My child was diagnosed with ADHD can there be more then one type of ADHD??

Sham - posted on 01/09/2013

go to this website it has lots of good info and it could be oppositional defiant disorder have him retested. Hope this helps. http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/type...

Dodie - posted on 10/25/2012

They classify all add and adhd as adhd, but myself my son and one of my sisters has just add and my brother other sister and niece have adhd they have the hyperactive part. My son started prek a year ago half the year was great green face everyday... after chirstmas break he was totally defiant and red and blue faces everyday it was so bad i didnt want to send him back to that school they were sending me special ed papers every week for me to sign him up, but i refused. So I talked to my husband and we decided to get him in get him tested for whatever they test for. I wouldnt have ever thought he had adhd because he didnt have the hyperactivity we all associate with adhd, but my two younger sisters who at the time were above 19 years of age were tested and they have adhd, so it made me think about myself and my son. So I went to my physician and talked to her i had printed this whole 6 page test i found online for adhd and she read it and was like wow... I had it my whole life and didnt know because i didnt have the hyperactivity... all he trouble i was having as a kid in school all my behavior issues that i couldnt control, and i saw all the same things coming out in my then 5 year old. So after we got him tested and the test came back as yes he is adhd with no hyperactivity. I took him to his pediatrician to talk to her about options before I made any other appointments. So she was like well if you want I will jsut prescribe him something and we can see how it works because hes not old enough to really go to a psychiatrist she said i can prescribe the meds just like a phyc could do but they just do counseling which he might need when hes alot older. So she put him on Concerta 18mg in july so we could test it out a month before he started school.. and can i tell you the first day he took his pill we were on a work trip with his dad and he jokingly told him during the ride that when we got home he wanted our son to take our sheets off our bed and throw them by the wash because his grandparents were coming the next day from out of state to stay. well 6 hours later we get home. we are doing our normal routeen and here he comes with our sheets taking them to the laundry. then he sat at the table and colored like 4 pages stayed in the lines. it was amazing. I dont think my husband believed he had the add until he saw how he acted taht whole day and that he remembered to do what he told him. Before we could tell him to go brush his teeth and by the time he got to the bathroom he would be in there playing and wasting shampoo and throwing rolls of toilet paper in the toilet.... We dont have any of these problems anymore its wonderful.

Debi - posted on 09/27/2012

Sounds more like oppositional defiant disorder. I was told to abort my baby due to meds for my Graves Disease.... I did not, he had many challenges, asthma, ADHD, chronic URI, night terrors..... By 7. During that time I spent 10,000 hours researching. Applied principles to address his immune state bringing it from hyper to calm. He is now starting his 4th year at West Points United States Military academy. No meds ever.... I ended writing a book and work with moms and docs regarding issues ranging from asthma, ADHD to autism. There is hope but so often, these symtoms/conditions are treated and not the underlying cause.

Cari - posted on 09/21/2012

my son is 5 and i suspect that he is ADHD and after reading these comments i also think he has ODD. he gets angry over everything and will smack his sister for no reason. when asked why he did it he says i dont know and laughs. it gets very frustrating and i have decided to get him diagnosed. he just started kindergarten and he has been in trouble every day and its only been a month since school started. i have also noticed that he doesnt take well to change, my sister lived with us since he was born and just recently left the state. at 1st he wouldnt talk to her and went as far as to say he hates her b/c she left. but after explaining to him that she loves and misses him dearly and that it hurts her when he says things to her, he finally talk to her. he is still angry that his Grandmother passed away and wont even look at pictures of her and tells you straight out that he doesnt love or miss her b/c she left. i am 100% against meds but if it will help him get thru school i will give it to him. his grades arent the issue its the talking out of turn & answering back to adults that worries me.

Lisa - posted on 09/18/2012

interested in your information on boy and adhd add etc..

