Concerta-Adderral-10 year old???

[lodzpol]

My 10 year son has been on Adderall for a little over 2 months now.  He was moody, distant, and very emotional.  The doctor is now switching him to Concerta. Any thought son this medication?  I am new at trying to deal with ADHA, my son is diagnosed with the concentration protion of ADHA. He can not focus for the life of him!  It is so confusing to try and help him when I know

[dollyn]

Thank you for saying this is not my fault.But my point is that there are more things in live that look like ADD and ADHD but are not. May people who have children with Seizures are told that there children have ADD or ADHD or at least one of them. Before they even find out that they are really having Seizures and some Doctors even want to keep our children on these other drugs even though they know the child has Seizures and what these drugs can do and that the side effects to these drugs can be Seizures. If you know anything about Seizures you would know that our children can have a very hard time learning and also do things that other children wouldn't do. These things are caused because of the Seizures not ADD or ADHD.

I have talked to other parents with Different kinds of Seizures who have gone threw the same thing as me with there children .They have had to pull there child out of the school becuase the schools just don't get it or want to deal with it .Or think that Seizures can make a child act out or have a hard time learning .They want children who can sit still and not have to try and teach them different ways because when you have Seizures you have to be schooled differently then other children do. And phone calls home every day about how there child dose this or that and that they think there child needs othe drugs .The side effetcs to the Medicines can also make children act out to.

I have a friend of my who had her son on ADD and ADHD and she took him off because the drug made him worse ,and the Doctor who put him on it wouldn't even talk to her when she tried tell her what was going on she even went to see her and she wouldn't she her about her Son. Now he is no nothing and he is doing better than what he did on those drugs .yes he still is behind in school but she is ok with that..

here is some links I would like for you all to look at and see if you would have know that these children were having seizures.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9V2sNmIoJk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcdxpjvsXNY&feature=related  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyn93c1Bd_g&feature=related

[Sandman2]

   Hi Dolly, thank you for posting the type of Epilepsy that your son has.  It enabled me to research it.  I found a very good site here - http://www.epilepsy.com/EPILEPSY/epilepsy_lennoxgastaut  -  which I am sure that you have seen.  If not its worth checking out.
    In looking at many of the sites on line, the one thing that struck me was that none of them said you could get it from taking Adderall.  If you want to believe that, thats your choice.  But I have seen you beat yourself up for years over letting him take the medicine.  Dolly, it was not your fault!  This form of Epilepsy typically hits a child between 2 and 6 and is caused by (quoting from the site I referenced), "encephalitis, meningitis, tuberous sclerosis complex, brain malformations, perinatal injury including hypoxic-ischemic (deprivation of blood flow and oxygen to the brain) encephalopathy, trauma and frontal lobe injuries."
   From what I have read, even if he had not taken the Adderall, it would have happened.  It was not your fault.  I just want you to stop blaming yourself.  You have been a wonderful mother dealing with an extremely difficult situation.  I admire you for what you have done.  I think that the Service Dog is a great idea!  I was going to say, "hang in there", but I know that you will.  Best wishes!!!!!

[dollyn]

I learned the hard way. my son was on adderall and then concerta because his school teacher couldn't handle him and he was having a hard time learning, Had I knew back then what I know now he would have had an EEG done and blood work before going on those drugs and even then I wouldn't have put him on them. you see we ended up finding out that my son has Seizures and that is why he was having a hard time learning and even acting out at times and he couldn't help it. those drugs also have the side effect that they can cause seizures.

Before going on these drugs Doctors need to do there job and test for everything. ADD AND ADHD and even some children who have seizures look like they have bipolar and it is not ADD AND ADHD . Also I give my son Omega 3-6-9 Vitmains and Vitamin B6 these are very good for the brain and won't do what these other drugs do.

we now know that my son has LGS it is a form of Epilpsy and there is know Medicine that stops the Seizures . We even got my son a Service Dog .

