New to group, been lurking for awhile

[BusynMember]

Well, I can't speak for others, but my experience has been that medications have worked miracles for me (along with therapy) and with many other people with mental illness in my support group. Most of us would not be able to function without medication. I don't know much about ADHD...to me that is usually the first diagnois, but it is rarely the last and only thing going on and it is NOT a mental illness. The mental illness part is w hen the c hild becomes unrealistic, hurts himself or hurts others or both. Or if the child becomes extremely angry or sad and can not reign in his emotions.

Although I feel ADHD is overdiagnosed, I think other disorders are UNDERdiagnosed in favor of saying the child has ADHD, thus you get Ritalin. If the child isn't truly ADHD, it won't help (Ritalin made me hyper-nuts...after all, it is speed). I would not rule out any treatmet. It can take a long time to get the treatment right, regardless of what path you take, and starting early gives your child a better chance to be stable by adulthood.

Mental illness does not go away. It tends to get worse as you get older. Do your child a favor and get help now. It won't be a 100% cure (although in my case, lemme tellya, it's about 90%). And it will take several years to find out exactly what works. But it's better than not doing anythig and wishing it away. Whatever "it" is.

Please take care and do keep us posted We care. A lot!

 

[AnnieO]

Ritalin and other stimulants can help a non-ADHD person focus - however they then are hyped up. It is a stimulant, after all.

HOWEVER, a person with ADHD can be helped immensely. It is, in my humble opinion, the non-ADHD kids that are zombies - because they're so hyped up, all the time, they are unable to sleep. A zombie is, literally, the walking dead - what happens to me with too much coffee and too little sleep. After a few days, I walk around in a daze, even with coffee...

Jett was on Concerta for a while. Up to 54mg. He went from a sweet kid to a TOTAL BRAT while on it, and he would CRASH about 6 PM - be whiny for a couple hours - then sleep like the dead, not even waking up to pee (we had to tear out the carpet in his room, and he would sleepwalk to the bathroom, stop 2 feet before the toilet and pee on the wall/floor. Upon waking in the morning, he was groggy. (The school was giving it to him per BM, unknown to husband). And then the cycle would start again. And then... Saturday, mid-day, good kid was back for a couple days, Monday it was back to the nightmare. He made a comment to us one day about "the white pills are harder to swallow than the blue ones were" - WHAT?! This is how we found out. When the scrip ran out (mid-week), he had a couple of days of "I can't concentrate without my pill" and then, miraculously, his grades went up and he was much happier. He did not sleep on Wednesday nights, though. We found out that BM was dosing him while he visited her. I guess she finally ran out of Rx's, because this has stopped.

On the other side - Onyxx responded VERY WELL to Risperidone and Wellbutrin together. She just started refusing to take them. But when she was on them? Bipolar symptoms calmed, mood better, slept... Now she was also on Seroquel and Zoloft, and that was horrible. Trazadone, Benadryl, and half-a-dozen others didn't work.

SO - it's more a case of the right medication for each person. Me? Wellbutrin is NOT a good idea. Zoloft has no effect. But Lexapro? Wonderful.

 

[Zoobiechick]

I'm listening, I'm listening... So, final question on this thread. Are any of you uninsured, making ends meet but when it comes to racking up medical bills, psychological test expenses, etc., your hands are tied? Because that's where I am. We're not poor, but we live frugally and don't have a surplus. It's very frustrating. Are there any options for people who really can't afford to pursue these things?

And just an afterthought...do you ever think that these interventions, such as being medicated, tested, etc., send the signal "something is wrong with you" to our difficult children, and maybe make them feel even more defective or rejected? Although I will say my daughter knows she's different and really wants there to be something that would help her.

 

[AnnieO]

We're not uninsured, but most of what we've tried, and have to do, is NOT covered. We're fortunate that we have my parents to help - they are saints. However... I hate hate hate having to ask them to.

There are usually some services through counties... Some are good, some not so much.

As for your other question... If your child had a stomachache that would not go away... Wouldn't you take them to a doctor? In this case... It might be the same. It's a chemical problem, or neurons firing wrong, or something happened and the brain must be trained to deal with it (making it more like school).