Now considering Meds, but which one??? | ADHD Information
Thanks, Logans Mom! I noticed your son takes Ritalin/Tenex/Melatonin and Fish Oil. What would be the dosage Logan is on for these meds? Does the Tenex offset the negative effects of the Ritalin? I am guessing he takes Melatonin at night to help him sleep. And what would the fish oil be for? I know from the research I have done, that getting the right med combination and dosage is the most challenging part of all of this. I was SO against meds for so long, and my husband is still not sure this is the route to go. But I am so tired of Kendal being made to feel like he is a "bad kid". The special ed teacher (who I am happy to say no longer teaches him) actually referred to him as a disrespectful child during our last IEP meeting, and said he has to learn to stop interrupting. His impulsivity seems to get him in the most trouble. He also has BIG issues with smell and taste. His dietary choices are very limited...peanut butter, cheeseburgers, pancakes, and a couple other things. Will not touch a fruit or vegetable, he actually gags if I manage to sneak something in there that he is not familiar with. He can't sit at the dinner table with us because of the smell of the food we are eating. As you know, I am sure, we feel so alone in this situation. We can't let Kendal go out and play with the other boys because he will just let himself in somebody's house, or take off without thinking. He will go off with ANYBODY, no matter how many times we talk to him about strangers. We signed him up for karate, and he was the only kid always put against the wall for not listening. T ball was a disaster too. Well, thanks for letting me vent, and if you have time, I would love to hear more about Logan's meds, and your experiences with him. Thanks, KathyThanks, Tiffany. Is the Focalin a stimulant? Is is available in a nonpill form, so he doesn't have to swallow it? And what mg. do you have him on?Hello Kathleen0515 and welcome! My son is almost 5 and severe ADHHHHHHHD. We tried A LOT of other things before meds but had no success until we did medication.
The ATTEND you mentioned I believe is an amino acid based program and that is still considered homeopathic in nature. The actual medications used are usually stimulants (ie. Adderall, Ritalin, Focalin, Vyvance etc) I asked my doc why in the world I would want to give my hyper son a stimulant and she explained it pretty well. She said the part of the brain that regulates behavior needs to be stimulated. The regulation center is not functioning as it should...it's like it's asleep. Wake up the regulation center/regulate the kid's behavior!
There is a non-stimulant called Straterra that works differently on the body than the stimulants but usually doesn't work as well for the hyperactivity and impulsivness. It's usually said to be good for the focusing issues.
Most medications have side effects so don't discount a medication because there are side effects. Many times they can be controlled by changing the dose, timing of the dose, adding another medication, or changing the medicatoin all together.
There is no magic way to tell which medication is best for your child. It's all just trial and error and it can be frustrating. But once you get it right WOW what a difference! Meds have literally saved my son's life! He is much much happier now and much more confident with himself! I don't have to disciplin him constantly and I enjoy him sooooo much more! 
I could go on and on but hopefully this will get you started! Good luck and I wish you the best!
My 5 year old was recently diagnosed and we put him on Focalin XR. We have lived with his behavior his whole life and pretty much thought it was normal. Now that he is on this med, he is a new child. I am not disciplining him every second and his teacher is amazed. I know every medicine is different for every child, but our experience with Focalin has been great. Good luck!Thanks so much for the info, Logan's Mom! I certainly have wondered about the sensory integration disorder. In addition to Kendal's issue with food and smell, he also touches and rubs things alot, especially people. And, although it is getting better, he chews on his shirt sleeve, blanket, or other objects and I sometimes think he doesn't even realize he is doing it. Since he had been dually diagnosed with ADHD and PDD nos, with a tendency towards Asperger's symptoms, I really have just been focusing on the autism part of it, but the more I research ADHD, it is becoming clear to me that the majority of his issues are due to that. Was Logan late to be potty trained? Kendal was just over 4, and he didn't talk till 3, although now he has a vocabulary far above his age. He can't ride a two wheeler yet, and always needs help getting started, even with the training wheels. He runs funny, often with his head down. He loves "patterns" and will frequently line things up. He's a very restless sleeper, up several times a night, and tosses and turns when he does sleep. He had problems when he was age 2 with biting, and then when he was 3 and 4 he would sometimes get aggresive with other children, hitting and even choking. He doesn't seem aggresive any more, thank goodness! If you could give me some info on the sensory integration disorder, I would appreciate it. Also, are any of Kendal's behavior traits similar to what you experienced with Logan? Our pediatrician isn't very knowlegable in these areas, and there is a 6-9 mth wait to see pediatric specialists. We do have an appt. Dec. 28th with a nurse practitioner in his behavior couseling center, but I have found that the parents who are dealing with this daily are more helpful than the professionals we have seen! Thanks! My son is on Focalin XR 10 mg. It is a pill form but I open it up and sprinkle it on applesause, and yes it is a nervous system stimulant. It has calmed him down about 200%.I can REALLY relate to what you're saying about your son thinking he's a bad kid! It makes me want to cry! 
That's what my son was doing...at three yrs old! These poor little guys never asked for this! My son's self esteem was getting so bad before I resorted to meds! When I finally took him in for meds I figured the doc would say no "because he's too young" but once she heard his self esteem issues there was no problem. She acted and fast! I would recommend the same to you...act fast! You want to stop the downward spiral of his self esteem before it gets too much worse. Once we got my son's meds right his self esteem problems went away completely!
