ADD, ADHD or Syptoms of? | ADHD Information

The more I learn about ADHD and ADD, the more I realize how many other Mental problems have symptoms that look exactly like ADD and ADHD.

My son, who is a train wreck when you take him off his concerta, he acts extremely goofy, can't stay on task, gets up wanders around the room, is impossilbe to do home work with withough medication. He has all the clasic signs of ADHD, all the text book symptoms. We get him medication, and he is a new child, he can focus, work contructively and is actually able to relate and interact with the other children better.

We send him in for some testing, testing comes back he doesn't have ADHD, that when he did some kind of test he was able to keep his focus, where and add child would not. (this is without his meds) All that came out of the testing was that he had sever depression and some hand writting problem.

They mention that he might not need the concerta. When I told them how much it helps them, the doctor said smuggly, We would all do well on concerta, but it doesn't seem he may need it.

I was blown away. I complained, That has to be impossible, he is a nightmare without his medication, without his medication we get a call each day from the school about what he did that day. My child is not a trouble maker, he is actually quiet and shy and gets beat up allot. Most of the things he does is beyond his control, and is textbook ADHD.

Not sure how acurate there test is, but I know the concerta helps him live a normal life, instead of a life out of control. But the doctor thinks Andys Depression is causing ADHD symptoms, thats why it looks like this..

My Son have been diagnosed so far with ADHD, Aspergers, BiPolar depression, some kind of handwritting disorder, Sever Depression with psycotic epidsodes.

It all depends on the doctor you talk to, on what they will insist he has.

I almost want to turn my back on the lot of em. Except the medicine helps him, makes his life, well livable.

His councilor thinks he has bits of each, like some kind of hodge podge diagnoses, She see's some of this, and some of that, she tells me I should not get hung up on one paticular thing.

To me its hard, he is so unhappy, I have brought him to so many doctors ever since he was so young. He turns 12 this month, he has been seeing doctors since he was six, and the school brought to our attention his troubles. THis quiet sad little boy who can't seem to concentrate, and never fits in. He is so kind, and has such a big heart.

When people say, something that has been helping him hugely, should be stopped because they think he doesn't need it, and won't listen to us, who know how much better it is for him with the aid of the concerta, I say they aren't seeing the whole picture.

You would think the parents, who interact with him each day, would weigh more than a test.

its discouraging...

DId you ever get the feeling they don't have the foggest what ADD really is, or why it happens? and are just throwing guesses at us?

Dave2u4now38508.7022916667[quote=Dave2u4now]...Not sure how acurate their test is, but I know the concerta helps him live a normal life, instead of a life out of control. But the doctor thinks Andys Depression is causing ADHD symptoms, thats why it looks like this..[/quote]
I think that's a lot of poppycock! I mean, I'm not a doctor, but that's the first time I've heard anything like that. In fact, I believe AD/HD is what is probably causing the depression. Especially with all the boy has been put through.

Is this the same doctor who first put Andy on Concerta?I mean, who originally Rx'd him Concerta? Didn't they think he was AD/HD? I'm not quite clear on this...why did you go for further testing, when all seemed to be working well for him on Concerta? And can you keep getting the Rx filled by any doctor for Concerta at this point?

And if he seemed depressed while even on Concerta ... couldn't that doctor who Rx'd him Concerta try an antidepressant along with the Concerta? I'm just a bit confused...as you are probably yourself.

Of course, different doctors are going to say different things because so many of them seem to know nothing about AD/HD!

Sorry, it just gets me a little upset sometimes.
GypsyWomyn38508.7171180556

Actually, no this isn't the same doctor. He took more testing because his councilor did'nt quite agree with the first testing came up with. THe first time he was tested they told us he was Aspergers and ADHD. We got the concerta to help him out, things got better.

THen later they recomend this second test to clear up some things. We had to sit with this doctor we had never met before for the results of the tests. He is the one who said this, sounds to me like he missed his mark.

He also made a bitter remark about children being missdiagnosed with ADHD because they come from poor families or have poor parents, and its and easy excuse for a lazy child who missbehaves. (he actually said this) He told me, if I only knew how many children he saw who was diagnosed with ADHD, when they just need better structure at home to help them achieve at school.

I guess that what really set me off, you could here the contempt for ADHD diagnosis. Other than that ADHD diagnosis, he seemed okay, he spoke well of andy and told us he just needed some structure and help with his handwritting and depression, and told us we should really consider taking him off the concerta.

After leaving me and the misses agreed, that will be up to his Psyciatrist, who told us she had not intention of taking him off the medication as it obviously helps him. (She's really nice and understands Andy well)

it seems each doctor has thier own oppinion.

