PLEASE read before going perscription | ADHD Information

smskinner, check out the blog. I have it finished. I worked my butt off to finish it today as to not leave you hanging. I hope that you will not leave with a bad taste in your mouth and see that you were not being attacked. Please don't misconstrue defensive parents as personal attacks on you. That is NOT tolerated one bit on here. You are here for a reason. If you have concerns on adhd, post away. We are all here for a common reason, (well the most of us anyway) and that is to lift each other up in a time of need and to share the GOOD stories about adhd that only others that are dealing with it can understand. Stick around and enjoy it. Some times things like this happen and things get taken the wrong way. In no way was any one here making any personal attacks on you. We are all adults and can agree to disagree. [QUOTE=~ogram~]

did you know that caffeine is one of the most addictive "drugs" available? I would NOT blame any teacher or school for an un-medicated adhd child's behavior; we have a few teachers here and they might take offense to it. I do and I'm not even a teacher. Some children need medications in order for the behavior modifications to work.

Most neuropsys that give out adhd meds do NOT want the patient having any thing to do with caffeine. This is why:

100 mgs of caffeine equals to 5 mgs of ritalin!

1 8oz cup of coffee equals to 135 mgs of caffeine

1 pot of coffee equals 8 cups

So, if you drinking 2 pots of coffee you are drinking 2,160 mgs of caffeine

That is equivalent to a little over 20 mgs of ritalin a day. Man, I learn some thing new ever day. I think I just found my next blog! lol I'll have more on my blog in the next few days. Check it out, we all learn as we go along on this path together.

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I have been searching journals and the web for that information about coffee vs. ritalin where did you find that information?

I am working on my next article, keep watching for it. I'll publish it on Monday. It will have all the resources listed in it. But, I don't post any thing on these boards that is not accurate. if you want to research it do so. There are all kinds of things about caffeine that you would be surprised about! I don't drink it at all and I'm not on adhd meds. It's a personal choice, I'm not saying it's the right choice, I'm just saying it's the right choice for me.I am having trouble with navigating this site.. How do I find your blog?
Thanks

[QUOTE=smskinner]I am having trouble with navigating this site.. How do I find your blog?
Thanks
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Here ya go :) http://www.adhdnews.com/blog/

[QUOTE=smskinner]I think your right in some cases medication is the right way to go. All I was saying is I think a child should be able to choose what goes in thier bodies. [/QUOTE]

This may be true when a child gets older, but a 6 year old is not capable of making these kinds of decisions.

My daughter who is now 14 has been very involved in her meds and options for the past several years. We did not medicate at initial diagnosis age 5,although I'm not 100% sure that was the right decision in hindsight. I have a 6 year old now, not diagnosed with ADHD, but I can tell you she is not able to make decisions about her medical care. Learning and behavior are NOT a priority to a 6 year old. They cannot grasp what impact this all has on their future. Parents role is to make choices for their children. The goal is to give them the best opportunites to succeed in life. As you can't blanket say meds should be the first choice, you also really can't blanket say every option should be completely exhausted before meds are given. We actually waited three years after diagnosis with my daughter and in hindsight it was the wrong decision.

I wasn't even going to chime in here, but it goes both ways, no matter what your viewpoint is, no one has the right to berate or challenge any parents choices. Especially on a message board. You have no clue what people's situations are. The quote of walking a mile in my shoes never applied better. People come here to hear others stories and experiences. Hear advice they can take or not take. NOT to be told they are doing the wrong thing and what they should or should not do.

OK I'm done.

[QUOTE=Luvmykids02]

smskinner wrote:
I like who she is and I want her to know herself completely before taking mood altering medications

Mood altering medications? ADHD medications are not mood alterting medications and since you speak so strongly about ADHD meds I would think you would know that.

Thank you for your opinions but the original poster that you agree with is a troll.

longsally, your description of your child is classic ADHD and I applaud you for being such a vigilant, responsible parent. Every parent knows what is best for their child, whether they decide to medicate or not but in no way do you or any other parent have to justify giving medication to your child because it is a first line of treatment and the only treatment that will allow the child to experience quality of life across the board. and also meet their full potential in life.

