New Diagnosis | ADHD Information




	New Diagnosis My 6 year old son was diagnosed yesterday with ADHD and underlying anxiety as well as dyslexia. He has been prescribed 5mg of Focalin. I have decide to hold off on medicating him until next week when Christmas break starts so I can monitor any symptoms he may have. Anyone else on Focalin? How is your child doing with it? Any advice you can give a newbie? What kind of special things does your school do to accommodate your ADHD child? Hello and welcome to the world of ADHD medications! It can be very frustrating at times but once you figure it all out and get it right, you'll never doubt your decision to medicate! My son is a true success story! He is SEVERE hyper/impulsive ADHD and literally could not function (poor little guy! ) It took us about a year to get the meds just right and it was stressful at times but it has been well worth it! He will never be "normal" but he is at least happy and successful! He's never been on Focalin so I'm sorry I don't have any advice about it but here are some suggestions for starting on meds. Keep a journal. Keep track of good behaviors and bad ones. Also anything you think is a side effect. The most important thing for us was making sure to keep track of the timing of when the side effects occurred. Keep track of how long after the last dose the side effects appear (no matter what time of day you gave it). This helps the doc adjust the timing which is very important. Make sure you have a doc that will allow you to contact them every day if necessary to make adjustments. If you don't have this switch docs! I highly recommend seeing a specialist (psychiatrist etc) and not just a pediatrician. Don't stress too much about the "minor" side effects (appetite, sleep etc) because they generally get better or go away after several months. Watch for "rebound". This is when the meds are wearing off. The child can become moody, irritable etc. This is unacceptable and if it happens the doc should make adjustments asap! Almost all meds have at least some side effects so decide which ones you are willing to trade for the benefits and which ones you aren't. For example, Adderall changed my son's personality so we switched. It wasn't worth it. Sorry this is soooo long but there is just so much to say! Please ask any questions you have. This board will make it much easier for you and your child to "get it right"! Good luck! HI there My DD was diagnosed the day after Thanksgiving with ADD, has HUGE issues with focus and can get distracted in a heartbeat. We started her on 5 MG of Focalin XR Nov 30th, I have been taking careful notes indeed. The side effects she has had, WHICH everyone is different, is the loss of appetite and she has issues of falling to sleep at night, USUALLY once she is asleep she can sleep all night and doesn't have issues with waking and staying awake. We do see SOME rebound effects on some days, where the meds are wearing off and she can get mouthy or be mean to her sis. ONLY with words, or she has a meltdown over something silly and cries!!But this IS ONLY some days. The thing that drives me crazy is LOOKING for side effects I feel like I am living my life by "IS THIS A SIDE EFFECT" but we are pushing through THE WONDERFUL NEWS IS she has now had 2 full weeks of REALLY AWESOME days at school her teachers are really started to see her come around, she gets point cards everyday, and has to meet a 90% GOAL she has NEVER done this 9 days in a row and if she can pull this off today it will be 10 DAYS of school in a row YAY!!! Side note we were told after a week to go up to 10 mg of the meds, WE did and day 2 she developed TICS, major eye blinking, sucking in her lower lip all the time, could NOT stop moving her feet for over 3 hrs. Called the DR said to drop her back down to 5 mg and PERFECT none of that has happened. I am still on the fence about the sleeping, the dr doesn't want us to do the melatonin yet, we want to give her body some more weeks to get used to this. We are almost at the end of week 3 GOOD LUCK I recommend a psychopharmacologist, our pediatrician referred us. This doctor specialiazes in the medications for these types of disorders, and believe me, there are a lot. Each person reacts differently but there is something out there for most everyone. Be patient, it takes time, find the med and then finding the dose. hang in there and come here with any questions, we have been through a lot here together. My son is now 13 1/2 and has been on concerta and guanfacine for his adHHHd since he was turning 7. He was labeled by teachers, peers, adults, and parents- they were the worst, bullied, excluded, basically had no friends, it was horrible all through elementary school. MIddle school changed things for him. He is an honor student, a football player, and an incredible gamer - he finishes the games. He does have friends, and is happy, which is what matters most! We are currently deciding if he should go to a vo-tech high school for his computer skills or stay at an incredible public high school. So believe me there can be a rainbow at the end of the storm, you just have to stay with it and follow throught. We are here if and when you need us! BETHANN40548.4448263889Hi I'm new to the board and was hoping for alittle advice. My 6 yr old son was diagnosed today with ADHD and ODD. He's been a very difficult child for years mainly due to his violent temper/outbursts. Anyways, I was told by his counselor today that we need to treat his ADHD issue so we can work on his ODD issue. She wants me to make an appt. to see his pediatrician to get him started on a medicine. I asked if there is any other way because I have reservations about the meds, she doesn't believe there is. I've only heard bad things about these types of meds and am concerned for his safety. I want what's best for him and have been doing research on the several different meds available however I can't stop worrying about the side effects I've read about. So I was hoping that some parents that have their child on meds could tell me first hand how the side effects have effected their children and if they see a significant difference in their behavior. I guess just is the benefit worth the risks/side effects? Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. @Susans. Don't go to the pedi go instead to an adolescent pyschiatrist. Or if there is a pedi that specializes in adhd. Where I am from there are a lot of quack drs that call themselves specialists to get the adhd patients. We took our daughter to a group practice that is almost a 2 hr drive away from all the quacks and pedi's that think they know adhd. Even our own pedi treats adhd kids and I said no way. He doesn't do any testing just takes word of mouth for diagnosis. The practice that my dd goes to is very strict about treatment. First we had to schedule an appt with the md. He did a complete physical to make sure there was no biological issues. Then he recommended testing with the psychologist and speech therapist. After testing we had to wait a month while they compared notes and developed a treatment plan. It was only then after the treatment plan meeting that my dd was rxed medicene. It was a hassle but it allivated a lot anxiety that extended family had about putting dd on medicene. Also, for appts the teacher has a questionaire to fill out and so do I as a parent. My best advice is to research, research, and research the doctor! Even though we r not on medicaid some of the doctors in my area diagnose according to medicaid payouts. I once worked in local mental health and was disgusted at the care of treatment and the doctors in the area. Hi, at first one can really just be bombarded with information. Measuring their progress on their everyday tasks can give you a clear guide as to what areas want your attention. Keeping a diary and rating tasks can also be of help. MY 6 YR OLD DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED THIS WEEK WITH ADHD... AFTER MONTHS OF DRS VISITS AND WATCHING HER... THIS IS NOT AN EASY PROCESS. SHE WILL START VYVANSE IN THE MORNING, I HOPE SHE DOES GOOD ON IT. IM LOOKING FORWARD TO SOME PROGRESS IN HER LIFE... I HOPE.. I HOPE... I HOPE...	Enter Your Email below to claim your Free Book

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