Parents with ADHD Children - I am after some opinions on medicating please

allIcouldwishfor

Now, now damzel - don't feed the trolls!!

blue_monkey_2

Damzel, do what I did and hit 'ignore', it aint worth the energy!!

blue_monkey_2

posted wrote: »

The difference between your insulin/hearing aid/chemo examples and ritalin is, the drug doesn't cure anything, it is a stimulant that suppresses the behaviour, along with a whole host of probable long-term side-effects. The others are proven/harmless/last ditch attempt to cure cancer.

Well, I have a diabetic cat, she has insulin and she is not cured, she has the insulin so that her blood sugar stays at the correct level, else she gets ill, catton walk, wees too much, eats too much, puts on weight, etc... Insulin does not cure - it adjusts blood sugar to give a healthy and manageable life. So, how is using a drug to adjust the blood sugar not the same as using a drug to adjust the chemical levels in the brain? What about drugs for HIV? It does not sure it manages the condition. All the same.

By your reckoning no-one should be taking these drugs because every drug has some sort of side-effect. I take asthma medication every day and I have for the last 29 years. I am not cured, I probably never will be, I take the drug to manage my condition. It has side-effects. When I was a kid I had injections once a week for 9 months of the year for my allergies for my asthma. I am not cured. I also take a pill to stop me ovulating so I do not get cysts on my ovaries and spent almost the entire month in pain, it is not a cure merely a prevention - I could give you a list of the side effects of the pill. Should I stop taking it? The medication I am giving my son is the same - something to help him manage his condition.

Also, I have not said he is taking Ritalin, I have not been told what he will be taking but there are lots of medications available now - hence the ignorance that surrounds this condition is that people think you'll automatically be doping your kids with Ritalin if they have ADHD because you 'cannot manage their behaviour'.

Paparika

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Choosing to medicate a child based on a 'diagnosis' at a time when children's behaviour can vary rapidly is nothing short of lunacy and is frankly irresponsible on the parents and doctors part.

Of course, ADHD diagnosis is often the best way to deal with the fact that the child is, in many cases, badly brought up.

Incidentally, I thought medical discussions were banned?

Shh you.

What are you a qualified pediatrician? your talking carp, unless you can prove to me you have certificates then go away. shoo

glodh1973

Hi my son as adhd/aspergers and i know other people who have children with the same diagnosis in my experience it is what suits your child's needs

i did not want too go down the route of medication but as he reached puberty he became very violent and distructive so doctors recommended and after being pushed through a double glazed door and needing 29 stitches in my face i decided i had no option.. too cut the long story short now he is calm and just like any other 14yr old boy (most of the time) so in the end in my case the medication has done the trick and has helped balance his behaviour out

i had it from a lot of friends and family members saying his behaviour was because i spoilt him well when they saw the difference in him when he started on his meds they soon changed there opinion and apologized

glo x

moggylover

I also have a son who was diagnosed with ADHD early on: we chose not to go the medication route and chose instead to use a homoeopath and EyeQ and I also put him on a very restricted diet for a while and then introduced one thing at a time until we found some of the things that actually seemed to "set him off". My understanding is that this is not because they are allergic to things, not that the things cause the ADHD, but that some things (and different ones for different people) can exacerbate the behaviour because the brain tries to use substances from the food/drink to replace the seratonin that is believed to be in short supply for ADHD sufferers. For my son, the worst thing in the World were oranges (which he loved) and with those removed from his diet he was a lot more manageable. Sugar always seems to be blamed, but my own personal feeling with this is that even the most "normal" child gets a burst of energy which is to envied from sugar and that this is no different in ADHD kids - just makes them seem worse.

Most ADHD kids seem to be "A" type personalities with the ability to lead, and they are natural risk takers since they are short on impulse control. Many times they also appear to be very bright and often that can be worked with, imo.

