So, after my last post, they finally diagnosed my daughter with ADHD. The doctor prescribed her Ritalin. I asked him if we could try something else, but he said nothing else would work, so I tried it. Friday was her first dose of 5 mg. She took it fine and ate, and then a few hours later was moving her tongue back and forth, sticking it out, and moving her jaw back and forth repeatedly. She said she could not stop and it was really scary because it was a CONSTANT thing, not occasional. She also said she felt funny, was very thirsty, and could not stop doing the things she was doing. My doctor is trying to say it is a normal side effect and if I don't like it then I just won't have treatment for my daughter. Does anyone else have these problems with ritalin? Is it normal, because it was so bad I KNOW my child would get made fun of and people would think she was mentally handicapped if she continued taking it and doing the things she did. (no offense to the handicapped, but my daughter isn't, so I don't want her acting like it). Hope that doesn't sound insensitive because I love all children no matter how they are. Please help, though. I don't know what to do. I was already so scared to put her on medicine and this just made it worse.
Hi
i've heard of that side effect - my son took a medication for adhd (he does not have that but he does have symptoms for it as part of ASD and bipolar ). anyways my understanding is that there are other medications rather than just ritalin. The medication my son tried was called metadate CD - i'm not an expert so it maybe similar but i'd say get a 2nd opinion at the least.
email me privately if you want to discuss more - [email protected]. I can give you the details of my sons doctor f you are close by.
Hi Arika,
I have never heard of these side effects with Ritalin so I don't know if that's normal or not. However, I do know that there are many different medications you can use to treat ADHD. There are basically two "families" of drugs. One is the Ritalin and everything similar and the other is "Adderall" and the likes. They work in completely different ways (sorry I can't explain it any better) and some kids respond well to one and not the other. Some kids go back and forth. My son is currently taking Metadate CD, which is in the Ritalin family. He does not have any of these side effects and he does very well with it. I would strongly recommend you find a different doctor. If that is not an option ask your doctor the difference between these two drug families and why he feels that there is only one option for your daughter. Even if she has bad reactions to the Ritalin does not mean she will react the same to other similar drugs. I wish you the best. It's not an easy road but it's well worth it. Feel free to send me a message if I can be of further help.
Kim
Hi Arika,
Our son has ADD. We had problems with him in school and everywhere else too.
We tried the aderall, ritalin, etc. There are so many side effects with these drugs, it's not fair to the kids. It stunts their growth too.
There are natural alternatives that I would check out first.
1. Change her diet. Do not buy "bleached" anything! Use unbleached flour, etc. Do not use white sugar. Do not feed her cereals, make her oatmeal instead. Try more fiber in her diet. Have her try eating her sandwiches with wheat bread or whole grain breads. Stay away from sweets, etc.
2. Get the chemicals out of the house! I cannot tell you the difference it makes when you start changing your shopping habits. Purchase products that are environmentally responsible. We as a society are doing a chemical experiment on our children! If people only knew the chemicals that were in the laundry detergents, soaps, cleaning products, deodorizing sprays. Your children play on the floors you clean, they wear the clothes that you launder and sleep and breath in the chemicals from the sheets and blankets on the beds. Most of the laundry detergents have carcinogens in them or worse have neurotoxins in them.
3. Get your child on a good supplement. I can recommend one if you are interested. I can also tell you which ones are a waste of money.
4 Lastly, there is a product out there that we really had great success with our son. It not only helped him stablalize, but it had side effects. Those side effects: cleared up his acne, he's never had another asthma attack since! It's a little more on the expensive side, but worth it!
If you want to learn more, just let me know.
I know how hard it is to go through all the doctor stuff. They sent our son to shrinks too. We put a lot of stuff behind us once we "simply switched our shopping habits".
Jill
Arika,
Find a second opinion!! There are more than one drug in the world. I have not used ritalin for my kids but, I stongly suggest getting a second opinon.
Good luck with everything.
Amy
My son has adhad/Odd and depression there are otherdrugs out there get a second opinion. My son only uses an addrenaline blocker for his ADHD we also see a psycologist and psychiatrist to help with how to parent him and do things to help him. Hope this helps. Good luck
Google Dr. Ted Broer. He's got a few books out there. One is in regards to ADHD...from what I hear the book is good for informaiton on the subject and causes -- sometimes you can fix the symptoms by modifying what the kids eat--however in a review of the book on ADHD the reviewer said its great for information, but if you want to know exactly how to eat to modify it, you want the eat, drink and be healthy book. Perhaps the two together would help you.