Veronica - posted on 09/17/2012

My son is 14 and was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 5 he is getting good grades at school I did have him on Vemma a vitiman suppliment that did help but it got to expensive for me

Amanda - posted on 08/28/2012

Defiant is definately and ODD..oppositional defiant disorder... our son has ADHD, ODD, and is mentally delayed. Lots of patience and understanding the condition. Definately break the habbit now. Is your son on medication for the ADHD? If so, that could trigger the ODD to go off the wall.... If hes ADHD and ODD your only option may be a medicated route just for schooling purposes. We have went our rounds with doctors and we finally found one that has found the perfect medication for him. We are not so stressed at home anymore and the teacher has seen a DRAMATIC difference. I would definately ask the doctor about ODD...or at least inform the doc of the angry issues. :) GOODLUCK! You have tons of support here! It will all be okay..lots of battles and stress but it will work itself out for the best.

Julie - posted on 08/09/2012

This is the best way I have read for describing the different types of ADHD/ADD:

Winne the Pooh: Inattentive ADHD: forgetful, easily distracted, friendly, hungry all the time

Tigger: Classic ADD, Hyperactive, impulsive, aggressive, brain skips around so hard to focus

Rabbit: OCD or Over-Focused ADHD": controlling, predictable, ritualistic, clean, orderly. Rabbit tends his garden repeatedly, but is not "flexible" with others, panics when things are not just so.

Piglet: Anxiety with ADD: anxious, nervous & worrisome.

Eeyore: Depression with ADD: sad, negative, hopeless, prone to give up easily or quit.

Sandy - posted on 08/06/2012

My daughter is 25 and was diagnosed with ADHD when she was in first grade.
We believe it may be possible that she is bipolar though. She will be great and then just lose it. Those are things we know happen when they are younger, maybe even a teenager but not at 25. She was on medication growing up and did so much better but it seems to be getting worse.
She will go a couple of weeks sometimes just being happy and we think maybe she's over it and then boom back to the same old craziness. She was dating someone for a year and was really happy for about the first 8 or 9 months and during that time she was such a nice person to be around. Things started going south and she's back to acting crazy.
He told her she treated him like crap and she didn't even see it, but we did.
Honestly we just don't know what to do any more. We love our daughter but she needs help.
Anyone have any suggestions?

Sandy - posted on 08/06/2012

I too am adhd, as is my husband. My kids didn't stand a chance. :-) We took classes that lasted 5 weeks that consisted of parents and teachers. We learned a lot about it, including the fact that ADHD is not at all the same in all people. Our daughters were more fidgety and talkative and our son sounded like what you are dealing with now. He would just walk past one of his sisters and smack them in the back of the head for no reason. This, we found out, is quite common in some types of adhd, especially with boys. The good thing..... he is 27 now and is amazing! His lack of impulse control went away as he got older. The best thing I can suggest is to get him in to see an adhd psychiatrist/counselor. It really helped him a lot. He started going in 5th grade.

Ami - posted on 08/04/2012

thats ODD obsitional defiant disorder it usualy walks hand in hand with a boy thats adhd

Kristin - posted on 06/25/2012

My son is ADHD and I refuse to medicate him. He had agression and anger issues so we put him in the CHADS program and learned some really good parenting tips. My son gets more agressive and angry when he is tired, hungry, or frustrated. So i ensure I feed him a strict healthy diest with limited sugar and red foods. He is also in bed at 830 every night (he is 6) and we communicate a lot. When he is angry I ask him why he is angry if he wont answer me or gets defiant i put him in his room and shut the door and he is not allowed out until he calms down and is willing to talk about things. When I put him on time out i do not yell, do not hit in fact I am completley silent and I calmly put him in his room and close the door. He will either rant and rave and throw things for 5 minutes or he will cry for 5 minutes, usually after 5 minutes he comes out and he is either calmed down or if he is still angry he goes back in his room, when he is calmed down we talk it out and I make sure he knows that his bad behavior is not tolerated and will be followed by a bad consequence ( ie put in his room, park taken away etc.) If he has made a mess in his room he is the one who cleans it up, I always follow up with a huge mommy loves you, I just dont like when you are bad and give him lots of hugs

Alesia - posted on 06/18/2012

Ladies I am doing a show in Los Angeles about moms, families, relationships... We will be discussing this issue. with the emphasis - Saving Our Boys- If you have a story and you think your son may have a behavioral issue and you would like information, help or possible diagnosis please send me information to rickicasting at gmail dot com.

