Help | ADHD Information

Check out the alternative board for ideas.

What kind of doctor diagnosed him and is managing his medications? Is there a posible history of bipolar or other developmental disorder in his birth family's medical history along with the ADHD?

There are many treatment options to work with but it takes time and a doc experienced with ADHD med managment to get the best one or combo. My youngest has also been great on guanfacine and concerta. We are now trying the guanfacine out alone (but with time, it appears to be not quite enough) and will probalbly go back to the combo soon. The guanfacine is calming and slightly sedating so can help with sleep. It works for many ADHD symptoms so has a bonus. It is currently prescribed off label for ADHD but Shire will have a long acting form out later this year specifically for ADHD.

Look up the Tenex thread for good articles on guanfacine/tenex to print and take in to the doc for consideration. If you go that route, you need to be careful about introduction of the med in a manner to cause the least side effects.

Also check out the marble system by ogram thread (top thread of the parent's board). Behavior modification is an important part of ADHD treatment and will be valuble in school as well.

vickie39134.2383333333To answer your question about vitamins, you might take a look at the Alternatives to Meds section of this board. Welcome and I hope you find the answers you seek!

hi ginag73. May I ask if you are happy with him on stratterra? My son is 9 now but he was on it for a few months back when he was 7 and had horrible depression, suicidal thoughts, wanted to kill himself he told us. The medicine was stopped immediately and he has remained on concerta and guanfacine.

I wonder if you might want to look into guanfacine/tenex for him. My son was actually not as successful with dosage increases of concerta unless the guanfacine was increased, it makes that much of a difference in his day.

We also give it to him if we think he needs it before practices for sports.

check it out - it helps him through the day and he eats and sleeps without any more concerta side effects ( the not eating and not sleeping stuff).

hope this is some help to you AND your son!

regards,

Beth

MY son is 5 years old and has been on medication since the day he turned 4 years old. I adopted him at the age of 8 months and he has a long family history of ADHD (severe). He is on Ritalin in the morning and strattera in the afternoon. I want to know all i can about the vitamen regime i can start him on. He has started having night mares at night and beginning to have large dark circles under his eyes. his md does seem to be concerned. but i am .. i would love to have him off all his medication ... so i will take all the advice you guys have Just wanted to let you know we had my son on straterra for awhile at age 6. After abuot 6 months or so he also started having nightmares and becoming extremely depressed. It may not be the exact same as yours but just thought I would add that little kernal of knowledge that we experienced first hand. Good LuckMy adult daughter was on strattera for a time as well. She quit because of the gory, horribly graphic nightmares. It seems to be a trend....

i went and bought out the sun shine store today. thanks for all your tips.. i have been happy with the regime he has been on up until a few months ago . Once again the school did not give his strattera today and he was bouncing off the walls when he got home. so i gave him the "child calm" I am not sure but i think it made him worse... The lady at the store also reccomended a nightime sleeping aide that she uses for her AHDH child. but i can say he did eat 4 pieces of pizza tonight and that is really unusual for him. along with the snack he had when he got home. I also collected 3 books at the health food store. So i plan to slowly take him off the ritalin and strattera and see how it goes... I anticiptate some barking from his teachers and the school ... but we will see... The general consensus is that the school will give prescribe medications but not herbal ones. has anyone else had this problem? I guess I will find out tomorrow ....

If a doctor gives orders for the treatment, the school has to follow it. They can't go against medical treatment of a child. This does not carry over to supplements that are given outside of medical care. You might check with the policy on sending supplements to school with your child to take himself (maybe put them in his lunch). They do not allow medications (prescriptions or OTC) to come to school that way, but the same may not apply to supplements.

I would try to not tell the teachers (at least initially) that you are making changes. There feedback will be more objective this way.

I completely agree with this. I have noticed, even with the best of teachers and staff, that they seem to notice more when attention is brought to it.

ok i will not tell her and see how it goes good luck!!!!