Anyone have kids with ADHD or ODD?

my son has been on ritalin for several years. he only takes one dose in the morning and one dose at lunch. sometimes he does the extended release, which lasts until school gets out. i don't medicate him at home.
the only issue is he doesn't sleep much, which is okay.

Hi Doll. My son is ADHD and has been on Concerta for a few years. I like this medication because I only give it to him on school days. Some of the meds have to build up in the body to be effective. The only side effect my son has had is no appetite from 8a-3p. He makes up for that downfall having breakfast at home before school and a good dinner.

A really good site with lots of support and advice is additudemag.com

clean eating helps a lot. here's an article that was linked to me

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20048725-10391704.html

My son just started Kindergarten and hasn't been diagnosed with anything but his dad has ADHD and I am noticing a lot of the symptoms in him. Have you tried any other alternatives yet or did they just immediately want to do the drugs? I would personally try every other option that is possible before the drugs. Drugs make kids so drained and everyone is so over medicated now. It's ultimately up to you though and what you think is best for your son! Good luck!

My son is now 19 and still suffers from ADD & ODD. He was diagnosed at 7. He was on ritalin for most of the time, till we had a fight with his DR for NOT doing anything but handing over the meds. He went off it & went better. We gave him guarana.... he went better. It actually works the same was as ritalin Now he still has bad days but is completely drug free.

I am 37 & have always suffered from ADHD. even now it gets me daily. Different way though, makes me get into a habit that I can break in a day if I let it. That's why I exercise daily without a rest day, cause I will not get back to it.

Try the Guarana. It may help. It's a small buzz (like the meds are) and it helped not only son but me as well. You don't HAVE to have the medication the DR gives you. They don't tell you about all the other things. Diet DOES play a huge part in it. Just remember that the medication DOES affect growth, my son was small until he went off a few years ago...then shot up. Dr's do not always know best. My son is now at UNI & doing really well, all without medication. You don't have to give them something that has a natural safer alternative.

My grandson, whom I have adopted, is 12 years old. He has ADHD, and maybe ODD too. He has been on Concerta and Ritalin since he was 5. It has been a life saver for us! He does a much better job in school when he takes his medication and is a lot less disruptive.

I don't always have him take it in the summer and on weekends. If he is extra hyper, I do. I try to keep him away from sugar because it makes him twice as hyper.

He gets check-ups every three months and so far hasn't had any problems.

Good luck to you and I hope if you do use the medicine it works for your son.

Take care, Reesie

I don't have a child but I do have ADD. My mother always thought I had ADHD growing up but she was told that I didn't by everyone she talked to. I wasn't put on medication until I started using other means to study. I was put on Concerta through my doctor and I can't even tell you the difference that I felt. For the first time, I was able to study without half a billion thoughts running through my head. I really wish I could have had the help growing up. I did just fine but I could have done tons better if I had help then. Unfortunately I'm not on meds now due to financial & insurance reasons but I wish I did since I'm starting grad school. Good luck with your kids and my advice to you would go with your gut instinct. You know better than anyone more often than not.

I was diagnosed as a child (never took meds). I have a phd and am relatively normal.

My youngest and my oldest have adhd. I never put my oldest on the meds, not real sure if that was a good idea.
Now my youngest was just tested, sorry to say he is adhd as well. Trying to keep him off meds as long as possible.
My oldest told me there are times she wishes I would of put her on the meds.... It is hard to deal with. This does help me some though because I was getting so upset when we would work so hard and then he make such bad grades. He also has a memory problem. At least now we know what is wrong and get him the help he needs....

Any and every parent would be hesitant about medicating their child. I even second guess Tylenol. It's only natural. We want our children to be happy and healthy. We want the best for them. And medication comes with the stigma that something is "wrong."

However, we can see from the few posts here how helpful the right medication can be.

Ask your doctor lots of questions, even if you're embarrassed because you "read it on the internet." It's okay! Investigate and do what is best for your child. Quality of life is so important! We want our kids to be successful in school and positively sociable

My so is going to be 12 and has been taking adderal since 4th grade and it works really well.

I am a teacher and have seen many children with ADD and ADHD. If you are concerned about the medications I would recommend trying to change your child's diet. There are sometimes food allergies that can trigger behaviors similar to those of a child with ADHD. I don't believe that the doctors usually ask what your child eats before making the official diagnosis. Check out all of the side effects short and long term if you do decide to medicate!!!!!!
In my experience I've seen kids who have been medicated who probably could have learned coping mechanisms without it or even eliminated the problem behaviors with a change in diet, and I also see kids who have made a complete turnaround because their parents decided to medicate. Just know that you have options! Make sure you do your own research on any medicine prescribed especially for young children. You want to know possible side effects so that you can properly count the cost of what you're giving to your child.

My 13 yr old son was on Concetra for a while for OCD. My son also has ADD and Austism and overall developmental delays.

At one point he also took Celexa and another one (I can't remember the name) for his OCD. Honestly he has been on sooo many different meds that I can't remember which one worked the best. But every child is different. I was not and am still not in favor of meds but there is a point when it is necessary. We were at that point with him. Fortunately he has been off OCD meds for about 8 years now.

The same thing for ADD meds. We have tried every single med with limited success. Some made him more explosive, others had no effect. Not only it is trial and error with meds but its trial and error with the right dosage.

With that being said, will you notice how many people here have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, or have children that have been diagnosed. Sadly I really feel as if it is too easy to get a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD (although I remember that within the past few years they did away with one of the names and now it is collectively known as ADD or ADHD-can't remember-wait, look at the butterfly...) Yes, I probaly have ADD also lol.

I would recommend talking to his doctor about what other options there are besides medication. Medication may be the best option for your son, but it's good to consider all your options first. One of the treatments I find fascinating is nature therapy. Some studies have shown that it can be as or more effective than medication (check out "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv if you're interested).

Yep. I do. Two words for it. Second Opinion. For sure you want one.