As parents we need to stand up for our children because if we don't know onw else will. The Doctors don't always know what is best. Belive me I have hear a lof of  things from other parnets and the first thing I say is Run don't Walk to another Doctor who will leisne to you and do what is best for your Child.

My child could die because of what he has. And I have to live with the fact that the Medicine I gave him sure didn't help him it changed him .I would hate for others to have to go threw what my family and others are going threw.

And yes there are side effects to the Medicines that I have to gove my son for his Seizures but that is to keep him alive. The drugs they use to treat add and adhd and even bipolar won't kill you if you don't take them.

So please fight for your children just as I have had to over the last 4 years and I tell the Doctors what I want do to make sure he is ok. Also most Doctors don't keep trck of blood levels once you are even on these drugs .

this make me so mad that so many are putting there little children threw this. A lady told me the other day that a child had died after the school went to court and made the parenst give the kid these kind of drugs this young man died a year later.

sorry so long hope you were able to read it all.

[runningwild]

You, my friend, are a complete idiot! That is being said because until you live a DAY in my shoes, you cannot even have a CLUE what goes on in a home running rampant with ADHD. I am a 36 yr old with severe ADHD, diagnosed when I was 8. My father has ADHD, and as you may or may not know, it is genetic. I was insanely hyper till I got put on Ritalin. That is when my life began..and I finally could sleep through the night, sit through a movie, read a book and interact socially like a normal person. Without the "DRUGS" you are condemnin,g I would NEVER have gotten where I am today. I am a college grad, happily married and the mother of 2 very hyper little kids!!! I was in severe denial that my kids could be hyper and after their teachers literally begged me to do something I reluctantly put both of my kiddos on those "BAD DRUGS". I am not going to lie..life is hard. My daughter has responded well to her meds and finally in 2nd grade seems to be doing well..my son who is a brilliant 4th grader is having a few more problems..but I am a good mom. I love my kids and I will never give up on them..ever. I really resent you popping on this site and condemning the medication that has saved so many people. The children that are put on these drugs incorrectly by their doctors without correct diagnosis and medical evaluation..I feel sorry for..and that is what all your little articles are about. Plus, ADHD looks like so many other mental problems that if someone is not properly diagnosed you will see the problems to which you were referring.  That however, is something you should be condemning doctors for..not parents.

[allmymarbles]

Like you I am against using any sort of medication for supposed ADHD. My daughter works with children who have been so diagnosed, and has for years. Children are sent to her when they have trouble coping with their schoolwork They are generally in a state of anxiety, are in the doghouse both at school and at home, and their attention us scattered.  Basically what she does is help them to organize their work in such a way that they only focus on one aspect at a time. They learn that with simple planning they can complete their tasks relatively quickly. (This is a great simplification. She has to quell their anxiety and bolster their self-esteem.) This is not accomplished overnight. Her success is remarkable. In all these years she has found only one child who could be classified as having ADHD. She feels that ADD/ADHD is largely a fad diagnosis, and that the medications are dangerous.

Interestingly enough, when she encounters problems it is with one of the parents the and not the child. Some parents demand that their children get straight A's, whether they have that capability or not. (My daughter's aim is to have them reach their potential.) There is also the parent who overburdens the child with extracurricular activities (which needless to say he has to excel in). Oddly enough this overbearing parent is usually the mother.

One case stands out in my mind. One of her students, a girl, while taking Adderall was admitted to the ER twice, so my daughter questioned the dosage, and the possibility that the girl should not be taking the medication at all. She learned from the daughter that she liked the Adderall because it kept her slim. Then she spoke to the mother who approved of the medication for that purpose as well. So my daughter explained the situation to the girl's psychologist who was not prepared to take any action. That is, until my daughter gave her a dressing down.  

[tazz8390]

my son is 10 and as well adhd and is taking 54mg of concerta and it works really well
hes behaving better in school and now able to focus better