Finally Got Diagnosis...
Related Topics
"Grymma" Gry...@blueyonder.co.invalid
... on my 7 y.o. I already knew, but it's nice to have the doctors confirm that I'm right and that my daughter does have ADHD. She has all the cl***ic symptoms of inattentiveness, and I think she suffers more from her impulsivity rather than her hyperactivity, though she has both. They also think she has language comprehension problems - she's not processing information properly, even when she seems to have paid enough attention to listen... which leads to frustration, and of course, the antisocial behaviour she displays daily.
She starts her medication trial on Monday, just 5mg at breakfast time, to see how it improves her mornings, and if that works, they want to start 5mg at lunchtime to improve afternoons. I'm scared to get my hopes up.
Today, after we'd collected her prescription, she took off with a whoop, running the full length of the chemists with an arm outstretched, touching all the neatly laid out bottles and boxes on the shelves as she p***ed...
all it took was a finger hooked round the first one, and she'd have had the whole lot on the floor. Thankfully she didn't, but it really was hard to tell her off for it, and not smile... she so obviously enjoyed the spontaneity of the moment....
I don't want to lose these '-isms' - I love her little eccentricities, they're maddening yet charming. I would just like her to be able to concentrate in school (when she needs to), and to make some friends.
I'm both happy and sad that she has her diagnosis, and I'm not sure where I stand on medication at all. As long as I think of this as a 'trial' it's ok, but I don't want to contemplate the long-term. I don't know... my feelings are very mixed up right now.
--
Grymma AFPOh Goddess Of Hangovers; B.F.(use 'reply to') AFPianc?©e to Tap, DP, Miq, XM & Chris H.; AFPhaghag; AFPBigSis to Mike; Giver of (frnchsd) Scottish *hugs*n*kisses*
J. Clarke nosp...@nospam.invalid
How is that your business?
--
--
--John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (used to be jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
"Grymma" Gry...@blueyonder.co.invalid
Not sure 'mental illness' is an accurate description. 'Brain dysfunction' or 'learning disorder' are perhaps. IMO.
But, fair enough, I can agree with your quote, in principle. She doesn't start the meds til Monday, so I cannot say either way at the moment whether they will help *as part of a management plan*. However, the diagnosis of ADHD was made by our local child psychiatrist at our local hospitals' child psychology/psychiatry unit, following 6 months of appointments involving the whole family, after referral by my family practitioner at my request, who has known my child since birth, and was accompanied by 3 yrs worth of observation notes from my childs' schoolteachers, 3 yrs worth of observation and ***essment notes from the educational psychologist, and at least 5 years of my own evidence and observations. Plus ***essment by a speech and language therapist. Diagnosis is therefore not being made by her reaction to medication, but rather, the medication has been prescribed after the diagnosis, and after it has been agreed that the disorder sufficiently disrupts my childs life that it's worth trying in tandem with behavioural approaches.
I am neither pro- nor anti- medication. I am simply being cautiously open-minded about it. What I'm sad about is my beautiful child has only moments of joy to punctuate a hard time, when it should be the other way around.
OK?
[crosspost removed]
--
Grymma AFPOh Goddess Of Hangovers; B.F.(use 'reply to') AFPianc?©e to Tap, DP, Miq, XM & Chris H.; AFPhaghag; AFPBigSis to Mike; Giver of (frnchsd) Scottish *hugs*n*kisses*
nknisley nknis...@bcpl.net
LDs and ADHD frequently go hand in hand.
Good luck.
My first post to ASAD almost three years ago said exactly the same thing. I was happy because now I knew the reason for my OS's worrisome forgetfulness and disorganization. OTOH, I was sad because for years I'd been told, "Oh, he'll grow out of it," and now I knew it wasn't just an adolescent boy phase.
I think every parent here can relate. I haven't read a post from a parent on ASAD yet that says, "Whoopie! The doctor has recommended that my child take medication!!" :-) Here's several things to consider: 1. The only long term study on the treatment of childhood ADHD--The NIH multimodal study--shows that children who take medication have better over-all outcomes than those who don't.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/events/mtaqa.cfm The NIH study, which compared various kinds of treatments for ADHD, found that children who received medication plus *intensive* behavioral modification at home and school did the best overall.
In close second place were children who received medication only.
Following much further behind were children who received only *intensive* behavioral modification.
