My Four Year Old Has ADHD

J.,

My daughter (now almost 17) has been ADD since she was 8 yrs old - that's when she was diagnosed.

We've tried Adderall, Adderall XR, Stratterra, Concerta and Vyanese.

We've found that she does better with Adderall XR and a boost with Zoloft (only because she's also bi-polar).

She was taking Adderall 2x a day - with the school giving her the 2nd dose.

Every child is different - one medication that works for your child - may not work for someone else.

There are other ways to 'treat' this - if you choose not to medicate. There are herbal supplements and diet changes you can do.

I belong to an ADD/ADHD support group on yahoo. If you have a yahoo ID - you can join - if you don't have a yahoo ID - you can get one for free. The address is :

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ADD-ADHD-Parents/

There are people on there that medicate and those that don't. No one is there to judge you and your decisions - it is a place to vent, get information, and suggestions.

The biggest thing with ADD/ADHD kids is patience and understanding. Most of them don't realize/understand what is going on and why it's upsetting to you - because this is 'normal' for them.

Trust me- there have been days where I've wanted to pull my hair out - especially over doing homework with my daughter!!!

Remember to breathe! :) .. Good luck

Join the group! they can help!

Before you go the med's route, you may want to check out Dr. William Weiss in Middletown. I was told my son had add or adhd and the doctors wanted to medicate. I found this doctor and he was able to diagnose him efficiently and he was able to help my son (without med.'s). He had me and my son start with "exercises" that would build his cerebellum so he could withstand extra stimuli....sight, sound, touch, taste......in his surroundings. He can now control his behavior, stay focused, not lash out, etc.

It has been 5 years and he is only getting better!! My son is so aware of his body and knows when he needs to take a "break".

I do have a friend that did the medication route and one time, she forgot to give her son his med.'s so they couldn't go to the birthday party we were going to. My son, to prepare for the party, jumped on his little trampoline for a few minutes and did some jumping jacks while clapping! And, he was good to go!

I hope my story was helpful and if you ever want to talk, just email me at ____@____.com a GREAT night!
G.

Hi!
I Completely agree with the other ladies.... there are many other ways to treat ADHD both with nutrtion changes and supplements. You should never medicate your child if your not completely comfortable with it, especially at so young an age. The medical community is all about giving pills to fix a problem instead of looking at the underlying causes of the individual. I would recommend looking into fish oil which has shown good results for kids with ADHD, along with getting rid of processed, refined foods. ADHD is also linked to gluten intolerance, food allergies etc. I am a holistic health counselor and have heard of mothers of teenagers who have had ADHD symptoms their whole lives that finally had had it and changed their diets with DRAMATIC results. Good luck with your child in whatever you choose! I have access to alot of info through my old classmates so if you have any question feel free to ask.

HI Mom,

I am not totally against Medication HOWEVER I opted NOT to medicate my son and OPTED to change his diet First.

I stopped all red colored foods and dyes, this includes yellows, and orange.

NO hi c juices, no soda, nothing with alot of sugar,

No fast foods, and nothing microwaveable, nothing with preservatives,

Monitoring his diet really made a diffrence, It was doable,

I want to also mention that My son was not even HUMAN until he turned age 4, at which point I thanked GOD because I thought I could not take even one more minute of this wild behavior.

http://www.cspinet.org/new/adhd_bklt.pdf

here is the link , please read it and try it, its easier than you might think.

and it will take atleast 2 weeks to notice the diffrence,

What i noticed was he wasn't as wild as he had been, and that I was able to talk to him, and he was trying to listen,

Next I started a routine, and he was adapting,

and finally trying to change those learned behaviors and impulses

So there is hope.

GOod luck either way

M