ADD medication?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2006
ADD medication?
14
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 11:06am
DD14 was diagnosed with ADD this week. I have wondered for a while, she certainly has all the symptoms. Not finishing, forgetting to turn in, or loosing homework. Difficulty paying attention, disorganized. We tried homework logs but she couldnt keep up with that. Anyway, her therapist recommended medication. It would be nice if there were a magic pill that would make her work to her potential, but I have been researching different meds and I am very concerned about the side effects. Does anybody have any btdt advice? Something needs to change. DD failed the last grading period of biology with a 54, but made an A on her exam. The failing grade was because of missing work. DD is in a magnet school, she is very bright and creative. She seems to learn best in calm environments, like the library or one on one settings. I have arranged tutoring, and thats how she scored straight A's on all of her exams, but she is so disorganized and forgets important things, like turning in work or not loosing jackets. She takes 10 classes at school so this year it is increasing difficult to keep up with, as opposed to elementary school and junior high where I could assist a little more.
DD also has mild depression, according to the school psychologist. Would the medication affect that? Would I be sacrificing her emotional health for good grades? Has anyone tried alternatives to mediacation, maybe vitamins?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 12:22pm

Have you

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2005
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 12:48pm

Ok - I'm probably not going to be the "popular" one here - but I have an 18 year old DS with ADHD - we tried the Feingold Diet when he was 7 - it didn't work. Tried chiropractic - it didn't work - tried various other "natural" and homeopathic treatments - they didn't work (my son is at the extreme end - he turns in NO work - can't focus on any one thing for more than 10 seconds. As an actor, he even finds it difficult to learn lines and songs, being more of an "auditory" processor).

So we tried medication - and had a different child. He was first on Ritalin - then we switched to Adderal (which had very negative side affects - including weight loss and sleeplessness), then Concerta, and finally went to Strattera. All of them worked in various degrees. All of them had some sort of side affect (weight loss, fatigue, etc.) which dissipated after a little while.

At 16, DS suddenly decided he "didn't need" medication anymore, and I found a pile of pills under my front porch. We stopped paying for it, and his grades, his behavior, his attitude - EVERYTHING went to h*** in a handbasket.

He is now asking to be medicated again.

You have to keep an eye on their physical reactions - and have them monitored by a physician to determine blood levels, blood pressure, etc. Remember that ADHD meds have a very short "half life" - the will start to affect your child immediately, and the affect will be gone within hours of the last dosage.

As for her depression, that could be the result of her inability to focus and her grades. I would try one thing before I addressed the other (btw, my son suffers from both ADHD AND depression, so they do often go hand in hand).

My physician treated the medication question the same as he would treat diabetes. There are some forms of diabetes that can be controlled by diet and exercise - for those insulin is not necessary. In other cases, insulin is required to control the disease. He treated ADHD the same way - in some cases, diet worked. In my son's case, it didn't - so why would I deny him something that might hellp him improve, when I wouldn't deny him insulin?

Good luck and keep us posted!

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2006
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 12:54pm
there was no specific test. she had an "assessment". Basically questions, like, "do you often loose things" "or have trouble completing a specific task".
i am going to the natural grocery store today and getting supplements that claim to help with focus, and i will give that a shot for 30 days. i just cant control what she eats other than dinner. she does not get up early enough for a good breakfast. maybe thats part of the problem.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2006
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 12:59pm
mamarose60, my dd is an actress at an arts magnet school. i think alot of the creative types suffer from these things. my sister has ADD and depression, and she said that she thinks the ADD contributes to the depression, like you said.
Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 1:22pm

My son was diagnosed with ADD in 2nd grade, along with dyslexia. By the time we got to that point, his self-esteem was non-existant. We put him on Adderall and also put him on a mild antidepressant for a short time (it's been so long ago I can't remember the name of it). At the same time, we got him an IEP at school with various and sundry accommodations for his ADD/LD. I didn't particularly *like* the idea of "medicating" my child, but I knew anything had to be better than what we were dealing with at the moment. He was on Adderall until the middle of 8th grade year. In 7th grade, we added Strattera to his Adderall dose, but he hated how the Strattera made him feel, so we gave up on that one after a while. Since then, he's done pretty good without meds, I think mainly because he understands what is going on with him and makes a concerted effort to remember things and pay attention. Mind you, this is not something that a kid can just "start doing better" with, in our case, there's a host of things that are in place at school that are designed to help him. Also, my ds's ADD is extremely "mild" and is closely related to his LD, meaning his ADD most likely stems from his LD. And we still have our share of lost homework, forgotten papers, etc. etc. etc. And we probably always will. :) It's a constant struggle for all of us. I was glad we were able to take him off the Adderall (although he didn't have any bad side effects from it) and there are those days I guestion *why* we took him off (LOL) but overall, I am sooooo glad it was there when we needed it, and soooo glad we can now do without it.

As far as your dd goes, my guess is part of her depression could stem from struggling so at school and feeling like a failure. My feelings are, if your dd needs the meds to be successful, then I wouldn't deny her. I would also suggest start checking with your school on getting your dd some classroom accommodations to help with her ADD. My son is allowed to take his tests in the resource room because there are very few distractions in there. He is allowed to go to the resource room anytime he feels he needs individual help with any part of any subject. Things like that could be a huge help to your dd.

