Adhd

[Daisynkodimom]

Do any of you have ADHD children. My Daughter is 8 she is adhd. I was just wondering how many others are out there. and what medications there on or not on? She is on concerta and does pretty well on it.

[Janet]

My son has ADD not ADHD. (15 years old) He is not hyper in anyway, but has a hard time concentrating on school subjects. We had him tested and diagnosed when he was in the 4th grade. He is a very smart young man and I couldn't understand why his grades didn't reflect that. He just coudn't concentrate on one thing for very long. He doesn't like to read because of this. The only way he can really hold on to what he reads is to read aloud. So he must bring his books home so that he can read the chapters and whatever. He was taking Ritalin at first, but I didn't like it that well although his grades did improve almost immediately. He has been Concerta for a couple of years and it works good too. He only has to take it during the school week to help with school, not in the summer or weekends. So far this year he hasn't taken it and is doing really well. Time will tell.

[rivermom]

Hi DaisyNKodiMom - I don't have any experience or much knowledge about ADHD or ADD but would like to welcome you to 4WT.

I hope you find this site enjoyable and have fun with us all! :D

[magnolia]

Hi and welcome:) My oldest (16) was diagnosed with ADD in the 3rd grade. He was diagnosed with dyslexia 4 years ago. He has taken Ritalin in the past and did really well on it but he didn't like taking a pill at lunch so he was switched to Adderall. He did well on that too but we ended up having to take him off that a year later after he went through a round of allergy testing and we found out he was HIGHLY allergic to red wasp stings and the Adderall has a beta blocker in it which would not make his epi-pen effective if we ever have to use it so he was put on Stratera. He did okay on that for about 3 months and then he started experiencing mood swings - bad!! Doctor took him off the meds a year ago but we are going back to the doctor this coming week and he will probably be put back on it. He can't concentrate on his work in class for very long, the least little thing that happens causes him to lose his concentration. Not sure what he'll be put on when we go, if she puts him on anything, but I have a strong feeling he'll be back on a medication.

[Daisynkodimom]

My son has ADD not ADHD. (15 years old) He is not hyper in anyway, but has a hard time concentrating on school subjects. We had him tested and diagnosed when he was in the 4th grade. He is a very smart young man and I couldn't understand why his grades didn't reflect that. He just coudn't concentrate on one thing for very long. He doesn't like to read because of this. The only way he can really hold on to what he reads is to read aloud. So he must bring his books home so that he can read the chapters and whatever. He was taking Ritalin at first, but I didn't like it that well although his grades did improve almost immediately. He has been Concerta for a couple of years and it works good too. He only has to take it during the school week to help with school, not in the summer or weekends. So far this year he hasn't taken it and is doing really well. Time will tell.
Thats great I wish if she had to have this it would be ADD that H can be a killer. she was diagnosed in kindergaren. And from what I have seen and heard the meds may never be prefect. it seems as soon as we think she is doing well then she starts having problems again. I hope this is some thing she will grow out of. I'm glad your son is doing so well.

[Daisynkodimom]

Hi and welcome:) My oldest (16) was diagnosed with ADD in the 3rd grade. He was diagnosed with dyslexia 4 years ago. He has taken Ritalin in the past and did really well on it but he didn't like taking a pill at lunch so he was switched to Adderall. He did well on that too but we ended up having to take him off that a year later after he went through a round of allergy testing and we found out he was HIGHLY allergic to red wasp stings and the Adderall has a beta blocker in it which would not make his epi-pen effective if we ever have to use it so he was put on Stratera. He did okay on that for about 3 months and then he started experiencing mood swings - bad!! Doctor took him off the meds a year ago but we are going back to the doctor this coming week and he will probably be put back on it. He can't concentrate on his work in class for very long, the least little thing that happens causes him to lose his concentration. Not sure what he'll be put on when we go, if she puts him on anything, but I have a strong feeling he'll be back on a medication. Sabrina was never on Ritalin but has been on adderal ad and stratera. the stratera never made a difference. Ask about the Concerta. I have loved ther results.

[Daisynkodimom]

Hi DaisyNKodiMom - I don't have any experience or much knowledge about ADHD or ADD but would like to welcome you to 4WT.

I hope you find this site enjoyable and have fun with us all! :D
So are alot of 4wters also yters?

