My daughter who is 9, has been treated for ADHD since she was 5 by psychiatrists. Her ADHD symptoms are pretty much under control although her impulsivness seems to be getting worse. She takes 50mg of Straterra and 10mg of concerta. Her dr. has added 1mg of clonodine. Since she began taking the clonodine (to help with sleep), she has been getting up in the middle of the night and sneaking sweets. When we incrased the dose to 1.5 mg, she began snaking large quanities of sweets (4-5 at a time). When she get’s caught, she doesn’t care. We have taken every posession from her, grounde her, etc. Nothing seems to work. We went back to the dr. and we are slowly taking her off the Concerta, we have removed sweets from the home (our other 3 children are thrilled about that), and are giving her a snack for bedtime. She is still sneaking food. She got into her sisters Valentine’s candy, and didn’t mind having to pay for it (thought that one would work too).
Our delema is that we are loosing control. Nothing seems to work for discipline, she just doesn’t care. Any ideas?
ADHD daughter sneaking food
I would talk to her doctor about the problem. Since it started with the use of Clonidine, it may be connected to that. There are other medications or supplements that can help with sleep.
Re: ADHD daughter sneaking food
I saw on Oprah a few weeks ago about sleep disorders. There is a new sleep disorder which people get up at night, while sleeping, and eat tons of food. The person is not aware but remembers in the morning because something was left out of the refrigerator. I think if you search her website, you will find it. I believe there is medication that will help to control that. Let us know.
I am not an expert. But i have a theory… Or atleast an idea…. Well, 2 ideas….
1. It sounds like every time she steals food, there is one hell of a reaction and lots of attention is spent on her… Kids, ADHD and normal like attention. Maybe it is that you are disciplining. Discipline=attention…. Maybe, just let it go. Don’t notice. It won’t work for a while but eventually she will have to up the anti to get attention if that is what the issue is. And at that point that she ups it, it is quite transparent what the issue is. It is also clear how to handle it. To focus on her and to give her attention for positives and ignore her and the negative behaviors altogether….
2. This is a theory about ADHD. I have it. So they say. I don’t think it is what they say it is. I think it is high intelligence trapped in the body of a very low energy person. Which is why when you give someone with ADHD an upper so to speak like Ritalin or like vivanse, it offers them more energy to work with for a longer time that means attention can be suspended and focus can be kept for a far longer time. I know that i have met alot of ADHD ppl both in my family and out of it who live on and love sugar. Including me…. To a degree. The reason i love it, is the energy it supplies. A quick boost that allows me to function normally. Sugar is a stimulant…. As are other foods that are not the most healthy in high quantities for us. It could be, that she is in a sense self medicating. And the effects of sugar are alot less bad than the effects of ritalin over long term use. But this, it just a thought and a theory. I am not an expert just a person that has lived their whole life with this alledged afliction and has found ways to compensate. I think, your daughter might be trying to compensate…..