2. Methylphenidate (Ritalin and similar medications) has been used to treat ADHD for over 50 years in the US. Any long term side effects probably would have come to light by now and none has. Most of the side effects are minor and usually temporary.
3. AFAIK, all of the ADHD medications are out of the system fairly quickly. Even the newer "all-day" forms of methylphenidate, within 8-12 hours, your child will be in a unmedicated state. In addition, there's no "weaning" period required to stop any of the medications. So if you don't like what you see, it's easy enough to stop and return to the status quo.
Nancy Unique, like everyone else
J. Clarke nosp...@nospam.invalid
Uh huh. In what way do you intend to "help"?
And what relevance does that have?
Because I am curious as to the details of your delusion.
This the same Yale that treated Charlene Riling for AIDS without bothering to perform an HIV test?
--
--
--John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (used to be jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
J. Clarke nosp...@nospam.invalid
Most. Wellbutrin takes a while to take effect and should be discontinued gradually. I believe there are a couple of other non-
stimulant ADHD meds with similar properties.
--
--
--John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (used to be jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
nknisley nknis...@bcpl.net
You are correct.
I should have phrased my comment to read "all of the *stimulants* used to treat ADHD are out of the system fairly quickly." I keep overlooking the fact that Wellbutrin seems to be prescribed more often for ADHD than (IMNSHO) would be warranted by its effectiveness as compared to stimulants.
I suspect though that Wellbutrin is being prescribed more for adult ADHD than for children.
Perhaps that's because doctors are wary that adults might choose to abuse stimulants? Or because the doctors treating adults are having trouble with diagnosis and they think, "This might be ADHD, but it might be depression, or it could be both, so I'll try Wellbutrin and maybe hit all the bases?" Any thoughts?
In any case, although my comment about ADHD medications being out of the system quickly wasn't as precise as it should have been, we know that Grymma's daughter isn't being prescribed Wellbutrin, as it doesn't come in a 5 mg dosage.
Nancy Unique, like everyone else
virgin ...@aol.commentary (Virginiaz)
abrupt discontinuation of stims can cause severe depression, as noted in prescribing information. as well as some other very troubling side effects.
tapering off can help avoid these problems.
as for Wellbutrin and ADD, Wellbutrin may not measure up well against stims in the short-term, but for long-term use, it likely has a better profile for overall performance and mood scores in adults. not to mention a speculated down-regulation of adrenergic receptors, deemed a very positive outcome.
Subject: Re: Finally Got Diagnosis...
From: nknisley <nknis...@bcpl.net> Date: Sat, May 4, 2002 4:09 AM Message-id: <3CD35F0B.E98EAEA3@bcpl.net> You are correct.
I should have phrased my comment to read "all of the *stimulants* used to treat ADHD are out of the system fairly quickly." I keep overlooking the fact that Wellbutrin seems to be prescribed more often for ADHD than (IMNSHO) would be warranted by its effectiveness as compared to stimulants.
I suspect though that Wellbutrin is being prescribed more for adult ADHD than for children.
Perhaps that's because doctors are wary that adults might choose to abuse stimulants? Or because the doctors treating adults are having trouble with diagnosis and they think, "This might be ADHD, but it might be depression, or it could be both, so I'll try Wellbutrin and maybe hit all the bases?" Any thoughts?
In any case, although my comment about ADHD medications being out of the system quickly wasn't as precise as it should have been, we know that Grymma's daughter isn't being prescribed Wellbutrin, as it doesn't come in a 5 mg dosage.
Nancy Unique, like everyone else \\ - - // ( @ @ ) +--------oOOo-(_)--oOOo----+ +-------------------Oooo---+ oooO ( ) ( ) ) / \ ( (_
J. Clarke nosp...@nospam.invalid
I was rather surprised to discover the extent to which Wellbutrin was helping. It had been a long time since I had forgotten to take meds with any regularity. Ran out of Wellbutrin and didn't have a chance to get to the pharmacy for a few days and decided to see how I did without it. Thought I was doing fine. Noticed I was missing doses with increased regularity. Railed at myself for this. Didn't help. Finally realized that this behavior started a week or so after I went off Wellbutrin. Went back to Wellbutrin and that particular problem was to a great extent alleviated.