[rivermom]

So are alot of 4wters also yters? Yes. ;)

[Janet]

Hi and welcome:) My oldest (16) was diagnosed with ADD in the 3rd grade. He was diagnosed with dyslexia 4 years ago. He has taken Ritalin in the past and did really well on it but he didn't like taking a pill at lunch so he was switched to Adderall. He did well on that too but we ended up having to take him off that a year later after he went through a round of allergy testing and we found out he was HIGHLY allergic to red wasp stings and the Adderall has a beta blocker in it which would not make his epi-pen effective if we ever have to use it so he was put on Stratera. He did okay on that for about 3 months and then he started experiencing mood swings - bad!! Doctor took him off the meds a year ago but we are going back to the doctor this coming week and he will probably be put back on it. He can't concentrate on his work in class for very long, the least little thing that happens causes him to lose his concentration. Not sure what he'll be put on when we go, if she puts him on anything, but I have a strong feeling he'll be back on a medication.


Concerta worked wonders for my son concerning his concentration. Hasn't had to use it so far this year, but if his grades start to slide, we'll put him back on it.

[Mandy]

Hi Daisynkodimom, welcome to the ladiesclub! Nice to have you with us :D

[Janet]

Stupid...Stupid me!!!!! I am so sorry I just went right on and answered your post without even welcoming you to 4WT. So


WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!!!

:wavey: :wavey: :wavey:



So glad you're here and could join the rest of these wonderful ladies!!!

[RLC12345678]

I have a mild form of ADD. I was not put on meds until I was in college. But I talked with my dr. and explained to him how I really needed to do well in college because I wanted to go to law school and I also wanted to do well in law school, but I was having a hard time concentrating in class and I had a hard time staying awake in class and a hard time staying awake to study at night. He put me on Adderall and it did wonders. I am applying to law school now, and I am not worried about being able to concentrate. I was on Concerta when I was first diagnosed, but it upset my tummy, so he switched me to Adderall.

[Janet]

What a great future you have ahead of you. I so wish I could turn back the hands of time!!! I wanted to go to college to be a teacher, but thought I was "too much in love" and didn't want to leave him. DUMB! DUMB! DUMB! I always encourage everyone to do all the things you want to do before you get married. I was never able to afford to go after I got married.

[RLC12345678]

What a great future you have ahead of you. I so wish I could turn back the hands of time!!! I wanted to go to college to be a teacher, but thought I was "too much in love" and didn't want to leave him. DUMB! DUMB! DUMB! I always encourage everyone to do all the things you want to do before you get married. I was never able to afford to go after I got married.

That is what my mother & grandmother preached to me....do ALL the things you want to do BEFORE you get married. I got married right after undergrad, but luckily my hubby and I have the same life goals. He is all about me going to law school and being a professional and having a career. He works so much that I HAVE to have something to keep me occupied. I figure, why not make a little money while doing it, right? Plus, I LOVE law. I have wanted to be an attorney ever since I can remember.

[Gina]

Rebecca you go girl!! that is wonderful that you are studying to be an attorney. I am sorry I never had the head to apply myself , law is a very interesting field. I wish like Janet mentioned that I can turn back the clock and I would definetly go to law school. Good luck to you sweetie! I encourage both my children to do something with their lives while they are young. My son is taking business in college and my daughter is studying to be an optomertist .

[Daisynkodimom]

I have a mild form of ADD. I was not put on meds until I was in college. But I talked with my dr. and explained to him how I really needed to do well in college because I wanted to go to law school and I also wanted to do well in law school, but I was having a hard time concentrating in class and I had a hard time staying awake in class and a hard time staying awake to study at night. He put me on Adderall and it did wonders. I am applying to law school now, and I am not worried about being able to concentrate. I was on Concerta when I was first diagnosed, but it upset my tummy, so he switched me to Adderall.
yes I feel like I too may have add but never have been seen by a dr. I wish i had the (H) maybe i could get some weight off LOL :o well Off to ZZZZZZZZ land for me now I may not be back on till tuesday. Lots of work :(

[Amber_lv]

i think my son might have it

[Janet]

That is what my mother & grandmother preached to me....do ALL the things you want to do BEFORE you get married. I got married right after undergrad, but luckily my hubby and I have the same life goals. He is all about me going to law school and being a professional and having a career. He works so much that I HAVE to have something to keep me occupied. I figure, why not make a little money while doing it, right? Plus, I LOVE law. I have wanted to be an attorney ever since I can remember.


Rebecca that is great that you have such a supporting husband. I was just young and stupid and wanted to get out of my parents house. Boy isn't it the truth that hindsight is 20/20? :)

[Janet]

i think my son might have it

Amber, I would have him tested. My son, even in the 4th grade, knew something wasn't right. He knew he couldn't stay focused. He could tell a difference and even told me so one day after school a few days after he first started taking medication. It's been a Godsend.

[RLC12345678]

Rebecca you go girl!! that is wonderful that you are studying to be an attorney. I am sorry I never had the head to apply myself , law is a very interesting field. I wish like Janet mentioned that I can turn back the clock and I would definetly go to law school. Good luck to you sweetie! I encourage both my children to do something with their lives while they are young. My son is taking business in college and my daughter is studying to be an optomertist .

