Medications Pros and Cons

but you’ll find more resources on the net-LDonline is a great place to start!

My son was latetalking and very fearful in social situations. He was in Early Intervention and special needs preschool. Dx was communication and social disorders. Hearing loss was found and corrected at 3 1/2. He entered school dx’d with LD and communication disorder

When he was in 3rd grade, he really started to struggle. A friend had just been through the add process w/her sons and suggested I have ds tested. Hard for me to see as he is not hyperactive or a behavior problem in any way.

the psychologist felt he was ADD inattentive and we tried both adderall and ritalin. We did a TOVA-a video game type test where they measure reaction times, attention, etc on and off a low dose of meds. These are reasonably safe drugs-a simple stimulant. Adderall increased his processing speed dramaticly-an indication of add.

He has been on adderall all this school year. Some changes were immediate-the resource teacher explained “when I explain things to him he no longer gets
that little wrinkle in his forehead”. I understood what she was saying. He never seemed to “get it” and insisted he didn’t understand-I was constantly reprimanding him to “LISTEN.”

Spelling grade shot up immeidately.Other grades have picked up steadily and he just brought home a B in reading last week!!!!!! I think he had to relearn so much of what he had missed in the more complex subjects like reading and english so there was a lull before we saw results-spelling was more cut and dried. Math continues to be an issue-he picks it up quickly but makes careless errors and resists drill practice(medication doesnt fix EVERYTHING)

We do not give it on weekends although, honestly, I fully intended to. They do learn constantly and it does help him learn. Ive admittedly been lazy-less trips to the dr with less refills this way. No GOOD reason.

It suppressed his appetite a bit at first but that seems to have worn off.

It is NOT an exact science-its trial and error with both dose and meds used. That was hard for me to accept at first, but I feel it is a mild medication that, in a child with no known medical problems, is safe when we are careful monitoring. I checked his pulse quite a bit at first :)

I have no regrets

Neither ritalin nor adderal are simple stimulants. Caffein is a simple stimulant. Ritalin s a schedule II stimulant, in the same category as dexidrine and methamphetimine. It is heavily controled as such by the DEA and is one of the most abused prescription drugs by non-authorized users in America.

There has been little long-term study of the use of these drugs. We do not know if it is a “gateway” drug or not. Despite there being only slightly less than 3 million children (under age 18) who are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (the only “legitimate” reason for prescribing Ritalin) there are slighlt more than 8 million pediatric prescriptions for Ritalin each month (as published by the DEA in a report to a Congressional oversight committee). I have not seen the numbers for Adderall.

There has been recent evidence that Ritalin impacts the body in much the same way as other amphetimines, included changing the physical structure of the central nervous system in the same manner that cocaine does (to cause addictive tendancies) and also degrading of the arterial walls. We have not looked into this matter adequately enough to determine if the second problem was an isolated case, an uncommon occurance, or typical of chronic use of Ritalin in therapeutic dosages.

Some children are indeed helped by Ritalin it would seem. They do gain attention and clarity of thought. Other kids are not helped at all and you assume the risks of using Ritalin without any of the anticipated benefits. As of now, there are no tests available to determine if Ritalin is appropriate.

The original poster indicates that the teacher thinks the child may be dyslexic. If this is true, Ritalin is probably not appropriate. Dyslexia should be ruled out as a source of the attention problems, as it requires a different form of remediation than the use of stimulants.

Some may flame me for posting the opposing view of the use of Ritalin in children. I will only say that no drug is 100% safe, and Ritalin has been called by people with a very good background in both human behavior and medical abuses one of the most over-prescribed drugs in history. It is important that you hear both sides of the issue before you agree to use a drug as potent as Ritalin.

I just read some articles in ldindepth about adhd, there were some that addressed the potential for abuse of ritalin or other drugs.

I don’t consider any one place the definitive answer but I have read fairly often that adhd that isn’t addressed frequently leads to self medicating with caffeine, alchohol, drugs.

A very interesting article there(ldindepth) was about ‘at risk’ kids (both ld and adhd) and ways to prevent them from developing antisocial behavior.

My sons both take ritalin. When my oldest was dxed in ‘95 a lot wasn’t known by me about adhd, the first book I read was Driven to Distraction. The book answered a lot of questions, especially since I also didn’t know about the add without the h. Like most people, I also thought it was only hyper kids(of which I have one). The medicine has helped both my kids be successful in school as well as at home.

I agree that no drug is simple, even Tylenol. Careful consideration is always prudent. I am not aware of any sites that give the pros and cons. What can be done is to look at the expected benefits as well as the expected side effects as well as discuss these with the doctor. If your child is struggling and you have tried other ways to help and they aren’t working, then trying the medicine would be a possible next step.

IF you go back and read it again, the mom says the kid *is* ADD (butnot ADHD), and possibly dyslexic.

I do, however, always look closely at an ADD diagnosis when there’s a suspected LD. THey can come together — but an LD can also look like ADD because it’s very tough to sustain attention when you’re having to work three times as hard as everybody else to do it.

