Hi

Glad to see there is another discussion forum around, means I can moan alot more now!!!
My 6 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD last November. He went for his first diagnosis two years earlier where they said he may have ADHD but would have to come back in 6 months time for a proper diagnosis - 6 months later they said he didn't have ADHD. After pulling my hair out for another 6 months I got him referred again which took another six months :( - they said he definately has got ADHD!!

Anyway, they said its either medication or behaviour therapy - we had already tried behaviour therapy and that didn't work, I've tried food and fish oil tablets but they don't work either. I really didn't want to go down the medication route but my husband and I are REALLY pulling our hair out.

Anyway, my son was diagnosed in November and I had to go back to my doctors a month ago as I hadn't heard anything - finally I've got a letter through for another appointment at the specialist for next Wednesday. The problem is that I'm not sure what to do really, I don't know whether or not to let him go onto medication or whether I'm only thinking of myself and how much easier it would be for me and my husband (we have 3 other children aswell).

I keep thinking to myself, if the hyperactivity was to calm down, which it would in a few years, then I could cope a bit better - but then I think, no, the whinging is twice as bad.

To cut an even longer story short does ANYONE have any ideas on what I should do - if I say no to medication and then regret not going onto it its going to take yet another 6 months to be referred - :blink: AAAAHHH :blink: - I'm going for a lie down!!!!!

I'd appreciate any comments.

Thanks
:)

:D Hi x4kids
Welcome to the forum.

Feel free to moan all you like. Thats what this forum is all about.

We know how you feel.

Andrew was diagnosed last year aged 10. It was suggested that we try him on medication but we were both against it. We were advised to find out what we could about ADHD and medications ready for our appointment in December 2003.

We had talked to Andrew and he didn't want to go on meds.
We went for our appointment and during the conversation with the consultant paed. Andrew was asked why he didn't want to try the meds. he said that he didn't want to have injections everyday. When he learned that it would be tablets he said that they would be OK.
We had a long talk as a family and decided that we would give the meds a try.
Andrew started on a 5mg Equasym each day. We decided that this would be given after school so that we could monitor any effect (good :) or bad :angry: )
We noticed an improvement in him within a couple of days.
We have introduced a second dose before school and even his teacher ('Medication won't work') has accepted that there is an improvement in him overall.

If you do try meds. don't think you are doing it for you. You are doing it for your son and your family. ADHD puts a lot of strain on everyone.

If the meds don't work then you can stop them and know that atleast you tried.

Let us know how the appointment goes.

Hi there,

I am 21 now got diagnosed as ADHD when i was 15 back in 1997, i personally believe that there are a range of programs/meds which can be of assistance when it comes to ADHD. Medication should not in my iopionion be offered as an *cure* within its self, and so behaviour therapy should not be offered on its own either, in my personal opinion teh two should be given together to work along side each other.

Wheni was first diagnosed i was put on Ritalin, nad the dose increased over a period of about 4 months, to begin with i noticed no difference and neither did anyone else, after a while the only things we noticed was i was having mad mood swings worse than i had before starting on it, 3 months after these things started to level off and i was in control..............

im now not on any specific medication for my ADHD but am for the comobid diagnoses i have.....

If i can be of any more help get in touch

Yours

Lea
xxx
www.yadhdpm.co.uk YOUNG ADD AND ADHD PEOPLE DO MATTER

:rolleyes: HI my son has been on meds since 4 years old he is now 12. I agree with the comments already made that meds & behaviour therapy would work better together. My son started on ritalin then on equasyum and now hes on concerta XL which has been the best. That in my view. He only has one dose a day and its for a 12 hour period which is a slow release ritalin. Im know expert but have learnt alot in the past years with experiances and in the early years we had some really bad times. But i can honest say theirs a lot of improvement with meds and lots of guidance. A few years ago i went on a webster sttraton parenting course which at first i didnt think would help but later found out it does help. If i can be of any help to anyone dont hesitate to ask, not saying i will be able to answer everything but would like to help if i can from experiance. Take care Bon

Hi

Thanks for the comments :)

I went to the specialist today and he said the only thing he can offer is the medication and a clinical psychologist. I said that medication was a last resort really but that I had tried other things so it might be worth giving meds a chance.

He said that we wouldn't be able to start it until the next school term which is good because it gives me and my husband a bit of time to think about it. He's going to write me a letter telling me what the "process" is and give me a few leaflets on the medication etc. He said if we chose medication he would put my son on Concerta LX once a day and yes, there would be side effects. Obviously the high blood pressure is worrying - the drowsiness would be to start with but he said that thats only until the right amount of medication is worked out. The thing that worries me most is the loss of appetite - my son is a really good eater but he also hasn't got an ounce of fat on him so I'm worried it will have a bad effect.

All that said, my husband and I have agreed that a 3 month trial would probably be a good idea, its affecting the rest of the family too much for us to just sit back and ignore it - my eldest son (8 years old) has a real problem with it and after a few years of bad behaviour from him previously (we found out eventually he had dyslexia), we don't want him to go backwards again.

I just hope I'm not making the wrong decision, I must admit I don't feel I've tried every other avenue before deciding on medication, but to be honest, all thats left costs an absolute fortune!!

Thanks again everyone, you'll probably hear from me again soon!

Just a last thought - I wonder if "Super Nanny" could transform an ADHD child?

Hi As i mentioned earlier my son is on concerta xl and i hope you dont mind me saying, He is doing well and has been taking it a good while. He has his blood pressure done regulary, and touch wood we have never had a problem at all. He did lose his appitite but he still can eat on them. He was worse when he was on the old ritalin. And when the med wears off he certainly wants to eat, I know every child is different and it is a big decision, but it has certainly made life alot better for my son. Where his concenstration improved and getting on better with friends and family, if your willing its worth a try just see how you all feel about it. You might feel like asking if you can try the med a couple of days before he goes back to school just to reassure yourselves thats what we did and then you can see how he behaves and it would probably make you feel alot better. Mind you this is only a sugguestion. My sons dad was really not for the meds, but after a while he could see the difference and when he was getting on better it built up his self esteem where it was getting knocked down alot. Hope this may be of help. good luck bon

hi everyone,

To decide to put your kids on meds has to be the toughest choice around (i know been there myself) but someone else emailed me about this decision saying that meds have been around for along time and the experts know what they are doing when they say children should be on meds. (i hope that bit meant sense) my son has been on tablets for 6 weeks approx and is now on concerta xl which is working and he now wants to spend time with his dad which is a good thing he is also on EPA which is a concentrated fish oil which i got from holland and barrett it is expensive but the bottle lasts for about 9 months and is high in omega 3 and the doc says it is a good idea. the way i saw it without the tablets the behaviour would get worse and if the tablets didnt work then least i tried. but i am still open to new ideas on ways to help with his behaviour as like any mother i dont want my child on meds for a long time.

I hope this made sense still half asleep.

all the best leanne :)