slippery slope of meds | ADHD Information

I just have to post this. Completing a form for my 9 yr old's school, I was taken aback to list THREE daily meds for him. WHen I began on this site, my son was not on any meds at all. It was shocking, alarming, and disturbing to read about parents medicating their children with a large variety of medications. It read like a grocery list and was upsetting. I had the impression, that IF I decided to medicate my son, it would be one pill. Period. Well, 3 yrs later, he is taking three things a day. Focalin XR in the am, a minidose to counter the rebound, and clonidine at night. It's working out for our son and family. I am not complaining, just commenting on the situation. We still do alot of OT to help him self-regulate and watch his diet. But I cannot deny the fact that we have now joined the club.I know what you mean. We've been on one med now for 2years (Risperdal at varying dosages) and we added Focalin XR (we're at 10mg) in May. We also added Prevacid (this is for an unrelated issue; Acid-Reflux disease and is a med he most certainly needs) this summer.

But I used to be ADAMANT that my son would not be on any meds except for now, I realize it's a necessary evil. He is not himself when not on the meds and even on the meds we are having to constantly control his behaviors with other methods. The meds just make him amenable to changes and discipline.
[QUOTE=John D]

Sounds like both of you are bright and aware and are on top of things...you both no doubt started out trailing one medication and monitored carefully your child's response and you both likely work closely with your child and your child's doctors.... i.e. you are in control (not the meds). So I'm wondering, does "slippery slope of meds" catch the sum total of your experience so far?

[/QUOTE]

I guess I didn't get my own point across real well. For me, medicating my son for "behavior/attention" issues was akin to medicating him for something like diabetes. He *NEEDS* the meds in order to be able to function and I wouldn't withhold them from him because of my own mindset. Do I like that he HAS to take the meds? No. But I do realize that he needs them in order to function in every day life. As I said, the meds don't make my son who he is, but they allow the real him to shine and come out.
Your analogy using diabetes is the perfect one to use, especally for those who are still open-minded but question the use of medication for adhd-- sure, diet and self control are important, but we don't expect people with diabetes to correct the imbalance in their bodies without meds, nor should we for people with adhd!