Information About ADD/ADHD

To KB
My 12 year old son has been on Adderall for 6 years. It has worked very well for him. There are always ups and downs with every medication, and my son's major one seemed to be not being able to sleep at night. After some adjustments, and realizing he can not take it past 7 pm, he now has no trouble getting to sleep. We also keep him active in sports. He is in Karate 3 days a week, which helps in teaching discipline as well as working with others. He was in therapy for about 6 months after the diagnosis, and 6 years later is back in therapy just to help us adjust to those wonderful preteen years. Good luck! LeeAnn

Hello,
My daughter is 11 and has been taking Adderall XR for about a year now. Before that she was on Concerta ER. For the most part with the Adderall, the main side effects are loss of appeatite and difficulty sleeping. We have found with my daughter that as long as she takes it by 9 am she usually doesnt have a problem sleeping. She usually eats breakfast before it kicks in and we eat supper later at night usually around 7 so that it has worn off mostly so she will eat a good supper. My daughter is diagnosed with ADHD and she also gets some rebound depression from the Adderall but she got that from the Concerta as well so she takes Zoloft at night to help combat that. My daughter was diagnosed when she was 6 years old. I am willing to share any advice I may have dealing with this.
A little about me,I am 34, married two children, daughter 11 and son 5.
Good Luck
J.

Yes, I could scare you with all the details of putting your child on an chemical regime of ADHD drugs, but I would like to tell you about my daughter instead. One year ago, when she was five years old, she was failing kindergarten and causing disruptions in the classroom and at home. We had her tested and she was diagnosed by the school psychologist with ADHD. I looked into all the options and became scared by what I heard, I had a friend who was going to an alternative medicine MD and she advised me to go to him. He told me that her "disease" was not a disease but two symptoms. Symptoms of an allergy, he advised me to get her off white flour, preservatives, and sugar and gave me a list of supplements and vitamins to give her. He helped me understand and build a schedule for her that brought discipline and order into her life. Today my daughter is mastering almost all of her subjects and doesn't cause disruptions in the classroom or at home. Occasionally she has her days but rarely and usually only on holidays and vacations, those days are usually my fault. It is difficult at times, but there are the benefits; reworking our meals has helped me lose weight - 20 lbs and no diet!, she is learning how to eat better and healthier foods, and my daughter still has that spark that makes her her. I will not fool you, there is such pressure to get kids on and keep them on ADHD drugs and it can be expensive to eat more whole foods and buy all the supplements (like Omega-3, L-tyrosine, L-glutamine, 5-HTP, GABA, B-50 and a good multivitamin), the upside is that everything here is natural and there are positive results. With pills we don't know what all the consequences are yet but some stuff is really worrying. I know having children like ours isn't easy but I have discovered that ADHD children may have qualities not possessed by many "normal" children. Before my child used to cry or get angry and sometimes violent from her frustration but I now my child is especially gregarious, artistic, inventive and loving. I wish you all the best.

Hi kb, look up the website www.braingym.org

i invite you to consider other options for your little one besides the drugs.

When my son was 8 years old he took adderal for one day. I homeschool and I was able to see how it worked for him. The only positive was that he finished 3 pages of math in 10 minutes. However, my happy, sweet child turned into a different child. Aside from the "normal" physical symptom of not being able to eat, he got very anxious, easily cried, and said to me "Mommy, I feel like I could die." Well, I never gave him that medicine again. He is now 12 and we decided to try meds again. Our doctor gave us a new drug that is adderal without the side affects. He also took this drug for one day. After about 3 hours he got very moody, he couldn't look me in the eye and he was very tearful. I was trying everything to cheer him up. I even told him he could play playstation or go on Club Pengiun or play the piano. He normally loves to do these things. He didn't want to do any of them and he asked if he could be alone in his room. He did say that he knew that how he felt was NOT normal.
I called the pharmacist and asked if these symptoms would go away after taking the med for a few days and he said "Don't give it to him again and call your doctor immediately"

My husband takes adderal for ADD and it's a wonderful drug for him without any of these side effects, so I know it doesn't work the same for all. I hope you're having a positive experience with it.

Good Luck!

