ADD medications? Is it a miracle or just too soon?

[BusynMember]

Jumper has all A's in school now except for her nemesis Geometry and she got a C on her Geometry test and has a C+ as a grade overall. I know the year is young, but she has never started out this well. She told me she is not using her notes much during her tests.

Jumper is on not even a high dose of Vyanese (20 mg.)? Anyone else see this sort of change or am I just getting excited too soon?

 

[keista]

She told me she is not using her notes much during her tests.

Did she used to? As strange as it may sound, that could be the cause and change. If her notes are disorganized, it can cause more harm than good on a test. Even if her notes are organized, the constant looking back and checking can cause confusion.

in my opinion yeah, it can make that big a difference even with a small dose (she may not need more). Simply being able to focus on the class lessons alone can result in A's. Geometry is a whole other animal. Lots of steps, lots of formulas and if her algebra foundation isn't the best, then it can still be hard, but a C+ is wonderful!

Congrats to Jumper for the great grades!

 

[InsaneCdn]

If the problem is "brain chemistry", then ADHD medications do work wonders.
Dosage... depends on the particular chemistry of that particular brain.
I know teenagers who only need 5mg Ritalin in the morning - and it gives them enough boost to last all day.
I also know teenagers who need max-possible just to survive in school - and that's burned off before they get home.

These are short-acting medications - so, results happen really fast - not like some where it has to build up in your system.
That also means... that if she misses a dose, she WILL notice.

 

[BusynMember]

Last year Jumper, although doing well on classroom work and homework, got 100% F's on every test in every subject until she was able to use her notes. So the notes are helpful to her, but she claimed she didn't have to use them much. Last year she had maybe a 2.1 average and almost failed both math and history a few times (in the case of the history teacher, he is one of those teachers who was deliberately so hard that even the smart kids didn't always pass his tests).

 

[pepperidge]

Yes, it is entirely possible and results will often come very fast. Ability to focus is huge.

 

[DammitJanet]

MWM...it can be that easy. Jamie got high B's and A's when he was on medications and when he went off them he had to really struggle to pull straight C's. Medication made that much difference for him. The idiotic HS put him in an honors science class for 9th grade and I could have killed them. It was his first year off medications and he was no where near an honor's student. Not even close. I will never know what they were thinking. We - the teacher, me and Jamie - had to work every day after school for him to pull a C in that class for the semester. The teacher was really good though, he would call at night because I worked and we would go over everything he taught that day and basically I took honors chem again...lol.

 

[susiestar]

MWM, it very very much IS that easy. I know you were super afraid of stims, but for those that need them, they are a miracle. Fast in, fast out, you know if they will work very fast, unlike medications for other conditions that need to be at a high enough level for weeks until you know if they will work.

The first time Wiz took a stimulant it was just before a soccer game. EVERYONE at the game, both teams, parents, ref, they ALL were amazed at the change in him. My mother SWORE we were just medicating him because we didn't want to bother with appropriate parenting. So when we visited her I waited to give him his medications until we were out at a restaurant for breakfast. Her eyes got so big, she was totally shocked at the change and it happened over a few minutes right before her eyes. As we left I pulled her aside and said "THAT is why he is on medications. NOT because I don't want to "bother" to parent him." Later I got a very heartfelt apology and she worked hard to earn the trust she had lost with her accusations.

When stims are the appropriate medicine, they are amazing. I realize that some people will always say that they are a crutch, or are given because people don't want to discipline a child, or whatever, but it just isn't true. I am THRILLED that Jumper is getting the help she needs from the medications. She will be able to learn in ways she never could before - it opens up a whole lot of things in her future!

 

[KTMom91]

The right medications make a world of difference. My Hubby was a mediocre student in high school; one of those who just wanted to get OUT of there. When we got married (20 years after high school), I made him start at the community college, and his first semester...well, let's just say he didn't do a stellar job. After he went to a seminar on ADD/ADHD kids with me, and drove me nuts during the whole thing by identifying with nearly everything the speaker said, he started on Ritalin. Hubby graduated with an AS degree in Electrical Systems Technology, Highest Honors, and a Dean's List Medallion nominee, none of which (in my opinion) would have happened without the right medications.

