Thinking of uping my daughters medication...

Lisa - posted on 11/12/2009

my duaghter is 7 too and is on the same one adderrall 25 and she is 46lbs. and wont eat and she was a 10 lb bady she has serve adhd and odd and same other things wrong but the adderrall is working for her we tryed everthing and this is the one for her

Stacy - posted on 11/11/2009

So many people criticise the medication and it is so frustrating being a parent! My son has been on various combinations since he was almost 6 (is now 9) and I'm just only so grateful for it. He's been on the different Ritalin preparations, Concerta and is now back on the long acting Ritalin. He is also very emotional and cries very easily (so much worse when unmedicated/tired/excited). I don't know teh Daytrana patch but for us, medication has made such a difference but I do think it takes adjusting to get the right type/quanitiy etc... and then it's something to watch and adjust from time to time according to behaviour. Good luck, hope it can work for you too.

Sonja - posted on 11/09/2009

My son was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 and has been on ritalin since 6 starting with 20mgs a day and now on 40 mgs a day. These drugs do stunt their growth and do have high risks of heart failure and also drug addiction in teen years. I am not there at this stage but have decided to see a homeopath. For the past 2 weeks he has been on 5mls of cod liver oil and 5 ml of fish oil (containing 4.6g concentrated omega 3 triglycerides, 1.9g EPA, 927mg DHA) 300mg vit B, 500mg vit C, (125mg zinc, 122mg magnesium, 20mg manganese) in a tablet by blackmores called Z.B.M, and homeopathic drops every 2nd day called Tub Bov 200. He is still taking the Ritalin but at the next appointment will decided whether or not to reduce or take him off. I have noticed a remarkable difference in his ability to cope he is eating during the day rather than eating all night when the ritalin has worn off he seems calmer with a greater ability to concentrate on his school work. A lot of these ADHD kids have high doses of Copper in their bodies which can cause the chemical imbalance causing them to show ADHD symptoms, other metals can also cause this behaviour. A good way of testing them for this is a hair analysis which will give a record of any elements they are deficient in and also any chemicals that should not be in their bodies. Ritalin (or the other drugs they are given) cannot fix this problem it can only manage it for a time. Long term without other intervention, these kids will not get any better and really we don't know the full extent of the damage these meds are doing to them. I am going to try other methods to manage and that will cure him rather than relying on the quick fix pill that long term may not be in his best interest. I understand what it is like to live with these kids day in day out and it is not easy but raising kids in general isnt easy (I have 5 others) but I do believe that there has to be an alternative to medicating them.

Donna - posted on 11/05/2009

My son is 7 yr old, tall and only 51 lbs. So very skinny. He takes adderrall at the lowest dose, because he hates to eat, and the pill kills his appetite. I know his behavior would improve with upping the dose, but them his health would deteriorate when he loses weight that he really needs to stay healthy. Its a delicate balance to find. But I decided to try behavioral mediation (teacher- student behavior plan), and home behavior plan as well, and combined with the low dose it barely suffices. But I can't risk the weight loss!
I hope u find the right med....adderrall xr is working pretty well for my son, at 5 mg/day- the lowest dose.

Fiona - posted on 11/04/2009

I have 4 children and one of my daughters who is now 14 has ADHD.She wasn't diagmosed till she was 11. They have now increased her medication to a higher dose of concerta so she doesn't take the ritalin in the evening.I must admit she's had 2 very good doctors at the hospital whom she sees every few months.I know it's easier said than done to take a step back and relax but with all the energy they have it does put a lot of stress on you. See what her doctor thinks about upping her meds.Some meds do work better than others.My daughter has got quite a good appetite whilst taking her meds,its only now and again her appetite goes.Just keep an eye on it.

Michelle - posted on 11/01/2009

I had my son on Ritalin then concerta and realised that they did not help all that much for him.



We decided the best thing we could do for him was too move to a small country town and is now excelling in school - no longer on any meds...just Fish oil tablets and i have a new son....



Medication is not necessarily the be all and end all to our problems in life.

Lisa - posted on 11/01/2009

Thank you for your advice. She has actually been going to school since she was 3. She is in kindergarten now and we were having some issues when she was in pre-k as well. I decided to start her medication in the summer so it wouldn't be as bad for the teachers when she started. This way we would be able to see how they effected her. I haven't decided yet and am still looking into everything. Thanks again.