--
--
--John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (used to be jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
"Grymma" Gry...@blueyonder.co.invalid
<snip all> Thanks Nancy, and for all the links, lots of useful reading. I've been getting lots of re***urance too from others who have told me the meds make a huge difference when they're the right dosage, so that's encouraging too :o)
--
Grymma AFPOh Goddess Of Hangovers; B.F.(use 'reply to') AFPianc?©e to Tap, DP, Miq, XM & Chris H.; AFPhaghag; AFPBigSis to Mike; Giver of (frnchsd) Scottish *hugs*n*kisses*
"SumBuny" sumb...@TAKETHISOUTcox.net
Isn't Wellbutrin also prescribed to help kick the smoking habit as well?
Under another name?
--
Buny
-----" Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." ~ Albert Camus
----- One Size does NOT fit all; Heck, one size don't even fit MOST!
k_petro ...@yahoo.com (K. Petronio)
snipped I think she suffers more from her snipped Grymma, This sounds sooo much like our son. In short I will tell you that medication has helped, but we have had to go through two different meds and several different dosages to get it right. At this point, he is taking 54 mg of Concerta on weekdays and 36 on weekends or school holidays. This gives him the self control he needs to have a positive interaction with friends, etc. on weekends.
Right now, we are waiting to get a final report regarding our son's "processing" issues. The testing involved an examination by an audiologist as well as a speech pathologist. Their findings indicated that our son has a great deal of difficulty filtering out background sound, as well significant issues with short term memory. The report will tell us what kinds of accomodations can be made at school (in addition to those already in place). I can let you know what they say if you would like? The speech pathologist mentioned that frustration is a commong problem in kids with processing issues. Multiple steps in instructions leads to confusion, which leads to frustration.
Good luck with the medication, and all of your research. It's nice to come across another parent who cares.
Kathy
"Mark D. Morin" mdmp...@PETERHOOD69gwi.net
zyban. the starting dose is typically higher (150 instead of 100) titrated up to 300 mg a day.
--
==================================================== "How do you do Nothing?" asked Pooh. "Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, `What are you going to do, Christopher Robin?' and you say, `Oh, nothing' and then you go and do it. It means just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering." http://home.gwi.net/~mdmpsyd/index.htm remove peterhood69 for mail
J supercommod...@mail.com
I was perscribed Wellbutrin for depression and ADD. I found that there were side effects that were worse than on the current med I am on now Adderall.
But this is not indicative of what other people might experience, I just had problems with wellbutrin sr.
Jeremy On Sat, 04 May 2002 00:09:47 -0400, nknisley <nknis...@bcpl.net> wrote:
"Grymma" Gry...@blueyonder.co.invalid
Kathy, thanks for this , I'd be very *very* interested to hear what kind of accommodations are suggested. I am currently at the beginning of the battle to have the school draw up an IEP. I think part of their reluctance comes from having to commit actual plans to paper! For my part, I am very aware of my daughters failing areas, but a little underwhelmed with coping mechanisms and ways around the problems, so I can see why the school might be feeling that way as well.... any help and ideas are always welcome, get my old brain ticking over!
Cheers,
--
Grymma AFPOh Goddess Of Hangovers; B.F.(use 'reply to') AFPianc?©e to Tap, DP, Miq, XM & Chris H.; AFPhaghag; AFPBigSis to Mike; Giver of (frnchsd) Scottish *hugs*n*kisses*
nknisley nknis...@bcpl.net
Even though I've read the prescribing information on most of the ADHD stims, I didn't remember coming across that type of warning before, so I checked the prescribing information for the following stimulants used to treat ADHD: Ritalin: Under "Drug dependence": "Careful supervision is required during drug withdrawal, since severe depression as well as the effects of chronic overactivity can be unmasked." For those using Ritalin as prescribed, information recommends "drug holidays" with no mention of need for tapering off or warnings about abrupt discontinuation.
http://www.pharma.ca.novartis.com/downloads/e/ritalin_scrip_e.pdf Adderall: Under "Drug abuse and dependence": "Abrupt cessation following prolonged high dosage administration results in extreme fatigue and mental depression; changes are also noted on the sleep EEG." No similar warning elsewhere in information.
http://www.shire.com/shire/products/Adderall.pdf Concerta: Under "Drug Dependence": Careful supervision is required during withdrawal from abusive use since severe depression may occur." No similar warnings elsewhere in information.
