Now considering Meds, but which one???

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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