, looses everything. Teachers have mentioned to me to take her to a pediatrician and have her looked at. I always figured that that is the was she is and she will eventually outgrow these issues. I did terrible in elementary and so did her father and both of us are college graduates., maybe we had ADHD, who knows, maybe we grew out of it? Anyways I took her to the ped and he suggested doing a blind test to see if she truly has ADHD, meaning he would send us home with a prescription that consisted of both Ritalin and a Placebo, we ( myself and her teacher) would document her behaviour and guess if it was Ritalin or the Placebo that day and after the test (I think it’s a week long) we would go back and determine the results and our next plan of action. I’m scared to go through with this test, maybe because I’m scared of the risks with Ritalin, I’m scared that she won’t be her anymore. If Ritalin really did help her I would be happy cuz then she would feel like the rest of the kids in her class ( she has a poor self esteem) . I guess my question is what should I expect with these types of medication. Thanks for listening, Im kinda confused right now.
Ok that seems kinda wierd...did the ped or anyone else do any testing first to see if she has ADHD? Usually there are tests done, questionaires filled out at least...
That being said, the ritalin will either help her, or it won't....if it makes her "not herself", but still makes her focus, stay on task, etc., then that just means that it is the wrong med for her, but that she probably needs something...from the first day my son took his Concerta (a time release form of ritalin) he was more focused, on task and calmer.
Get on the medications thread of this board and read, read, read...there is a lot of info there on all of the meds used for ADHD. Please do not believe the things you read on the internet on how ritalin is horrible...this med has been prescribed and studied for many many years, and used in the concentrations and delivery methods that is is given to children, is quite safe.
If you choose to, however, there are some natural methods that some have success with (we did not). These take quite some time to begin working (when they do) and the ritalin or other med should show you pretty much right away at least some results...usually the dose is started out low and then moved up a little at a time until the optimum results are reached with the fewest side effects.
The med will only stay in your daughter's system at the most 12 hours in its longest lasting form, so do not worry, no side effects will be long lasting..the day after taking it, it will not affect her. That is why the stimulant meds must be given every day or multiple times a day.
Hope this helps
I would not tell anyone that did not need to know. After you have educated yourself, confirmed the diagnosis and been on proper treatment to see improvement you will be better prepared to discuss this with others, if you need to. My children know that thier private medical information is "private" and that there are people that are uneducated and believe things that are not supported by science.
Since my daughter now gets As and Bs, is better behaved, is making and keeping friends and is still her happy, quirky self. When my SIL (Scientologist:anti-med:anti-psychiatry) tried to talk me out of my "evil ways" I just told her that I base my family's medical descisions on medical science (I am a scientist), not incorrect hyped media reports and the odd fringe opinions of people selling books or an alternatives using scare tactics; and I would be happy to discuss the current science showing how badly unmedicated ADHD kids fair (accidents, unwanted pregnancy, substance abuse, brushes with the law, school failure and drop out rates), how meds help these issues. I also told her that my daughter is now successful in school and can show how brilliant she is. I used the analogy (from someone else on this board) that if my daughter needed glasses, I would not tell her to just try harder; I would get her appropriate medical intervention (glasses). I pulled a lot of information to prepare for these discussions, so that I would be prepared to dispute opinions (based on misinformation) of nosy family members.
missdivie........your on the right track Write everything down as sometimes we forget details because there are way too many and discuss it with the doctor. Your daughter reminds me of my son at that age. I was reading your initial post and going down nostalgia lane
Doctors don't always start with Ritalin but they should always start at the lowest dose possible and go from there. The goal is maximum benefit, minimal side effects at the lowest dose possible. Once the child is officially diagnosed with ADHD, a specialist is most knowledgeable in terms of med management. Initally the patient goes through a trial of meds as everyone responds differently. Once you acheive the right med and target dose, your pediatrician could follow up with prescriptions There is not one better than the other as it's all individual depending on how the patient responds to the medication and the dose. Good luck and keep us posted
I was also wondering how you deal with outsiders, I told my mom that we were going to start this trial, she was beside herself, she told me what a big mistake and that I'd be hurting her more the helping her....then she hung up on me. Do you just not tell people? I haven't told anyone elso in my family with fear of bad responses. It is totally up to you..I have told some of my family and my inlaws and others I have not...I have a sister that when I just mentioned him beginning the testing phase said, "Just don't put him on medicine! That is NOT the answer!" And she has NO children! So, we just don't tell Aunt Mags....and my mother in law is in her 80's and a worry wart about the tiniest of things, so we haven't said anything to her...
