I spent 2 years with a diagnosis & no meds, finally decided it is time to try Adderall

Tina - posted on 01/06/2009

Quoting Tara:

Tina, 1 more thing. LOL Trintiy was also a lower birth weight of 6lbs 7oz but she was born long & is still very tall for her age as she is in the 96th percentile for her height!

Oh and Tara....LOL! Along with the weight thing. If your Doctor did not know your child all of her life, stick to what you know about her. You will know if she gets too skinny.  Even though it is very hard in the sports they are both in. They wanted to try a new med on her because of her weight.... I said ...NO WAY!!  I am not experimenting with her.  So we decided she might need a lower dose and eventually weened off.

Tina - posted on 01/06/2009

Quoting Tara:

OH & Tina, good idea about the ECO. I may go today to the doc to get on top of it! SHe is very active so this needs to be checked on before soccer starts back up as she plays 3 times a week

Tara,

     Christina does gymnastics 3x's a week. 12 hours a week. It is a very important test. I am glad I helped. It really feels nice to know someone going through the same thing as me.

Tina

Tara - posted on 01/06/2009

Tina, 1 more thing. LOL Trintiy was also a lower birth weight of 6lbs 7oz but she was born long & is still very tall for her age as she is in the 96th percentile for her height!

Tara - posted on 01/06/2009

OH & Tina, good idea about the ECO. I may go today to the doc to get on top of it! SHe is very active so this needs to be checked on before soccer starts back up as she plays 3 times a week

Tara - posted on 01/06/2009

Tina our DD's sound very simmilar.

I am not worried about her eating habbits now that school is back in as she is eating everything I make her for her lunches so maybe just being home & not doing much was most of her not being to hungry. Trinity is also falling asleep alot faster now too!

I am happy to report that her teacher sent home a note yesterday stating that Trinity completed 9 math work sheets yesterday when before she was lucky to get through 2. Trinitys Teachers & her TA's are wonderfull! I have no problems with them & we have a very open relationship & are constantly sending notes back & forth & I can speek to them anytime I wish. I love her teachers!

Also I noticed a difference when we were doing her spelling homework yesterday. Trinity only gets 10 words & they would usually take a whole 4 days Monday through thursday evening for her to remeber them for her test on Friday, well we sat for 20mins & she had them all remeberd! 20mins as apposed to 40min a night for 4 consecutive nights! I am so pleased! The best part is, her personality & just whom she is has not changed 1 bit. She is still the same

Tina - posted on 01/06/2009

have your doctor do a ECO on her heart. That way you know for sure her heart can handle it.  I was surprised when I moved to find that Christina's Dr does these on all of his patients. That is they way it should be. Proactive.. not reactive!

Christina also has trouble sleeping at night. She just hangs out with me till we both fall asleep and I put her to bed. She is a slow riser ..but I think that is her personality. I don't give her the meds in the summer and she is the same way. 

Also ...when her when she is not hungry and she NEEDS to eat. Have her drink a protein drink. That is what I have to do with my daughter and it works very well.

Good luck and keep me posted.

TIna

Tina - posted on 01/06/2009

Your story sounds VERY familiar, as I have a daughter with ADD who is now 12 years old.  She is not disruptive in class and carries herself very well, she just could not stay on task. When it comes to Math.... I almost thought she too had short term memory loss. It was as if I was speaking another language to her. My daughter was born a low birth weight of 6.9 and she always been low weight! She was diagnoised with ADD around 7 years old. I tried diet changes.... I tried natural remedies (she hated), finally gave in and she was put on Adderrall for a low dose. This was not helping with her attention in school at all! But I was not willing to up the dose because with the medicine she was still the same nice girl. I was fearful of upping the dose because I did not want it to change her personality. I compromised with the teachers and the doctor and went up to 15 mg not to 20mg. My friends saw a difference ..she was quiet. But her school grades were up to a C average and she was not failing. The teachers she had in Elementry School were horrible.... I later learned. They did not Help her learn different ways. They thought the meds were the cure and they did not have to do their part!! I found this out when we moved from Michigan to Washington. Christina's 6th grade teachers in Wa tried everything...groups, a buddy system and she also had a Teachers aide. They took time to test her and make sure there was not anything else wrong with her. THey just found she was below in Math and writing and has a IEP. She now goes to Middle School, she goes to special classes for Math only and is getting all A's and B's!!! She is also Very active now in competitive gymnastics...I think this helps! Now she is still under weight...but always has been and the doctors are working with me to lower her dose and finally get her off the drug.