Jen - posted on 05/10/2012

My daughter is 14. She was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age, like 4. We recently got a battery of tests done to make sure we weren't missing anything, she's not medicated and hasn't been since Kindergarten because she has never been destructive or disruptive. There actually is more going on than just ADHD with her, and besides her just being a typical teenage girl. She has bipolar disorder, Asperger's, OCD and ADHD. She will be medicated for high school.



Point: there are several co-morbidities (other things going on) that could be going on. I suggest finding a good psychologist who specializes in ADHD and have them get to the bottom of it. Its a long process, but it really fills in the blanks. Like I explained to my daughter, in order to get to your destination, for example a vacation, you need a good map. These tests really do an excellent job of filling in the gaps so you can reach your ultimate destination which is success. Fill in the gaps early and you'll know how to help your child better. Good luck.

Melissa - posted on 05/01/2012

Our son is 6.5 and was diagnosed with adhd and odd, it took us time to come to terms with deciding to medicate him. But it's a world of difference he's on intutiv he takes 1mg there has not been the need to increase the dosage since his diagnosis in February. He too is identical to the child above this post, extremely competetive excels at all sports but was having/still is having a hard time learning to play as a teammate. In school we had the acting out violent behavior which no longer exists he's actually excelled tremendously in school. I think the studies/research into adhd have came a long way and it's tough to make the decision but I feel it's even harder on our son to constantly be ousted as the "bad kid" when he truly is a wonderful caring little boy just needed a little help to keep him on track.

Kerry - posted on 04/03/2012

my 8.5 son just got diagnosed with borderline ADHD. He is a very sweet 3rd grader.....really into sports but soooo competetive. He has alot of friends but I find that he tries to out do everyone with a made up story, which is so annoying!! He is a fidgeter and has a hard time staying on task. The teachers were concerned because of his comprehension and how he gets distracted easily.......but he isn't distracting to the class. I think he has been compensating with his school work so far but it will catch up to him. He started on Adderall XR 15mg yesterday and had a horrible headache which i guess is a side effect.......I had to pick him up from school it was that bad!! His Dr. decreased it to 5mg and I will start it this weekend so I can monitor him closely.......I hate giving him meds because I hear of these side effects and it makes me nervous!!

Wendy - posted on 02/13/2012

it sounds like he could also have ODD or bi-polor, my son was very defiant towards me, the school and any others that came in contact with him

Kathy - posted on 12/22/2011

From several things I've seen and depending on who you believe there are 3-4 different kinds of ADHD. One episode of the Doctors showed the brain scans of kids with ADHD and they showed 4 distinct kinds. The info we got from the school said there was 3 kinds. Inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive and a combination of the above. My son was just diagnosed. We have suspected it for some time though.

Gemma - posted on 12/12/2011

my son is like that he has ADHD but he also has ODD (Oppositional defiant disorder) which would make him extremely angry towards others, answer back, never wrong will not give in if he wants something. Usually when they have ADHD it dosnt often come on its own theres usually other problems but not always. My son has only just recently been diagnosed it has taken me years for them to listen to me and accept that something needed to be done. They made me feel like they were saying i was a bad mum (the professionals that is) and it wassnt the case. He eventually saw a phychatrist well 2 actually. they first didnt seem to listen to what we were saying she said he may have a condition but she couldnt be sure. Then he saw another phychatrist and he diagnosed him there and then. its been a long struggle. He is on medication but only low dose and dont think its quite right yet so will have to ajust that over time. He attends Camhs so im alot happier that hes getting help.