Again, all opinions are welcome here and no matter what decision the parent makes, its the right decision for their child and no one should ever make the parent feel guilty for their decisions. When the parent takes actions to help the child through their stuggles in life thats a responsible act but when the parent does nothing, thats a negligent act.

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I have done research on Ritalin type medications and the chemical composition is almost identical to cocaine and my understanding of cocaine is that it alters mood.
But realistically speaking I'm not out to debate this issue ever with anyone! my best friend just put her child on medication and was waiting for me to make her feel guilty which I have never done or will do. It is whats is best for her child. To me and to all of you it is a choice. My child is beautiful and smart the way she is she is wild but she makes us laugh. If she at this age said "mom I really can't do it like this anymore" I would take her and get her what she needed because she is at an age of reason and could make a choice about what goes in her body and she would understand possible side effects. I suspect she might ask because as she gets older school gets more challenging.

smskinner wrote:
I have done research on Ritalin type medications and the chemical composition is almost identical to cocaine and my understanding of cocaine is that it alters mood.

You need to do more accurate and in depth research because the effect of the medication depends on the delviery system and the delivery system for ADHD meds is totally different then the delviery system for cocaine. My son was taking Ritilan for 10 years and it never altered his moods but it did bring out his personal best. I speak from hands on experience. I dont give an opinion based on something I read and just because something is written doesnt make it true.

We have a responsibility to our members in that the information given needs to be accurate. We all have our opinions but wrong information can lead parents to make the wrong deicisions for their own children. According to the law, the age of reason is 18 and in some cases 21 and thats why children need parental consent for serious decisions. However, you need to do what you think is best for your child. Good luck.

Why are you attacking me and my belief system? I came on her because the first poster was ambushed and called a troll simply because they believed the opposite of you! All I said was that poster makes some valid points! The only people on the defensive are those that choose to medicate why is that? As far as a research goes I know the difference between a reliable source and a not reliable source. I have not attacked anyone here because I respect all opinions and convictions. Do you want my history here it is, I was polite, kind, quiet and shy in grade school. I never did my homework I spent the day daydreaming my grades suffered badly but nobody noticed because well I was well behaved. I struggled with reading after the first page everything read like this " blah blah blah". Middle school came and it was the same old me never finished homework constantly not responsive but hey I was well behaved so it did not matter that I was failing. My ITBS however scored in the 99 percentile yet the teachers never saw a conflict with classroom performance and test results. It did not matter I was well behaved and oh so polite. High school I gave up and dropped out. Then I found coffee went back to school and then to college my success was only marginal as I only made low B's and I worked harder and longer than anyone in my class, what came so easy for everyone was extremely painful for me. It took me years to like myself but I do. Now here's my point if in fact I am drinking enough coffee to equal 20mg of Ritalin then medication is only a marginal help, and this is as good as it gets. Which sucks because I will never reach my full potential. If coffee can do what Ritalin can do, then why are parents opting for a controlled substance over a completely legal one? Is there a different board on this site for parents who choose not to medicate? Obviously I'm on the wrong one and would like to feel more welcome and less attacked.

I can see we have a right fighter on the board. So you are right, every thing you have said is right. Now, let's move on.

[QUOTE=smskinner]Is there a different board on this site for parents who choose not to medicate? Obviously I'm on the wrong one and would like to feel more welcome and less attacked. [/QUOTE]

just stop posting on this thread and move on. it's that simple. there are a lot of parents here that don't medicate. it's a personal choice, they just don't post after trolls, that's what has happened here. This is one of the largest boards on the net, you are new. It happens and we have a troll about once a month, most just steer clear from them. It's kind of like what the "walk away" idea. Just walk away. lol

(btw - this is what the trolls want. their mission is accomplished! if they can upset one person they are happy.)

~ogram~39746.443125Nobody is actually citing anything on this board? I did not know it was required. My house is run as a democracy my 4 children have a say in household planning and function. I don't care what the law says age of reason is. As a result I have children who will talk to me and tell me what is going on in their heads and in their lives. Many people frown on the dynamics of my family but it works for us.

