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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Our Challenging Children (gifted, ADHD, sensitive, defiant)
What symptoms did medication help with?



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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 9:36 am
DS is on concerta for ADHD. I feel like the effects are minimal. It helps him get going on tasks but not much else. I see people writing that the medication saved their child and that they saw drastic results. What results did you see?
He still has trouble paying attention but only in the morning and still is reactive and explosive.

p.s. yes, we have tried several medications. This is the only one that had any effect. Of course I'm still not sure it's the right one.
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 9:44 am
amother wrote:
DS is on concerta for ADHD. I feel like the effects are minimal. It helps him get going on tasks but not much else. I see people writing that the medication saved their child and that they saw drastic results. What results did you see?
He still has trouble paying attention but only in the morning and still is reactive and explosive.

p.s. yes, we have tried several medications. This is the only one that had any effect. Of course I'm still not sure it's the right one.


I have taken concerta for 13 years for severe ADHD.

It sounds like my experience. It helps me focus but I still needed a LOT of therapy to be emotionally modulated. Remember he hasn't been developing the tools to control himself all these years.

In the morning it takes some time before it kicks in. It honestly sounds like it's working for him.

Are you doing behavioral modification?

The most important thing is your intuition. If you feel like it isn't helping, try another medication.
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 10:02 am
When the meds are correct for your child's brain type, you will see drastic results.

Examples of success on the correct meds:

A child who could not even dress herself, she was so disorganized ADD, took ritalin for the first time and gave herself a bath, shampoo, got dressed, all without being asked. Years later she only needs to take Ritalin for tests.

A teen who hit puberty and went so crazy I thought she was going bipolar, started taking St John's Wort and all her symptoms subsided immediately. Was able to lower dose drastically as an adult.

A child who had been on Ritalin, was angry and suicidal, started taking GABA amino acid, got his smile back, calmed down, and was like a new kid.

An adult who was ADD and addicted to sugar and caffeine, started taking DLPA amino acid and no longer binged on candy bars and soda all day. Experienced complete healing after about 4 years and no longer needs meds.

An adult who had PTSD and panic attacks started taking Valerian root and immediately felt calm and had concentration for the first time in years and eventually healed enough to not need the Valerian anymore.

But then there is the child who had complex ADHD and nothing was perfectly helpful, but eventually he found cognitive therapy and exercise, which helps with mood, but not concentration.

Read Dr Amen's book on the 6 Types of ADHD. You just can't medicate without reading that book.
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 10:04 am
ds is on conerta (after years of me not wanted medicine)
He needs it to survive. Without it he is one impulsive hyper child. Very hard to be around.
With the meds he can have a chance to succeed.
He is still in a special school but doing well.
I regret not putting him on when he was younger
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 10:06 am
amother wrote:
When the meds are correct for your child's brain type, you will see drastic results.

Examples of success on the correct meds:

A child who could not even dress herself, she was so disorganized ADD, took ritalin for the first time and gave herself a bath, shampoo, got dressed, all without being asked. Years later she only needs to take Ritalin for tests.

A teen who hit puberty and went so crazy I thought she was going bipolar, started taking St John's Wort and all her symptoms subsided immediately. Was able to lower dose drastically as an adult.

A child who had been on Ritalin, was angry and suicidal, started taking GABA amino acid, got his smile back, calmed down, and was like a new kid.

An adult who was ADD and addicted to sugar and caffeine, started taking DLPA amino acid and no longer binged on candy bars and soda all day. Experienced complete healing after about 4 years and no longer needs meds.

An adult who had PTSD and panic attacks started taking Valerian root and immediately felt calm and had concentration for the first time in years and eventually healed enough to not need the Valerian anymore.

But then there is the child who had complex ADHD and nothing was perfectly helpful, but eventually he found cognitive therapy and exercise, which helps with mood, but not concentration.

Read Dr Amen's book on the 6 Types of ADHD. You just can't medicate without reading that book.

The other examples make sense. But the one I bolded would only work if the kid had at some point learned how to take a bath and shampoo her hair.

When I went on Concerta, there were very basic things that I never figured out, because I couldn't pay attention long enough. The point for the OP is not to expect the kid to magically learn how to control themselves and shower. Even with Concerta working perfectly that won't work.

Medicine is not magic.
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 10:31 am
amother wrote:
The other examples make sense. But the one I bolded would only work if the kid had at some point learned how to take a bath and shampoo her hair.

When I went on Concerta, there were very basic things that I never figured out, because I couldn't pay attention long enough. The point for the OP is not to expect the kid to magically learn how to control themselves and shower. Even with Concerta working perfectly that won't work.

Medicine is not magic.


Oy, you were having a seriously hard time, like my child. I understand what you're saying, however she really was never taught to bath and shampoo, and I doubt she did a perfect job, but she was determined enough to do it all by herself, now that she could think straight. Meds are certainly not magic, you're right. But it sometimes feels and looks like it. If the Concerta was correct for your brain, then you would be able to pay attn long enough to figure things out. If it wasn't helping with attn, what was it accomplishing? AFAIK, stimulants aren't necessarily the cure for self-control, it's just sometimes a happy side effect, and sometimes the opposite happens. Not trying to debate, just in for discussion.
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 10:37 am
amother wrote:
Oy, you were having a seriously hard time, like my child. I understand what you're saying, however she really was never taught to bath and shampoo, and I doubt she did a perfect job, but she was determined enough to do it all by herself, now that she could think straight. Meds are certainly not magic, you're right. But it sometimes feels and looks like it. If the Concerta was correct for your brain, then you would be able to pay attn long enough to figure things out. If it wasn't helping with attn, what was it accomplishing? AFAIK, stimulants aren't necessarily the cure for self-control, it's just sometimes a happy side effect, and sometimes the opposite happens. Not trying to debate, just in for discussion.

We agree then. Very Happy
It's just that a lot of time, a kid's reaction to the medicine isn't completely according to the textbook. I don't want the OP to think that that means it won't ever help. Maybe the medication is helping and after a few months or even a year you'll really see a difference, but it takes time to catch up on basic skills. I'm glad it worked so well for your daughter Very Happy
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amother


 

Post Tue, May 20 2014, 11:18 am
amother wrote:
We agree then. Very Happy
It's just that a lot of time, a kid's reaction to the medicine isn't completely according to the textbook. I don't want the OP to think that that means it won't ever help. Maybe the medication is helping and after a few months or even a year you'll really see a difference, but it takes time to catch up on basic skills. I'm glad it worked so well for your daughter Very Happy


Ok, point made. I understand what you're saying. For a child who has missed so much due to being ADD, when they're finally able to concentrate, they now have a lot of work to do to catch up. Very true. And to expound on what you're saying, if a child has other learning disabilities besides ADD, the medication doesn't magically cure those, of course. For example, one should not expect Ritalin to help a child with dyslexia to read.

What I would like to stress, however, is that you should see, imo, a rather dramatic response in a favorable way, if the meds are correct for that brain type. And if you see very concerning or upsetting results from the meds, then you need to reevaluate. My biggest concern is when parents medicate with Ritalin, only to see their child grow violent, and instead of blaming the Ritalin and stopping the Ritalin, the doctors increase the Ritalin or try another stronger stimulant, or decide they misdiagnosed and it's really ODD and place the child on Risperdal, and things only get worse from there. All because the Ritalin made the child feel crazy because it wasn't matiim for his brain type.
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