How do you feel about meds for kids with ADHD?
If your child was having trouble with focusing at school, and was made fun of for her excitability would you do it to make her happier at school?
Do you know of any alternatives to medicating?
Do you think Pharmaceutical companies are paying doctors to prescribe ritalin?
Answer:
Meditation. Sounds dumb, but its helped me
It's like anything else. Give it a shot, and if the results are good, stick with it. Otherwise, find something else that might help.
bullsh*t
i dont think giving kids medication to alter their thoughts is right. Their we'rent ADD when teachers had paddles. I say we bring back the old times and get rid of ADD and medications all together....Yes even Viagra..ok maybe not all medications.
Hey i'mok, I can tell you that I went through rehab twice because of the way "I felt" about ADD meds!! I "felt" really high when I took adderall, ritalin or dexadrine. They refer to these medications as "kiddie cocaine" or "mother's little helper". These meds are highly addictive and easy to get. I was getting them from 3 different doctors at the same time!! All I had to do was tell them I had ADD and they would write me scripts for them instantly. It was like they were passing out candy! Alot of the time I would tell the doctor's exactly what I wanted and how many milligrams. I was never once tested for ADD, infact, I don't even have ADD, never did!!
I don't like them. The side effects make it worse in some cases. But when all natural and diet methods fail then you need to consider it. They do help but the right med and the right dose can take awhile to figure out. Some people really need them to survive, they can't function otherwise, sad but true.
Holistic methods and diet can help but they can't help everyone. You need to decide if the child or person will have a better quality of life with the meds or without.
I absolutely hated them for my child. He developed tics after he took them. He would be so wired, that he would stay up all night, and he even had hallucinations.
It is horrible!!!!! Your kids will resent you for life because of that!!!!! That is the worst thing ever!!! I would get your child tested for adhd (if you already havent) then ask about alternatives for the meds!!!!
Yes, I'm only 14 but I know quite a lot about ADHD meds. I've known my neighbors for a long time (almost 13 years) and we've grown up together. Two of the kids have ADHD, one is 14 and one is 13. I could tell you a lot of stories about their meds effecting them and their behavior, but if you need to know one important thing, don't confuse with their medical behavior with their true personality. It's hard to explain, but sometimes a person who has ADHD acts some ways because of their medicine, and acts other ways because of their personality. The kids who have ADHD don't eat a lot because their medicine makes them lose their appetite, and being a teenager, this is tough for them because they should be consuming a lot of food at their age. However, they aren't, so they are quite small for being 13 and 14 years old. Most of my experiences with them are good, because they are good kids. However, sometimes if they don't take their meds, they have rough patches and get very upset, angry, or depressed. It also depends on their personality. One of them, the 13 year old, had to be switched to a special shcool for kids with conditions like ADHD. I don't know any alternatives to medicating, but giving a kid their "quiet place" helps a lot. For example, the 14 year old goes outside and sits in the car whenever he gets angry or upset because the car is nice and quiet and calms him down from whatever he was dealing with. The 13 year old prefers the garage, because he can play with toys but still be left alone. I have noticed that these "quiet places" help a lot. From my experiences with my neighbors, the meds aren't all that bad, it really just depends on the person and their behavior.
Best of Luck!
I had a son that needed ritalin and it was fine! The problem with the so called medicine is that people today, mostly teachers, want perfect little robots. Not gonna happen. My son actually needed the medication. It's no different than if your child has epilepsy. Would you ask on here about giving it to him? I don't think so. They actually NEED the medicine. Their brain doesn't make a certain chemical, sorry I don't remember the name, and this medicine has it for them. This is what my doctor explained to me. (He also told my son a great true story of how Albert Einstine has adhd! And look what he grew up to do! The doc was really great with him about it!) Anyways, his grades went sky high at school! Because he could actually set still and do it! He was so proud of himself. He didn't figit after he was on the meds. He was just a totally different kid. For the better. And his self esteem went up too because he wasn't alway's getting into trouble. He is 18 now and fine. Just out of school and has a full time job in a cabinet factory. The reason people take this and it gives it a bad name is, remember the chemical missing I mentioned? Well, when you have the chemical, and you take more, it affects you differently than someone who doesn't have it and takes it. Kinda like me. I have high blood pressure. If someone who "doesn't" have high blood pressure takes my meds, they will not work right for them because they don't need it. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I hope so. But that's why it's got such a bad name, that and everyone wanting perfect little robots. Come on, they are still kids, and they are going to do things they shouldn't sometimes. But anyways, it worked great for my son. Hope this helps.