~ogram~ wrote:
just stop posting on this thread and move on. it's that simple. there are a lot of parents here that don't medicate. it's a personal choice, they just don't post after trolls, that's what has happened here. This is one of the largest boards on the net, you are new. It happens and we have a troll about once a month, most just steer clear from them. It's kind of like what the "walk away" idea. Just walk away. lol

WHAT YOU SAID OGRAM! Walking away!

I actually agree with the first poster on this board. I have inattentive type and never medicated. School was a struggle but once I found coffee college was a little easier. I say coffee but what I mean is I drink 2 pots a day and sleep like a baby. I am 34 now and I like who I am. I do need medication at this stage in my life but it is with great apprehension. I am taking higher level math courses that I need more than my behavior techniques, and coffee to get through it. My daughter has adhd and makes high grades why, because of behavior modification, high level organization, and structure in our household. I refuse to medicate until she is old enough to make that decision herself. I like who she is and I want her to know herself completely before taking mood altering medications. I do everything I can to support my child but I will never force medication. No matter what the positive results are they are temporary and she will always wake up with herself and I want her to know and like the true her. I think maybe you guys were a little hard and judgmental on the first poster. I think add/adhd is over diagnosed and over medicated. In some cases medication is not needed. ok, I can get behind the no med thoughts but.....my child was one of those who had to have it. Low grades, impulsivity so bad that he had No friends, we could go NO where with him. A child that would jump on his bed for hours and when I would ask him to lay down and sleep he would tell me that he wanted to but his body would not let him. Believe me, most people would rather not medicate but sometimes it is a necessity and I do not believe anyone should consider themselves a bad parent for doing it.I think your right in some cases medication is the right way to go. All I was saying is I think a child should be able to choose what goes in thier bodies. For years I was on the defensive especially with the school system and her teachers. I have decided that I have to stop feeling like a bad parent because of my refusal. I was just saying that everyone was being a little hard on the initial poster I think that there were some valid points. I am not against medication and I believe that medication should be a last resort when everything else has failed. I am currently enrolled in a teacher education program and as a parapro I have seen so many, but not all parents jump to medication first without even trying anything else. Some of these kids would be fine without it, and your right some probably wouldn't. As I said before I was diagnosed with adult add without hyperactivity they based my diagnosis on my grade school records and current behaviors. I have learned how to manage my life on my own without medication, drugs or drinking. I suspect that having hyperactivity adds to an already challenging disorder. My daughter diagnosed with adhd she is 12 now and elementary school was a nightmare as far as hyperactivity, but it was her teachers that made it so bad. Middle school she has slowed down some, but she changes classes every 50 minutes and not sitting all day in one room doing the same things. I have to add something though I have never been medicated but like I said I have no choice I need it for college. I may have a change of heart and take a completely different stand on the whole medication issue. It may clear the fog and make my life easier to manage. The idea of no more lists, post it notes, calender boards, labeled bins for bills, and daily planners. I might be looking at life through a whole different lens who knows.

Most neuropsys that give out adhd meds do NOT want the patient having any thing to do with caffeine. This is why:

100 mgs of caffeine equals to 5 mgs of ritalin!

1 8oz cup of coffee equals to 135 mgs of caffeine

1 pot of coffee equals 8 cups

So, if you drinking 2 pots of coffee you are drinking 2,160 mgs of caffeine

~ogram~39745.8847106481

smskinner wrote:
I like who she is and I want her to know herself completely before taking mood altering medications

Mood altering medications? ADHD medications are not mood alterting medications and since you speak so strongly about ADHD meds I would think you would know that.

Thank you for your opinions but the original poster that you agree with is a troll.

thank you.....I thought I was just a bad mother when my child was diagnosed. It is a hard thing to have a child who has such issues and I and everyone else on this board are doing the best they can for their children. Thank you for telling this person where to go ( in correctly spelled terms )

Ogram..........BRAVO.... I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for weeding out the trolls

No, you don't want the best for our children. you don't even know them. You want to abuse drugs and brag about it here and then act as if you are some sort of saint to people who think you are an idiot! Do you really think that no one here has thought past our own nose about this? You, knowing nothing a out politics and how it affects drug companies, really need to read the rules. We have a strict policy about even discussing politics. This is a board for people to come together, not be torn apart by such stupid topics that can NOT help us in our struggle today.

