Adderall and Allergies

My five year old son was diagnosed with ADHD back in December.  He just started Kindergarden and the teachers in his Charter School do not like to deal with children with ADHD so they want them medicated.  So his peditirican put him on 10mg of Adderall (adderrall).  I was so reluctant but I want him to pass Kindergarden.  He does have the side effects, i.e. stomach aches (which seemed to pass now) restlessness, very picky eater, very emotional and sad feelings that no one likes him.  He has had several infections over the past 4 months, i.e. sinus infections, scarlet fever, ear infections, strep throat and constantly sniffles. He does have the rapid heart beat which I get concerned about.  I brought all these symptoms to his pediatrician and she referring him to an allergy doctor, which I wanted her to do for a year now, and an pediatric physoclgist (ADHD Clnic).  He started having all these problems since he started school.  When he was home with me he was fine.  He says he hates school because the kids are so mean to him.  They call him names like loser, stupid and so on.  I now kids will be kids, but can this be why he is having these ADHD syptoms (symptoms) too.  I tried taking him off cold turkey for two days and he just flipped out.  he was in the Principals office those two days, and she threatened me that if I don't put him back on the meds that she will have to suspend him.  I could not beleive it.  He is not a violent child.  He has problems witht he other kids pushing, hitting and  teasing him so he reacts.  I want to take him off but there is only 10 more weeks of school left.  I just want him to pass Kindergarden and then take him off during the summer and look for other alternatives.  Maybe homeschool next year.  He is an only child and I felt that school might help him with his social skills and to make friends.  Maybe he is allergic to Adderal with all the sinus and infections he has had these past three months.  He is finally going to a Allergy Doctor next week.  I hope he can give me some hope.  I tried giving him Claritan in the afternoon, but that seems to make him more stuffy.  I hope someone reads this that can give me some advice and insight of what to do.  I am at my whits end.  

[LRM1021]

Take a deep breath.

1. Any school that pushes you to medicate your child is the wrong school. It's ok for a school to set rules for behavior, and say that if children don't meet them they can't attend a school, but it's NOT OK for a school to require that children be medicated.
2. Let's say that none of that was happening. Your son is still miserable at school. That's another reason to look for some alternative schooling here in this case.
3. If your son is in public school, then you can get him an IEP/ 504 plan -- this is a plan that the school has to follow to make sure that your child is getting an adequate education. Contact your local school board for more information about this. These plans are agreements that state very specifically what services a child is to receive in order to help them learn and be successful in school. ADHD is most certainly covered here.
4. On a totally separate note, good you are taking him to an allergy doctor. Please note that its not too unusual for children to get sick repeatedly when they first go to schoo. The first two years they are not at home-- either by day care or school-- they get sick. Because all these illnesses are related to the throat, you might want to see an ENT if the allergy tests come back negative.
5. You can see how he behaves over the summer without meds for ADHD. He might get better, he might not.  I believe that homeschooling is the right answer for many ADHD children. The school environment just does not work well for many of them, and homeschooling is a great alternative if its available. You're concerned about socialization, but if your son goes to school and HATES it, and is not making friends and does not play with the other children, then how is he getting socialization benefits? Some ADHD children need to be much older before effective socialization can begin. Maybe he can be homechooled for now, and then later, you can try a school environment again. I know one ADHD child that homeschooling worked so well for-- his mother just kept on doing it! He is 12 now-- and one of the happiest children I know.

[shel62]

hi...I feel for you....I went through this ...made some good decisions ,some bad........the bad one was 12 years of hell academically....although had friends and had sports or vise versa...played sports and made lots of friends through them.  But hated school. If I could do it again ...would of home schooled him. Think it is good advise to homeschool him for a while until he builds his self esteem and  confidence. You can try public school at a later date. He is in college now ...much happier but still trying to find the right meds.
Just fyi , there is a test for a certain enzyme that (simple blood test)  will tell if your son metabilizes these meds.  Some kids can't metabolize the meds and they get stored and then build up in the body, thus side effects. I'll get the exact name of the enzyme ..just don't know off the top of my head. I'm sure your doc will know!....or should!

Hang in there!

Shel