Ok - forget the Dr Your the kids mother go with your gut
Now - I have a friend that works in the group home system - a lot of those kids are medicated - It makes it easier for the staff -
There is huge evidence of over diagnoses of these conditions -
There are normal growth patterns that children have - that might be best if you out wait them
Somthimes a simple study of behaviour modification techniques is all you need
Also in terms of school - Remember that there are 3 or 4 (it's been a long time since I studied this ) types of learning styles
Visual - Audio - hands on and somthing else
The school system concentrates on one style leaving the rest out of the loop
Also remember that your kid might be really bright and therefore bored in school
All of this adds up to You are the kids Mother - your insight should be double wieghted against the Dr's - just because you can't explin what you know in Latin does not mean you are not right - and know better what is the right thing to do
Do not be bullied Mother -
Drugs have side effects and the Dr will not tell you unless you ask very hard and pointed questions -
omg, i am SO against medicating children for ADD and ADHD i even wrote a whole speech about it.
before you do ANYTHING, do your homework!! (<<<< VERY IMPORTANT!!)
i HIGHLY recommend the book, Everything you know is wrong, editor russ kick. its amazing and on page 110 is all you need about ADHD and ADD and the drugs. America uses 90% of the worlds ritalin, thats really saying something, because in other countries they never even heard of ADHD, and the biggest problem inst lying within your child's brain, its that the child's needs arnt being properly recognized.
there were countless studies that even taking a child camping for one week will have all adhd symptoms dissapear. any form of nature is great for the mind, which releases depression and balances out chemicals in the brain, which aid in helping "symtpoms" of adhd.
Ritalin has horrible harmful effect (these arnt even SIDE EFFECTS these happen to some point! )
this is from a previous answer i wrote down all harmful effects of ritalin adderal and dexedrine, plus other stimulents
brain and mind-
manie psychosis hallucinations agitation anxiety nervousness insomnia irritability hostility affression depression emotional, sensititvitiy easy crying, social withdrawel drowsiness dopiness reduced alertness confusion mental impairment zombielike behavior with loss of emotional spontaneity obsessive compulsive behavior convulsion dyskinesias tics tourettes nervous habbits.
gastrointestinal function- anorexia nausea vomiting bad taste stomach ache cramps dry mouth constipation diarhea abnormal liver functions
haha this is good, pitutary dysfunction , wieght loss, growth suppression DISTURBED SEXUAL FUNCTION.
other- blurred vision headache dizziness hypersensivity reaction with rash conjucticitis or hives.
and u can get a rebound and worsen of adhd like symptoms.
Children who usually take meds are also shorter and under developed since it suppresses the petuitary gland, which then affects every singleorgan in the body.
people dont understand also that everything that is done in America is for money, the truth is they don't care about you or your child (as sad as it is). We are constantly pushed to buy something.
also by medicating your child your showing them that the problems of life can be solved by a pill.
PLEASE dont medicate them.
also take an hour of your day to go to a library or barnes and noble and look for the book i recommended and read the article. do your research! thats the most important. In the book it tells you the problem, the effects, and solutions. please let ritalin be the absolutely last resort.
when my son was little he was into everything, smart, all boy.
his test scores were off the charts.
he was bored easily and I had problems at the school...
my daughter was quiet.
they thought she was learning disabled. slow.
with my son, I fought like Roseanne, they were "generalizing" by books, charts, psycho babble black and white, that he should be on some of that medication.I said absolutely not!!
There were 48 kids per class in Miami.
My son was the only Caucasian male in his class.He was constantly pushed around, followed into the bathroom, tripped in lunch room..etc.
Daughter was picked on because she was quiet...
NOW, what did I do? We sold everything we owned, took what we had to have, left 2 good jobs, plus running an apt. complex, no rent, and left with $500.00 and moved to the country! Our kids blossomed like flowers here.
Those little kids, ages 9 and 6 are now, 9 and 7 yrs in the
United States Coast Guard.One carries a gun and the other is in charge of millions of dollars of supplies..
A. that's my experience
B. I knew it was because the school was over crowded, and they LOVE to push med's...Keep them sedated, easier for the school and teacher to handle too many kids.$$$ a dollar 45 or more per kid from the state, who attend...cha ching!
C. Alternatives, well, what I did, I said NO. There is no "Gym" class anymore to speak of, they aren't burning off couped up energy. School is too long, and boring....
D. and YES, Pharmaceutical companies take Dr.'s out to lunch, and anyone else directly involved in the distribution of their medication..
$$$, $$$$, and more $$$$..keep them sedated, so the school can make more money.you've got more single parents out there then ever, trying to provide, structure isn't there in most cases, fast foods, preservatives in the food, the dye's, and who know's what else they are all eating...the sugar, pop and crap, and we wonder why some kids are off the charts unable to "handle"..
Oh by the way, my daughter? when we moved here, less than 28 kids per class, she was a National Honor Roll student from Kindergarten till HS graduation and graduated with Honors..
had I listened to those fools, who knows what damage medication would have done to give it to them when they didn't need any!
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