I'm a pharmacist and although my child is not on this medication, I would like to offer my opinion and expertise. First of all, now a days many md's and psychologists are quick to diagnose a child with add/adhd, then they put the child on some type of medication. What they don't tell you is that usually this child will be on medication for the rest of their life because their bodies get used to it and can't function without it. Adderall, along with other medicines, are in a class called Schedule 2 controlled medications (same class as morphine and oxycontin pain medication). this means that they have a very high risk of addiction. What they also don't tell you is that several children on this medication have a loss of appetite, will develop a blank stare (like they are daydreaming) and become susceptible to depression. Most of the time, children can be redirected with the right schedules and diet. Most children act out when they want attention. By changing the child's diet (organic products, whole grains, low sugar/sweets, etc), making sure to give the right supplements (multivitamins, etc) and keeping to a tight schedule (bathtime, bedtime, discipline, playtime), you can usually change around most children. If your little one still shows signs of add/adhd and you just can't handle it, ask the doctor about a medication called strattera. it is used for the same purpose without as many side effects or risks (it's a non-controlled medication). I don't want to scare you, but my profession is here to educate. Good luck and God Bless.

KB, not only has my 6 yr old been on it but so have I. ADHD has been proven to be passed down from mother to son. Adderal can cause decreased appatite, so when your step-son comes for the weekend don't get upset if he doesn't eat. Every person is different though. The best thing to do is remember the side effects and monitor your step-son during his time with you.

Here's some information:

http://www.naturalnews.com/z020227.html

http://www.adhdfraud.org/

http://www.naturalnews.com/020498.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/004756.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/DrugWatch_Adderall.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/z021944.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/021662.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/020133.html

Have you ever heard of a natural supplement for ADHD called Pycnogenol??? You can do a search about it. I run a business using nnatural supplements and have heard that Pycnogenol has been helpful.
Thanks
L.

I see so many responses and realize how many of us have our kids on drugs (class 2 narcotics!) because our teachers encourage us to see a doctor and they tell us that is what we need to do.

If anyone that has their child on prescriptions for ADD or ADHD, wants to know in detail how they get off of prescription drugs (they are just a band-aid with side effects that will need more drugs) and do it naturally, please contact me!

A.

I posted a question about adderall a few weeks ago. Look back and read what I found out. My son had terrible side effects, panick attacks, he lost so much weight, he went from a size 7 back to a size 5. I realize everyone is different, but I have a negative opinion about adderall and I would never put my child on that specific drup again. My post was on Jan 28, titles Any parents have experience with adderall. As far as not giving it to him on the weekends, I would suggest you be consistent with the meds. Please watch your child carefully.

Our son was on adderall for a short period of time, actually he was on Adderall XR (Extended Release) the biggest thing we saw with him was that he did not want to eat until about 7:00 or 8:00 at night when it wore off... we ended up switching to Focalin because at age 9 he was losing weight and getting taller. I work in a residential treatment facility for kids with mental health issues, and the doctors prescribe adderall a lot for ADHD, one other side effect that I know they are always looking for are ticks such as uncontrolled blinks in the eye or repetition of certain movements.... hope that helps.

Wow, it sounds like you've gotten *so* many responses, from all sorts of directions.

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD when she was in 4th grade. We tried all sorts of medications, some dietary changes, schedule changes, etc...

She is most definitely one of those kids that absolutely requires medication. Adderall also didn't work very well for her. Her BMI dropped significantly (and she was already thin), her behavior got worse (she got very nasty with everyone) and eventually turned pretty listless. She was on the low end of medication for her weight, which is where we tend to keep her in general because we want to reduce the effect of side effects.

We've worked *very* closely with her doctor, and with her - we listen closely to her and include her in the discussions. (Which might be more difficult at 7 - but my daughter's now 13).

She's now on a twice daily regimen of Strattera (once daily high dose doesn't work for her, staggered dose twice daily works *perfect*) plus a small dose of Metadate.

Strattera is *not* 100% equivalent to Ritalin, Adderall, or any of the amphetamine based medications. And in a child that has combined type ADHD (like my daughter), she needed both types of medication. Strattera works awesome in controlling the inattentive type aspects. But did next to nothing in controlling the hyperactive aspects.

But you're right. No this is a very individualized journey your family is about to undertake and you're about to get a lot of advice and a lot of it is going to be conflicting. Thankfully there are resources out there to help you through. Take a look at http://www.chadd.org to get started.

Increase your childs Omega 3's. John Hopkins did a study that shown that kids who have ADD or ADHD are deficient in Omega 3's. My neighbor gives her kids Omega 3's and it's working great for them.

I work in a residential treatment facility and have seen Adderal prescribed to several residents. They seem to tolerate it well, it wears of pretty quickly throughout the day. Some say they prefer to take it after meals.

