I Need Some Advice on Medication

I know that sometimes people like to put their two sense in and automatically say that medication is the wrong thing to do but I have a brother who has ADHD and dyslexia and a cousin who is high functioning autistic so I may know a little more about what specifically you are going through. It is a very hard decision to medicate a child but in a clinical sense it is almost like asking if you should put a band aid on a cut or not. True, some psych meds do have negative side affects but the cases where the medication is prescribed appropiately has less of those occurances. My brother is 14 now and has been on respitorol( I know I spelled it wrong) for 5 years, it was what they switched him to from ritalin. The difference in him was noticeable immediately, he was able to focus in school, play better with kids his age and was a lot more affectionate with us. I am so sorry that this is a reality for you I know it is a very dificult time for your family but I think that sometimes as parents we have to trust the professionals with these things because that is what they are there for. Trust your gut as a mother as well, if there are side affects that you find to be bad then take him off the medication,but give it a chance if that is what the doctor is recommending. Good luck to you and your family and I hope that you make the right decision for you.

I took 2 doses of that medication for some issues years ago. I never should have taken the 2nd dose. I could not function at all. Everything completely slowed down within minutes. I told my boss I wasn't feeling well, went out to my car, and passed out for hours on end. It was the worst experience of my life. I didn't know that drug was classified as an anti-psychotic. I should have done my research. The Dr. giving it to me obviously didn't know what he was doing.

This is not to say that it wouldn't work for someone else IF it's prescribed appropriately. Do your research, google this stuff.. and don't trust just one doctor. Get more opinions. Try to find support groups of parents who know what you're going through.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! My son was on that and he gained so much weight it was insane. His face swelled and he looked like a monster. PLEASE don't do this! There has to be another Medicine like FOCALIN XR. (the side effects are not bad, just quite possibly upset stomach, nausea, and decreased appetite) You must quickly do your own research. Use the Internet...Good Lucjk to you...

Do you know what the side effects are? I am a teacher/administrator, and I have had a few students on this medication. For some of them it has worked wonderfully. Others, it makes them very lethargic and it suppresses their appetite. That is the only experience I have had with the medication. I think it is great that you and your husband are thinking so hard about this decision. Many people look to medication as the answer to all thier prayers, no matter the side-effects. I think it shows that you and your husband are fabulous parents that you are not making this decision so quickly. Ultimately, you have to do what is best for you and your children. No matter what the decision, have faith in your compassion as a great mother!!
All the best,
H.

Do you know what the doctor is trying to medicate for? Have you tried other kinds of behavior modification? I have not used this medication, but I do know that there are medications that can work for ADHD, and the effects are not like Ritalin. My son was on Medadate for his ADHD and coupled with therapy and LOTS of hard work, he has been med free for 2 1/2 years and doing great. I would find out exactly what your doctor wants to medicate for, then do your research. Ask your doctor lots of questions, and get a second or third opinion if you are not sure.

My son's teacher switched her son to risperdal. She said it works alot better than the adderal. Everyone's body reacts different to medications. I can only say talk it over with your doctor. You can't be sure what side affects it will have on your child. Really look into it. I have a merck manual and a book about children with special needs. I have a son who is has adhd and ocd and crouzon's. The adderal my son takes I notice a big difference in his behavior than before being on any medication. I don't know if this helps. feel free to let me know.

L. Cruz
Mom of 2 boys

Hi R.,

I am glad this question. I have a 12 year old son that was diagnosed when he was 5 years old with adhd and pdd. I had him on all types of medicine and one of them were risperdol my son did good on it but it started missing up his blood count and adderall made him paranoid so that wasn't good neither. So really nothing helped. Because all the meds affected his blood count. so now he is not on anything!! Because really nothing helped. So the psychiatrist took him off all meds. What I am doing now is trying alternatives all natural, I really haven't begun yet but I do alot of research on autism and have read medical books and they tell you what vitamns to use. Good luck!! If you need to email me please do. So I can share more info with you. P. B.

I found this web site read it I would not recommend putting your child on any kind of pshyc. meds it just make them worse a child should be jumpy and should have tantrums it shows that they are alive and that they can show there fellings why would you want to take that away from them.
I know a kid when he was little his mother put him on some kind of pills for ADHD and he was just plain dead and now that he doesnt live with his mom anymore and he is off the pill he is just a regular guy normal. Kids need to have and show there fellings or else you won't know what is wrong with them.
anyway here is the website
http://www.crazymeds.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=115569...
Good Luck!

I regret having had my son with ADHD take Risperdal, and trying all the other new meds in the arket for ADHD. I've noticed that kids who go on this meds end up taking an additional meds for depression or whatever the side effect of the med is. I have read that sometimes kids with adhd or any other disorder can be related to like having allergies, etc. If you can afford it since insurance companies don't pay for consult, look for a naturopathic doctor. I don't know of a good one in Dutchess county but there's one in NYC - Donielle Wilson. Her approach would be more of diet, nutrition, natural remedies.
And if you want to look up side effects, etc. of meds, here's a link where you can check any meds in mind.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

Lil