Twinmom Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Ok, I need some experienced ADHD moms to help me out here! I have 7 yr old twins who are about to drive me completely batty. They were drug exposed in utero and have a definitive diagnosis of SPD (sensory seeking type!!). We've been in OT for almost a year and do have some improvement. However...they are still extremely easy to distract, very, very hyper and often disorganized. I know that SPD and ADHD are lookalike disorders and I am also aware that it is entirely possible to have both. I don't know for sure but am beginning to suspect my kids have both disorders. The OTs are not sure but certainly see what I am seeing. So, to my questions: First, I'm considering giving them caffeine prior to school, just as an experiment to see if it helps any possible ADHD. I've done a little bit of looking into it and I've read that 2.5 mg per kilo is a safe amount for children...this would work out to a max of 60 mg daily per kid. Does this sound right? Safe? Would I try it in one single morning dose or spread out over the day? Second, if I wanted to try to get my kids screened for ADHD with someone who also recognizes/understands SPD, where would I start? I don't want to end up with someone who just rubber stamps every busy kid that comes in as ADHD, IYKWIM. I really need someone who understands the subtle difference between SPD and ADHD and doesn't just stick my kids on meds automatically. I start out each day vowing to be positive but ending the day wringing my hands and feeling bad for yelling all day. We do lots of heavy work and it helps for a time, but it isn't enough. I'm tired of feeling like a bad mom and fearing that my kids will get behind in school. I'm not a great believer in meds but I am willing to use them if they will help my kids. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Take this for what it is worth: First, if they were drug exposed, do you know if either bio parent had mental health issues? SOOOOO often the bio parents are self medicating for mental health issues and then you end up with kids in the system that have been prenatally exposed to drugs and/or alcohol. I mention this as sometimes what looks to be ADHD can really be part of another mental health issue. Here it was bipolar. My daughter was the most extreme ADHD kid you would have known (in fact the neuropsych came out of the room from testing her and said SHE was tired). If you decide to have them evaluated, make sure the psychiatrist, etc. is aware of what they were exposed to prenatally, any bio family history of mental illness, etc. Some meds for ADHD can make other things worse or knowing other possible issues can direct treatment choices. On the med thing. I am for using meds IF indicated. I talked with our neuropsychologist for about 40 minutes yesterday and she said that more and more research is showing that if the kids have a mental health issue and are treated properly when YOUNG, the brain becomes more and more trained to be "normal" where if you let the brain function abnormally (untreated issues) then the brain becomes more and more used to that. We were talking more about bipolar but I have heard that for ADHD as well. For example, my 15 year old daughter has bipolar but has been treated well since she was 5. She is sitll on her meds and likely will be very long term BUT on her meds, she is almost symptom free. Seriously, she has fewer mood issues than most teenage girls. It is kinda comparable to a diabetic. If they let their blood sugars to high/low/crash, etc. the more they are out of control, the harder it is to control them. If though they keep them really in check, their outcome long term is better---doesn't mean they won't need the meds but they likely won't have the other health complications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Thanks, Ottakee! I know both of their birth parents well (as in, we talk weekly and they visit our home for holidays!) and there are no known mental health issues. One 1/2 sib has been diagnosed ADHD. I agree with you on the meds front...I have a DD who has an anxiety disorder (who knows about her background...other than SPD and no reported drugs/mh issues, we've not a clue) and I have her on medication in the hopes of training her brain early. Still have the caffeine question... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Still have the caffeine question... I don't know how much to use. I have heard that it does help---after all, look at how many adults can not get ANYTHING done with out their coffee. Here they say that ADHD is a "new" thing but look back 150 years ago and how many cowboys and pioneers survived on STRONG coffee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I can't say for sure if this is advisable or safe or what but I will say that I have a friend (an adult) who says he has ADHD and self-medicates by drinking Coke or Mtn. Dew or something with caffeine and it helps him. I give my ds9 a 1/2 cup of my half caff. coffee in the am and I started to notice it did help his concentration for a while. But he has other issues, too. Caff doesn't help with those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~cindy~ Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 There was a long thread on ADHD and caffeine when I first joined here because I joined in on it. I'm not used to searching on this site but will try to find it for you. For us, the caffeine does work but there is the problem of what and how to give it to him. I am having a little break from it for the time being as we are taking a long Christmas break but I do find that if I can get Lucas to drink something caffeinated then he does focus more. It is completely useless IMO if you give them caffeine with a lot of sugar....it completely defeats the purpose for us anyhow:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~cindy~ Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Here is the thread that I participated in though there seems to many of them if you do an advanced search :) http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207889 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Oh, thanks so much!! That thread looks great. You'd think I'd try the search feature once in a while...;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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