ADHD inattentive | Imamother

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 10:13 pm

Trying to see if this diagnosis makes sense.

Can you describe your child who has adhd-inattentive?
Did you medicate? Did you see that it helped? In which way?

(Please don't comment about other versions of adhd, my child is not impulsive or hyper, so those factors don't come into play.)

amother

Opal

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:13 pm

My son has inattentive adhd, no hyperactivity at all.
He couldn't learn how to read. He was already in first grade and started having tantrum that he didn't want to go to school. I started meds and he magically learnt how to read in a few weeks! He just couldn't concentrate enough.

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:20 pm

amother Opal wrote:

Who diagnosed him/what type of dr? What meds did you give? Do you see any side effects?

amother

Leaf

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:22 pm

Yup! My daughter was diagnosed at age 15 years(finally after YEARS of evaluations some did the exact tests she needed!)

We ate still figuring out the best way to help her. Since there are 0 behavior issues with my daughter, no typical ADHD behaviors no one looked into Inattentive type either. I didn't even know it existed. But given everything....it all makes total sense!

I try not to feel frustrated she wasn't diagnosed earlier and move forward.

She now sees a therapist once a week to open up and build confidence, and help her not be so unresponsive. I've been trying to get into a developmental pediatrician, but at her age there must either be an Autism diagnosis or an intellectual disability. Frustrating

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:42 pm

amother Leaf wrote:

Are you medicating?
Who diagnosed her?

amother

Leaf

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:45 pm

amother OP wrote:

Are you medicating?
Who diagnosed her?

No medicine at this point.
She had a psychological evaluation done through her school

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:49 pm

amother Leaf wrote:

No medicine at this point.
She had a psychological evaluation done through her school

So what were you doing until now, before the diagnosis? How does the diagnosis make a difference?
Do you see the therapy helping? (And does it help different now that she's been diagnosed?)

amother

Chicory

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:56 pm

Very fidgety. Has trouble focusing. Often spaces out when hearing instructions. Loses things often (even important things) and trouble with staying organized.

Also trouble staying on task, gets easily distracted

amother

Opal

Tue, May 30 2023, 12:03 am

amother OP wrote:

Who diagnosed him/what type of dr? What meds did you give? Do you see any side effects?

Pediatrician. I didn't want to wait a few months for psychiatrist appointment. Time was of the essence, it was an emergency at that point.
Dr prescribed Concerta but my son can't swallow pills so switch to vyvanse chewable.
Usual side effects of ADD meds: it cut his appetite and he has a harder time falling asleep at night. I only give him the medicine when he goes to school(no meds on shabbos and yom tov) and give him half a pill on half days(fridays and sundays).
It's really not a big risk to try medication, if it doesn't work or has bad side effects you can just stop the medicine.
(He's the youngest of a large family and he has a bunch of siblings with Adhd so no big surprise for us!)

amother

Oak

Tue, May 30 2023, 12:28 am

Difficulty staying on task, not following social cues properly, reading difficulties, being "bored" all the time ie not staying with anything long enough, doing tasks at the wrong time, not getting his things together at the right time and place (not typical balagan just taking way longer than other people)

We did about 6 different evaluations and tried every therapy under the sun until we got this diagnosis when he was 11. We tried 6 different medications because many of them made him very anxious and OCD. He now takes Concerta and the difference is amazing. He is much happier, calmer, more focused. He started reading fluently, he keeps his stuff extremely organized. After the first month while his body adjusted there are no major side effects

amother

Tue, May 30 2023, 12:32 am

amother Oak wrote:

Did the anxiety side effects go away right when you stopped the meds that didn't work, or did they linger for a while?

Who did you use for the meds?
How long did you give each one before trying the next?

amother

Coffee

Tue, May 30 2023, 8:41 am

I have 2 with inattentive. They are very head in the clouds, need everything broken down for them, have trouble following "the group plan" in school. They are also both really brilliant (tested as gifted). They are medicated at a low dose, it helps, but they also need other support in place, medication alone is not enough.

amother

Tue, May 30 2023, 8:46 am

amother Coffee wrote:

Can you explain what support you mean?

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, May 30 2023, 9:32 am

amother Opal wrote:

My ds is similar and just started on the same medication. So far so good.

amother

Oak

Tue, May 30 2023, 9:58 am

amother OP wrote:

Stopped immediately, didn't linger at all.
We started with a neurologist and followed up with our pediatrician.
We gave each one a week - except when there were clearly severe side effects when we stopped the same day.

amother

Oak

Tue, May 30 2023, 10:00 am

amother Watermelon wrote:

What happens when you stop medication? Is this a lifelong issue?

Very often, while they are on medication you can work on teaching them the skills and coping mechanisms they need. Their brain is the same brain their whole life but they can learn how to compensate and fully function. Then you can wean off the medication. But until they are on the medication, there is no one to work with because they aren't focused enough to work.

You also often see that as adults, they take a job that doesn't involve sitting in school for 8 hours straight and that plays to their strengths.

amother

Tue, May 30 2023, 10:52 am

amother Oak wrote:

So who changed the meds each week? The neurologist or the pediatrician?