ADD / ADHD Community

Thanks, Dr. Quinn!

I was so skeptical about putting my 14-year-old on medication. And, his dad fought me tooth and nail. But, it has turned out to be the best thing for him.

He is able to pay attention in school, his grades are going up, and he is finding that some of his impulsive behavior (making noises, laughing too loud, etc.) that annoyed his friends is subsiding, too.

He's happy, and so am I.

Butterfly

I absolutely agree with the other response, it has changed my sons life completely, he went from being unable to identify all the letters in the alphabet to sounding out words in just a month. His school life is sooo much better, the impulsiveness has gone sooo down, and its only the starting dose. My biggest fear was losing my son, him being a zombie and not being able to be the joyful happy and amazing child he was, I still have that, but hes able to control things now. sooo happy with the meds, i just asked a TON of questions first, and was so thankful to have a doctor patient enough to answer them all and more

Thanks for responding. Your honesty will help other moms.

Pat Quinn

Thanks for responding. I always tell moms that if they don't get their questions answered...keep asking or go somewhere else. Also, I agree that it's important that a child's personality, not be affected by the medication. If that happens to any child, immediately discuss what you are seeing of concern with his (or her) physician. A change in dose or medication may be all that's needed. To all moms, don't let the situation stay that way! Your child deserves better treatment!

Pat Quinn,MD

I have a 12 yr old that has been on ADHD meds since age 5 and she was put on it against my will because of where she lived .When I got custody I took her off and she acts fine.Her grades are good and she has lots of friends.I have two other children that the docs would like to put on meds but I am totally aginst it.The side effects are too risky for me.I will just deal with problems and try diet changes and behavioral theropy

Poohbaby, that is certainly your prerogative as the children's mother.

I would encourage you, though, to keep an open mind. You say "the docs" would like to put your other two children on medication. Which docs would that be? The children's pediatricians? Why don't you trust your children's doctors?

What do you mean that the "side effects are too risky?"

It's important not to "scare yourself silly" with random information on the Internet.

No one wants to give a child unnecessary medication. But it's also important to understand that there are risks to untreated ADHD, and the medications are very well studied. Used properly, they are considered safe.

Sometimes what happens is that a parent with untreated ADHD fails to see the implications of ADHD going untreated in a child. They deny and minimize the problems the problems of their child in the same way they deny and minimize their own problems.

ADHD can impair judgment and an appreciation of long-term consequences. It can also impair the ability to make decisions rationally rather than overly emotionally.

Sometimes it's best for the parents to treat their own ADHD before attempting to help a child -- similar to being on an airplane and "putting on your own oxygen mask first before helping a child."

"Diet changes" will help a child with poor nutrition. But there's no evidence that "diet changes" will treat ADHD. Especially unspecified diet changes that are not guided by quantifiable data.

I notice that when you write, there is no space after the period at the end of the sentence. While not symptomatic of ADHD itself, I have seen this to be a "red flag" for people with ADHD. When I point it out to them, they might not even notice that there is no space. But if you look closely, you'll see that there is not.

best,
Gina

It was the right choice for me and my son. he is six and takes 2 meds a day plus a sleeping pill at night. For some it seems that that is too much but he is ADHD combined type and ODDand it is horrible most days. I can handle him but his focus in school is non-existent without his medicines. we have went thru multiple medicines before finding the right fit.

For some kids and parents it isn't the right fit but it was for us and it was an amazing difference when I got him medicated.

My husband and I made the tough decision to put our 4-year old son on medication about year ago. After being thrown out of two preschools, on his way to a third, we knew we had to do something. I actually thought my son might be bi-polar with his increasing aggressive, almost at times destructive behavior, screaming, running away from authority figures at school, and an inability to calm himself. We found our son a child psychiatrist who is not only tops in his field in our area, but is also the parent of a severely ADHD child (so he understood completely what we were going through). It has actually taken four different types of ADHD meds to find the one that has worked. And the improvement is incredible. A year later, coupled with therapy, our son is a vibrant, fully functioning Kindergardener, who can count to 100, write his name, read beginner books and sight words; and is beginning to learn to add. Every family's journey with ADHD is different, and I cannot fault any parent for seeking another option. But, for our family, the medication has made a world of difference. It is our hope that as our son matures, we can back off the meds. Only time will tell. For now, I am thankful we have found a workable solution.

There is a natural remedy that works great All protein low calorie and I give my ADHD child coffee in the morning and we are off of HIGHFRUITCOSE CORN SYRUP and yes it helps a lot.

We went through two years of trying to figure out what was going on with our son. The school wanted to hold him back in Kindergarten & 1st grade because he couldn't complete any work. Last year his teacher was using recess, art period, even school events like Field Day, as periods to pull him out and send him down to another classroom to finish his work - which he still wasn't able to complete. He was so frustrated that he would tell us through tears that he was just dumb and he didn't deserve anything good.

We had him evaluated at the end of 1st grade and it was determined that he had inattentive-ADD. Over the summer we began tutoring and behavioral therapy, hoping that would be enough to help him catch up. When we met with his 2nd grade teacher at the beginning of the school year, he was back to his daydreaming ways - shutting out everything. That was when we decided we had to give medication a try.

Since he started the medication we have seen a huge change in his confidence. Before medication, he had never raised his hand or participated in class because he couldn't keep up with the conversation. The same day he started on medication, he raised his hand 3 times and got the right answer each time.

At the beginning of the school year, he was choosing beginning-reader books at reading time. Now, just 3 months later, he is working his way through the Lightning Thief series and he is researching and conversing with us about Greek Mythology - his new interest.

We still have quite a ways to go with helping him to develop his social skills and I wish we had gone with our gut feeling and had him evaluated earlier. But, I am thrilled at how far he has come and I love seeing regain his confidence.

Hi Gina,

I know your intentions are obviously sincere but some of what you are saying unfortunately I don't agree with. To have an opinion that poohbaby has ADHD just by the way she types is ludicrous....maybe that is how she has been taught or learnt how to type?

I have no problem with people wanting to put their children on drugs and really believe that there is a time and a place for these, but it is just becoming too easy to say a child has ADHD and they need medication. To the point where teachers have now become experts and are putting pressure on parents to have their child medicated when they are not qualified to do so.

What I also have a problem with, is that everyone claims to be an expert on what is the best for 100% of children. If we were all the same, then this would be true, but we aren't.

I believe that if there were proper processes in place to have a child fully examined and checked for any existing medical conditions (heart and other organs), before the treatment begins and again prior to a repeat prescription being given, then feel that a proper informed decision can be made.

With regards to "diet" that you refer to, are you then saying that if a child eats sweets and fizzy drinks everyday of his life, that this in some way is not going to have an affect on the childs energy level?

Sorry but just my opinion...

It doesn't allways work that way, just saying. I would have kept fighting the whole way. Just saying