You really only need to tell the teachers and the school (for obvious reasons) and any daycare providers if applicable...anyone that may need to administer meds...
And my theory is that this is MY child and I am the one raising and dealing with him on daily basis...it is my call (and my husband's of course!) I never told my parents or anyone else about the meds til it was a done deal, and he had such positive results already.
Maybe you should just keep quiet for a while, and see what transpires...if your daughter responds well to the treatment you decide upon, your mom will see the difference in her attitude, demeanor and self esteem, and possibly comment on it, then you can tell her if you choose to...
It sounds like the doctor is taking a "different" approach to diagnosis. This is an older approach under the idea that stims won't help someone who does not need them and will only make a "normal" person act like they had a bit too much coffee. What the doctor is doing is also similar to what was done for the MTA study (large important ADHD treatment study), but without the multiple doses of ritalin. This was used to see what dose was best (and if the med even helped) before assigning the child to a treatment arm in the study. Depending on the dose, and assuming he gave a small dose to avoid side effects of increasing dose to rapidly, you could see absolutely nothing, to mild improvements in attention, to drastic improvements. Did the doctor give you forms to be filled out by you and the teachers after each week? Did you already fill out similar forms to aid in diagnosis? If I were you, I would keep a journal throughout this trial period (it will make it easier to discuss things with the doctor later).
Short acting methylphenidate (ritalin and many other formulations) only last 3-4 hours (about the time coffee works) then leaves the system. Some formulations are made to extend effectiveness through the day to avoid redosing. The most common side effects are loss of appitite, stomache ache, headache and sleep problems. The other issue that can occur is rebound. Rebound is when the med is leaving the system and the symptoms of the ADHD come back worse than the original symptoms.
I see signs of ADHD in both my husband and I, but not so bad as to prevent us from getting through college. My daughter seems to have inherited a little from both sides, and has it bad enough that it was crippling her in school despite her high IQ. With meds she has gone from Ds and Fs to As and Bs and is doing great. The only side effect we have is problems gaining weight, but that may be genetic and was a problem before meds.
Good luck and welcome to this very helpful place.
vickie39072.2835763889Thanks for your replies, they mean a lot to me. Myself and her teacher filled out multiple questionnaires and they were all consistent, almost identical. Her ped is extremely old school, Im not sure if this approach is a typical one. What type of approach did your doctors take? He says that each day we are going though this trail will be filling out an evaluation, he says if it turns out that the day she takes the Ritalin and is a perfect angel then we know that it is true and if it has no effect on her the it is not true. We will be starting the trial in early January, no need to start while she is on break from school. I’m doing my best to educate myself, I guess this is the first step. Thanks again!
But how are you (or the doctor) to know what pill she took in the morning? Are they identified with a # or something?
Vickie posted a lot of things that I thought of only after I had posted that are very relevant and important. If the ritalin in the pills the dr gave you is too little, then you and the teachers may see little to no improvement even on the days she takes the med..
She may be one of those children that have ADHD (and she sounds exactly like my son before meds) that does not respond to ritalin.. there are other ADHD meds out there that are not ritalin based that many children do very well on.
My ped looked at the forms filled out be me and my son's teachers, and the school psycologists observations (she did several on my son in different classes, different times of day, etc), then spent quite a while speaking with us...and she has been his ped for his whole life, so she knows him well. She had him explain how he felt about many different situations, both at school and at home, the bus, etc...then she prescribed a low dose of med, and had us all fill out forms again, then raised the dose a little at a time til we hit the right dose for Chase. Many people take their children to a child psychologist, but I cannot afford that, so my ped has to do and I trust and respect her judgment and opinion.
Chase told me after about 2 weeks on the med that "I only space out like once a day now, Mom!" I asked him how often he did that before, and he said "Basically all day long..."
This approach is one of many that pediatricians take. Like all doctors, they use what they are familiar with and have had the most success with (within the scope of medical practice).