Dave2u4now38508.7294097222

doctor's are people too, but for what it costs to see them and get their professional opinion, it seems like they would know better what they can diagnose and treat, and what they should refer out.

i didn't believe in add until i started reading about it. all i read described nearly perfectly the things i had been experiencing, but did not see causing in others the same difficulties and disruptions i was suffering.

yes, schools and doctors do overdiagnose it and overtreat it. but i am wary of any health professional that tells the patient, or their child, that they don't know what they're talking about. "just because you've observed or suffered this" the doc intones, "doesn't mean i don't know better." not an exact quote, but it represents the attitude of so many m.d.'s i've dealt with.

for instance, i've been suffering from earaches on and off the last 2 or 3 yrs. and the three doctors i've seen all pretty much said that they didn't see any redness in my ear canal, so there was nothing wrong. but my ears hurt! they are as distracting as a migraine when at their worst.

my point is, just because they have the degree, don't trust that they are as qualified as we would hope. esp. if they are as ignorant sounding as Dave2u4now's. you might want to ask what drug company his stock is in- he's probably glad to diagnose conditions to prescribe one of their products .

btw- yes i am a little jaded towards doctors. not one can admit that i might be a little sharper than them.

May, my, that 'bitter' remark made by that doctor...how terribly unprofessional of him!!!

When you see Andy's psychiatrist again, I would tell her what that doctor said, and I'd be very curious as to how she reacts/ responds.

In any case, I'm very glad to know Andy's psychiatrist is planning to keep him on the Concerta. Did that other doctor who said Andy needs help with his depression suggest antidepressants or any idea as to how to help him with depression? Antidepressants don't have to be taken forever, and perhaps the psychiatrist may try him on some.

Please keep us posted. Thanks.[QUOTE=Dave2u4now]

[/QUOTE]

I really do not agree with this remark. I was diagnosed with Adult ADHD last June. I am the father of 3 little boys, and I can tell you for sure we are not wealthy. My oldest who is 7 years old is a very intelligent boy and picks up on things very well. My 6 year old who has just finished kindergarten this year was diagnosed with ADHD last year as well. After doing some research on myself and seeing my 5 year old, I thought to have him checked by a doctor. He was put on Adderall as well, but he is at 10mg a day. We have seen, as well as his teacher and other relatives the improvements he has made since being on medication. I know one of the biggest things that we noticed was the mood swings, and uncontrollability. If in the future if a doctor suggests that your child not be medicated, one thing I could suggest is video taping your child while on meds in their home environment as well as without meds in their home environment to show the doctors the difference.

Heh, my Dr back in the UK was kinda old fashioned. When I went to see him in my early 20s because I was scatter brained, unmotivated and generally bleh the conversation went like this:

Doc: So, you feel lethargic, forgetful, and generally down?
Me: yup
Doc: Are you taking any drugs?
Me: nope.
Doc: Are you having homosexual relations?
Me: Uhhhhhhh no.
Doc: Are you sure?
ME: ............
Doc: Are you sure you're not taking drugs or gay?
Me: Yeah, I think I'd notice.
Doc: really?
Me: Yup.

This was the last time I saw my family GP who'd been my doctor since I was 2 years old. I tried another doctor who, due to me saying I had sleep issues, figured I was an insomniac so gave me some sleeping pills.

The unfortunate reality is that ADD *is* misdiagnosed, with some doctors over diagnosing ADD in kids who are just being kids (just recently I was reading an article about a school possibly overstepping its bounds by pushing kids towards meds if they were unruly in class), and some doctors refuse to believe that ADD exists.

I'm sure everyone here who's been diagnosed has been misdiagnosed at least once (except for the above story I've been diagnosed with depression x2, insomnia and stress).

Hell, I didnt believe in ADD when I was diagnosed. ADD was a trendy disease used to straight jacket bright hyperactive kids who showed too much creativity and imagination in the school system. There was no way that me, a computer professional (woh admittedly exhibits extreme 'absent professor' symptoms and has had 30 - 40 different jobs in 16 years), could have something I didnt even believe in.

ADD seems to have so many components, many paradoxes and doesnt fit a single behavioral model. In addition there are prejudices and a lack of real information available for your average MD, who doesnt have time to research the latest neuroscience papers for the real information.

A friend of mine has a very rare disease and has taken to carrying some reference materials with him, after wondering why any doctor he saw would ask him what was troubling him and then excuse themselves and disappear for 15 minutes. One day he followed the doctor surreptitiously and discovered the MD digging thru medical journals to get some information on the disease. A bigger irony is that most of the medical journals were written from information gathered from my friend who spent his childhood in hospitals getting tested :)

umm that was a long winded way of saying: if you're seeing a new doc feel free to provide them with a little additional info regarding the latest research, or at least some avenues for them to look at later. My doc has appreciated it recently as I have all the time in the world to research this, whereas he's under a crazy workload and has hundreds of patients to see.