 

[DDD]

Absolutely. Matter of fact that is why I don't hesitate to encourage trying stims. You often see results very quickly and in the rare case where it is a problem it's no hassle to just stop cold turkey. Quick in and Quick Out. I'm so happy for Jumper. DDD
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[Andy]

difficult child's grades improved a lot when he started his ADHD medications. I wish I would have known to go this route with Diva who struggled all through school. difficult child tells me that the medications help him concentrate - he does feel foggy when not on them. He has become a typical teen easy child in mosts areas (still working on the anger as seen in yesterday's post but I have high hopes that he will come out well on the otherside of the teenage years).

difficult child made it though 8th grade with very little homework - he balanced study halls very well. What really impressed me was how well he went through Confirmation memory. I had little to no time to help him (we used to do memory daily in the vehicle on the way to school when he was in K - 6th grade but once he hit 7th grade and a new school, we had no vehicle time). Our church's memories are VERY long - often as long or longer than the Lord's Prayer when they were covering meanings of parts of creeds and parts of the Lord's Prayer. It was not unlike him to show up for class unprepared, take 5 minutes to review the memory assignment and be able to recite it to the teacher.

 

[BusynMember]

I *really* appreciate the feedback! THANK YOU. Love you all.
I am not against stimulants. I do think they work better when the children are older. Actually, although I didn't bring it up, Sonic is doing quite well on the same dose of stimulants too. Yet Sonic could not tolerate stimulants when he was younger.
Suffice to say I am very pleased and I have no trouble getting the kids to take their one dose in the morning. Once they are out of school, I don't care if it wears off since neither are behavior problems. They do not seem to have rebound effects or get crabby because of it. Sonic does get headaches (common side affect), but he is old enough to take his own Ibuprofen and does not want to stop taking the medication which he says "quiets my brain."
The only other side effect we've seen is lack of appetite, but neither of my kids care about that. Jumper is glad, being a teen girl. Sonic desperately needs to be careful not to gain more weight and he doesn't normally have the ability to control his eating. At age eighteen, there is nothing we can do about it so it's nice that he is really not hungry.
I hope this continues. Will update.

 

[DDD]

So glad everyone in your family is doing well. I feel compelled to add that many young chldren have big problems concentrating, learning and behaving appropriately for their age group. Almost all parents hesitate to medicate young kids (I know it was a strange concept for me) but the school patterns, perceptions, testing abilities and interactions begin early on to "define" students for future school years and teachers. With many kids delaying medication results in deficits that impair their integration. Although I understand parental reluctance I do believe that stims can make elementary postivie and success breeds success for later years. DDD

 

[gcvmom]

For my difficult child 1 it is like night and day, his ability to focus on tests, homework, ANYTHING that requires sustained mental effort when he's on stimulants compared to off. He cannot function without them and would likely fail most of his classes if he didn't take his medications, and that would just set up a vicious cycle of failure, depression and self-esteem issues.

 

[InsaneCdn]

I do think they work better when the children are older.

MWM - That, in fact, has been proven - either by studies, or by "in practice" trends. As kids get older, the side effects diminish and the benefits go up. Having said that... for some kids, the benefits are there at a young age (ours were 6 and 5 when they started - there simply was no other option).

So glad its working for Jumper! This may, in fact, be the key to her being able to go to college straight out of HS...

 

[TerryJ2]

Yaaaay!

 

[buddy]

My son had to start Ritalin very young because his adhd-like symptoms were from a brain injury but still, It was day/night difference. I got a call from his early childhood Special Education. classroom and they sad for the first time ever he sat in the group for story time. They could direct him into things. He is 14 now and I still remember the day our life changed. He is on huge doses and needs it all day or he will literally jump off a bridge impulsively. He needs large doses because his body has an enzyme deficency which causes his body not to process it. I wish he didn't need it but thank heaven something works because we all know people who find nothing to help. It is not the answer to all of our problems but does allow him to live in a home.