We found that getting DS1 involved in physical TEAM activities helped him to learn to control himself (and he has learnt to very well) and that allowing him a "letting off steam" period of intense physical activity seemed to stimulate enough seratonin production to also help him to calm down. To this day he is not often a "restful" child, but if I find him things to keep him busy and absorbed he can be a delight (and a great help) and whilst he was not doing well at primary school, he is doing well at senior school (not top of group 1 type good - but near top of group 2) and we got feedback from his senior school teachers that finding the group that was learning at the "right" level for him helped as too slow and he was bored, and too fast and he found it hard to catch up from a slip in concentration and got frustrated.

Boredom and frustration are the worst enemies of ADHD - and very hard to prevent from time to time. Tiredness also does not help DS1 and he admits that when tired he feels unable to keep his concentration at all (don't we all:D ) and gets irritable and stressed: apparently charging about makes that feel less stressful for him:rolleyes: - although it can be rotten for those around him if we do not channel it:D

However, having given you some input that medication is not the only route: I think you have to judge just how his behaviour is affecting your families life, and his, and talk to the doctors about just what the meds will help with and what the side affects would be (for instance my son has always been a good sleeper and we were warned that if given Ritalin he would need a sleeping tablet and might not sleep well). Armed with that, you will know best what to do for your son (and I know how hard the decision is) and can always choose to try the meds and withdraw them if you do not like them or if he does not respond. It isn't written in stone that you have to continue with them if you are not happy with the outcome.

I am so glad you feel able to ignore the nastiness of those that always blame the parents: there are always the @rseholes who know nothing worth knowing, imo:D - but I'm sure it must make them feel good coming to a forum and slagging off others with their drivel:D

I have also read other posts of yours and find you to be a good and responsible parent and would urge you not to beat yourself up at all whichever way you go. We can all only do our best, and gather as much info as possible to help us to do this, and this is what you are doing by asking here.

Good luck with the decision, I hope your sons peadiatrician is as helpful as ours was in explaining the pros and cons of all the different meds, and also that whichever way you do decide to go it works for you and your son.

Have a big hug from me.
Moggy

blue_monkey_2

No you are wrong, I was given injections in my childhood for my asthma. My mother made that descision for me as she thought it might help me with my allergies. It didn't work. I still took them for 3 years though. My mother made that descision to try and make my life better. If she did not try how would she know? My asthma medication was given during my childhood too - tablets, inhalers, different kinds, strengths, types. You do what you have to do to try and make life better for your children.

As parents we have a whole range of descisions to make what we do and do not give our children. Your experience of kids with ADHD is.....? Or are you jumping on the bandwagon and lecturing about a condition you know nothing about or have read in the Daily Mail? Likewise you assumed it was Ritalin. I've not been told what it is but there are lots of different medications now that work in different ways.

There will always be debate about ADHD, the same way there will always be debate about MMR but I still gave my children the jab.

As I said in post 1, I came here to hear other people stories not be lectured on what YOU think I should be doing because YOU have read about it somewhere and that 'medication is the spawn of the devil, etc...' and all that know it all know nothing crap. I will make that descision as I my the mother but in the meantime I would like to hear from others who are happy to share their views to get an idea of how it works and why it does not and what problems there are with giving this medication.

If you have have no experience at all then why are you even here bothering to post on the thread? To tell me what? I am a bad parent for considering medication? Please go and bother someone else who cares as I've heard it all before!!

posted_2

I haven't posted anything critical at all, or lectured, you asked a question, I tried to answer it. You only appear to want to hear about positive effects of using drugs, rather than a balanced view.

blue_monkey_2

Yes of course, if you say so. If you have bothered reading anything I've asked for stories good and bad. I KNOW the effects of NOT using medication - I am living it every single day! 24/7 - without help from anyone, my ONLY respite is DS going to school. So I have been offered medication and I want to know the pro's and cons. I only want to know about meds - this is what I asked, good and bad stories. Why would I ask for stories of life without meds when I already am living it? Or did you only read the title?

allIcouldwishfor

BM - if they'd read the title properly they wouldn't be here at all!