Please advise me about to medicate or not my little girl - ADD / ADHD Message Board

marlow · 05-06-2009, 10:25 PM

Hi, everyone. My little girl, who is seven, and very happy, seems to have slipped in school this year. We had her evaluated and the doc says that she has ADHD. Our daughter isn't hyper, but rather, has a hard time focusing. She has gone from being one of the best readers in her class to one of the worst. She is confident, but is starting to perhaps get frustrated with learning. Her confidence may be down a bit. She doesn't like to read, she gets so easily distracted. The doc recommended medicating her, but I am leery of doing so. I worry about side effects, both short and long term. Are there people here with similar experiences? I want our little girl to remain happy. That's all that really matters to me. The doc says that if she continues to do worse in school that she'll develop anxiety, which would be terrible. But I am also reluctant to put her on meds that alter her brain chemistry. That really scares me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. - Marlow.

spamula · 05-07-2009, 08:55 AM

My son now 11, was having troubles in school in 3rd grade. we tried everything else before meds. It has been such a difference since we started with Concerta, now 3 years later in 5th, getting ready for middle school he is on Concerta 36mg up from 18, 27, now 36 and holding well. It was truly the hardest choice I had to make but I am so grateful for the meds now and his schoolwork is so much better he is even in the gifted program. I advise to try meds and see what happens. Focalin short acting is probably the least strong of all the meds and has the least side effects. We had troubles with the FocalinXR long acting, but the short is good for afterschool or evening adventures with Boy SCOUTS.

marlow · 05-08-2009, 01:17 PM

Thank you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I'm delighted to hear that your son is doing better. That's great. Best wishes, Marlow.

SocialWorks · 05-08-2009, 08:10 PM

My 8 year old started Concerta (27mg) a year ago and our life has improved in ways I didn't think possible. For her, not only did she have attention problems but it was affecting her relationships with her peers in school and her grades. She can better focus but there is still a lot of work to do. I think you should try the medication in order to help her focus and save her from the anxiety and self esteem issues she faces or may face in the future.

I know that one concern for me when considering Concerta was that it slows down growth. Talk to your doctor about that. My daughter takes Concern only on school days.

Good luck.

marlow · 05-10-2009, 02:53 PM

Thanks for your thoughts. I've heard about the growth issue being a side effect to keep in mind, so skipping doses on the weekends is an interesting idea. We haven't decided what to do yet, but I really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks so much! - M