Kids like ours absolutely cannot control much of their actions. My son was always interrupting, running off, touching everything, going up to strangers and touching them etc. I'd say "why did you do that!?" and he'd always say "I didn't mean to!" In his mind he really didn't MEAN to. He just acted before his little brain thought about it so when you think about it, I guess it's true that he didn't mean to...
Medicine has changed so much of that! He still has impulse issues that we're working on but it's soooooooo much better. He takes 5mg of Ritalin (actually it's the generic chewable: Methylin) 3 or 4 times a day depending on if he needs the 4th dose or not. This works very well for his hyperactivity and impulsivness but makes him anxious and aggravated. We added Tenex to counteract the side effects of the stimulants and it works very well. He gets this 3 times a day for a total of 1.25mgs
You are right, the Melatonin is to help him slow down to get to sleep. I give it to him about 15 min before bed and he calms down and gets drowsy. He takes the fish oil because it is supposed to be beneficial for ADHD kids (as well as being otherwise healthy for the body). His doctor recommended it. I don't notice any benefit but it can't hurt so he takes it.
Oh and one last thing...it sounds like your son may have sensory integration disorder problems because of your description about the issues with food and smell. This post is really long so I won't go into it now but let me know if you've thought about it and if you want info about it.
Hope these things have helped! 
Hi Kathleen, It's great that you are doing your homework--it's so important for parents to be informed! But just a reminder that you can't do it alone--it's a three-way thing: you (parents), Kendall, and Kendall's doctor.
All your research on meds is excellent and will be very useful--but while having all this expert advice and info--you will still need to find (unless you have already) a doctor who you consider to be the real expert--whose knowledge and experience and ability to connect with you and Kendall gives you confidence and trust.
So, if you haven't already found the right doctor to work with you and Kendall, seeking advice on selecting a doctor makes as much sense as seeking advice on meds. After all, the doctor (or other qualified professional) will have her own ideas about what is best to try first with Kendall, and since you will have trust and confidence in this individual, you'll likely want to start out by following those recommendations.
Thanks, Logan's Mom, for taking the time to give me all of the information you did. It is a tremendous help, and I am really hopeful that Kendal's problems will be helped with the right medications. I will also talk to the school to get an evaluation done on him with an occupational therapist.
I will update you once we start the meds!
Kathy
He sounds a lot like Logan! You may be in luck if you're trying to find a doc to look at Sensory stuff because the person to see about it is an Occupational Therapist. They are the ones that diagnose and treat it.
Sensory Processing Disorder is where the part of the brain that processes input from the senses (sight, sound, touch etc) doesn't always funtion properly. An example is my son doesn't feel touch properly most of the time. He doesn't really feel much pain at all. He's rough with others because he doesn't realize he's touching too hard and it feels good to him. He actually seeks out deep pressure and hard touch so he's always touching and "crashing" into other people. He'll ask me to squeeze him and lay on him to get the pressure. And yes he potty trianed late: 3yrs 9mo. His O.T. said this is typical of these types of kids. I think it was because he just couldn't feel it when he had to go like other kids.
He also has problems with sound sensitivity (certain normal everyday sounds throw him into fight-or-flight) and his vestibular system. The vestibular system contains the inner ear and controls balance and muscle tone (among other things) This made Logan start walking late (18 months) and when he did he was very "loose" and had poor muscle tone. When he was 3 he walked like a one year old-all wobbley. He couldn't peddle a bike even with training wheels and couldn't go up steps very well. He's been in occupational therapy for 2 years and is MUCH better. He still has problems with sounds and sometimes touch but he's so much better.
If I had to guess I'd say your little one is dealing with some of this also. Probably oral sensitivity and maybe even some vestibular problems but and OT is the only one that will know for sure.
Hang in there. It's so hard when they not only have one disorder but two or three! argggg!
Hi John,
Thanks for the advice, but I assure you that all my research is only in preparation for our meeting with Kendal's doctor, not an attempt to select a medicine on our own. I felt it would be beneficial to be as informed as possible prior to our appointment so that we would be able to ask pertinent questions. I still am not certain we are even going to go the medication route at this point. We have been to many specialists over the past three years, and it seems different doctor, different opinion.
Regards,
Kathy
Logan's mom/Kathleen >> So much wonderful info! Kathleen, it's like you were reading my son's story from a young age to his present (6 yrs) I really need to research the other issues your son has besides ADHD b/c it sounds like my son to a tee and he hasn't been regulated with his meds yet. (We've been trying for 3 yrs now!!)And to John, my son has been to at least 5+ different doc's, psych and otherwise, as well as private and it has been my tedious efforts that have helped my son get to where he is now; functionality! No offense meant or anything, but if you live in a small town, you get what you get and there is no 'picking and choosing' of a large spectrum of doctors, let alone doctors who are covered under insurance plans. If I research something and recommend it to my son's specialist, she will more than likely agree with me. Maybe that's not the right way but it seems to be a trend here and so I have always been happy that I have been proactive in research on these topics.
Keep up the good work Kathleen! It's nice to know that we are not alone :):)
Hi Marie,
Thanks for the kind words. You are SO right about the impossibility of "doctor shopping", especially on the insurance plan that Kendal is on. It took nine months to get him an appointment with a developmental pediatrician who wasn't even in our state! I am convinced that we, the parents, are our child's best advocate, and the best information I have received over these past years is from the other parents who are going through this, NOT the doctors. And you are right Marie, it is good to know we are not alone!
Kathleen