[QUOTE=BuyerBeware]

To all parents, you need to carefully look at the money flow of drug companies. You are literally drugging your children with stimulants every single day. The FDA has been seriously compromised over the years, especially in the Bush administration. I am not here to lecture you on politics, but these drug companies are making pills for every conceivable problem you have, whether they fix them or not. Have you stopped to think that your children NEED to make mistakes and act out in order to learn and become productive members of society? f**king up is half of what life is all about. when you squash a child’s energy, boundary breaking and general disorderliness with a pill, you also take out other important aspects of childhood. Its a lot like round-up, it kills weeds, but it also kills your flower bed… ADHD stimulants might make your job as a parent easier, but it takes personality with the energy and creativity with the boundary breaking and important lessons with the disorderliness.
I am an adult and I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 17. I have been taking Ritilin since then on a semi regular basis. I do not take it every day or even most days. I take it when I need to do large amounts of very difficult school work. I was a math major, so there was plenty of work to do. I abused (and still do) the drug by taking 40 or 50 mg instead of the prescribed 10 (now 20). In my mind I am an equivalent to an occasional cocaine or other illegal drug user. I am not dependent on it, and I use it when I need it and it helps me. This is good, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. You need to tell your doctor this. You are one of those people that parents like us can not stand, "Rx Abusers". You cheat the system for personal gain. Next, you will probably be selling it for profit. Boy, your mom and dad must be proud. I am OK with this, but it does not change the fact that taking this drug severely alters my normal state of consciousness, like any other illegal drug.
So you might say I sound like a hypocrite. However, I am an adult and I fully know the consequences of my actions and I am able to take responsibility for them. Your children are NOT in this position. They dont have a choice a lot of the time and they almost never are able to fully understand whats going on.
I would be much more sympathetic towards the situation if it were not an all day everyday thing. I see the benefit of changing how you act and feel with a drug, even to escape reality, but you are completely transforming their reality to the drugged reality. Do you see a problem with this?
I am not an ADHD denier, I know it is a real thing and I know I have it. But there are other ways of coping with it than feeding them pills all the time. I urge you to completly STOP giving your children these stimulants (especially those that are not even teenagers yet) for most cases. For more extreme cases, I hope you can severly limit their intake of the drugs. 4 hours every couple of days is PLENTY of time to be drugged and f**ked up. 12-16 hours every single day is just f**king child abuse plain and simple. I started out that way at 17 and it was honesty one of the worst, most mentally and emotionally draining times of my entire life.
You are being conned into paying the drug companies huge bucks and at the same time ruining your children’s lives. So, you are blaming the medications for ADHD for your drug problem? what about your dirty mouth? What is your excuse for this? I wonder if you ever did research on this. If so, you would know the static of the REAL probability of children that DO NOT use drugs because they DID have stims that were prescribed and took as directed by a Dr. Do your research buddy. Then we will have a sparring match of the brain. You really should be ashamed of your self.

I know that the drugs are the answer in some cases, but I have seen too many kids turned into twitching zombies. I also realize that most parents don't even research enough to make it to this forum, and those that do see the negative sides of this conundrum. You Have NO idea what REAL parents go through a research.

I am off my soapbox now, and I know parenting can be tough, but for the love of your children, give what I have said some serious thought. Well, I am guessing that means your high is wearing off and you need some sleep.
If you have any questions about this from a man who has gone through it all, feel free to email me.
gtdavis2@gmail.com

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btw - try spell check next time you decide to rant on us. Don't bother posting a reply, I'll probably just delete the thread. I just wanted the members here to see that their admin loves them and supports what ever their decisions are on this topic. Did you get that? "Their decision" Not a drug addict that is speaking out of turn in a HUGE way.

