6wishes Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I am curious as to those out there that have received a diagnosis, did you decide to medicate, and if so, what changes did you see? If you didn't, what are you doing differently now to cope with it day to day- in other words, not just in general home life, but also with school...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 After seeing my Ds do so well on a non-stimulant ADHD medication, I started taking it myself. WOW! If only I had known sooner. I used to be able to get a lot done, did well in school, very organized but I had lost all that in the last few years. Now, I am back to being able to do some of those things again and I am way more patient with people in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyme99 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 After seeing my Ds do so well on a non-stimulant ADHD medication, I started taking it myself. WOW! If only I had known sooner. I used to be able to get a lot done, did well in school, very organized but I had lost all that in the last few years. Now, I am back to being able to do some of those things again and I am way more patient with people in general. Which ones are the non-stimulate ones? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Intuniv. This is the "new" time release version of an older blood pressure medicine, so it is $. I had a manufacturer's coupon, but I may ask to try the generic non-time release when the discount period expires. Neither I or DS has tried a stimulant medication so I can't speak to their effectiveness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyme99 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Intuniv. This is the "new" time release version of an older blood pressure medicine, so it is $. I had a manufacturer's coupon, but I may ask to try the generic non-time release when the discount period expires. Neither I or DS has tried a stimulant medication so I can't speak to their effectiveness. Good to know. My DD has used the stimulants only and I don't like them at all. We are trying to go med free this year. She is taking fish oil supplements too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyme99 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I am curious as to those out there that have received a diagnosis, did you decide to medicate, and if so, what changes did you see? If you didn't, what are you doing differently now to cope with it day to day- in other words, not just in general home life, but also with school...? My DD was on a few different ones. We didn't like any. She had trouble sleeping and would hardly eat. Honestly, I only saw a slight improvement in her work at school. I am trying to go med free this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 With ds we did initially, he was on ritalin with great success for many years, but then they started to trigger rages. The dr had us stop giving it to him and has refused to prescribe any other kinds until a shrink is on board. The problem is the shrinks we have seen all say he is not adhd because he can sit for the 5 minutes we are in the offive. I absolutely want to medicate him again, it has been 2.5 years and things are bad all the time without it. He can't keep his thoughts straight and is so distractable that he asked me if he is going crazy. I want to try a non-stim med like strattera, or one of the newer ones like vyvanse rather than going back to ritalin though. DD we never tried anything that worked to make a difference. DS9 we have never tried but he is desperately in need of it. Problem with him is shrink wants to blame everything on his other LD's but the SLP and OT have quit working with him until the shrink agrees to treat the adhd because he can not focus in therapy to deal with the other issues. I am thinking of pulling the oldest for sure away from the ped and having him see my GP. The GP may be willing to do at least a trial of meds with ds and see if it helps, especially if I couch it with the risks of self medicating etc. DS does not like feeling the way he currently does and every. single. thing. he does is an issue because I have to repeat the instructions a hundred flipping times. DS9 I think could work with the SLP and OT to overcome many of his other delays if his adhd was treated, so if I can get the GP to listen about ds14 I will also have ds9 start being seen there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplyme99 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Can non stimulant meds be used on a child who is inattentive? My DDs ped prescribed the stimulants, which neither one of us like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Can non stimulant meds be used on a child who is inattentive? My DDs ped prescribed the stimulants, which neither one of us like! Sadly, inattentive ADHD is the hardest to treat. Most people who respond to meds (which is less than half) respond to low doses of stimulants (like Ritalin). The brain chemistry is different in ADHD-PI (aka ADD, or inattentive type). It's almost like it's the opposite of ADHD-C (combined/hyperactive types) where instead of focusing on every little thing that goes by (distractible) they can't attend very long to anything (inattentive), and are almost hypO-active. I have one of each. We're still trying out meds. I was very resistant at first, but I read something that really hit me. I heard the findings of a study where kids who were treated with ADHD (meds) and those who were not reported only one main difference when recalling their childhood - those who had received meds remember being happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 My 11yo went on Vyvanse at 9yo, when he was functioning at a preschool/K level both academically and with regards to language and motor planning/function. This was 2 years ago this week. He is now on grade-level. Non-stimulants did not work for him, and neither did any of the methylphenidates (Ritalin in its various forms.) Only Vyvanse has worked. He takes the lowest dose twice a day - this allows him to get through the whole day, while not inducing massive weight loss. Now, I don't expect that all children would react in the same way, but for his very severe ADHD it was the only option. He isn't a behavior problem, and his related symptoms were too severe for simple accommodations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmmm Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 We did medicate when my dd stopped doing her work in 2nd grade. Her grades went up, but she was so mean and moody. She asked to get off them in 3rd grade, we let her. Her grades slipped. We took her out of school because it isn't worth it to us. She was on stimulants. We can't try other options because she won't swallow pills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Medications worked with my kids. The two hyperactive ones did stimulate medications that worked. The inattentive seems to be getting at least some what better with a low dose of an anti-depressant/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMV Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 A couple of months ago, my ds was prescribed Strattera (another non-stimulant) and we were sent home with a 30-day trial and asked to come back in a month to monitor his progress. Well, he never took the medication because after some research I discovered it had the dreaded "black box warning" and I was not willing to take the risk with my son. I have heard great things about this medication, and I know all medications have side effects, but I just couldn't do it. So - where are we now? I decided to try the supplement route - Omegas/Gaba/etc. and he is taking a Healthy Brain elixir, as well. I am also trying to keep his diet as natural and whole as possible with lots of juicing and yummy Vitamix drinks. I figure a diet like that can't possibly hurt. :) It's a daily struggle, especially with his raging hormones (he turns 13 in a month). But I'm determined to figure this out for his sake - and ours. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Copper.Penny Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 ... I was very resistant at first, but I read something that really hit me. I heard the findings of a study where kids who were treated with ADHD (meds) and those who were not reported only one main difference when recalling their childhood - those who had received meds remember being happy. Do you have a link or name of article for this study. It sounds like something I'd be interested in reading. Thank you! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shegeek81 Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 I medicated my son for 1 year. He had been pretty impulsive in 1st grade, standing on chairs, yelling, and making loud noises and laughing in class. I changed his diet and tried natural stuff but it didn't help enough. If he ate one thing on Saturday that was not part of his diet it would still be in his system until Tuesday.....CRAZY! So we got him diagnosed ADHD but I knew he still had problems. The meds made him zone out in class and he had no personality or character. I requested a full Psych Ed Evaluation. He has since been diagnosed with Autism and I have recently pulled him out of public school and am homeschooling now and he has been med free for 3 weeks!! He is doing great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnella Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 My DS has ADD-Inattentive. We started medication when he was still in ps and in 3rd grade. The first attempt was a low level stimulant, and then he told his class he was going to kill himself. So not a good choice at all. He was really struggling in school, so we tried Straterra and it was a big success. (A big bonus is that it doesn't aggravate his anxiety.) He went off it for a few months last year, and it was a disaster despite being the only kid at home. So he went back on. We haven't had any problems with side effects. Until this fall, it's worked just wonderfully. His neurologist recently increased his dosage, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll work again. This school year has been horrible without it. My DS is so frustrated. 7th grade was fantastic, and he was feeling so much better about himself. Now he has a miserable time trying to do any of his school work. I'd love to have him off meds but our attempts in that direction have been failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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