Diana - posted on 10/31/2009

I think you do need to step back and relax as the others have said. She is not in school yet and the doctor told me normally they do not even put a child on meds until they feel it is effecting their ability to learn. Once my daughter who is ADHD/Anxiety, got to kindergarten and i was getting phone calls every other day on how difficult it was to control her and she was disrupting the class constantly, i knew my suspicions were right. I questioned the teacher about my concerns of ADHD and she said she wasn't sure, but she thought it could be and to call my doctor...we now know it is ADHD and she has anxiety. She is 10 now and we still struggle with the dosage and the right meds. We have been on several different ones all extended release (24 hr. pill). We are almost to the point of looking into a non controlled release pill and giving a small dose several times a day. maybe this will help the late afternoon and evening times we still are struggling with. I have talked with others who say it is a constant struggle to keep finding what works....don't know myself if that is true....but I think you need to see how school goes before upping the mgs. on the meds. Kids sometimes act different with parents then with other adults because they know which buttons to push! Good luck!

Jamie - posted on 10/20/2009

Hey Lisa, I agree with Marie, take a deep breath and step back. I think sometimes we as mothers get so overworked and worried that we can make ourselves crazy (I know I do.) And make sure to take care of yourself too! I know for me I feel like I am able to deal with my children and their situations so much better when I have taken even just 15 minutes for myself which allows me to take a step back and reevaluate. As far as the meds go, I don't know if you have tried all natural or alternative meds but it worked for me as well as a couple of friends of mine. I had MSA testing on my son done at a local chiropractor and put him on various supplements which helped but getting him to take them became an issue. Had a friend from TX who had her chiro recommend this brand new product for pain and found out they also had a product that was supposed to be used for energy that various docs had tried for ADHD. Thought it couldn't hurt b/c there was no drugs or herbs involved, and it used the theology of acupuncture but I was able to do it at home with this little patch and NO NEEDLES which would not have worked with my son. My son has made great strides and we are weaning him off of his current meds to see if the patch would work all by itself. Anyway, hang in there and know that no other mother could be a better mother to your child than you are and you will make the best decision you can.

Lisa - posted on 10/20/2009

Thank you for the advise Marie. The play therapy actually seems to work. She goes once a week. The doctor wanted to move her to another lady who would be able to see her at least 3 times a week, but she only accepted private insurance and it would be WAY to expensive to take her and pay. The doctor she sees lets me sit in if I want to and sometimes I go in and talk to her first before my daughter so I can see how her progress is. The doctors have all been great. The only problem we really have is making sure the medication doesn't give her a loss of appetite. She is a very skinny 5 year old and has weight gain issues since birth. Most of the side effects are loss of appetite and I want to make sure before we up her that she won't have a problem. Thank you again for the help!

Marie - posted on 10/19/2009

Take a deep breath and just try to relax. I know that is really hard to do with an ADHD child. I have had my daughter on several meds and have uped her several times. Before we talk about increasing her medicine I always ask what effects it will have on her. Will the blood pressure go up, will she need to have more blood work done. With some medications you have to have blood work done anywhere from every month to every three. Then you have to also find out if any of the meds for ADHD are going to counter act for the anxiety. We have had so many trials with medication.... my daughter has anxiety, ODD, OCD, ADHD, intermintent explosive disorder. So it's kinda hard to figure out what meds I want to increase since she is being treated for so much.. You mentioned about play therapy. How did that work for your child? My daughter did it for over a year to work on her OCD and it just didn't help and I thought it was a waist of time since I could never observe what they were doing. Just research several medications and talk to the psych doctor... Ask around to see what other meds might work for them, check them out, pro/con them and just ask the dr for advice

Marlene - posted on 10/18/2009

What meds do they have her on?? All ADHD meds are not the same .. some work better than others, it takes awhile to find the right fit. Don't get discouraged .. my daughter is Bi-Polar and we found that all ADHD meds make that worse; they work for a week or two and then she's all over the place. Talk to the teacher, doctor and peditrican and see what's best for her. Also listen, ask questions and if you are not happy with any doctor (don't have faith in them) hunt for one that other parents like. I know what your going through and it's hard, do what you think is best but make sure the support team backs your decision as well. I hope this helps.