What research has been done about “gateway” status is that kids with unmedicated ADD are more likely to self-medicate with gateway drugs — I don’t recall how strictly the diagnosis was defined. Of course, with impulse control being an issue with ADD, the self-medication issue is a big one.

Anecdotally I’ve two friends with opposite experiences —for one it was definitely a gateway, for the other it meant she knew more about the risks of putting strange chemicals in the body.

I do think we’ve gotten ridiculously complacent as a society as far as subjecting our bodies to all kinds of chemical invasion — but I’m sort of a canary in a coal mine. Hey, if you can cop a buzz off of coffee, why *should* you take the social or medical risks of stronger stuff? (Just don’t get that aspartame stuff near me…)

Our experience with both Ritalin and Adderall is that they did not work for my son. He was also diagnosed ADHD inattentive type. He is vey quiet and slow moving and it was hoped these meds would help give him get up and go. On both medications instead of making him focussed it just made him lethargic and sleeply. Due to his reactions to meds we were no longer willing to attempt further types. What we did find was that he also had APD and language disability once these issues were addressed his inattention symptoms significantly decreased. I am not saying his symptoms have completely resolvd but we have noticed that the more he catches up the better he does. I have also seen medications work wonders for other children. So what I am saying is it depends on the individual and what their individual needs are.

Check into the program Audiblox. It develops attention and concentration. I use it in my classroom with all the kids. I have seen improvements in several of the kids who had trouble staying on task at the beginning of the year.
www.Audiblox2000.com

I have to give a no vote on the medication. Some of you have probably already read my feelings on medication, my son was tried on Ritalin, Cylert and Dexedrine. The results were that they made my son very shy and withdrawn, also when he was coming off the medication, the side effects were horrible. Temper tantrums, cying spells. Not good, also, he failed to thrive, so they kept switching to something different. He was only 7 or so and when I took him off, he even said.”Mom don’t make me take the medicine again, it makes me to shy”. Before the medication he was a very outgoing little boy, after the medication, 6 years later, he is still very shy around adults. I’m not sure, if that was caused by the medication, or it just happened.
Another thing, after I took him off the medication, I didn’t tell the school, but I saw his teacher almost every other day, and ask how he was doing, the answer was always fine. After two weeks I told her that I had taken him off his medication, I got a note the next day, that he wasn’t paying attention. Funny thing is, I told her I put him back on it (but really didn’t). I never heard another complaint. I think the medication was more for the teacher than the child.

I never wanted to medicate my son, but at times, I sure considered it. We did two main things:

Thorough testing and remediation(he’s showing CAPD and severely dyslexic….he’d probably fit the ADD categories also.
We refused that testing figuring it would put the pressure on to do ritalin)

Homeopathy (not naturopathy, not herbalism)

So he got speech and language, social skills help and remediation in the early years. In 6th, he did FastForWord…it was very effective. He needed more than what the school could give him, so we homeschooled intensively in language remediation and other subjects in 6th grade. He went back to school in 7th. He’s now in 9th and a smart kid who struggles in school but does ok. His reading has improved substantially and his language teachers (ld) have been very methodical. He has good modifications and accomodations. We and he are planning for him to attend college away as well.

The homeopathy helped dramatically. That’s not to say we don’t have issues. He’s learning how to handle himself in this often times crazy world, and he’s doing ok. Anyone who remembers me from years back knows that OK is GREAT.

No, this is one of the worst misconceptions some parents hold. ADHD people are significantly at risk of having, esp. later on, a variety of problems (ranging from social acceptance, to grades, and on). A child who spends his or her years being corrected, reminded, asked to focus, etc, may eventually conclude that he or she is not good enough, that he or she is not acceptable to other people. Young adults and teenagers who carry these kinds of burdens are at much greater risk for drug abuse.

Helping the child, through whatever means are available, always reduces the liklihood of later drug abuse.

Some folks believe that ADHD folks who are not on medication have a tendency to try to self-medicate. I am not sure if this any different from being unhappy deep down inside and finding that the drugs alleviate the feelings of inadequacy for a short time, anyway.

Many, not all, ADHD persons are at a greater risk for clinical depression as they grow older. No, it is not a pretty picture.

I come from a long line (it seems) of ADHDers. Of course, the earlier generations did not have the benefit of the diagnosis and help. My grandfather lost his job, fled the family for some number of years, traumatizing his wife and three children. ADHD, you bet. My uncle wreaked havoc on the lives of his family members by making impulsive decisions………My brother was expelled from a seminary (he thought he wanted to be a priest) for an alcohol problem. Through counseling he realized he did not want to be a priest, but his self-esteem was so low, he didn’t believe he could do anything. He participated in therapy and takes medication. I have barely functioned throughout my life and suffer from 30 plus years of self-esteem issues, now I take meds, which have helped ease the depression caused by poor social skills and impulsivity. No, you don’t want to be inside my head. I could go on. I won’t. I hope this gives you in inside perspective.