Sara - posted on 11/10/2011

Read Dr. Daniel Amen's book - Healing ADD, he says there are 6 types of ADD. And 1 medicine does not work for all different types. In fact, some types will get worse on the usual ADD meds.... There is a kind of ADD Dr. Amen calls Ring of Fire - which has a lot of anger and violence involved, and typically does not respond well to stimulant meds like Ritalin, as it can make them worse. Read the book - fascinating. There are some nutritional approaches, and even some supplements. Are you trying Omega 3s?

Vanessa - posted on 11/09/2011

My son is was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5 1/2 years old. We recently lowered his dose of Vyvanse he takes.He is 10 now. He has never had angry outbursts.My son respects me, dad, teachers & authority.He would think the worst thing in the world would be to get a detention.My son is so caring, compassionate & loving. It def. sounds like ODD Opposition Defiance Disorder.Oppositional defiant disorder is a pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures. I copied & pasted the def. of ODD, hope this helps.

Lisa - posted on 11/07/2011

I have read and been told that there is a thin line between adhd and bipolar disorder and tbat sometimes children with bipolar disorder are misdiagnosed as having adhd. The only difference between the two are the "exibiting signs of sudden anger" it is just something to think about if your child is also having anger issues. My son is 4.5 and I believe he has add, but i'm also concerned that he may be slightly autistic.

Angela - posted on 10/05/2011

My son is almost 8 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 6.5. He was put on different typee of medication from Ritalin to vyvanse and now he is on Straterra. I like the Straterra because it is a non-stimulant and is not habit forming but lately I have noticed that he has extreme anger outbursts toward his sister or me. He throws things, slams doors, hits people and the dog. He will go from angry crying tantrum to sweet and calm all in about 20 minutes. It is very scary. It is to the point where I cannot control him and I get a little scared of him at times. I understand where you are coming from with the violent episodes. My son goes to the doctor on the 12th and I am going to talk to her about this.

Lisa - posted on 09/27/2011

If your son is heavy on the hyperactivity side of ADHD the oppositional behaviors are part of the disorder. It is a difficult road. Our son is 8 now and we put him on meds at 5.5 after a visit to my cousin's house where he trashed his cousin's room and called 911 because the older children wouldn't let him have a turn on the computer. Sound familiar? It has made a world of difference. He doesn't like being that way, losing his temper, getting in trouble. He wants to do well, he just can't without the meds. We also make sure he gets plenty of exercise and not too much tv or computer as that seems to make it worse. Good luck and hang in there!

Dancingwolf - posted on 08/19/2011

Ya the docter was talking about meds i really wanted to try the multi vitamin called calm forst to see if it help..but i will leave a open mind towards the meds..I never thought of autism being in the factor ...idk much about it but ty i will look into it

Dancingwolf - posted on 08/19/2011

TY I will look into that :)

Jenifer - posted on 08/19/2011

My son is also ADHD. There is a difference between ADD and ADHD. I feel each child is different. I guess you could say we knew at an early age that Joseph was Hyper. As parents we did not say anything to teacher cause we wanted to see how he did when he started pre-k. He did good just had a really hard time sitting to read and group time but when it was play time he was gone. We decided in kindergarden after teacher consulted with us to put him on medication. It has made a big difference with him. We struggle in the mornings cause he is not a morning person at all. I am literally dressing him in his sleep are esle we would not make it to school. once the medication is in his system it's like day and night. Medication may not be for everyone thats why we waited. My husband was against the medication to begin with but when we met with doctor and the doctor explained things to him we agreed to give it a try. Joseph is just now starting to get a little bit of an attitude when I ask him to do something but I also think that is normal that they will try you as they older to see what they can get away with. I have told my son you are responsiable for your actions. Your son could possibly have some autism signs if he trys to hurt hiself or others. There is so much inofrmation out here now compare to 20 years ago. Hope this helps and thanks for reading.

ERICA - posted on 08/19/2011

That sounds a lot like my son he has ADHD and odd look into that