http://www.concerta.net/healthpro/index.jhtml?id=concerta/healthpro/p... Metadate: Under "Drug dependence": "Careful supervision is required during withdrawal from abusive use since severe depression may occur." No similar warnings elsewhere in information.
http://www.metadate-cd.com/pi.htm Focalin: Under "Drug dependence": "Careful supervision is required during drug dependence from abusive use since severe depression may occur." No similar warnings elsewhere in information.
http://www.pharma.us.novartis.com/product/pi/pdf/focalin.pdf So, bottom line: there is nothing in the current prescribing information that indicates that abrupt discontinuation of stims when they are not abused may result in severe depression or other adverse effects. All of the warnings about severe depression when the meds are stopped are WRT abusive use of the stims.
If there are studies that indicate that severe depression can result when non-abusive use of stims is abruptly stopped, they are not reflected in the current prescribing information.
Do you know of any studies which indicate that severe depression results after abrupt discontinuation when stims are taken as prescribed? If so, cites please. I don't want to keep giving out incorrect information.
Considering the number of ADHDers who, after using stims as prescribed, without significant adverse effects: unintentionally abruptly discontinue taking their stimulant meds because they forget; use stimulants only on an "as needed basis;" or take med holidays--I can't help but think that severe depression when non-abused stims are abruptly discontinued isn't a common event.
But I'm open to being convinced otherwise.
I'm interested in information about stims and their effect on moods. Any cites?
Nancy Unique, like everyone else
nknisley nknis...@bcpl.net
There's a good list of possible accommodations for ADHD at: http://www.add.org/content/school/list.htm Nancy Unique, like everyone else
nknisley nknis...@bcpl.net
<snip> <snip> Interesting. Didn't you say previously that while you felt Wellbutrin helped your depression, it didn't do much for your ADHD?
Is your view on that now changed? Or do you think it's possible that your increased forgetfulness was a symptom of depression and not ADHD?
And, ahem, did you taper off the Wellbutrin, as you noted should be done?
Nancy Unique, like everyone else
J. Clarke nosp...@nospam.invalid
Remember, ADDers are NG at self-observation. I didn't think it had done any good but apparently I was in error.
Yes. That's why I was rather surprised.
Could have been, but I don't seem noticeably more depressed--perhaps my depression has gone away.
Nope--went cold turkey. Like I said, I ran out and didn't have a chance to get a refill for a while.
--
--
--John Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net (used to be jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
"Grymma" Gry...@blueyonder.co.invalid
Cheers, very useful, all printed and ready to wave at headteacher! :o)
--
Grymma AFPOh Goddess Of Hangovers; B.F.(use 'reply to') AFPianc?©e to Tap, DP, Miq, XM & Chris H.; AFPhaghag; AFPBigSis to Mike; Giver of (frnchsd) Scottish *hugs*n*kisses*
k_petro ...@yahoo.com (K. Petronio)
Thanks Nancy. I had been directed to this link before, and printed it out to keep with me for all my IEP/504 meetings. Some of it really becomes meaningful as the kids get into higher grades, and it's nice to have a standard to refer to.
I forgot to mention before, Grymma that the name of what they are evaluating in my son is "Central Auditory Processing Disorder". I'm not sure where it falls on the list of disabilities or if it just another "other health impaired" item. I see it as an opportunity to help him.
Another thing to consider is that when they did all the testing for learning disabilities on my son, his IQ tests showed that he had above average ability in visual/spatial learning. This has been very difficult for him, because he can't seem to wrap his mind around words but can put together puzzles and copy drawings twice as fast as "average" kids his age. Does your daughter show similar abilities in things like object ***embly, or the test they call Bender-Gestalt? I plan to bring this up at every opportunity, so every teacher will know that they need to give him a mental "picture" before he will truly understand.
Kathy
"SumBuny" sumb...@TAKETHISOUTcox.net
You may want to look at http://deafness.about.com/library/weekly/aa031300.htm?terms=capd It begins with: Q: When is a hearing person like a deaf person?
A: When he has a condition known as central auditory processing disorder (CAPD).
It then goes on to explain it, and gives several links...
--
Buny
-----" Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." ~ Albert Camus
----- One Size does NOT fit all; Heck, one size don't even fit MOST!
k_petro ...@yahoo.com (K. Petronio)
Ooooh good link. Lots of info. Thanks Buny.
Kathy
| To Top |