WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO MEDICATE THEIR KIDS WITH RITALIN ETC

[psycholove]

having a child with adhd / autism and a brother with the same. i am concerned that people want to medicate their children with ritalin etc. can anyone tell me why they need to do this - as i have never felt the  need to.....

[KadensGran1963]

My 3 yr old grandson has recently been diagnosed w/ADHD & possible bipolar. He ONLY seems to have horrible fits at school & has already been kicked out of 3 daycares for biting, hiting & just horrible fits that neither his parents or I see. He is a disiplined child & when he does get in trouble at home it seems no matter what you do, nothing helps. But to me it's just regular child disbehavior, nothing violent like the school says. Ive been researching different meds & have come across "Synaptol". Is anybody using it & does it really work as well as it says. Sounds like THE miracle all natural cure, but sounds too good to be true. I cry & pray for I dont want my grandson medicated up & have the life treatening side effects. It breaks my heart. PLEASE, if anyone uses Synaptol, plz let me know if its as good as it says. Thanx, Kaden's Gran!!

[Sandman2]

    Wow, a very powerful statement.
I do have a few suggestions.
   Your doc will start him out on the lowest dose and wait for you to tell him how it is working.  Keep in communication.  It is a bit of trial and error.
   Get the book,  "The ADD/ ADHD Answer book," by Susan Ashley."  Its about 10 bucks on Amazon.  It will be very helpful for you.  And might have saved you some of the grief you have gone through.  The book also has a great section on 504 plans for school.
   Not sure what you meant by, "I will not inform the school personnel."  I can think of several reasons why that may not be the best thing for your child - but I'm not exactly sure what you mean by the statement.
   Please feel free to post - maybe start your own post topic - if you have any questions that I could help with.
   Oh, and lots of good homework/schoolwork suggestions on this site -
http://www.additudemag.com/search/keyword/Homework%20and%20Test%20Help.html

[missmomma2]

I actually feel very sorry for your son to have such an inconsiderate parent who obviously won't be able to give a good example of empathy and love to others who don't do things the same way as she does.  It's great that your adhd child does not require medication to be successul in school and other requirements in his life.  Unfortunately that is not the case for all adhd children.  Every child is different and every adhd child is different with varyinig severity.  My DS is 9 y/o.  I have tried everything.  Private school, homeschool, public school (only because we had to move did I change the type of schools, but each time I tried something new).  Every environment and school I was given the same feedback.  He is very distracted and not focusing in class.  He is very well behaved, not hyper, just adhd inattentive.  He plays with pencils, erasers, etc. instead of doing work including tests.  We have tried everything including behavior modification, punishments such as grounding from tv/video games, etc.  We've even tried tutoring.  Nothing has helped.  He is an extremely bright child, but is failing 3rd grade.  This has been going on since kindergarten, but I did not want to medicate my child so I've tried everything else to no avail.  We spend anywhere from 1-4 hrs on homework every night trying help his grades.  It doesn't help and is not fair to him to have to spend that much time on homework after school.  I can read a sentence to him and the immediately ask a question from that sentence and he can't answer it because he's "not listening" when really he is distracted.  I cannot continue to allow him to fail without giving him every possible opportunity to do better.  He needs help and our last resort is medication.  We are starting that this week.  It was the hardest decison we've ever made.  I've cried to the point of snubbing, especially when I went to the pediatrician's office and picked up the prescription.  I feel like a failure, but let me tell you that deep down I know that's not the case.  Our family has given him all the love we could possibly given him.  We have exhausted every other resource available to help him.  Please do not judge parents who give their child medication.  It is a hard enough decision as it is without having to deal with negativity from others.  Because of people like you I will not inform the school personnel.  There are too many judgemental people and I think that's unfortunate because the more onboard everyone in his care is the better.  Please think again about your responses and understand that all children are different.  You are not the only responsible, loving parent out there.  Many responsible, loving parents have HAD to make the decision to give their child medication.

[Sandman2]

      There are a lot of adults who are able to medicate only when needed.  They take a standard Ritalin which lasts 4 hours max.  You will probably have to experiment till you find the right dose if you tried this.  The trouble with XL's (or the good thing depending on your view) is that they last all day.  Thus they can effect things like food intake, etc.   Its wonderful if you are in school all day, but usually not needed in the workplace (depending on your job).
    I would find a good doc.  Look for one that specializes in ADHD if possible.  You might also want to check out web sites for adults with ADD so you can get a feeling how others handle similar problems.  Try this one -
    http://jeffsaddmind.com/
    Hope this helps.  Please post if you need any more info.

[Breathe89]

Why should I have to medicate? I didn't ask to be born with this.
I tried medication, and yes I am much more focused whilst medicated. It feels brilliant to be appreciated at work for a change. But I also lost loads of weight and could not stop smoking. In hindsight, I wish I had found out more before taking them.

I was diagnosed at age 21, prescribed Concerta XL @ 34mg to start. On my second visit I was increased to 54mg. I had few visits with my doctor before she left work.
That was nearly two years ago and I am now trying to find help as I don't know what to do with myself.

I like having ADHD and there are loads of things that I miss about myself when on medication. I just wish I could focus more when I need to.

[Sandman2]

   Or maybe if there were the current medicines available, he would not have had all the problems he had in his school career, and could have gone on to a top ranked university and achieved even more.  Who knows - its all relative.