The most diagnostic criteria of ADHD is defined in the Diagnostic and Stastisical Manual version 4 (DSM IV). This is basically the standardized diagnosis criteria agreed upon by the professionals (primarily psychololgists and psychiatrists) so that diagnosis can be consistant from one doctor to another. This is similar to the heart association aggreeing on and publishing the criteria for diagnosing and treating a heart attack.
One caveat thought...each med works on 70-80% of people and different meds work on different people, so the med not working could indicate and improper med or wrong dose for the individual...not that the person do not have ADHD.
My daughter was diagnosed in a series of steps: pediatrician to rule out other disorders that can mimic ADHD, educational psychologist for IQ and other assessments to look at learning disorders, ADHD phychologist and finally a child psychiatrist (there was a concern of bipolar to rule out). The psychiatrist is managing my daughter's meds and has extensive experience in this area so is easy to work with.
Here is some good reading for you to help with the education process:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/adhdmenu.cfm
http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/myths
http://www.schwablearning.org/resources.asp?g=1&s=4
I hope this helps.
vickie39072.3363888889This does seem quite different. My doc did not do anything like this( a neurologist). From my experience with stimulants, you should know withing a half hour if the med is working or not. Good luck with your test and let us know how it goes
joemom39072.3778125Welcome missdivie. People don't grow out of ADHD but it does tone down in adulthood with the right interventions if the child truly does have ADHD. ADHD is not an academic problem. It affects all areas of life and it is seen in more than one setting, for example, school and home. It effects the child socially, emotionally and also academically not because the child cant learn but because the child has a problem with learning due to lack of focus. The distinction between ADHD and a learning disability is that with a learning disability, children have a learning problem but with ADHD, they have problem learning because they miss a lot of the information being presented. Do you observe your child having the same struggles at home or in a social setting?
Starting with a pediatrician is a good place to start but the role of the pediatrician should be to rule out another medical conditions first. They don't have the expertise or knowledge to make an accurate diagnosis of ADHD and thats why so much misdiagnosis happens. Allergies commonly mimic the symptoms of ADHD as do other things. Once a medical reason is ruled out, the child should be tested by a specialist in the filed of diagnosing and treating childhood disorders. A doctor should never prescribe any type of medication without having a accurate diagnosis first. A diagnosis should be made first and the a treatment plan follows. It's true that the medication flushes out of the system but trying medication without an accurate diagnosis could delay the proper treatment if in fact the child doesn't have ADHD.
If your child's doctor is prescribing medication without following the protocol for diagnosing ADHD, I would get another opinion before trying anything. I am not a doctor and certainly wouldn't assume to know why your child has these struggles as she may very well have ADHD. In that case, medication would be tremendously helpful in managing the symptoms but confirming or denying a diagnosis of ADHD would be a good place to start. Just my two cents. Good luck and welcome to the board
I was only convinced that my daughter truly had adhd when the eeg brainwave test was done. her brain is severly diregulated with slow brain waive (?) she has high intelligence but her brain is working against her because she's trying to proceess to many things at one time. There's no possible way for a peditrician ,parent or teacher to just look at a child and diagnos them adhd. i spent a total of 3 hrs at the counseling center just with them doing computerized testing on her. I was very pleaSed because he gave me 3 other options before even mentioning medication.(nuerofeedback, behavior therapy, natural remedies and then finally nuerofeedback along with meds). i finally resorted to the adderral 5mg and she's been on them one week. i waiting to see some lasting results. i believe that God is going to heal her, but in the meantime I look at like this ;if I had cancer i couldn't refuse the chemo if you want to have quality life..
The thing that would concern me with the type of approach your doc is taking is this: My doc said that ritalin can actually make some children worse (those with some anxiety issues). Stimulants are not a good thing with every kid. The only way this type of approach can be 100% effective is by doing it with every single med on the market. Ie a placebo / ritalin test, if you see no results with that then a placebo / strattera test ....
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and Anxiety. The doc has told us its a choice between Ritalin and Strattera. The only way he is going to be sure which one to use is by sending my son to a psych. to find out exactly what type of anxiety he has. Apparently Ritalin works with some forms of anxiety and worsens others. I'm confident with this approach we're going to get the right treatment.