I know this sounds crazy but it was suggested to me I was being admonished for medicating my child (so right now you know it is a no win situation). If I am so willing to drug my child, have I taken the pill so "I can experience what he feels like." Has anyone ever heard of this? Every person is wired differently, I would never do this, but I do see a microscopic grain of logic in this. Even microscopic grain is too big, I realize. Like I would take my dad's heart medicine to "see what he feels like." I have read about college students taking adhd meds to improve study habits and there was a story line on a TV show about this, but I was horrified at the suggestion. I couldn't continue talking to this person, so I just changed the subject.
Hi,
My ds doctor told me that stims will help people concentrate who don't have ADHD. So it is his opinion that just because it helps you focus/concentrate is not an indication that a person has ADHD. Also, your right about college students who use it for studying. I would assume that not taken in large doses (more than prescribed) that it wouldn't hurt most people. I repeat "most people" because we all know that people can have underlying heart conditions that could be a problem.
Personally, I would rather doctors going through their training take the meds. Many different types (not all at once of course) of stims so they can see first hand that a person's reaction be very different. So they can experience the rebound of the wrong med. I mean really we give this stuff to kids, let them be the experiments. Then they can tell me first hand what it feels like. However, they might like the feeling of the right med and continue to take them to pass their board examines.
In reality I have my drug, coffee, every morning and feel terrible without it. I think the vast majority of americans have some sort of caffeine in the morning and that's our stim.
I don't think you'd gain anything from taking it. If you don't have ADHD, the meds won't have the same effect. You've got to have a level playing field for this to be a logical approach. If the parent has ADHD, it might have some value.Actually, I have a non-medicated ADHD spouse. I think I'm gonna have him try it!
I have thought of doing this too. Not because someone was giving me grief, but because it's not working for him (27mg Concerta) and I thought maybe it was a placebo..... I haven't done it, but I agree with hauseof4, it wouldn't really give you any answers about it unless you were the EXACT same kind of ADHD patient as your child.My 9yo DS is newly diagnosed (mid July) and been on concerta (which we have seen zero improvement from) but I am hopeful that something (other than concerta)will work for him. No one in their right mind would admonish you for giving your child insulin if he were diabetic, or buying him eyeglasses if he couldn't see the whiteboard at school... You are doing the best you know to do as a parent with the best of information. Bottom line is whoever is giving you the business over the meds thing is not living in your house so...A. The don't get a vote and B. unless their child has issues, they really JUST DON'T GET IT....ya know???
Stop looking at these folks for support and come here. WE GET IT!
~Jen
Sidenote to 4inoregon: We have had success with Concerta, but know it varies by child. I would give something else a try. We noticed improvements right away with Ritalin when first diagnosed, as well as with Concerta once we switched to a longer-acting med. But again, it really depends on the person so Concerta probably just isn't the med for your child. :)
I cannot stand the criticism for using meds so I don't tell anyone except family that my child is on meds. Until they've seen the behavior before and after and lived with an ADHD child 24/7, they just don't understand.
I agree--I never tried the medications myself and never will. But when my son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 3 I was often put down for medicating him.I never once thought of NOT medicating my child. I knew right from the start what was offered and what the side-effects of it were. If a mother came to me and was looking for some advice on whether to medicate her child or not to medicate I would always respond with the same logic that I used which was--the meds will help your child--helping him or her when they are young will open their eyes to the world around them in a slower pace that they can focus on and be successful with. Do you want your child to function in class and have friends? Do you want your child to not be successfull?
IT IS NOT ADVISABLE TO TAKE YOUR CHILDS MEDS. EVERY PERSON REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO MEDS ARE YOU ADHD? THEN IT WOULD DO THE OPPOSITE TO YOU SO YOU WOULDN'T KNOW HOW YOUR CHILD FEELS ANYWAY. My son is on the Daytran patch. The nurse at school was concerned with it falling off and another kid handling it. I had his neurologist attend and ARD meeting (Admission, Review, and Dismissal in TEXAS) and explain if that happened, and the kid was exposed to the patch for more than 2 hours, it would be comparable to drinking 3 cups of coffee and have no real ill effect.
Did you try asking your son how he felt about his meds? I asked my son (who is 6) what the medication does for him and he said. "It helps my brain tell my body to work better."
I don't understand why people make such a big deal about medicating ADHD children. If my son had diabetes, I would not deny him insulin. Insulin has bad side effects too.
My son has a neurological disorder. He needs his ADHD to help him focus and not hurt himself literally.
With my son, it's not just something to help him get through school, it helps him get through life. Without it, he cannot control his physical movements or his social skills. He falls down and runs into walls with out it. Before it, he had no friends, they were afraid to be around him, now he has 3 good friends.
That person is ignorant and obviously has no idea how adhd medications work.
I was (ignorantly daydreaming) absolutely against any chemical treatment for my child's situation.
Until we were sitting in the specialists office the day he was about to be expelled from kindergarten.
I had very few options at this point. After many long discussions with doctors/specialists, etc., I finally accepted that yes, i had better give this a chance. But during the interviews, intakes, questioning and such, I knew clear as day that my child was a chip off my block. This was me 3 decades ago.
My parents were sitting here once. I was just never diagnosed, nor medicated.
That doesn't mean i didn't have an easy go of it growing up.
So i explained to the doctor that i agreed to try the medication suggested, but i simply could not, with a clear conscience, give my child medication for XXXX number of years without having any clue as to what it might do to him. I asked the Dr. to prescribe me an 'adult dosage' for a weekend to help me understand.
I had to actually be put through all the same battery of questions as my child, but it turns out that I was a legitimate case for the same meds.
I took them. I felt better. I know that there is a closer bond and ease for my child, knowing that mom is "in the same boat". This brings both help to the behavioural issues we must deal with daily, but also solace that this little one isn't feeling like too much of an outcast.
This was just my experience, but i empathise with all parents who eventually are facing that 'ultimatum' of whether or not to medicate. My heart goes out to you all.
I would never try my children's meds but when my son was a baby I put baby shampoo in my eye to find out if it would hurt him. It stung my eye and when I returned it to the store the clerk looked at me like I was crazy! LOL!
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