Hello all. I need some help or feedback if anyone who has kids w/ADHD takes Concerta. Just wanna know if any serious side effects or if it has helped. As I stated in a previous post, I had started taking my 12yr old to counselling. The counselor then wanted him to go for a psychiatric eval. I take him this morning... and within an hour of therapist asking the both of questions, and all the info from sch., she diagnosed him as being ADHD. From your experiences is that all the time thats needed for diagnosis?? I figured he would be seen in several different sessions. But he was given meds today. I was just curious to others opinions. It has been 2 yrs since his troubles started. And the schools always said there was nothing wrong with him. I asked numerous times for them to test him for ADHD and they never would do it. I hope this meds help him in his school work and concentrating. I am still taking him to counselling also.

My answer? Absolutely NOT. Long term studies have not been done to determine whether or not treatment in childhood/adulthood with stimulant drugs have adverse effects on the nervous system (or reproduction, aging ..) later in life. Society has put too much emphasis on medical professionals, which often misdiagnose and over-medicate. It puts more money into their pockets to recommend and/or prescribe than it is to do a thorough evaluation themselves.

Maximize other alternatives. There's a lot of info in the 'Children with Special Needs' forum that talks about children with ADD/ADHD. For starters, you may want to look into some dietary changes. It'll help a lot more than you realize.

Pm me any time. I'd love to help.

Since I've had 2 cups of coffee and on a roll..

I'm sure you're aware of the tell-tale signs of ADD/ADHD. Question is: WHY?

Here's a list of possibilities:
1) Food sensitivities (additives, preservatives, colours, salicylates, dairy..)
2) Heavy metal toxins (Lead)
3) Stimulant drugs (often displaying with psychotic-like tendencies)
4) Underactive vestibular system; Bone conduction (primarily listening through their bodies rather than their ears); Left ear dominance
5) Anemia
6) Sensory Impairments
7) Thyroid Disease
8) Seizure disorders and antiepileptic drugs
9) Psychiatric disorders
10) Progressive neurological disorders

.. I'm sure I can add more to the list. If you're unsure the meaning of any of these let me know and I'll explain them to you further. But here are prime examples of what could cause ADHD. Instead of fixing the root of the problem, doctors are masking them with medication.

Dr.Jes I only know of the 1st why?!!! I am new to all this ADHD stuff I dont know of the why's of it just the signs of it.

Here are some links that may help explain.

1) Behaviour Learning and Health (Feingold Diet):
http://www.feingold.org/blue-pg.html

2) Heavy Metal Toxins:
http://www.extremehealthusa.com/source.html

3) Underactive Vestibular System AND Desensitizing Bone Conduction AND Left/Right Ear Dominance:
http://www.tomatis.com/English/Articles/add_adhd.html

These links are for information purposes only. You will have to do the leg work yourself as to what the underlining causes are for your child. Your best bet is to start off with diet first. Check out the "Dealing with Special Needs" forum under sub-heading "Dieting 2: What he CAN eat" There's quite a lot of information there.

Anymore questions I'm always here.

quote:

Originally posted by Laurie05:
[qb] within an hour of therapist asking the both of questions, and all the info from sch., she diagnosed him as being ADHD. From your experiences is that all the time thats needed for diagnosis?? [/qb]

Hi Laurie05,

I believe the only way you can identify ADHD in a child...is by doing some sort of brain activity scan/test. I have no idea what the name of the test is...but I would ask around and get it done before administering the medication. The good doctor is so right (above) about ADHD.

Diagnosing ADD/ADHD:

1. A complete medical, developmental and family history. This is necessary to help rule out other potential causes of the symptoms, such as learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, Tourette Syndrome, sleep deprivation, emotional stress, etc.. although a child may have ADD/ADHD plus other problems.

2. An in-depth interview with parents. This may include the use of ration scales in order to assess the child's behaviour and functioning level.

3. Observation reports and/or rating scales from teachers and other individuals who know the child.

4. Ideally, a formal psycho-educational assessment, especially if a learning disability is suspected or if the child is failing in school.

5. An interview with and observation of the child.

Hope this helps.

Stimulants:
Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine)
Methylphenidate (Ritalin)
Pemoline (Cylert)

Alpha 2 agonists:
Clonidine (Catapres)
Guanfacine (Tenex)

Ritalin is the most prescribed stimulant (70-80%)
Side effects: loss of apetite, head aches, stomacaches. Some may experience irritability, increased activity or mood swings at end of day during "rebound" (sometimes psychotic-like behaviours). Sometimes its hard to distinguish rebound vs. child's behaviour returning to its baseline state. When rebound is indicated, then low dose of med in late afternoon is required.

Tics (ee blinks, throat clearing) occur in 9% of children. Meds may need to be stopped if this develops.

If child experiences a decrease in the rate of growth during treatment, it may be necessary to stop the meds on weekends and over summer to allow for 'catch-up' growth.


