Newbie here

First of all who better to get advice from than parents? Ummm How about adults who were children with LD who have been through the whole song and dance? Yeh i would say we are even more experts on LD than the experts…. They just observe it all and try to rationalize it. We live it every single day.

If your doctor ignores any symptom like that, it means 1 thing. Time to dump the doctor and get a second and third and 10th opinion if you must. Because if this never happened off the meds, then it *IS* a result of the meds. Not even the experts understand how the brain works. atleast not completely. The other thing i would assume it *MIGHT* mean is that *MAYBE* there is nothing wrong with your kid’s brain at all. *MAYBE* it is a good idea to take her to a *real* docttor not just some moron who passes out pills like they are candy, based on the alledged behaviors exhibited by your child. For a hard cold fact. ADHD is NOT genetic and no one can prove it is. For a cold hard fact ADHD does not exist as no one can prove it does. They just scapegoat people who exhibit ‘symptoms’. I would like to see a study of how many kids go in for evaluations and come out as *NOT* ADHD. I supposeedly have it according to half the dr.s i have see, The other half say i don’t have it. Theres no imperical evidence to measure scientifically and based on that lack you are allowing these people to give your child 2 drugs that make her throw up every month. I would guess based on what you have said your shrink is getting payed to run tests on concerta for the drug company. Did you know, he is *NOT* legally bound to tell you? Which is probably why he keeps brushing off your concern. Kids on cocktails is a bad idea. You really should look into other alternatives for ADHD too. Because there are like over 400 *PROVABLE* conditions that cause behaviors consistent with ADHD. Perhaps your kid has one of those? Did your therapist even insistt you get a hard core super physical done to your child before putting her on the psychotropic drugs??? Have you done *ANY* research on the drugs you have your child on? May i point you to the direction of Wildest Colts (Not a day goes by where i am not reading some email where something new and horrible is proven about concerta.) and Ablechild. ADHD, according to it’s founder, in 1980, is over diagnosed by over 30% and over medicated in more than over 30%. Medicating was supposed to be a last ditch effort. So if your shrink’s first response was lets try this or that drug GET A NEW SHRINK! One that says, lets spend the next 2 years trying behavior modification… If it doesn’t work, we will start testing the drugs out and seeing what helps and what doesn’t. Your child’[s brain is still developing which makes her even harder to medicate properly. her brain wont stop developing till her mid 20s. These drugs, like concerta were NOT designed to be used on children. And there are some cases where, a medication is the kindest thing you can do for a child. Such cases are few and far between. Get some other opinions and see what happens if you take her off the drug, with the vommitting. And be responsible. because someday you are gonna have to answer to your daughter for the drugs and the damage done to her brain as a result of them. You had better be damn sure you can say you read every scrap of information from every source available rather than being one of those parents who just smiles stupidly at the doctor while he inserts a poison or 2 that makes her vommit every month. Any cause for concern with a drug your kid is on, it is time to get a second opinion and to look for a better drug and or behaviorly modificagtion instead. 5% of kids with ADHD are under no circumstances supposed to ever even be drugged, because of the effect the drug will have on their brain. Do your own research! Don’t trust blindly and don’t ask other people to be responsible for you. You are the parent act like one and protect your child and look out for her best interests if you even suspect something is amiss, you get her to a different doctor and you detox her off those drugs immediately.

I would seek a second opinion. The vomitting is definitely concerning and should be looked at seriously. Does it happen around the same time each month? At 10 she could be experiencing some hormonal issue even if she hasn’t started menses yet.

Hi Newbie,

I have just joined the forum as well and got told off by Mandi like you have.
Sometimes I think it is good to hear a different point of view, quite an extreme with her relationship with family.

But to let you know you are not alone. I have 2 boys on medication and have learned to adjust it to them. The doctor only sees your child for a few minutes and doesn’t see the real personality how the child relates in her world.

