ADHD To medicate or not to medicate.... - ADD / ADHD Message Board

SpeisFamily · 07-12-2004, 01:59 PM

Ok, I am a parent who has taken my daughter off of ADHD medication for very good reasons. Some people believe that there is no such thing as ADD or ADHD. I believe there is, I have just decided to no longer medicate. My daughter is extremely hyperactive but she is not a bad student, in fact she has always been in advanced classes. She has a problem controlling herself and focusing. I would hold her head in my hands to make her look at me while I talked to her and her eyes would be looking at everything but me. She was contsantly fidgeting and her mind would wander. She would actually trip over things because she was thinking about where she was going instead of where she was walking. I believe that there is a condition called ADD/ADHD but I don't think medication is the ONLY answer.

My daughter, who is 9 years old, has taken medication for ADHD since she was 4. She started with Dexadrine, then Ritalin, and then Concerta. She experienced alot of chest pains, which didn't show anything unusual on the EKG and also had severe migrains which they gave her another medication for. Concerta helped her to focus, but if she was interrupted she would become hostile and angry. With the medication she was never happy but she was focused.

I believe that taking long term medications has led my daughter to have other problems. A year ago, after several episodes of gross hematuria (Large amounts of blood in her urine), she was diagnosed and medicated for Kidney Stones. I was wondering if anyone else might have noticed kidney stones after taking time release medications for ADHD such as Concerta. I think there may be a link.

I have taken my daughter off of the ADHD medications and am dealing with it through focusing and concentration excersises and I hope that my daughter will soon be able to stop taking the medications for her kidneys as well. She has gained some weight, which is a good thing since she was smaller and thinner than all the other kids her age. I have also decided to homeschool for many reasons such as poor school quality in my area as well as to help her to stay focused while learning without depending on medication to do it for her. Teachers don't have the time to help a child to learn this. I have noticed that children with ADD/ADHD can concentrate if it is something they enjoy, such as music for my daughter, playing music and singing while studying helps her to concentrate while it may do the opposite for someone who does not have this disorder. My opinion is that ADD and ADHD can be treated in many ways besides medicating with patience on the child's part and the parents. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you

Aztec Indian · 07-13-2004, 01:59 PM

Why do you need feed back us??

It sounds like you have drawn your own conclusions.

keriberi · 07-13-2004, 02:50 PM

i agree with you that in certain situations there are other alternatives to medication for add/adhd symptoms. my sister was diagnosed with adhd without hyperactivity when she was about 10. she is 21 now and just stopped taking ritalin shortly before her 21st birthday. she did not experience any side effects from the medication besides decreased appetite. good luck with your home schooling and i do believe that with the increased attention that your daughter will be getting, there is a good chance that her symptoms will decrease!

pufnstuf77 · 07-13-2004, 05:30 PM

Medication and therapy are simply the best option if the attention deficit interferes with anyone's daily life. If it interferes with your child's life enough so that she has to be home-schooled, that indicates a problem. School is a place where children and young adults develop their social skills. If your daughter needed 'special attention' in school, why did you not opt to try to put her in a special education class? I went to them from grade 3 to grade 11, diagnosed with emotional and learning disabilites. They were small classes with five or six students and we worked with the same teacher all day in a private class. Please, I mean no disrespect twords you or your position. I read that your daughterhas had several diffrent meds for her ADD. Have you gotten a second opinion? Have you looked for alternative diagnosis? Maybe she could be a rapid-cycling bi-polar disorder which I have also with ADD. Alternativley there are some 'all natural' herbal compounds that are supposed to help with ADD. You should read up about it, maybe one of them could be for you.

I wish you and your daughter the best, and I hope you find wellness soon.

SpeisFamily · 07-14-2004, 07:20 AM

OK, let me clarify as I mentioned in my first post, my daughter has actually been in advanced classes for the past 2 years and is very intelligent. The reasons I chose to homeschool, like I also mentioned in my first post, are many and varied. The schools in the area I live in have been firing teachers and don't have enough school supplies due to poor school funding. I am taking an interest in my child, I have gone to school to be a teacher and I want my daughter to be able to learn and concentrate without depending on drugs to do it for her. She gets plenty of "social activity" with the kids around the neighborhood and at church.

I think that today alot of parents sit their kids in front of the TV or video games to keep them occupied and then are frustrated when the child gets bored and wants to run around the house. I suggest involving your children and teaching them something. Instead, when my daughter runs up to me while I am doing dishes to tell me she is bored, I simply pull up a chair and let her help rinse. I don't get mad when I am cooking and my daughter is running 100 miles an hour around the kitchen, instead I ask her to help me (ie:focus on something). I have less work to do, my daughter is thrilled to be a big helper, and I know where she is, what she is doing, and it is helping her to control HERSELF. Focusing techniques like these are very helpful.

I don't think my daughter was misdiagnosed, I don't think it is possible. My daughter was diagnosed at age 3, I waited until age 4 when I finally gave into my Dr. constant advise to medicate her. See, we are military and every time we move I have to have my daughter re-evaluated and that has been 3 times plus her original evaluation, all done by ADD/ADHD specialists. At every evaluation I was told that she has ADHD with extreme hyperactivity. And with each new doctor there was a recomendation for the newest, better drug. So I gave into it for a while, I let the medication take care of my child. Now I am finding that the medication has done alot more than take care of my child, it has had medical ramifications.

I have decided to take an interest into my child's future. I want her to be able to learn to control HERSELF. I know it is hard, this was a tough decision for me to make.

The reason I posted here, Aztec Indian, is for support from others who have done what I am doing and to help others who are thinking of taking their children off of medication or to parents who are still considering whether to medicate or not.

I have to admit, I was lazy. I let her watch TV or play the gameboy just to keep her busy and out of my hair. I let the medication give me less stress. I have realized that if I don't help her she will be confined to taking these drugs forever, imagine the effects on the body, imagine what she has already gone through in these 5 years intesified by a lifetime. I care about her, that's why I am doing what I am doing and why I am posting here.