To all parents, you need to carefully look at the money flow of drug companies. You are literally drugging your children with stimulants every single day. The FDA has been seriously compromised over the years, especially in the Bush administration. I am not here to lecture you on politics, but these drug companies are making pills for every conceivable problem you have, whether they fix them or not. Have you stopped to think that your children NEED to make mistakes and act out in order to learn and become productive members of society? f**king up is half of what life is all about. when you squash a child’s energy, boundary breaking and general disorderliness with a pill, you also take out other important aspects of childhood. Its a lot like round-up, it kills weeds, but it also kills your flower bed… ADHD stimulants might make your job as a parent easier, but it takes personality with the energy and creativity with the boundary breaking and important lessons with the disorderliness.
I am an adult and I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 17. I have been taking Ritilin since then on a semi regular basis. I do not take it every day or even most days. I take it when I need to do large amounts of very difficult school work. I was a math major, so there was plenty of work to do. I abused (and still do) the drug by taking 40 or 50 mg instead of the prescribed 10 (now 20). In my mind I am an equivalent to an occasional cocaine or other illegal drug user. I am not dependent on it, and I use it when I need it and it helps me. I am OK with this, but it does not change the fact that taking this drug severely alters my normal state of consciousness, like any other illegal drug.
So you might say I sound like a hypocrite. However, I am an adult and I fully know the consequences of my actions and I am able to take responsibility for them. Your children are NOT in this position. They dont have a choice a lot of the time and they almost never are able to fully understand whats going on.
I would be much more sympathetic towards the situation if it were not an all day everyday thing. I see the benefit of changing how you act and feel with a drug, even to escape reality, but you are completely transforming their reality to the drugged reality. Do you see a problem with this?
I am not an ADHD denier, I know it is a real thing and I know I have it. But there are other ways of coping with it than feeding them pills all the time. I urge you to completly STOP giving your children these stimulants (especially those that are not even teenagers yet) for most cases. For more extreme cases, I hope you can severly limit their intake of the drugs. 4 hours every couple of days is PLENTY of time to be drugged and f**ked up. 12-16 hours every single day is just f**king child abuse plain and simple. I started out that way at 17 and it was honesty one of the worst, most mentally and emotionally draining times of my entire life.
You are being conned into paying the drug companies huge bucks and at the same time ruining your children’s lives.

I am off my soapbox now, and I know parenting can be tough, but for the love of your children, give what I have said some serious thought.

Luvmykids0239746.7136921296My apologies for any profanity I used in the above post, I am sometimes a bit overzealous in my choice of words. Believe me though, I only want the best for your children and the future of the world.

Thank you. I really wanted to get my point across, I'm glad to know I did. lol I hate it when people like this come on here attacking people for decisions they have no business talking about. Our decisions are hard and do not come to us with out many many hours of research, many dr visits and hours of prayer. And they are usually the last resort. I am glad you appreciate what I wrote.

btw - to any of you that read this, I do NOT care about spell check. Heck, I don't use it that much. But if some one has the nerve to come on here and try to intimidate us, they had better dot every "i" and cross every "t". lol

I was stewing and thinking what I could come up with while reading this absurd rant. Thanks for the GREAT response to him Ogram!!!We did the med thing for awhile, now we don't. We may go back to them. We all make the best choices we can. People like this guy are scary! Thanks Ogram for sticking up for us all!

Wow. Ignorance with a keyboard.

Thanks ogram for your thoughtful response to that outpouring of garbage at the start of this thread.

This journey is difficult enough for parents and thier kids without trolls spreading fear and disinformation.

[QUOTE=~ogram~]

Our decisions are hard and do not come to us with out many many hours of research, many dr visits and hours of prayer. And they are usually the last resort.

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Thank you Ogram! This is something I agonized over 4 years ago when I first took her to the dr and the diagnosis. By that time, I had tried every punishment under the sun that I could think of to try and control her behavior, and NOTHING WORKED!!!!!!!! On her meds, she is a normal, happy 9 1/2 yo. When off her meds, she literally bounces off the walls, climbs everything, pulls outrageous stunts where she could get hurt, and even bounces on my lap! We recently went to a psychologist, who got to see firdt-hand what she's like when her meds wear off. Let's put it this way: the therapist told me she didn't feel that she needed to see my daughter again, but said I was more than welcome to come back for myself because she could tell I was "worn out". So, until you walk in my shoes, do not even DARE to judge my parenting decisions.