My 10yr old only needs meds while at school morning/lunch (5 days a week)and 9yo morning/lunch (7 days a week). Doctor would prefer me to do 3 times a day 7 days plus double the dose but I would have more problems with sleeping, weight loss etc.

You know what best works for your daughter and family - believe in yourself and you can work it out.

I *DID* tell you off. And i did for a reason. You see, i have lived for over 20 years the lives your kids will live as a result of you having them labled.

Stimulants only work as studies show for upto 3 years. The damage that they can cause int hat time period or over longer term use is rather extreme.

I told you off, because before all else, your child needs something from you now. Something this profession of experts and parents and teachers truly forget. Your child needs to be able to *trust* you. AAnd if they can’t….. Then you have let down one of the most crucial and important aspects of parenting. I say it, not to hurt you, but to help you to cease to continue to make this critically bad mistake. Please understand kids ggrow up and even those with LD form analyytical minds able to understand and to remember and to put into context and assign a value to different things. Your child’s sense of self is diminished from all the medicating and from all the expedrts over aanalyzing everytime they wiggle their pinky fingers. They will come to see that their identityy who they are is less valuable to the world than what they are. Their identity ceases to exist and they become a laboratory LD labled experiment. It is simply inevitable. Which is why they need to trust you to know especially in their teens that youa re looking out for them as you should be. But how can they trust you when you don’t keep your promises to them and experiment on them also? They really can’t can they?

Your family doesn’t have to be my family. And your child doesn’t have to grow up to be anything like me. Your child doesn’t have to live my life. I am here, to protect other families and children from what happened to me. Don’t let it happen to you and your child. Don’t be afraid to stand up against this cotton industry of drugging children.

As for my facts on ADHD, they are accurate. No organic evidence has ever been presented for the existance of ADHD. If you don’t want to believe me on that, i would ask NIMH. Because they will agree with me. Because it is true. I am not saying no organic evidence exists, i am simply saying in over 20 years of research and a major search for this organic evidence as of yet none has been presented that survives the test of srcrutiny by anyone with a brain or access to the study to read it.

You don’t know best. Your *CHILD* knows best. TThe experts running tests on the long term effects know best. The fact is none of these drugs we as a society are pumping our children full of have ever stopped to recognize these drugs were designed for brains of adults, brains finished developing etc, they were not and never have been designed for the brains of children. Yet you all feed it to them like it’s candy once or 3 times a day it doesn’t matter.

I would like to point both of you to an organization called Able Child. Or to Wildest Colts (though they tend to be a little bit too anti drug for my taste as there is an exceptionally rare time and place to use drugs even for children.)

So don’t think that i ripped you up to be mean. I did it for the same reason you drug your children, i did it to help you. And since you so clearly missed it, why shouldn’t your children be missing it also? You see? You are treading on dangerous ground with this ADHD madness and drugging fad. Even the creator of ADHD in 1980 the guy who gave it it’s name has declared it severely over diagnosed by over 30%. he has declared it over medicated i do believe it was well over 60% of the (alledgedly) real cases. Medicine was supposed to be a last resort when all else failed but it’s not being used that way.

I know people who now have ticks from use of ritalin. Before i was 14 i watched a friend drop dead right next to me. The autopsy revealed it was from the prescribed dosage of ritalin.But ritalin isn’t the only evil. And trust me Concerta is definately doing it’s share. Sometimes help, is painful sometimes it comes in a form you don’t want it in. Well, that is nearly always the case for people with LD. Turn about is fair play and that was all i did. Was offer you a bitter pill of your own way of dealing with things. And you didn’t like it much. Now imagine for a moment how your kids feel when they feel like that every day of their lives for a life time. Just think, you are contributing to that and you don’t even realize it and so what if you are you are just trying to help them right??? Just as i am just trying to help you.