Thank you SO much! :D My mom made me promise her that if I got married right after undergrad that I would still go back to school. I promised her I would. :p I love it too much not to. I am just not the "housewife" kind of person. I don't cook, I don't clean, I don't want kids for a LONG time...I gotta have something to keep me occupied since my hubby works about 80-100 hours a week! :eek:

[RLC12345678]

Rebecca that is great that you have such a supporting husband. I was just young and stupid and wanted to get out of my parents house. Boy isn't it the truth that hindsight is 20/20? :)

My mom got married right out of college and she said the only reason she did it was because she wanted out of her parents house. But that only lasted 2 years and luckily they didn't have any children. My mom married my dad when she was 29 and they have been married now for 25 years and have 3 girls (including me, of course). So, you can imagine my mom's apprehensions when I came to her during my senior year of college and told her that my then boyfriend and I wanted to get married.:eek: She made me promise her that if she let me get married that I would go back to school and pursue my dream and finish my education. I promised her I would :p My mom has her masters degree, but she didn't get it until she was divorced from her first husband.

[Necee419]

My stepson, who is 15, was diagnosed with ADD. He was put on Ritalin and he didn't like the "dopey" feeling he got from it. He has since been off medication. He lives in Florida with his mom but spends a month in the summer with my husband and I. One of the things that strikes me about him is that he cannot concentrate in school or anything academic. But put a playstation 2 game or an action movie in front of him and the world can collapse around him and it would not break his concentration. So how is this ADD? Or is it selective ADD? I don't know how I feel about all of this medication for such young children. I know it truly helps some kids do better in school and that some children ABSOLUTELY need meds but I worry that doctors are too quick with prescribing medication for children. In the case of my stepson, I don't think he lacks attention skills, it is more like lack of interest and laziness. I am sure there are many others like him out there that are being pumped full of medication unneccesarily. Again, I am not referring to anyone who truly needs them.

[Janet]

My stepson, who is 15, was diagnosed with ADD. He was put on Ritalin and he didn't like the "dopey" feeling he got from it. He has since been off medication. He lives in Florida with his mom but spends a month in the summer with my husband and I. One of the things that strikes me about him is that he cannot concentrate in school or anything academic. But put a playstation 2 game or an action movie in front of him and the world can collapse around him and it would not break his concentration. So how is this ADD? Or is it selective ADD? I don't know how I feel about all of this medication for such young children. I know it truly helps some kids do better in school and that some children ABSOLUTELY need meds but I worry that doctors are too quick with prescribing medication for children. In the case of my stepson, I don't think he lacks attention skills, it is more like lack of interest and laziness. I am sure there are many others like him out there that are being pumped full of medication unneccesarily. Again, I am not referring to anyone who truly needs them.


Don't be too quick to judge your step-son as being lazy and lack of interest. The reason they can do so well with video games is because there is soooo much happening in them all at the same time. At least that's how the Drs. explained it to us. It's when they are in the classroom, where, really not too much is happening. I mean they are just listening to the teacher, or doing their school work. Basically, just one thing at a time and that is why it is hard to stay focused.

A lot of ADD and ADHD kids do great in sports because there are so many things to watch for and do at the same time. Hope this helps explain it. :)

[Necee419]

That makes sense. He is good in anything that involves lots of brain stimulation. Like if you buy him those complicated Legos sets (like Star Wars, etc.), he'll spend hours constructing the images on the box. Hubby made him and his sister get books from the library to read over the summer and it was torture for him. He hates to read. His mom took him off the medication because he complained that he didn't like the way he felt on them. He just started the new school year in Florida and already my husband has gotten a few calls from his mom saying he isn't doing well and has gotten in trouble a few times already. My husband is resolved the he is never going to be an "einstein." I feel so bad for him.:(

[Janet]

Have them talk to his Drs. again. Maybe they can ask him about Concerta. It's a one a day, time released pill and it makes my son stay focused. We don't notice any change in his behavior, moods, or anything like that. It just helps him stay on task and focused. Do give up on him yet. They know how they are feeling and it wears on them too, not to be able to concentrate.:)

[Necee419]

I wish I could do more for him but being the "stepmom" there is only so much I can say. I express my opinions to my husband but he lets the mom make most of those decisions since she is the one taking care of him. She is another story, the poor woman is manic depressive and is on meds too. Sometimes she is in bed all day and the kids have to fend for themselves. My stepdaughter is 13 and she has to remind her mom to take her medication sometimes. It is as if they are raising themselves. They don't come to live with us because it would devastate their mom. My stepson has many anger issues as well as the ADD so together it is a recipe for disaster. :(

[Janet]