My advice to you is it takes time. You really need to know the teachers and who is willing to help. I think also with ADD children ...the constant change of classes in Middle School helps a lot. Also she is burning her energy but building her confidence in gymnastics which shows dramatically!

Let me know if you have more questions.

Tina

Billie - posted on 01/03/2009

Hi Tara,

Tina is so right about ppl with ADHD being so smart. My little boy is in advanced math and reading. His brain is always moving. At the age of 4 he asked our doctor why there was no February 30th. And our doctor answered I dont know Dylan. And dylan was persistant and kept asking why. I ended up telling him that it was just like that. He accepted my answer and our doctor said no 4 yr old should be thinking that far. That is amazing he told me. ANd just this year at school his teacher was asking his class about needs and wants. Now of course this was around the time of the pres elections. All the other students were saying food and water and those kind of things. Not Dylan. He told his teacher that we all need health insurance to survive. He is so smart and he is always thinking outside the box. Sometimes I wonder if he is smarter than I am.

I also agree with Tina that adderrall is the best medicine and a life saver for me. I hope it all works out for your daughter. Keep me informed and take care.

Billie

Tina - posted on 01/03/2009

hi Tara my name is Tina I livein Ont Canada my oldest son is on adderall I think that it's the best thing seince slides bread . Now I have tried riddellen and that did nothen much for him . The olny side effects he has had is lost of hunger there are so many diffrent types of meds out there today to try . And my youngest son also has adhd so it's verry intersting in my house I might add and to boot I also have it as well which I got it from my dad, just remember ppl with adhd are verry smart ppl. Because there brain is alway clicken to the next thing to do ianstine also had adhd so what does that tell you? And what ever you do not blame yourself I did that for years ppl with this disorder are verry great ppl and just need a lil more help then others that's all . so keep ur chin up it will get better hugs t/c .....Tina

Tara - posted on 01/03/2009

HI Billie, thank you for your response & your experience.

Trinity has been on the Adderall for 4 days now & has the usual mild side affects such as loss of appetite but she is still eating so I am pleased she is just not consuming as much. Trin is also having a hard time falling asleep @ night but She has a really early bedtime of 8pm so I am not worried if she sits in her bed for an hour till she falls asleep.

WE have her on the lowest does of 10MG of Adderall but honestly I dont see a differnce in her yet & really I dontknow if I will. Her problems were wiht focusing only & that was never really an issue with her home life other htan being disorganized. I guess we will have to wait a month to hear back from her teachers. We have questionaires they have to fill out before meds & 30 days after meds.

My only 1 concern yet is that Trin has experience some rapid heart eppisodes to the point where she told me about it. Soccer starts back up next week & I am wondering how that may effect her when she is running.

SO far this isnt anything like I thought it would be, it is a much more positive experience

Billie - posted on 01/03/2009

Hi Tara,

I have a 7 yr old that has been on Adderrall for 2 1/2 yrs. He does very well on it. He lost a little weight at the beginning. When I called our doctor he said that we would just watch it and see how it goes. He told me normally it would balance out and his body would adjust to it. And that is exactly what it did. He now weighs 60 lbs and is within normal limits for his age. I can understand your nervousness about meds. I was very nervous at first. But when I seen how it affected my little boy, I was happy for him. He could actually concentrate and focus on the task at hand.

I am glad to that there are other moms out there with the same feelings as I have had. Look forward to hearing from you.

Billie