Ignoring those side affects....

My son chews his fingers and fihgernails until they bleed when he is on meds which is up until this past June 18th ever since March 1999. He went back on today in prep for school and his fingers are firmly planted in his mount but….I hadn’t planned on putting him back on his meds until next Monday-he begged me this morning to give him meds because he was tired of “not being able to think straight”.

I figure the first time he gets an infection he will stop biting but until that point he has even reached the point where he agrees that getting in trouble isn’t worth it. And I mean his fingers are gross and bleed.

Would it be possible to modify his enviroment and behavior instead of his brain chemistry? There are alternatives to drugging. They may not be instant but they are certianly worth a try. If your doctor didn’t tell you about that option then you need to find another doctor.

I am not a M.D. but I have read that tics precipitated by stimulants can persist after the meds. are discontinued— I’d surely ask the prescribing dr. about that possibility.

We have had problems for the past 2 years with our 7 year old, Kindergarden, and first grade was a total nightmare…seems we ( his father and myself) spent as much time in the princibles office than he did…at one point they wanted us to pull him out of kindergarden and wait another year, they said he was and I quote” a very young 6 year old” he wasn’t mature enough to be in school. We kept him in school and he seem to settle down..he passed to 1st grade. Tha’t’s where we ran into trouble, Jeremy wouldn’t say in his seat, he was running around the room, climbing under the desk, and throwing his famous temper tantrums. In some of his studies he excelled in (math was O+) reading and spelling was hopless, I worked with him every night, but by the next day he had already forgotten what we had studied the night before. The teacher wasn’t much help either, she was set in her way of teaching, and she wasn’t going to put up with his problems, she went as far as kicking him out of class (7 years old)for falling asleep, and calling me at work to say he was sick. I rush to school only to find him crying, and standing outside the school with the princible. She was quick to say he wasn’t sick and as to why I was called. I about bit her head off I was so angry over this. To me it was a cop out on his teachers part.I knew something needed to be done, so I started talking to one of the bosses at work, and he told me about ADD and ADHD.

It took awhile but I talked my husband into having him tested for ADD, we soon found out he had ADHD. Since the start of Adderall, we have only notice he isn’t eating like he used too at daycare. At home he eats a good breakfeast, and a big dinner. So right now I’m not to worried. He goes to bed at 9:00pm, and within 20 minutes he is passed out for the night.

When my dd started ritalin, she was verm depressed/moody with terrible tantrums/rage coming off. Then we switched to dexadrine and she is fine, just a decrease in appetite/insomnia which we give melatonin for. She is alot more quiet/reserved on meds, but the benefits far outweigh the side affects.

Dear Beverly,

Just a thought, but when my best friend, and also my brother were younger and under stress, like during school situations, they both had this habit. Neither of them back then was treated for ADHD or for the habit itself. My friend’s Mom tried talking to the doctor, the nail medications, and they even put false nails on to try to deter her from chewing them. It was only when they removed the stressful situations that the chewing decreased.

In my brother’s situation, I highly suspect he was severly dyslexic and or ADD, without diagnosis. His school expereince was a nightmare. He would also get such nervous upset stomach problems that he lost weight, but back then the old school doctor just didn’t do anything to help.

I just thought I might mention the possibility of anxiety may be playing a role in your sons habit also. Have you or your doctor ever considered the possibility of trying in addition to the stimulant med. a med made for anxiety, like Paxil? My daughter, eight, takes it and it has really improved her behavior in that she is not nearly as withdrawn, anxious, or moody as before. She takes both, Paxil 5mg, and Adderall XR, 10mg, which is MUCH better than the old Adderal in our opnion because it wore off and then she had to take more in front of the whole class at school. I think the whole aspect of …to medicate or not to medicate, depends more so on it’s effects it has on the individual. IF the effects are far more positive than negative, then I think for that individual medication is a good, sound option. If the effects are not positive and cannot clearly be seen as positive, then it would be faily pointless to use it. Everyone has different chemistry and will react differently to any kind of medication. To make sweeping judgements either way is too rash for my thinking. Why close a door before you know if there is potential benefit inside? Other alternatives to medication are certainly worth investigation and or serious effort, but I think an experimental trial to check for benefits from the medication is equally as sound.

I think whatever choices we make as individuals searching for the best long term solutions, we should all respect and appreciate that there is not one, singular answer for everyone. No matter how passionately we might believe in a certain plan of action or treatment for one person, it may be ineffective and pointless to force it on another. It’s best to keep an open ear an, and an objective and open mind when it comes to finding the best solutions for our children or ourselves. After all, we are all striving for the same goals, the most positive learning experiences, and most meaningful existence possible. Thankfully we have this place to come and share what we know, think, and feel, and hopefully benefit from what we find.
Sincerely,
Deb

Speaking as someone who tried behavior mod for several years before agreeing to meds, a child who chews his fingernails is preferable to one who couldn’t read, was constantly in the principal’s office, couldn’t make friends, couldn’t make it an hour without doing something to his sister, had escaped the house twice even after dead bolts were installed at the TOP of the door, had climbed a water heater and proceeded to IRON the carpet and start a fire after getting the iron that was 6 feet above floor level, had broken the nose of a girl at school after hitting her with the lunch box he was told several times to stop swinging, had poked a child in the eye with a pencil after being told several times to put the pencil down, and had been in therapy for 2 years when he was only in first grade.

