Hello everybody. This is my first post. I'm just beginning to learn about ADHD and meds although I've been living with an extremely energetic, impulsive and strong willed child for four years. I've read some posts in the last few weeks and now I'd love to get some feedback on what I've been thinking and going through.
My son, Ryan, is four years old. He is my first born so I didn't know what to expect as far as activity and behaviors. I always realized he was quite the handful but more and more these days I realize I'm living a lifestyle that is very atypical. I can totally relate to the person who posted a few weeks ago about how she couldn't even finish a sentence with a friend. That's exactly how it is here. If I even venture out to a birthday party or shopping (major undertaking) I have to really have a game plan. Ryan needs me to talk and walk him through everything. It's as if he's in need of constant stimulation. I really can't get in to all his behaviors because I'd be typing forever and I'd lose you all. I'm sure I'll post more in the future.
My main questions now are in regards to medications. It was only a few weeks ago that I took him to a pediatric neurologist to investigate what could help him. I left the office with a sample of straterra and a prescription. Now medicating was a reality and I wasn't prepared. My husband was out of town and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to start. After doing some more research I was a little apprehensive about starting the straterra since it hasn't been around a long time and I didn't know if there would be any longterm side effects considering my son is only four years. If I was going to give him meds I wanted to be committed.
I talked to the doctor and he said I could try one of the stimulant meds. I put him on Adderall. I didn't see any difference at all in his behavior. In fact I thought he was getting worse. I took him off after a week. The teacher had reported three good days that week in school with Thursday and Friday being poorer. Those were the days I stopped the medication but I don't think that was the factor. Ryan has good and bad days and overall his behavior is more managable at school. The teacher has reported some excellent days with no behavior incidents during a week he was not on any medication. She has a new behavior modification program for him started in November. She said on two days she didn't even have to refer to the charts as reminders for good behavior.
The doctor suggested another stimulant med in another family. He was off medication for two weeks. His behavior got a little better because my husband came back in town and our home life became a little more routine and structured. We were also able to give him a lot more one on one attention. Today we started Metadate CD. I don't know what to expect and how long it would take to see results. I thought with the stimulants you should be able to see some immediate results considering it enters the system quickly and then wears off at the end of the day. Why would you need to wait an extended period? No changes this morning before he went to school at 11:00. We'll see what the week brings.
It is hard to put my son on medication. I want so much for him to be able to do "normal" things like play with other kids and socialize in school without constant teacher interaction. But I still want my exhuberant, full of life boy. He's got such personality! When I observe other children in a classroom it's so unbelievable to me. It's like I'm watching a video in slow motion. I'm not used to seeing children so calm, quiet, patient and attentive. It's just plain weird to me because I haven't experienced anything different. My other son is active too. I never had babies that actually sat on my lap. They were always squirming and twisting, trying to climb elsewhere.
I want to be able to get something done in the house without having to constantly play and talk to him. As it is I can't even leave the room to get a drink of water without him pushing or running over his two year old brother. He knows it's wrong but can't seem to control himself. It's so frustrating.
I'd love to hear some of your experiences with the stimulant meds in young children under 5 years. How could you tell it was or was not working? What should I expect? Anybody trying straterra with their little ones?
I might add that Ryan is also hearing impaired. He uses a cochlear implant to help him hear. He is doing fantastically. But now I have the double whammy of deaf and ADHD (if that is what it is) I want so much to put him in regular mainstream preschool next year. His hearing at this point would not hold him back. It's the behavior that is the problem now.
Well I better sign off now before I go on rambling. Thanks for listening.
Lisa
I am adhd and when i started meds i was in 2 grade (7) and the teacher was pretty cool with it and helped me through probly one of the most understanding teachers i ever had but when i started taking it my apptite whent down which made me lose even more weight i looked anorexic i turned into a lifeless drone then my other teachers wernt so nice about it expecily the kids when u have to take medication every day at school or any kids know your taking it, it is hell so finaly in 7th grade (not because of the kids) i told every1 i was stopping the meds my apitite whent through the roof i gained 20 pounds in less then 4 months i had so much more energy life was never better untill my princaple asked me if i was taking the meds still and i said no(8th grade) so my mom had to come in for one of those parent teacher confernces and i was there to and they basicly told me if i didnt take my meds that they werent going to let me stay unless i took the meds because i wasnt doing anything in class so i said screw em and i did home school for about 2 months and that didnt work and they let me back in that school but only for half days now in 9th grade i am doing somewhat better hope there is no hiding effects from the drugs just waiting till i get older
Dear Lisa,
My daughter didn't start on meds until later (age 9) but my niece did at age 5 (kindergarten). I will try to ask my sis in law how fast she noticed results. I seem to recall she had to change meds around a bit.
Don't discount your instincts. If your instinct is that something is wrong, that your son is different from other children, you are working far harder to deal with him than other mothers- you are right! And you need to get to the bottom of it for the sake of your family. You are not imagining it, or a naive first time mom- you are a mom!
Some issues with meds and figuring out if they are working. I know with my daughter we immediately saw a difference with the first dose. She had to read a chapter of social studies. Off meds, she could read about 2 pages and it was like pulling teeth to get her to do it. On her first dose of medication, she read the whole chapter on her own volition. I was shocked!
Your situation is more difficult because your child is younger, and harder to evaluate. But my first advice is to pick one med and stick with it consistently. You may need a month or more to really figure out what is going on. Firstly, you may not have hit on the right dose for your son. I have a friend whose son started on Ritalin at age 15. It took several weeks of gradually increasing the dose to get to the right dose for him where he saw results.
You might want to give your son the med on a weekend where you can watch him all day and not have to rely on the teacher's report. Do a little objective evaluating on your own. Do it on a Saturday. For example- read him a story. How long can he pay attention and listen for? Ask him to draw a picture- how long can he focus and draw for? Is his work more detailed or neater? Is he any calmer? Give him a simple task and see how well does he follow directions. Then on Sunday don't give him the med and observe him closely to see if you notice a difference in his behavior or abilities to focus.
We started with Ritalin because it has been studied for 40 years. Then we moved to Concerta which is long acting. My daughter will occasionally take an extra short acting Ritalin at the end of the school day if she has alot of studying to do. Her main side effect was appetite suppression which is less of an issue now. She also would occasionally exhibit some rebound symptoms at the end of the day as she came off her med- nothing too terrible, mainly being extra hyper, but again that is really no longer a problem. I do know some ADDers on Strattera who have said it is not quite as effective for them. Some parents like the fact that it is not a schedule 2 med, others have issues with appetite suppression, but I don't know if that is where I would start.
The behavior mod is an excellent idea as well, but we found meds to have an effect far beyond any other therapy. However, they only work for about 70% of people with ADHD. Hopefully if indeed this is your son's issue, medication will help.