My soon to be 6 yr old son was diagnosed with ADHD last Friday. Well, really he was suspected at age 3 by his daycare director and the suspicions only became more frequent as the years passed by. Two teachers, two principals, two school counselors and THREE PED's later...I finally have accepted his diagnosis and realize that I HAVE to help my son. I am in tears writing this. I am terrified that I am making the wrong decision. We have not started the meds as his father lost the script. I called his dr today and she is mailing another script but I will not start him until this weekend so I can observe his behavior the first time he takes it. I don't really know what my question is exactly. I would just like to know if what I am feeling is normal and if it gets easier. Will this fear every go away? What has been your experience with Adderall XR 5 mg? I guess just hearing your story is what I am looking for. I will tell you I have read several post here over the weekend (that's ALL I did) and a few of them I thought I wrote! I guess I just need to talk to other parents who can TOTALLY relate.
Signed,
It is hard to deal with.....even still there are times when I think maybe my son doesnt have it....maybe he has something else...but I do know that the meds really really help him.....so I'm ok with it.....remember when you start the first meds, they may not be the right ones for him...some work, some don't.......just work closely with your Dr and you'll be able to find a good match.You are not making the wrong decision in terms of looking after you son's overall care and well-being. I cannot tell you how to feel about the medication, but I can tell you how I felt. My DS had traits of ADHD since he was 2-3 as well. Our pediatrician was aware of it but we all decided to wait until Kindergarten started to see if we needed medical intervention (not doing well in school, teacher reports, etc). As you can imagine, we got a phone call after the first week of school, and after many more evaluations, we decided to start him on Adderall XR 5 mg (he was 5 years old at the time). We really did not see any difference, and after one month his dose was increased to 10 mg. We saw a difference within hours and we were happy and sad. Happy that he was getting the treatment he needed but at the same time sad that he actually had the disorder. He eventually needed a few more dose increase over the years and is now on 20 mg. Our biggest side effect is lack of appetite so we get in a big breakfast, try some nutrient dense food for lunch/dinner, and he gets a high-protein milkshake at night.