about 2 months ago my sons school called and said my son was having problems with paying attention and hitting other children and school staff which was no suprise to me, he started last year in head start. so they sat me down to talk and jumped right to meds as im sure most perents have had done to them. all of a sudden he was said to have adhd so they put him on 25mg straterra which worked for about a month then didnt work no more. so today he went to a counsling appt and got changed to 5 mg adderall 1/2 morning 1/2 afternoon. i know he has adhd and possibily bipolar disorder. i love my son he is the world to me and i know he needs help cuzz his adhd is making me get depressed cuzz all i do is yell yell yell. i was on a site earlier about the drugs and effects they have on adhd children including deaths related to them. this seems like its moving all to fast for me and my son i know he needs something to help him so he dont fall behind in school but im very scared and confussed about adderall and the long term side effects it will have on him. i just feel like not giving him any meds but can i refuse them after already taking him to a doc and now starting a new med?? i herd they can get you for child abuse if you do such a thing. i was wondering if anyone has had a child on adderall for a long period of time and what comes with the med such as testing and so forth?? im so confused right now im crying i feel like im gonna hurt him in the long run by giving him meds thats something i never wanna do!! any info or stories would be a help to me. i lost him once in a accident and he was brought back to life i never wanna have to deal with any thing close to that again : ( p.s sorry for any typos it is 400 am ty

Please don't panic or get discouraged. And most of all, don't let the school system strong arm you into giving your son meds until YOU are absolutely sure that this is the right course of treatment for the both of you. If the system and the Head Start teachers and staff are pressuring you into giving him medications, go directly to the Director of that specific Head Start Program and inform them of this. I understand to a point how you feel, My daughter was in preschool and at age 4, was diagnosed with ADHD. She is now 13 years old and doing excellent in school and on medication. But I was not aware until recently the impact that the processed foods, diet and vitamin/minerals/herbs have or can have on our system. I am investigating these other avenues for both of us. I have ADD too.
You might wanna try and connect with other parents in your situation locally. I don't know where you live but try CHADD or other national ADD/ADHD organizations to find a local support group.
Also, Another board member named Free-Spirit, will also have a lot more suggestions and guidance as I am replying to this from work and don't have a lot of my resources available.
Don't panic and don't get discouraged (if you knew me personally, you would be smiling as I get told this quite often myself). Trust your gut instincts as your son's mother and let your gut and your instincts guide you. You are the best judge of what is in the best interest of yourself and your son.

You should not be pressured by the school to medicate your son. They are required by law to give him proper accomodations whether or not he is on medication.

P.S.
If there is a possibility of bipolar disorder that should be explored ASAP. Medications used for ADHD can make bipolar disorder much much worse. Please talk to your sons doctor about this ASAP.

Your sons symptoms really do sound like childhood onset bipolar disorder... I know there is at least one or two other parents on this board who have young ADHD/bipolar children. Check out this post:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=129522

I had taken my son to a psychologist and after he was said to be the "best in the class" as far as social behavior and the testing that was done, the doc was floored when I said, "good, then he won't need medication." The doctor still thought he did need it. I told him there was not enough evidence for him to tell me to put him on meds. Being a borderline ADD/ADHD is harder than being diagnosed. Trying to figure out if meds will help or hurt is tough. If you do try him on meds, keep a journal of his reactions to the med and dosage. It will help you figure out what works better or if he needs them at all. You have to figure out if his behavior truly warrants meds, if the side effects are worse than the initial problems (sometimes meds bring out tics and other behavioral concerns that weren't there to begin with and that has to do with the true underlying condition). The whole issue is confusing and frightening. Don't get overwhelmed, write things down!

I have had my daughter on adderall for about a month now and have found it to be very helpful. She does not have the problem of hitting other people, but did have the problem with attention. Since she has been taking 10mg a day, she has been doing her homework everynight and following directions alot easier. It is up to you to decide what is best for your child. You need to do whatever it takes to help him get thru school and hopefully enjoy it. Good luck to you and your son.

Thnak you all to who has lent some kind words and suggestions. i was wondering my son was on strattera for the last 2 months and it worked for about 3- 3 1/2 weeks then he got worse and i couldnt handle him any more he went right back to him old self. do you think the strattera made him worse?? i wish i didnt have to go through this stuff as much as the next person, its getting me so down. :( he started the adderall today his teacher said he was wonderful but im not going to get my hopes up.i was also wondering if there are any certain over the counter meds he should not take while on adderall?? ty again god bless you all :)

theresat24-
You should call the pharmacist if and ask about any over the counter medication before giving them together. Pharmacists are generally more knowledgeable than doctors in this aspect. Don't let yourself get so down, you are doing your best and I'm sure your son appreciates your love and care. It can be hard not having a good support system close by but you know you can always find support here.
Strattera takes about 2-8 weeks to get into the system. It is possible that it made your son worse. When I did a trial on strattera I became very zoned out (more so than ever before) I also had extremely violent thoughts and dreams and was more irritable. Strattera is good for some but for others it's just no good. The people who are helped by it are those who have low levels of norepinephrine. If low norepinephrine is not the problem there is usually no change, or else there are negative changes. Look at this (it is a subtype test, and info on different ADD subtypes) http://theadhdzone.healthyplace2.com/index.html

thank you very much free ~spirit i will check on that im sure that ill find the info on the site helping.. ty again. :)