misdiagnosis? | ADHD Information

My son was also zombied out on FocalinXR. It is the way the med dumps in your system. Regular releaase Focalin is better for some. My son went to Concerta and is doing much better. different more even release of same med family. spamula39933.5203240741Thanks for the reply!  She was actually diagnosed by a nurse (I think she is specialized in ADHD) at a Child Psychological and Developmental Center.  My son goes to the same place but he sees a psychologist.

My daughter has had a good day today without the anger issues or hyperiness.
I will pay close attention to her behavior. Maybe it will continue to improve.
My six and a half year old son does great on Focalin XR 10mg/15mg. He has been taking it for 2 years for ADHD. He also has dyspraxia.

However, my five year old daughter has started meds for ADHD. We've tried 5mg and 10mg.  I think she is much worse. (Very angry, yelling, hyper).  Even though she was diagnosed as ADHD/dyspraxia she was not really hyper before meds, more in a fog. She wasn't much of a behavior problem at home but completely checked out at school.  Before a diagnosis and medication the teacher said she seemed over medicated(zombied). She also has a very inconsistent memory recall. For example: she can count to 20 one day but not another, she knows letters and sounds one day but not another. The teacher would have to go right up to her to get her attention and sometimes it would take several tries. 

I was surprised at the ADHD/dyspraxia diagnosis and the medication is making her act ADHD now.

Any ideas?



First of all, if the meds are making her worse rather than better, I would stop the meds immediately and call the doctor.
As far as the ADHD diagnosis, some children (like my daughter) have inattentive-type ADHD. Children can have this subtype of ADHD without having hyperactivity or impulsiveness. They tend to be "spacey," lack focus, and have difficiulty paying attention to anything long enough to get it done. However your daughter's issues with memory do sound unusual, so if you are unsure of the diagnosis, I would keep pursuing it and get more testing done. What kind of doctor diagnosed her? You may need to get a referral to a specialist.
One thought, it is possible that a child may be having "absense" or "petite mal" seizures that cause them to not be conscious of what is happening around them for a short period of time.  A neurologist can test for this.
It's also possible that your daughter's diagnosis is correct and that a different meds will work for her, but if I were you I would definitely keep at it until you find something that helps her.
Best of luck and keep us posted.
She reminds me of an article that I read. Google Russell Barkley Exerpts from his Lecture in San Francisco 2000. It says that ADD is a separate disorder from ADHD. ADD kids are lethergic, spacey, quiet, in a fog, passive. They don't process information correctly, and it's a processing deficit, which is a different problem than ADHD. ADHD kids have problems with productivity while these kids have problems with accuracy, and with input and memory. They have problems getting info out of long term and short term memory accurately, and recall info in an eratic way. Check it out if it rings a bell. You may be right about the misdiagnosis. Thanks Jessica.  My daughter does seem more ADD than ADHD.  I'll look into the differences.

< =text/>_popupControl(); There are different types of meds used to treat the different subtypes of ADHD. ADHD-Inattentive type, from what I've been told, is most common is girls, which is why many go undiagnosed or treated until later, if ever. My son is ADHD-Combined type, a mix of inattentive and hyperactive. There is some confusion about terminology, is it ADD or ADHD. Our psych follows the thinking that ADHD is an umbrella term under which the subtypes are arranged. She also feels that eventually ADHD will be considered on the autism spectrum.

If you are uncertain about your daughter's diagnosis, I would request a full battery of tests, which should take several hours.  And, no disrespect intended for all the great nurse practitioners or specialists out there, I would push hard to be seen by a pediatric neuropsych or psychiatrist.