Arika,
Well first do no harm isn't that what the doctors have to say when they become a doctor? Too bad that most of them actually THINK that's what they're doing!
I've done lots of reading and research on behavioural problems in children - and it always comes back to the same thing time and time again! FOOD and the problem with that is that most of us think were giving good foods to our children, but you will need learn to read lables and make things from scratch if possible - remove refined products, refined sugars, MSG there are around 27 different kinds so you will maybe have to carry a small cheat sheet with you when you shop see: http://www.additivealert.com.au/aboutadditives.php?hid=3
If you could make your bases (soup stock, broth etc... from scratch that would be a good start -
***Easy pot of water & chicken bones, necks etc. approx 3 chics - get them from the butcher, very cheap.
Throw in some chopped carrots, celery & onion -
add a few TBLS of Vinegar this helps extract the calcium from the bones - let sit on hour before you turn on then let it simmer very low all night long. I know it seems like alot of work but your kids are worth it!
It's hard to change things but if you could make a goal to change even one thing a week, it will add up in the end!
If you continually explain to your children why they're diets need to change they will eventually understand and they'll get used to the change - kids adapt better then we think.
Also see http://www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/Articles/allergies_food_intol.htm - good luck in all that you do - please with our children, drug treatment should be the last option!
PS: what Jill G. says in her response is spot on!
Oatmeal in the morning recipe - oatmeal should be soaked the night before to release the enzymes we need to break it down in or tummy's to get the most nutrition from it! (I usually do 3 or 4 days worth at a time and keep it in the fridge & use it as I go)
bag - Rolled Oats approx 4 cups put in large container add
couple TBLS of vinegar or lemon juice
fill to cover oats with spring water (no tap water - the chlorine will kill the enzymes) just let it sit on your counter overnight - and bob's your uncle!
add a bit to a pan in the morning with some milk takes couple of minutes serve with a good dolup of butter ( good fat will lower the G.I) and add some good raw honey - mmmm mmm your kids will love you for it!
Cheers, Laura G.
Arika--Is there another doctor in your area that you could get a second opinion? I work with children that have ADHD and there are other medication alternatives. It makes me think the doctor either doesn't know much about it or doesn't want to take the time to try something else. I would look at switching doctors and trying other meds.
Hi Arika,
What testing did they do to make the diagnosis? I don't know a lot about ADHD, but I thought it had to be a brain scan to know for sure. Have you tried anything else? Gluten and/or casein free diet, etc?
I carry a vitamin in my store which has a study regarding the bionutritional aspects of ADD/ADHD with the vitamin. If you don't want to go the medicine route, you could give that a try. If you are interested in more information about the vitamin, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Good luck,
Kelly
Your dr said "if you don't like it then you just won't have treatment for your daughter"??? Find a new doctor! That's a terrible thing to say! There have been so many advances in the treatment of ADD and ADHD that I'm sure another dr would be more than happy to help you find something that's works better for your daughter.
I would find a different doctor!! There are many other meds out there for your daughter. My sons doctor refuses to use ritalin with her patiance because of the horribale side affects. My son is on Adderall XR. I would deffinatley find a new dr. and ask about Adderall.
Hello Mama,
I am not much of a believer in ADHD. Considering that she has had a pretty stressful start in her life, I'd look at that first. Lots of moms have had success giving their babes Fish Oil. Many studies have shown that the uprise in behavior problems in children in the US is due to not getting enough fish. I don't like your doctor's attitude at all, and I think that you should find a different doctor. He isn't even considering that she might be stressed out from having an abusive parent. He sounds awful. Dump him. Listen to your instincts. Learn to trust yourself, and your inner voice. Stop the medication, and try giving your babe two teaspoons of fish oil in the morning and two at night. You can get it at Whole Foods. It is pricy, but worth it. She is only four, so there is lots of time to give her medication later on if she needs it. You know, I am getting more and more pissed the more I think about how your doctor is reacting.
