Help child with ADHD | ADHD Information

Help !!!  I have a child that is 8yrs old who has ADHD over the last couple years she has been on several medications to try help with it. She has been on ( my spelling has never been great ) Strettera, Adderall, the patch can't remember it's name and currently on Vyvance. Nothing seems to help as things are now I can't even remember what normal is anymore.

  Lets start with a normal day, just to explain what life is like right now. She gets up at 6:15 am to catch the 7 am bus. I wake her several times before finally having to sit her up myself and dress her as though she is a 2 year old. Finally after being dressed we get to the breakfast table. At which time I mix a little coke with her medication so she will take it. I hate letting her have coke but this is the smallest amount of argument we can possible receive and get her to take it and it is still a argument to get her to take it. A quick breakfast and out the door.

 She gets home at 2:30 we are waiting for her to arrive home her younger 3 year old brother is so excited to have her home. The excitement is not shared however she does not want to see him nor play. I get her to sit down and do her few minutes worth of home work. If we do not do it right away then it will be impossible later. We have a small snack (normally yogurt, fruit or pretzels and I take them outside to play. They get along and she leads them in playing bikes or something which will last as fun time for about 15 minutes or so. Then they will be fighting for sure over something anything it does not matter. No matter what he wants she is going to want it to or do it first.

  Her older sister arrives home from school around 345. She sits down and does her home work while the rest of us have a drink and what TV for about 20min or so. Then out to the barn we go. The oldest saddles her own horse as well as a pony for her sister. She wants to ride like her older sister very badly. However I end up walking along side of her for and hour because she just cannot concentrate well enough to ride by herself. It would be a big disaster if I allowed her to do so.

  An hour or so later we are finished and I take the two younger kids in to fix dinner. She throws a holy fit while I cook because she does not want to wait for dinner to be done. She fights over everything with her brother while I try and get dinner ready. My wife ( yes I am a dad ) arrives home at about 615 every night and we sit down for dinner. She argues and hates what I have made for dinner even though it is what she asked for me to cook. Does not like it, wants someone elses fork because it is her favorate that day, doesn't want the cup she has. Is mad because she never gets what she wants. Fun relaxing dinner.

  After dinner we have a bath, and sit down together in the family room. We are all either watching tv playing games on the computer, relaxing for the night. While she fights with everyone about everything. 8pm Bed time for her she is the first child to get up in the morning and early at that so we start to bed at 8.

  Ok the bed time fight, first we need tucked ( cool ) , need a drink ( ok ), Need to get back up to use the bathroom ( ok ) back to bed. Now comes the crying and screaming don't want to go to bed. It is not fair, I want to run away, you name she says it. I try very hard to nicely put her back to bed, even the same way I do to my youngest. Pick up put in bed tuck in, kiss on the forhead and out of the room I go. Nothing works finally at around 11:30 or 12 she is finally asleep.

 The day is over typical everyday. Some days are much much worse some are a little better....

   Help life has to get better than this !!

Strettera and other medications are well known for causing sleeplessness. I would suggest talking with your doctor about this and finding a solution either by decreasing the does or switching to a non stimulant. - A lot of kids don't want to go to bed, just because they don't want to go to bed. Maybe reading before going to sleep would help. Comics helped me relax and go to sleep when I was a child. I always had to read and wait till I got tired and when the stories were good, I didn't even notice that I was tired and poof, I was out...

Hope this helps...

Bryan

 

hi gulfvet and welcome!

Sounds like a day in the life of most of us! A couple of things. Meds work best along with a good behavior plan. Just taking meds wont' get our kids to act as our typical kids do. They just help them be ABLE to learn with a behavior plan. Start reading. Ograms marbel system on this forum is quite popular. This method works very well, or some variation of it. The key is turn behaviors around by rewarding the good behavior. The book 1-2-3 Magic is another popular method.

I found the thing that works BEST is not to get into arguments. Set the expectations and consequences and then that is how it is. No debating. Our kids like to be in control and will control any situation they can (even which fork they use). I suggest picking one thing at a time and working on that. For example, bedtime. Bedtime is bedtime, end of story. No fighting, no debating, no anything. So have a routine (which it sounds like you already do). OK so have your drink, use the bathroom do whatever needs to be done, once in bed and tucked in  kissed goodnight, no more talking. So once you say goodnight (and Mom too) thats that. If she gets up, without taling walk her back into bed. The less you please argue and debate with her, the less she will fight back.

   The daytime fights, same thing, no fighting, if my kids cant be nice to each toher (or us) they have to go to their room until they can. So if one is picking a fight or name calling, they go to their room, agian, no debate, they just go (even if I have to drag them there, and I have). when they decide to be pleasant and part of the family they can join us. If they trash their room when sent there, then they have to clean it before they come out. The other side of this is good praise (or rweard like with marble system) when they play nicely or go to bed with no fight.

Meds need to be regulated, keep trying until you see good results with minimal/no side effects. It does get better. Just BE CONSISTENT.

My girls would LOVE your house, they both love to ride................

This sounds like my house the first year we adopted or AD/HD Daughter! 

Know it has got alittle bit better.   But school and evening is a huge problem.

So I started giving her medicine to her in the morning 30 min, before getting up to do things. Then she falls back to sleep and I wake her up, she know gets herself dressed, throws dirty clothes down shoot and makes her own lunch and eats breakfast. THEN she gets Tv until time to go. I give her at least 30 min in the morning and she usually has at least 10 min. of tv..This was a great move. Then she goes to school without all the non-sense already for the day.

Also, bedtime was horriable. Now, she knows that she gets drink, potty and bedtime. We tuck her in and pray and thats it. NOMORE, she always ask at least one question on our way back down stairs and i say after i answer thats enough go to bed.  SHe take .1 mg of clondine and it helps her sleep. You may need that also.

I also set a timer and put her in time out for arguing.

Hope this helps! 

Hello and Welcome

I think it is wonderful that you are a caring Dad. My DH would never get on a pubic message board and discuss our situation, so good for you Dad

Second, I don't know a lot about Straterra, but have you looked into Melatonin to help her sleep? I use it for myself, and I know several members on here give it to their kids. You may want to Google it, or ask a pharmacist. Good Luck

I am glad that one of the parents mentioned melatonin. I also use this on my sons . My eight year old use to use clonidine as well, until a heart problem, now he can only have supplements. Beleive it or not in my opionion the melatonin works better, there are no side effects for us. I also give this to my 5 year old. Originally I was going to start off at 3mg, but was told that I should try a less dose and could always increase, so I tried 300mcg. I did not think this was going to be enough but it is. Within 30 minutes both of my boys are asleep in bed. This is compared to 4-5 hrs for my 8yr and 1 and 1/2 for my five year old. I have tried earier bed times as well to no avail. Risperdal worked wonders for my sons mood swings and combativeness. I hope this helps.lethy proud mom39583.9327893518