Are child psychiatrists effective for ADHD children?

Question

My 5 year old son was diagnosed severe ADHD in the beginning of Kindergarten. I do believe this is a true diagnosis. However, I was completely unsatisfied with the medication that the doctor put him on. It completely took his personality away. He did not smile, laugh, talk, barely ate. He was just a completely different child and it broke my heart to see him so subdued. Also, it made him extremely aggresive. He's aggressive to the point of jumping on your or running into you, but he would want to hurt people and break things. When I voiced my concerns to his doctor she suggested upping the dosage. I am currently trying to find him a new pediatrician due to my feelings of her lack of concern for my son's well being. I want him to be able to slow down and focus in school, not be a little zombie! We took him off of the medication. His behavior and hyperactivity have skyrocketed!!! School is a wreck (just his behavior

Answer 1

Yes, they are a big help. They can help you with different medications, (they meet with him first and see his ups and downs before prescribing usually). (Unlike a pediatrician who prescribes according to what medication company came in and gave her samples this month) They can teach you easy tactics to deal with certain situations that are usually easy to remember.  They can also help you feel more at ease with your child and your circumstances. Not every psychiatrist can do all of these things, so it might take a few different doctors, but I'm sure it will be better than what your pediatrician is giving you.

Answer 2

in regard to psychiatrist for kids and adults ,you might have to see many therapists until you find the best one for your son, it takes a long time

Answer 3

Yes.   However my son couldn't tolerate the stimulant medications (e.g. Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine or Concerta)   He would become very aggressive.    When he was switched to nonstimulant meds like Clonidine and Risperdal we saw a very big improvement.    He also slept better.

BTW,   does your child have a lot of troubling sleeping at night.    If so, definitely mention it to the psychiatrist.   Some meds have a sleepy side effect.

Answer 4

All doctors will tell you that you need to try out different medications until you find the right one. The most important thing is that the right one depends on how tolerant the school is. The school needs to work with you. If they can endure a little bit of his hyperactivity, then you find a medication that would not turn your child into a zombie. my child saw a psychologist not a psychiatrist because of some other side effects like being afraid of bugs and voicing his feelings in an appropriate way. To me it didn't help much so i stopped.

When you go off the medication, the behavior and hyperactivity sky rockets. Just try different medications and see which one that at least still keeps a little of his personality

Answer 5

My son is ADHD too.  The doctor makes all the difference.  You do need to find a new doc,  hopefully this psychiatrist will help.  Now,  is it a psychiatrist or a psychologist?  IF they can't prescribe meds you'll just be spinning your wheels some more.  How long was he on the meds?  Why didn't you say something sooner if this has been going on since the beginning of school.  It should only take a couple weeks to get the feel for how a med is working.  As your son grows you'll have to stay on top of things too.  

We did alternative therapy prior to putting my son on meds.  We did acupuncture, holistic medicine, and diet changes.  It did help, but not covered by insurance.  I was paying about $500/month.  

A great website for information is:

http://www.chadd.org

Good luck.  The change should help.

Also, there are different views on medicating only for school or just at home.  We medicate year round.  It really helps my son maintain focus.  As he's gotten older and knows how he can behave he would rather be able to focus when not in school.  Off meds, he can't even sit still to read a book and that bothers him.   Good luck again and keep an open mind.

Answer 6

i work at an elementary and about 1 in every 5 kids at this school is ADHD most parents say the medication makes their kids zombies and its really sad he shouldnt have had it upped he should have had it downed. its pretty hard to get the right dose because too little wont work adn too much will turn them into zombies. i researched some ADD and ADHD medication (i was diagnosed with ADHD when i was 15) and its basically a weak form of weed. most psycholigists dealing with ADHD kids are quacks they dont know what they're doing and just turns you in circles. at least the school psychologists do. try adjusting his diet no soda or sugary drinks candy and so forth. i did that to myself since i work at a school i didnt want to be all drugged up but yet still wanted to be able to consintrate. so i cut out the soda, candy, and juice and its tolerable. i still drink vitamin water, powerade and gaterade, crystal light stuff like that and it doesnt affect me. most of the time kids can out grow it or learn to controll it it takes a  couple years but it is doable.