Posted on 08/27/2004 11:41:39 AM PDT by Joe Republc
My pedetrician has just recommended that my 10 year old boy use Ritalin.
The issue of Attention Deficit Disorder has come up every so often throughout most of his life, but this is the first time our pediatrician says it's time to try medication.
What questions should I be asking?
What do I need to find out?
Any good resources?
Thanks,
-- Joe
P.S. My wife is in a hurry to do this, now that the doctor says so. I'm not.... my wife and I had some strong disagreement about this last night ;) When I ask around, it seems like men are less inclined to go for this than women.
I have been dealing with this myself for a few years. Here is what works for me.
1. Plenty of exercise.
2. Cut out soda, unrefined sugar and corn syrup.
3. Take plenty of Omega-3 fatty-acids. (For kids I use a product called "Coromega" from Drugstore.com. Orange Flavor Packets can be added to many foods and tastes like orange yogurt)
4. Nuerofeedback! Look for this in your local phonebook. This type of therapy is new, but becoming very popular. Think of it as training for your son's brain.
5. Be aware of the situations that make ADD worse.
Good luck
the doctor my wife and I took her to (I was humoring her) said she had a "touch of ADD and ADHD."
A "touch of ADD"?! That has no meaning at all! No one has yet discerned what the disorder is - they've only observed behavior. Good grief. As I understand it, there's no physiological criteria, only behavior observation. Not to say that drugs can't help some people - but it sounds like you made the right decision in not going along with that doctor.
"totally anecdotal and unscientific"
You mean, like ADD/ADHD? :)
Again, I only suggest using this to determine if a child can pay attention for an hour or so to a specific, definite task. If so, then he/she doesn't have ADD/ADHD.
Of course, I don't actually believe in ADD/ADHD anyways, but think it's a nice profitable way for the pharms to make money off drugging our children using gov't schools to get an 'in'.
It's also a nice convenient excuse for many parents to simply avoid disciplining and parenting their children.
Little Billy acts up? Don't punish/discipline! Just pop some pills! Better living thru Chemistry!
as a mom who's son was on it for a few years, I would say with out any doubt NO.
Ritalin, No.
Regular beatings, Yes.
He sounds like a regular kid to me.
Also, I've heard that there is a connection with how many dollars public schools recieve from the Feds based on how many kids are "suffering" from ADHD and are on the drugs. Also that the drug companies are in on it somehow too.
Prayers coming your way. I know its tough Joe, but hang in there.
"Geez, the way our schools and government thinks, they would have you believe that the whole populace was a bunch of drolling, blithering, out of control, idiots unable to help themselves. When in fact it's them!!"
Yes, Yes, 1000-times YES!
Glad someone else sees thru this make-the-pharms-rich scheme of inventing ways to drug your kids and not parent them!
For the record, I have a 13 year old daughter. She was diagnosed with the inattentive form of ADD about 6 year ago, only after input from her teachers, observations by the school psychiatrist, a battery of tests performed by a child psychiatrist specializing in behavior issues, and consultations with her pediatrician. The medication has helped a great deal.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
There is no such thing as ADHD or ADD or whatever crap the lib-dem doctor scum are calling it these days. They're out to destroy your child. No to Ritalin.
ADHD:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=ADHD%22&btnG=Google+Search
ADD:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=ADD%22&btnG=Search
I struggled against medication for my son for YEARS. I finally allowed it a year and a half ago. He is on Strattera, and it has saved our family. He was a miserable child, and now he says how much happier he is, and how he CAN control his impulses now. The stress he put the entire family under was indescribable.
Now my other children get their fair share of attention, and my husband and I actually get to spend time having fun with our son, instead of everything being a huge disaster.
What UTTER nonsense...
So only people who are in Iraq can comment on Iraq?
Only people who smoke pot can comment on pot?
Only people who murder someone can comment on it?
Get real!
First off, there are very few kids who are actually ADD/ADHD. It's been proven to be overdiagnosed. Many were kids who were given the popular "time outs" if not totally ignored by their parents when they got out of line.
Just because your kid has been labelled ADD/ADHD doesn't mean they actually are.
And yes, the wisdom of those who have not doped their kids has valid weight in this discussion.
My daughter is a 100% case of ADHD, which is supposedly less common in females. I know you are a skeptic, as I was, but ritalin has basically saved her life. I am very glad to be a part of saving her life.
Hi Joe,
I don't have time now to go through the entire thread so I don't know if this book has already been mentioned: _Talking Back to Ritalin_ by Peter R. Breggin, M.D.
This doctor is very anti-drugs for kids diagnosed with ADD.
It sounds like your kid was improperly diagnosed. Sorry to hear that.
But here's the rub: According to my son's pediatric GI it can take up to 6 months for the brain and body to heal. He also said that he's cured every behavior disorder that he's encountered by eliminating a variety of foods. There's fructose intolerance, lactose, glucose and a few others.
If you really don't want to put your kid on Rit. try this first. Feed your son nothing but rice, potatoes, meat, veggies, margarine and herbs *in any combination that you like.* I make my kid a stew.) for a period of 6 weeks. See what happens. If there is some noticeable improvement, but not enough, relax and know that you found the problem. Remember, SIX MONTHS. Take him to a pediatric GI to find out exactly what he has a problem with. Eliminate these foods and get on with life.
Don't discard this advice hastily. more than 10% of the population has Celiac disease and doesn't even know it. (Some researchers got together with the Red Cross and tested 10,000 random blood samples for Celiac. 10% were positive for the antigens.) That's just one type of food intolerance. Don't forget there are several others and this doesn't even account for chemical reactions like red dye and processed sugars or allergies. I wouldn't doubt that as many as 50% of the US population was dealing with food issues. Yes, it affects behavior and brain development in children. No, he doesn't have to have diarrhea, constipation or stomach pain to have these problems. Most folks don't even know they have a problem with food, they just don't feel good some of the time.
-Does my child have ADD?
-What is ADD anyway? Is it Mental disease or it is merely learning disability that requires different approach to learning method?
-WHO diagnosed my child with ADD? Teacher with no psychiatric training, family MD, developmental psychologist?
>>>>What do I need to find out?<<<<
Side effects and adverse effects of Ritalin (R)
FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR AND ASK HIM UPFRONT: ARE YOU GENERALLY IN FAVOR OF RITALIN TREATMENT? HAVE YOU BEEN GIVEN ANY INCENTIVES BY ELI LILLY REP RECENTLY?
If you get both answers positive, RUN don't walk.
Take him off cow's milk products and concentrated sweets for at least 3 months. See if that helps.
Or Benadryl :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.