I know it seems like medication is the only way to deal with this problem, but there really are other effective ways. Please take your child off the medication and read Disease Proof your Child by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Something as simple (or hard) as changing your family's diet could make a huge difference in your child's behavior. This could also have a very positive impact on the health of your whole family. It sounds like you are already well aware of all the negative side effects of Ritalin.
Blessings to you and your family,
Debbie
Wow, you have a lot of responses already, so I usually wouldn't even respond, but I will.
Let me add to Jill G's list:
5-GET A NEW DOCTOR! I hate the ADHD diagnosis anyways, and any doctor who thinks they know how to solve it is an idiot. There is no quick fix, and drugs are a tool not a cure, and they just add to problems with all the side effects.
6-Check out the book "Raising a Sensory Smart Child." I guarantee that some of the things will ring true, and you will look at why your child does certain things in a different way. You may even see a little of yourself in there. I know I did.
7-Look into chiropractics. Hopkins wellness center has information and does adjustments for kids. They could give you more information, and recommend someone close to you. Dr. Pete is the one we see the most, but Dr. Llewicka saw my kids when they were very young. (They like her better; now they like Dr. Fox.)
I'll stop. I', sure you are overwhelmed. And as I always say--trust your gut. Mother knows best.
Arika:
I worked in a natural healthcare setting for a number of years and I have seen hundreds of children diagnosed with ADHD helped thru a change in diet, Chiropractic and massage therapy. There are no negative side effects to these treatments and I have been witness to parents praising our therapists and doctors for acheiving wellness in their children who otherwise seemed to be without hope unless they were on Ritalin (which by the way is like speed for kids) without medication. Please consider trying this if you are open to it as I think that it will change your daughters life and your life for the better!
Arika -
My son is 10 and he was diagnosed back in Kindergarten with ADHD. We have tried several different meds both stimulate and non-stimulate medication. We also experienced side effects from the meds such as; not eating, not sleeping and making animal noises and other noises that made it difficult for him to make friends.
Last April we decided to start taking him to a homeopath for his treatments. He has been off meds since July of 2007 and it is great. He has gained 20 pounds and no longer makes any noises and has a lot of friends. He is also able to think much better and quicker without them.
We also took him off all preservatives and additives in his diet. It is not as hard as I thought. We still have a few problems here and there with his attention but now he has the ability to try and cope with them without medication.
Keep in mind that you are your children's best advocate. The doctors are somewhat paid by the medication companies.
Good Luck with your decision. If you want more information on any of the things that I have done for my son, email me at [email protected].
Lisa
You know what, you need a new Dr. There are so many better sources than him. Find a Children's hospital in your area, and work with a multi-disciplinary team there. There are 20 other options besides Ritalin. There is Concerto, for one. SO, open another door. Also, you can get a great book atyour library called "Don't Label MyChild." You'll love it. So, move on, and always trust your gut. Kiss that Doc good bye.
Hi Arika! My heart goes out to you! I was married to an emotionally abusive man for 23 (TWENTY-THREE!) years, and you can imagine it did my kids & me no good. Give yourself a lot of credit for getting out so quickly!
About your daughter's "side effects" -- TAKE HER TO ANOTHER DOCTOR! Did you stop giving her the Ritalin? That's what I'd do, but if you haven't stopped yet, maybe you should check with her doc before you do. Have you tried home remedies for her hyperactivity? My niece was a hyperactive child, and coffee calmed her right down! I understand that's the usual response of hyperactive kids.
I have ADD and I take Adderall XR, which helps some. Don't know if it's ever prescribed for a young child, but you could see. It makes my mouth very dry, I drink a ton of water, and I am constantly trying to ward off constipation, but those are symptoms I'm willing to put up with for my improved ability to concentrate. I would not put up with the side effects your daughter is dealing with. They sound worse than the ADHD!
Good luck! I'll be thinking of you! Linda
Hi Arika-
I know ADHD meds do have side effects. Probably not the one for your daughter and I'd call your doctor right away.
They can adjust things or change meds.
Trust your gut.
I'm a med. prof. and wellness coach. We have some alternative things many swear by- natural - that don't have side effects.
If you want to chat, email me at [email protected] and I'll call if you give me your phone number.
I can let you talk to some people with great success if that matters first.
About me- in addition to above, 47 yo mom of twin girls.
Brenda J