Replies

1. Expect rabid, off the wall pontifications against.

2. I don't believe ritalin is warranted in every so called case of ADHD.

3.0 I'd want to have kept a journal for 3-8 weeks documenting every X hours his hyper-activity and attention deficits. Failing that, I'd want to sit down and write out a typical week day morning; a typical week day afternoon and a typcial week day evening. Ditto weekend. I'd want to note common exceptions from the routinely true behaviors. I'd want to insure that my description of his typical 3-4 hours time chunks included very measurable behaviors.

3.1 That is--NOT: He was very energetic this morning but: He moved his arms and legs up and down rapidly and constantly while watching TV this morning between X and X hours. He paced outside on the patio around in a circle making a circle of the patio approximately one circle every 55 seconds. He sat and tore 8.5 X ll paper into 1/4 inch squares for 2 hours. BE VERY SPECIFIC.

3.2 When you list specific behaviors, you can also begin to get some statistical handles on them. What were the averages, peaks, valleys of each common ADHD type behavior.

4.0 Go to the web--Google and search for the balanced, sane FIRST PERSON WITH PROFESSIONAL CASE STUDY REPORTS.

4.1 See how your child compares.

5.0 I'd trust your Pediatrician A LOT IF he has know your son for more than 6-9 months. Especially if he's a man.

6.0 I'd trust your son's self report a lot--especially if he's pretty sharp and the least bit insightful and introspective with any honesty and accuracy at all. The odds are, he's feeling quite restless, edgy, etc. more or less all the time and unable to control himself. That's a big clue.

7.0 Ritalin really does work. And it is not some world government plot, imho. And, I'm a biggy on there really being lots of world government/puppet master plots. I just don't believe ritalin IS one.

8.0 I have worked with many families where Ritalin brought sanity, calmness, wholeness etc. to the whole family as well as the kid with the problem. The problem seems to be 100% biochemical. It's not that you were bad parents or the kid a bad kid. Some people have diabetes. Some people are genetically hyperactive etc. I score 75% of the paper and pencil survey questions in the critical direction. I could always concentrate so didn't have that aspect of it but was always rather hyperactive. Never knew of the meds growing up and probably wouldn't have been able to have afforded them had we known. Would have made my life a lot calmer.

9.0 It's NO FUN being thoroughly wound up all the time without any discernable reason for it and with too few ways to cope with it. It would be a real pain to have a 24 hour orgasm and being hyperactive is A LOT WORSE than feeling orgasmic.

10.0 Imagine feeling like something terrible was going to happen sometime in the next 1-3 hours. That you didn't know what or when or how or why but you knew it would impact your life terribly and that you couldn't do anything about preventing it or preparing for it. Further, imagine that all the important people in your life were going to BLAME YOU for whatever it is that's coming down the pike--regardless of your lack of control over it. That's somewhat of how many hyper active youth feel in a kind of sensory way but without a lot of intellectualization.

11.0 TRYING IT FOR 4 MONTHS WILL NOT HURT YOU OR THE KID AT ALL. You should be able to tell after the first 2-4 weeks IF it's warranted or not. IF IT'S NOT WARRANTED--HE'LL GET MORE HYPER. If it's warranted, he'll calm down dramatically.

12.0 It's silly to get into pissing contests with a spouse about it. You both love your son. Trying the med is not going to hurt anyone. There's plenty of time to re-evaluate. I take it as a huge sign that a Pediatrician who's known him for some time has finally, evidently somewhat reluctantly, suggested it's time to put him on it.

13.0 Youth have FAR TOOOOOO MANY STRESSORS IN TODAY'S LIFE AND ERA IN THE BEST OF TIMES AND THE BEST OF HEALTH. THEY DO *NOT* NEED ADHD draining their energy away and adding life-shortening stress hormones and other chemicals to their young lives daily because of the hassles of coping with ADHD raw.

14.0 True, some sons are just being energetic, into everything males. But it sounds like your Pediatrician has made an informed assessment that such is not the case with your son--that your son is well over that line. Trust his training and judgment. He doesn't sound off the wall on the issue or he'd have been demanding it in hyperbole from the beginning of his meeting your son.

15.0 PLEASE keep me posted. I care about you and your son. Please feel free to FREEPMAIL or respond hereon, if I can be of any help. My PhD is in Clinical Psych. I never bothered to complete the licensing process and prefer to teach, however. I have done thousands of hours of counseling at various counseling centers in the Western USA and in Taiwan.

Blessings