My son has ADHD..?

Question

I hate relying on 1 doctor's opion on what the best meds are. I am asking any and all out there who have had this happen with their chils, what meds worked best for them. Aslo what side effects occured. My son is 7 years old and in the first grade.

Answer 1

i have been taking concerta for my ADHD and find that, for me at least, it has worked better than others i have taken.  I don't seem to experience any side effects of the medicine and it has helped tremendously. perhaps you could do "test runs" for the different medicines and ask some of your sons teachers about which ones seem to work best.

fortunately for me the whole "stunting your growth" thing doesn't seem to be happening, I am 5'11 and still growing, so i say prove it!

Answer 2

Id get a second opinion. also, ADHD doesn't mean the child MUST be medicated. my own 15 yr old child has adhd and takes meds only sometimes but never took any  when he was younger. there are so many things you can try first such as natural remedies and changes to the child's routine, adaptions at school and so on. Some doctors do seem quick to medicate children once diagnosing without first trying other things. Although i feel that some children are helped with meds, these meds are very powerful  and should only be used if all else fails. Try contacting a local parent/child support group,,,, no one knows better than the families that are affected by adhd. They can offer you their personal experiences  and help you get through the difficult periods.

Good luck

Answer 3

Hi, you are right to say that you dislike relying on the opinion of only one doctor. Getting second opinions is always a wise thing to do. Now as regards to meds for your kid, there is no denying that stimulant medications have been found to be effective treatments for most cases. But you need to realise that what works for one kid may not work for your kid and vice versa because we are all different and the severity of the problem may also differ.

Anway, I was wondering if you ever consider using ADHD vitamins instead. This is a non-drug approach and many studies have reported high success rate. Then there's also ADHD diet. I would say they are worth trying. If you need more info on ADHD vitamins and ADHD diet, you can get it from this site:

http://www.adhdquestionsandanswers.com/A...

Answer 4

I have a type of ADHD, its probably not the same as your son.... but i just went with it and didnt take meds and tried to learn how to deal with it

Answer 5

My son had ADHD, and I found a book that helped. The book is called, "Allergies and the Hyperactive Child", by Dr. Doris Rapp. You can give your son the medications and they may help him with his schoolwork, etc. and this is important, but you will need to get to the bottom of why he has ADHD. This book discusses some things that may or may not contribute to this, and has some very helpful advice in more natural terms. Used booksites.

Answer 6

my nephew was 7 when he first got put on any adhd medication.  right now he's taking concerta and it is working really well.  the only problem is that he's becoming immune to it really quick and they have to keep upping the dose.  the only side effect that he's having is lack of being able to fall asleep but he's on a second pill that is really good at putting him to sleep.  hope that helps...:-)

Answer 7

Im 13 and ever since I was like seven I took aderall,BECAUSE  I have it also.

Answer 8

I wouldn't rely on one doctors opinion either.  Arm yourself with as much information before making a choice.  If you want to try a different med than tell the doctor.  

There are a whole host of side affects to medications used for adhd but the biggest ones most kids have are lack of appetite and it can stunt their growth.  Recommending a medication is best left to the professionals.  Each kid is different and it may take several tries to find what works best for your son.  My personal preferences would be Concerta (it has less components in it and has been known to have less side affect issues than other forms), Ritalin and some doctors also use Adderall.  I personally think Adderall is a drug that shouldn't be given to younger kids.  We use regular (non-extended) version of Ritalin.  When side affects wouldn't clear up for my son we went to using the regular form which has to be given every 4 hours.  This was done because of how the XR version works.  His little body just couldn't handle how it was released.  I have found that we have less bedtime issues and we are able to decide whether to administer the medication in the afternoon.  We choose not to do afternoon unless he's got something where he needs to maintain good focus.  It also encourages him to eat better at night which has helped with his weight issue.  During the day while on med's mine hardly eats a thing.  

I would also recommend you have your child screened by a developmental pediatrician.  They are better at clearly diagnosis and will look at all aspects.  They will probably also run blood and urine samples to rule out any other things that could be contributing to his problems.  Ours also recommended an iron supplement and Omega 3 (DHA).  He said often kids with ADD or ADHD can lower their dosage or go off meds all together once these levels are regulated and kept that way.  DHA is not something the body produces and it can only be found in small amounts of food.  It can take several months before the levels are where you will see any difference.  We're hoping that ours maybe able to go off meds since his symptoms are considered in the mild to moderate range.