I had to laugh a little at the "homework log" thing. I had more teachers recommend that than I could shake a stick at...I'm thinking, here's a kid that can't remember to turn it IN, how in the world is he going to remember to even write it down...It finally got to the point to where I would walk into the ARD meeting and think, if I hear "homework log" one more time I will scream...Of course, I would hear it and I wouldn't scream. I learned to just smile and nod.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2006
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 1:53pm
yeah, the "homework log". i would have to go to school WITH her and do the homework log FOR her and keep up with it myself. i cant tell you how many different homework notebooks we made with homework logs. she has 10 classes and block scheduling so to remember to have that for each subject on alternate days is more that she can handle, thats just something else to worry about. i will check with the school about accomodations, besides the homework log!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2005
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 2:46pm

Ha! I would have to go in, take the homework log out of his backpack, fill it out, put it back, put the books in his backpack, carry his backpack home, and then do his homework.

My son forgets what he's being told AS YOU ARE SAYING IT.

It's true that his IEP and accommodations have helped a lot - but (and hindsight IS 20/20) our school system was not prepared to deal with my son - and it's been an uphill struggle since 2nd grade.

Luckily, the community college has an INCREDIBLE program in place for students who are LD and ADHD, and we're getting him processed for that already. But the whole "homework log" thing just became a joke in our house.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 02-02-2007 - 6:56pm

I would exhaust all other options before going to meds simply because that makes sense

My son was on Adderall or Strattera for inattentive ADD. I felt it made a difference-he was more tuned in and less likely to "watch the movie inside my head". But, honestly, I didnt see a significant difference in his grades and because of the weight loss issues, we stopped.

These kids tend to pick up on visual so using charts isnt a bad idea. We had to do a spreadsheet to remind him to shower and brush his teeth but it works. Also, routine is soooo important. I think adults who are compulsive may have started ADD like. There is no showering every other day-it HAS to be daily because thats the only way he can remember it. The order is important because if it gets out of order, they forget.

Color is big so anything you can do with highlighters-different color notebooks(all blue for math, etc)is helpful

I would do EFAs like fish oil-not going to hurt her. These kids are often carb kids-try getting more protein in her

Oddly enough my son is good about remembering assignments-he does them poorly because of his LDs but he does remember to do them. And he doesnt use his planner so??? Hmm. Im going to have to ask because how IS he doing that when he cant remember to take a shower or comb his hair(actually the spreadsheet has solved that but for years we fought it)

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2005
Sat, 02-03-2007 - 2:24am

I never found things like showering, brushing his teeth, etc. to be a problem - but then again, as I've stated before, my son is gay, and personal appearance is very important to him.

I will say that unlike many ADD kids, he did NOT respond to visual cues. Different color notebooks, spreadsheets, etc. didn't work with him. We did use a note on the front door for a while (reminding him to take his medication, his homework, his backpack, etc.), and that worked for a while, but after a few weeks, he was used to seeing the note on the front door, and unlike some kids who respond to visual cues, just tuned it out instead of remembering what it said.

My son tends to respond to auditory cues. He will be given a script where he is the lead and has hundreds of lines - will highlight them and review them - but will not remember them until the time comes that the director makes him put it down and start working on the stage - at which point he will be fed lines until he remembers them.

It's just a different approach - he's auditory, most ADD kids ARE visual. For example, my son can see the same show 12 times and not remember a word of it - but listen to the cast recording once and know every line to every song.

Medication is not for everyone - some kids respond well to higher levels of protein (as one mom said), vitamin supplements, and changes in diet. Unfortunately, mine didn't...and so we must go back to medication.

Hope all goes well with DD - and that she responds to the homeopathic remedies...please keep us posted.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-25-2006
Sat, 02-03-2007 - 10:13pm

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How nice that you pick up on that! I'm working with a 2nd grader now who reads at K-level. He keeps telling me "I can't read." But when I work with him he's always glancing up at me for approval rather than looking at the print on the page. He remembers the concepts I explain better than any student I've worked with--he's totally an auditory learner. I'm always telling him, "I can't hear you" or "Say something" because that's what he needs when he's reading. He needs to hear something while his hand is forming the letters and his eyes are seeing the shapes he's forming. He's the only student I've ever had who confuses the letters 'n' and 'd'. He is also on meds for ADHD, but when working one-on-one he is the perfect student with me. And he IS reading now, and looking at the print instead of at me, after our first 20 hours together. (His teacher is threatening to retain him because he's not where he should be, ARRRRGGHHHHHHHHH!)

He recently got suspended AGAIN, the second time. The first time was a 3-day suspension for hitting a teacher's aide; and this time he was suspsended for ONE WEEK for getting in a fight with another student. He's only a second grader for Pete's sake! His mom tells him to fight back. They live in the inner city where that's what's necessary for survival. SHE is the one who should be suspended or taught social skills, and not the poor kid who's getting mixed messages. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO against this zero-tolerance crap we have in our schools. Soon I'll be writing a letter to the editor of our local newspaper.

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