law72461 - Welcome to MLM! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Well, I really wish I could help you with this. My kids aren't old enough to be diagnosed and aren't showing any signs as of right now as far as I know. I'm sure there is a mom or two around that IS going through this, though.

And I do know that it takes a while to A)Find the right meds and B)Find the right amount of those meds before everything is "right."

Good luck and let me know if just need to vent!

Carrie 

www.MothersPhoto.com  

Please check out my website for information about my Photography. As always, I offer a 15% discount to MLM members!

Hi law, welcome to MLM!

Several of my students over the years went through the medication journey. Carrie is on the right track. Not only do you have to find the right meds, you have to find the right dose. It is not an easy process.

I will tell you that for most of the kiddos whose parents were willing to stick it out and ride the waves, they did eventually find the right combo and it helped them tremendously.

Make this a team effort - parents, child, doctor(s), and teacher(s). Everyone should share their observations as you go through the process.

Food for thought - If you're nervous about medicating, keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to do it forever. Sometimes kiddos need help leveling the playing field so they can unlearn behaviors and learn knew ones so they can experience success. Once those behaviors are in place, you can wean off the meds slowly WITH A DOCTOR'S GUIDANCE.

I wish you the best. It can be a frustrating, long road for many families.

There is a great DR in concord at cmc northeast

the practice is called behavioal and developmental pediatrics

704-403-2600 DR Gulbronson

Make an  appt it takes awhile to get one be patient they are great about doing a complete workup with input from parents and teachers

It is worth it to help kids

Ask me about it :)

Thank you all so much for the info!!

I greatly appreciate it!

Linda

Just curious...what do you hope the medication will do?  I have had teacher after teacher insist my son be on medication but the pediatrician says no way.  Are they just hoping he "settles down" on the meds?  Sits still?  Stops talking?  I can see where that would be helpful, do meds really do that?   What would finding the right meds/success look like?

mightaswell ~ You have a good point. Medication is not for every child. I'm assuming that when law posted this that she and the doctor already decided meds would be best for her child. After that decision is made, it's still a long road to find the right balance.

One of my best friends went up and down her her son's ADHD meds and her husband is a Dr! I am going to forward the link to her and hopefully the two of you can connect!

Kelly

Master of the mommy universe, chances are I am racing about town in the minivan, listening to a dvd that I have heard 20 times, fielding questions about all manners of things while handing over snacks on our way to the next event.

The medicine he takes does help him alot at school, not perfect of course. There have been a few days that he has been off it and  he puts his head down on the table and does not listen or talks to his friends too much when he is supposed to be paying attentio to the teacher. The teachers notice a difference. The problems are the meltdowns at home. After talking to the Dr. on Friday, we have him on Concerta during the day and at 2:30 we are going to try a low dose of ritalin to get him through his homework but not affect his sleep. Hopefully that will help. The whole package - teacher, dr and I have been working on this for years. Will update you soon to let you know how it goes.

Oh, one more thing if the pediatrician says no I suggest talking to a psychiatrist or school counselor.

Hello!!  I'm the friend Kelly was talking about.  My son was diagnosed at 6 years old with ADHD and we've been through MANY meds.  We started with our pediatrician, and while we love him--he just wasn't the one to manage his ADHD meds for us.  We then drove to the ADHD clinic at Duke which was fantastic, but the drive was just too much for us.  We finally found a child psychiatrist in Charlotte we really trust and like.  I think the key is to find a doctor who knows about all the meds and all the side effects and usually that is a child psychiatrist.  Ours is Irm Bellavia--the only problem is that she doesn't file insurance, so we have to do that ourselves and the insurance company reimburses us about 1/2 of her fee.  She is so important to us that even if they didn't reimburse us anything I would still take our son to her.

A pp mentioned what do you want the meds to do?  Well, we use them to help our son sit still and concentrate, to not be so impulsive that he drives friends away with his actions, to be able to actually learn something in school.  Also, children with ADHD who are unmedicated tend to "self medicate" as teens, turning to smoking (for the nicotine), alcohol, and drugs.  Unmedicated boys with ADHD also have a higher incidence of car accidents as teens and young adults.  So, I absolutely believe in the effectiveness and need for medication.

The hard part, as you have found out, is finding the right meds and the right dosage.  We want our son on the lowest dose, with the least amount of side effects that still control his symptoms, while allowing him to still be himself.  Not the easiet thing, but the best way to accomplish that is through trial and error with a doctor you trust.  One that explores the symptoms and side effects and doesn't send you out the door after 5 minutes with a prescription.

Good Luck to you and your son.  If you need to, you can PM me.