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ADHD Meds question

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psychohist
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23 Nov 2010, 10:35 pm

javabuz wrote:
We, his school and dr have all seen a pretty dramatic increase with ADHD problems this year. He describes it as, "Mom, I feel like I have energy I can't get out, sometimes I just can't listen no matter how hard I try, I just get so angry, etc." We finally all agreed to have him formally assessed for ADHD with the BRAS? test. About 5 of us who work with him have all filled it out. The ped. neur. suggested if its a grey area she usually prefers to hold off on meds. She called today and said all of our scores came back one of the strongest she had seen in a long time.

There is evidence that ADHD is related to difficulty metabolizing glucose in the brain:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199011153232001

A diet low in carbohydrates and high in fats containing essential fatty acids - generally animals fats - can help:

http://www.encognitive.com/files/Whole% ... 20ADHD.pdf

I would recommend looking at those approaches before or in addition to the meds. I can vouch for the fact that our daughter, who normally has a moderate carb diet, gets hyperactive when she gets any high glycemic load foods like bread, crackers, or soft drinks. Low glycemic load foods seem to be okay even if they have high glycemic indices, like fruit.



pgd
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29 Nov 2010, 10:19 pm

javabuz wrote:
OK, so I have a 6 year old son with Aspergers. The question of a co-morbidity of ADHD has always lingered out there with us and his ped. neurologist. We have always taken the stance that we are neither pro or con on the medication issue, we just want to equip him with what he feels helps him the best.

We, his school and dr have all seen a pretty dramatic increase with ADHD problems this year. He describes it as, "Mom, I feel like I have energy I can't get out, sometimes I just can't listen no matter how hard I try, I just get so angry, etc." We finally all agreed to have him formally assessed for ADHD with the BRAS? test. About 5 of us who work with him have all filled it out. The ped. neur. suggested if its a grey area she usually prefers to hold off on meds. She called today and said all of our scores came back one of the strongest she had seen in a long time. She is in NO way pushing the meds on us, but we are considering it. So I need your feedback:

Where do you start with ADHD meds? What should I be asking? What do you like/not like? What kind of problems am I not thinking about? What are the pros? What are the cons? Which meds do you like and why?

If you could stick to personal experiences and evidence and not anecdotal conspiracy theories, that would be helpful to me.....

thanks
Kat


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If a person has noticeable difficulties with distractibility, paying attention, and sustaining attention, try the How To (understand) Hyperactivity book (1981) about ADHD Inattentive by C. Thomas Wild. Wild looks at modern nutrition as well as meds like Tirend, NoDoz, Bonine, Ritalin, and Dilantin. Wild details a good response (not a cure) to a FDA approved alerting agent (Tirend) which temporarily reduces distractibility and temporarily increases attention span a little. The book is all about paying attention, concentration, focus, and memory. No cures but good insights into ADHD Inattentive, central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), and mild dyspraxia. For a few persons (not everyone) with ADHD, the old medicine, coffee - caffeine compounds - works better than Ritalin. There is no cure for ADHD but for a few persons, the right medicine can temporarily reduce some ADHD symptoms a little. In some cases, a med for ADHD does not work and the right choice is to be med-free. That's my understanding.



alienmom
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03 Dec 2010, 12:07 pm

We had our son on ADHD meds when he was younger. They seem to work at first. But over time His behavior, Meltdowns and mood would become even worse than before the meds. One med made him more emotional and would cry all the time. I forget which med it was, I believe it was adderal, but he stated having night terrors and hallucinating. At this point we decided to go med free and just deal with the behaviors and help him learn how to cope. We did keep him on tenex for aggression; it had no side effects and did decrease his tension. I've had two doctors tell me that for autistic kids, it is not uncommon for ADHD meds to have the opposite effect do to their brain chem. He is 12 now and has learned to cope and we have very little behavior problems with him. He is even off the temex. It gets better as they get older.



Caitlin
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03 Dec 2010, 1:57 pm

As a previous poster mentioned, I think your most important first step is to take your son to a qualified professional (not a pediatrician, but an educational psychologist) who can do the necessary tests to determine if your son is clearly ADHD, or if his attention and focus problems stem from sensory issues.

My son, at times, can look like CLASSIC adhd, but in every case - when considered and tracked carefully - he is overstimulated and overwhelmed by sensory input when displaying ADHD-like behaviour.

My main concern with the sheer volume of ADHD (and ODD) dx's for kids on the spectrum, is that the sensory component of autism can so closely mimic the symptoms of those disorders.

I personally think your son is very young to be determining whether his distractability is ADHD, ODD, or just sensory issues.


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