I have my BS in Child Psychology and I am a teacher. I did everything I could to avoid putting him on meds. Would we put down a parent of a diabetic child for putting their child on Insulin?? Everybody has to make their own choice but those of us who choose meds are tired of being “reminded” of the alternatives. This is a medcial problem. A diabetic who is able to be treated with diet and exercise should do so, for others this does not work and medication is the answer. Why should this be treated any differently??

No teacher ever asked me to put my child on meds, in fact his teachers went out of their way to work with me prior to making the decision. I know from postings that other parents have had other experiences and I am sorry that a teacher made them feel that they had to medicate their child; for those of us who made that very painful choice after exploring the alternatives, please give us the same respect that we give those who choose a different route..

My son is on a brand new product on the market, known to have less side effects than others. It is called Focalin. We have had very positive results. After the first weeks many side effects diminished. You may want to question your doctor on this product. We have

There is a difference between diabetes and ADHD. It is a known fact that if left untreated a severe diabetic will die. Diabetes is a real disease with an indentified cause. The cause of this thing called ADHD has not been indentified at least not by the professionals who treat it and invented the lable. I think that the diagnosis called ADHD is a crap shoot at best. The neuro-scientifc view is that the cause of this complex neurological event that the industry calls ADHD is lack of neural connectivity in the reticular formation of the brain.

The behavior that you describe sounds like more than ADHD. Off the cuff it sounds to me like behavioural seziures or just plain acting out. Please don’t take what I say as a put down on you. Doctors screw up quite often so I would suggest that you continue to investigate the cause of his difficulties.
There’s a man named Brad who posts on adults with LD who can offer insight into your son’s situation. Brad work in the industry but he is an inteligent insightful person. He and his son also have some neurological issues. They have had marvelous results using “alternative” treatments” Treatments that treat the person and the cause not just the symptoms.

I make up my on terms in descibing theses disorders. Here’s one; proccesing overload. They probably glossed over how the brain works in psychology 101-401 but the brain is always processing whether we are asleep or awake. It is constatnly processing the inner world and the outer world. When that information “bottle necks” other proceses that need to happen in a particular sequence can’t. That is what I believe the cause of LD ADD and ADHD. Lack of neural connectivity creates the problem.This is just a theory mind you but it’s like having a computer with out enough RAM and slow processor. The best way to fix it would be to add more RAM chips but instead we turn up the processor speed. We overclock the processor and everything seems to work but down the road our computer’s RAM remains the same and it’s processor is about to burn out. Unlike the brain the computer can’t upgrade its self. Giving stimulants in my opinion is like overclocking a computer chip. It’s not the ideal thing to do. If only upgrading the brain were as simple as adding more RAM chips what a wonderful world it would be. I know for a fact that the brain has an ability to adapt and grow. Have you ever know anyone who has take a lot of speed over the years? They are usually pretty burned out from years of that form of self-medication.

As an educator you probably believe that school and academic achievement is very important but after the way I was tortured by it I have come to believe that K-12 is irrellevant for just about every student. School may be too stressful for your boy. The idea of modifying a kid and not his enviroment seams a bit Draconian. Again I urge you to identify the cause of his behavior. Don’t let your BS in psychology fool you. I realize a lot of that stuff sounds logical and makes sense but a big chunk of it is wrong. We all know what BS is. MS is more of the same. PhD only means piled higher and deeper.

If I pissed you off I am truly sorry as your son’s situation sounds extremely challenging for all involved. You must be under a tremendous amount of stress. I would reccomend permanent diet changes. (only wholesome food) Eliminate the possibility of allergies. (that’s tough)( food and airborne) Things will not change overnight as brain growth and behavioral changes take time. Some people have had success with Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. Like chicken soup it can’t hurt. If anyone says they can they are wrong and probably own stock in Laroche or Bristol-Meyers.

There’s also new Metadate. This is working wonders for my son. He only takes one in the morning before leaving for school and it lasts all day long. He began pulling off his hair about a year ago, but the doctor said that since he’s in the pre-adolescent stage, he’s beginning to feel the pressure from seeing that he doesn’t behave the same way as other 12-year-olds. The doctor prescribed Prozac and he stopped pulling off his hair. He seems more self-confident and happy now. The only possible side effect that I have noticed is that he’s gaining a little weight and seems to get hungry more often. Other than that, he’s fine. You should ask your doctor about Metadate.