I wish I could do more for him but being the "stepmom" there is only so much I can say. I express my opinions to my husband but he lets the mom make most of those decisions since she is the one taking care of him. She is another story, the poor woman is manic depressive and is on meds too. Sometimes she is in bed all day and the kids have to fend for themselves. My stepdaughter is 13 and she has to remind her mom to take her medication sometimes. It is as if they are raising themselves. They don't come to live with us because it would devastate their mom. My stepson has many anger issues as well as the ADD so together it is a recipe for disaster. :(

Who could blame him for being angry...his parents are divorced, his father is so far away, his mom is manic depressive, he and his sister have to "take care" of his mother, his grades are failing, (other students probably know this and can be cruel), plus all the feelings he is having because of his ADD. His father needs to step in and help his children. If the mother can't handle it, then she needs to get some help. He needs to take care of his children, above all else. It doesn't have to be permanent..just until things straighten out.:)

[Necee419]

He always talks to their mom and tells her if she needs time to take care of herself, to send them to us. She doesn't want to because she says they are all she has. She has a husband but they have their own problems in that relationship. My husband has been divorced from her for 10 years so the kids are pretty used to it and I don't think that is an issue. She uses my husband as a threat to the kids "better shape up or I'm sending you to your father". My husband is very stern with them and they are afraid of him. When they are with us they are straight and well behaved. Once they go home, mom lets them go out with their friends and hang out and get away with lots of things. Then when they act up, she calls my husband.

[Janet]

He always talks to their mom and tells her if she needs time to take care of herself, to send them to us. She doesn't want to because she says they are all she has. She has a husband but they have their own problems in that relationship. My husband has been divorced from her for 10 years so the kids are pretty used to it and I don't think that is an issue. She uses my husband as a threat to the kids "better shape up or I'm sending you to your father". My husband is very stern with them and they are afraid of him. When they are with us they are straight and well behaved. Once they go home, mom lets them go out with their friends and hang out and get away with lots of things. Then when they act up, she calls my husband.


Let me begin by apologizing for what I'm about to say. Please do not take it as critisisim or in a negative way....PLEASE.

Those children need someone to intervene for them. It is not their responsibility to give their mother something to live for. What a heavy burden on top of everything else. NO CHILD UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE USED TO IT. They need to know that others don't live like that. If she and her husband are having problems, then she needs to do what is best for her children FIRST. If not her, then their father!

Those children should not be AFRAID of their father. Somewhere along the line he crossed it in his discipline. They need him and need him now, before the young man turns to other means to make himself feel better. Please, please talk with your husband or show him this thread...his children need him.

[RLC12345678]

Let me begin by apologizing for what I'm about to say. Please do not take it as critisisim or in a negative way....PLEASE.

Those children need someone to intervene for them. It is not their responsibility to give their mother something to live for. What a heavy burden on top of everything else. NO CHILD UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE USED TO IT. They need to know that others don't live like that. If she and her husband are having problems, then she needs to do what is best for her children FIRST. If not her, then their father!

Those children should not be AFRAID of their father. Somewhere along the line he crossed it in his discipline. They need him and need him now, before the young man turns to other means to make himself feel better. Please, please talk with your husband or show him this thread...his children need him.


I agree 110%, Janet. Your hubby needs to intervene. They should not be "taking care" of their mother. Their mother is being SO selfish...she "needs" them?? NO! Those kids NEED someone to take care of THEM. They need to be KIDS. A 13 year old girl needs to be able to be a kid. Please talk to your hubby. Those kids need someone to love them and take care of THEM. :(

[Necee419]

No offense taken. The kids are afraid of my husband because he is serious and stern but he has never hit them. I think it is more like they don't have the comfort they have with their mom, they walk all over her but would never dare do that with Dad. They respect him more than they do her, all he has to do is talk to them and they listen. I agree that they are burdened with caring for their mom. It is something I feel very sad about as does my husband. According to him, she threatened to commit suicide if he ever took the kids from her. Despite her health problems she is a good mother and loves them very much, as they do her. It is all so very sad.

[khardy57]

My youngest son (now 27) was diagnosed with ADHD in the second grade. I've gone thru hell with him all thru school. At 19 he tried to commit suicide for the first time. He's been diagnosed as bi-polar (manic-depressive). With medication and monitoring - it's been a year since he's had any problems at all. I thank God every day for his improvement.

He still has a hard time concentrating and crowds make him very nervous. He lives with me since my husband died and it's been good for both of us. He says that his step-father's death really touched something inside him and he considers it his responsibility to "take care of his Mama". He's doing really well now, but the school years were awful! Kids can be so cruel!

[Janet]

Bless you and your son. I see a lot of the cruelty kids do being a bus driver. So sad what pain they can put each other through.