My husband takes it and it's going to take a little while for his body to get used to it. My husband had a very dry mouth and upset stomach, but since it's a stimulate it will suppress hunger. My husband makes sure to eat something before he takes the medicine and it seems to help the upset stomach and it makes it so that he can actually eat in the morning instead of waiting until lunch. Your step-son might have a hard time getting to sleep at night, that's a side effect too, but the good news is after the body has adjusted (it took my husband a little over a month) to the medicine these side effects seem to go away. It's kind of a waiting game in the beginning. :)

We went through this about 6 months ago :) Here is what happened to us... http://wdmmommy.blogspot.com/2007/12/pine-tree-bark-extra...
I have more posts about it, if you want to read more go there and search ADHD.
Good luck!

K B,

I have a 11 year old that is on addrall. He has been on it for at least a coulple of years. He was on conceta but, that just made him pull out his hair. since we put him on addral his side affects lessed. addrall has a side affects just anything else. i has worked for me. the only thing i don't like about it is it makes my son a grump. but it works in differnent ways in different kids all you have to do is try it and see how it affects your step-son the side affects are miminal to the way he is with our the meds. it will take alot of patiece with him keep him structured as much a spossible it will help

dr in grinnell

Hi K B,
I am a 36 year old mother with 2 boys ages 12 and 9. My 12 year old takes Adderall XR (extended release) and has been taking it for 5 yrs now. It has helped him tremdously! He takes 1 pill in the morning w/breakfast and it helps him focus and settle down, without it he is like a freight train on full speed! We have seen a big change in his schoolwork and home life. He still his squabbles with his younger brother but they are not that severe. The medicine is not a cure all but with proper therapy and behavior modification and consequences, it sure does help. Good luck.
T S

Hi KB-
My name is B. Jarmoluk. I'm a med. prof and a wellness coach too.
We have some alternative safe things you can try - inexpensive- before you use a ton of drugs for ADD/ADHD. I have some colleagues who've had great success with our liftoff and nrg products- one boy who noticeably made it through school the days he took liftoff, and those he didn't he couldn't focus.
I'm heading out of town for a couple weeks but will be available via email too. I can send some samples if you'd like to see for a few days. You can check out our doctor recommended products at http://www.mydietshop.org
These benefits are some of the "and then somes" we've found you get. The liftoff is used for focus mostly- and some energy too by the AVP - prof. volleyball assoc. players.
OUr products are kid safe too.
My email address is ____@____.com

hope to chat with you soon.
B. Jarmoluk

Hello,
My husband was diagnosed with ADD when he was 14. It is hereditary. Our daughter was having severe learning problems in reading and math in school. In 2nd grade, we worked very hard with her teachers to work through her issues. Her teachers had masters in math & literacy. We tried a lot of different things, before talking to our pediatrician. Then, she was tested for ADHD. Her Dr. put her on Adderal XR. What a turnaround! It was amazing. I went from tears of sadness for my daughter, to tears of joy. She went from the bottom of the class to the top. And this was on a very low dose! Like .5 adderal XR. It was just enough to help her focus. She's still on it, and she's in 7th grade. She doesn't take it on the weekends, and not much during the summer. Her dr. sees her every 6months, and we take the report cards with us. Her 2nd grade teacher told me this, "you wouldn't keep insulin from a diabetic, because it helps them live. This is just like that - she needs this medicine in order to have a full life." There are a lot of pros and cons and many different opinions to this disease. Don't let anyone feel bad for any decision you make about this. If it's right for your child, do it. You know what's best. I am happy with our decision, because our girl is excelling in school. We also have her in hockey, soccer & softball, so she has lots of excercise to burn off energy. Do what's best for your child.

My 7 year old starting taking this medicine about 3 months ago. The biggest thing that you should know is that it affects their appetite. We have to feed our son in the morning first, then give him his medicine. He does not eat snack at school, and picks at his lunch, eats a good afterschool snack and normal dinner. The first month he lost 2 pounds, but put it back on in the second 2 months. I just make sure that he eats a lot of proteins and good food choices...not loading him up on junk just for the calories. We also switched from skim milk to 2% for him. I am happy to report that he just got his report card back and it was the best that he has ever had!!! You don't have to give him his medicine on the weekends, kind of a chance to "catch up" on normal eating, etc., but as our pediatrician says...than it really wouldn't be fair to punish him for his ADD related behavior. So...we give it to him on the weekends/days off of school IF we have plans to do something...otherwise - not a big deal. Good luck!

I don't knw about medications, but I wanted to recommend a practice that has worked for other parents with regard to ADHD, it's EFT, emotional freedom techniques therapy. I am an eft practitioenr, and have worked iwth kids with various sorts of challenges in cluding add, and autism and many of the symptoms go away with this sort of work. It's awesome!
The national website is emofree.com. or you may contact me. Thanks, K