Children receiving three doses per day may require caloric supplementation to prevent weight loss.

Nonconventional Treatments:

Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation:
-(orthomolecular psychiatry) extensive lab analyses of vitamin and mineral levels in blood and hair and then prescribing supplemnts based on the results

Elimination Diets:
- (as explained)

EEG Biofeedback Training:
- this is a certain brainwave pattern associated with alert, attnetive mental states and a different brainwayve pattern associated with drowsiness and daydreaming, which can be identified and quantified by EEG measurements. Children can be trained using positive reinforcement to generate the 'good' brainwaves for longer periods of time. It is expensive and time-consuming.

I'm not sure how well any of these (expect elimination process) work but here are the options you can ask your doctor about.

Thanks jes for all your info. Some of this stuff I have never heard of before. I am still readin about ADHD but i went ahead and started givin him the meds. He takes Concerta i tab in the am and 1/2 tab clonidine 30 min b 4 bedtime. I have been watchin him very close to see if he appears too medicated. He hasn't had any side affects the therapist said may occur. And he is eating better. Thanks again.
Laurie

No problem. I purposely wrote all this to reflect on in case you'd change your mind at a later time. Best of luck with it.

Hi there,

I really must disagree with some of the comments made above (sorry!). A year ago, my now 5-year-old son was driving me to distraction. He was agressive towards other children (simply because he didn't think before reacting to a situation), hitting and kicking on a regular basis, it was impossible for him to sit and concentrate on one activity for longer than about five minutes and he was extremely forgetful. He started school in September 04, and the school were close to suspending him within 3 weeks. I took him to a private Consultant Paediatrician who, after a 2-hour consultation, including analysis of school reports on their observations of him along with my views, diagnosed 'probable ADHD'. My son was prescribed Ritalin, which is usually the first-choice medication for suspected ADHD. The consultant explained that ADHD is a malfunction of the frontal lobes of the brain - the centres for executive control, namely attention and impulse-control. This is a neurological disorder - known to be hereditary (do either you or the childs father experience similar symptoms?). Neurological disorders cannot be treated through dietary changes etc. Trust me, I had my son on an additive-free diet, dairy-free diet, wheat-free diet. Each diet was tried for at least 6-months with absolutely no effects at all. The biggest test for ADHD is a medication trial: if your child has ADHD, the medication will work to normalise the inactive frontal lobes. If your child does not, the medication will have the opposite effects and will not calm him. My son is now top of the class, and is maintained on 15mg of Ritalin twice a day. The results have been so dramatic that I thank my lucky stars every night. I would strongly suggest that you read a book called 'Understanding ADHD' by Dr Christopher Green. GOOD LUCK!!

Hello miss d, thanks for your post reply. Dietary changes is only an option for those who wish for an alternative to medication. It's not 100% fool proof nor does it work for all children. I'm glad you took the time to at least try it before medicating him and I'm sorry you didn't have much success. I'm glad things worked out in the end.

A child who's sensitive to certain foods (dairy, additives, salicylates..) can have the same reaction as a child who has ADHD. Personally, I don't feel doctors take enough time assessing these children before diagnosing them with it. As I've mentioned above, there are many factors that relate to these symptoms. It's just knowing what the underlying causes are.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD and was recommended Ritalin too. I did my own research and discovered that he was sensitive to dairy, certain fruits and vegetables. As soon as I elliminated these items, not only did it decrease his hyperactivities but other areas of development improved as well: impulsiveness, self-control, interupting behaviours, aggression, irritability, crying, distractibility, eye-hand coordination, speech, auditory processing, stomach aches .. not a word of a lie. Part of it had to do with growth but a lot of it had to do with the dairy he was consuming. Having said that, he's not CURED but it's helped him tremendously. Everything else we've been able to work around it.

Also, if you're going to put a child on a diet, there's a particular order on how to properly elliminate certain foods. For example, a child may be sensitive to one item in each of the diets you mentioned: dairy, additives, grains and citrus foods. If this were the case and you were to try each of these diets seperately, you're not going to be able to accomplish anything. As I've said, my son is sensitive to dairy and grapes (which are in a lot of foods: ketchup, mayo, vinegars..) If I were to put him on a dairy-free diet but continued in giving him grape products, there's not going to be much of a change in his behaviours. It wouldn't give me an accurate assessment.

Again, this doesn't work for everyone but it's definately a process that I'd recommend people to try first.

Thanks!

hi laurie
i'm jo and new here. My 2 sons have ADHD but on different meds. my oldest whose 13 takes concerta 36mg and 18mg once a day, all i can ssy about it is the pros far out weigh the cons. i researched the meds before he took them but concerta is deff better than ritalin. has helped my son no end although not completely he still has the occasional bad day! but not nearly as bad as before and i found i can talk to him more and he'll listen to what i'm saying, small miracle with a teenage and ADHD lol