Does everybody medicate their ADHD child?

Magpie27

Not sure if this is in the right place but just wanted other people opinions who have a child with ADHD. My DD will be 7 in May and after her dx last May we made the decision not to medicate her. She was doing fairly well considering until she started year 2 and since then her behaviour has got much worse however not as bad as some ADHD children I have encountered.

I still am undecided about medicated esp. as I feel that some of the reasons her behaviour has got worse is down to a teacher straight out of college, a head who's attitude towards my daughter I feel is unacceptable and a school behaviour policy which has no flexiabilty and leaves my poor DD feeling like she's rubbish - she has told me she is a number of times So what I wanted to know is what other people do with their ADHD child, have others found any alternative methods to medication??

[Deleted User]

I am not medicating either and never will. I do however watch what he eats and give him supplements so he has a balanced diet, that seem to help. The school is great with him and he is a happy boy. My son is also 7.

Magpie27

Thanks Van I have always been v anti medication I really don't like the sounds of the side effect and we manage to cope with her at home it does just seem to be the school who can't. I posted on a ADHD forum and everyone on there made me feel like a bad parent for not medicating

Magpie27

I meant to say also my DD eats well and I give her fish oils as well and I do notice the difference if I stop them.

Carer

My son is now 16, officially diagnosed at 10.
We have always refused to medicate even though we were pushed by the doctors and school to do so.
Medicating to me is just trying to cover up the problem with mind altering drugs, it doesn't cure the condition, all it really does is make them "conform" to what people think is "normal".
We managed his condition by cutting out additives (especially artificial colours and msg) from his diet (the difference is noticable when he has them), and by learning how to manage him.
We also home tutored him from age 10 until 14 due to the continued hassle with the school - he chose to go back into school at 14 to do his GCSE courses.
It hasn't been easy, but he has grown much calmer over the years, and we have learned to pick our battles!

meritaten

to give another viewpoint - my GS was only diagnosed with ADHD a few years back and wasnt medicated - then another professional was called in and the verdict was Aspergers - upon which he was given Ritalin and Melatonin. and he actually asks for his meds! they DO help him and he understands this (being a bright boy)! there are slight side effects - such as loss of appetite - but my daughter ensures he gets his main meal when the drug is wearing off and before he takes the next dose the next day. the Melatonin helps him sleep and he says its wonderful to get eight hours sleep! he never had before.
So, please dont write off the benefits of the medicines available, would you refuse chemotherapy for a cancer? these kids are often in mental torment and if the medication helps them (and I have seen this for myself) why would you refuse them access to it? you can always have a trial period to see how they get on!

jenhug

for starters change schools, find a school that will suit him.

Magpie27

meritaten wrote: »

the Melatonin helps him sleep and he says its wonderful to get eight hours sleep! he never had before.
So, please dont write off the benefits of the medicines available, would you refuse chemotherapy for a cancer? these kids are often in mental torment and if the medication helps them (and I have seen this for myself) why would you refuse them access to it? you can always have a trial period to see how they get on!

My DD sleeps really well about 10 hours a night so the thought of giving 1 drug which could then mean she doesn't sleep and then give her another to make her sleep seems madness to me! Her biggest problem at the moment is that she is hurting other children but I do feel that some of this might be frustration during school as I haven't had problems with this out of school. She has been excluded from school for 3 days for the 1st time this week, however I don't think this has had the effect the school wanted as she didn't see this as a punishment. I do feel I'm at the stage that unless the school changes dramatically I will have no choice but to change schools, which I know will upset her as she has made friends although she's such a chatter box I'm sure she'll soon make more

meritaten

every child is different hun. and if your child is sleeping then Melatonin would not be prescribed.
Ritalin is a different matter - and there are other drugs used. it just happens that Ritalin is suited to my GS. I cannot comment on any other drugs or your personal circumstances.
but why Ritalin is used is well documented - ADHD children find that a stimulant drug actually calms them down! I have seen this with my grandson - he cannot cope with groups of people, it overstimulates him and he 'acts up'. since taking Ritalin he has calmed down considerably and he can cope with being with a lot of people. he also says that when he doesnt take it - every sound is magnified - even things we cant hear normally- the Ritalin helps block it out.
imagine walking down the street and you can hear the people in the houses and shops and the birds are loud and the cars are loud and someone is talking to you.............you and I can block all that background noise out............a kid with ADHD cant. the medication helps block it out!
all I can say is that Grandson is much happier on the medication - just wish the school would improve their attitude to him - seems that as its not a physical disability they dont think he needs special treatment.

Ms_Magnetite

There is an equally good case for providing a medication based treatment as well as behavioural.

It can transform lives, not just the child who can actually sit down and rest/switch off, but the parents and other family members as well.

There is no reason other than personal choice why you can't try the meds for a period to see how much of a change there is.

After all, it may be a manageable condition unmedicated when a child is small enough to be told what to do/prevented from hurting/damaging things - but a completely different matter when the child is 15, six foot two and weighing 13 stone and doesn't like what you're saying.

Peanuckle

It's not just a question of if you should medicate or not, not all cases are helped by medication anyway. I have two son's who I fought for years to keep off meds, eventually agreed to trial a form of Ritalin on their request as they were now young teens and could see the difference between themselves and their peers. the eldest lasted less than a week because the meds just made him a zombie and all agreed they weren't for him. The younger one actually managed to start concentrating in lessons and did more learning in his last two years in school whilst using meds than he had throughout the rest of his school career.

The dosage is carefully worked out to make sure it's out of his system in the early evening so it doesn't affect his sleep and you can spot when it wears off as he suddenly has the typical teen hollow legs and eats anything in sight and starts flitting from one thing to the next as he can't concentrate at all on anything.