Gapeach- My advice is that, if a doctor shrugs off vomiting, please switch doctors! Both of my children are on Stratera, which is not a stimulant, and so far, it has worked really well for my son, but my daughter just had to go up a dosage. You might want to ask your (new) pediatrician about Stratera. It could possibly help your daughter to not have to be on any type of sleep meds. As far as “labelling” a child, I sure wish I had been labelled ADD in school and given meds to help than to have been labelled STUPID and MORON and having been laughed at all during my school years. I’m helping my children to be able to avoid those painful experiences by labelling them ADD and ADHD and getting them the help they need. If other people have problems with that, I don’t care. Don’t let toxic posters get you down. Apparently, they run rampant on these forums.

wow. I found the website here to be really informative, so I joined to access the forums because I figured they’d be helpful and supportive too.

I’ve only read two threads so far and I’m not impressed. Can anyone who still sticks around here recommend another forum where the tone is more geared toward sharing information and experience and less about blaming and criticizing parents who are trying to do their best? That’s where I am - trying to do my best, and I need information more than I need blame.

yes actually i do. Have you tried Able Child? You might want to look them up.

Doing your best is a great thing to do. It is all anyone can do. The issue becomes, for who are you doing the best you can?

Far too often, parents choose to see the best they can do for their child as synonymous with the best they can do for themselves which really means for them, what will be easiest on me? Rather than what will yield the long term and short term best results? Often, it seems they are far too interested in short term gains to see the big picture.

The problem is, some people have to wake up in the morning and face the big picture of this mess every day. That is hardly the parent’s fault. It is not necesarily the fault of the parents either if your kid has ADHD for example. They claim it is passed on genetically yet they offer no proof to back up this claim.

Information is a funny word and then arrises a new question. Do you want to share information or do you want to share information that makes you feel better about the choices you are making so you don’t have to ever face the larger picture? Do you want information or do you want agreement with the current medical fads for the treatment of LD (especially ADHD) that will make you feel better about your choices? Or do you want the information that counts? Do you want the truth? Because today you won’t even get that from NAMI. Who is also on the drug corporation bail out plan. And if you can’t get it anywhere anymore except from those of us who have lived it all our lives then i am very sorry the information that we provide you with makes it harder for you to look in the mirror. I am not sorry however to dispense the information that i do because it is a valid position on this matter that has not been bought and payed for and packaged prettily in the name of pharmaceutical profits.

When parents make good choices i for one tell them exactly how brilliant their choice is. It is just a rarity as so few parents have the time to take to educated themselves properly fully and completely on this matter to make their choices properly and well and in the best interests of their child. Few have the time. It is understandable. You have a job, to provide for your child. You have to keep a clean home for your child. You have to do so much for your child to support your child and that is alot for the vast majority of parents. But the fact remains when you have a LD kid, you gotta go so far above and beyond the call of duty i guess it is understandable that medicating them then into complacency is the easiest method to acheive the goals. And with the doctors the people you should trust whisper the pharmaceutical corporation’s sweet nothings in your ear while terrorising you about the long term effects of these LDs bla bla bla, it is easy to cave. Honestlyy, if i had not lived through all i have, i might do the same. The problem isn’t even the parents. It is a system designed around misleading the parents into providing large proffits for the pharmaceutical corporations. CHADD, NAMI… Both on the pharmaceutical payment plan. So where can you get real information? Try Able Child. Try people who have lived it. Ask your child to think about what might help them and then give it a shot. If at first it doesn’t work figure out why and then alter what you are doing to yield a better result. That is how parents do their best. When they don’t feed the moster and instead look for the answers where they truly lie. No further than their own back yard.

I think that the Ped. should not have disregarded the fact that your daughter was vomiting. The post was right that said you should trust your instincts as a Mom, you know your children. You may want to look into a child psychiatrist whom specializes in ADD/ADHD. My pediatrician recommended that for my son and daughter because they specialize in that particular area and are more familiar with the medications.

*Ignore Mandi. I don’t even read her post. I scroll right over them.

Kirsten, here’s a link to a more helpful forum;
[url]http://millermom.proboards.com/index.cgi[/url]