Anyone have a child on ADHD medication?

I have been debating whether to start my daughter on meds. I'm really reluctant to do it, but she has been diagnosed ADHD and she has a lot of trouble staying calm and focused. The biggest thing I worry about that is how impulsive she is. She gets an idea and just goes for it. She has darted away from me in the parking lot countless times. And she is 8. Sometimes her behavior matches my 3 year old. So, I know there are good reasons, but I worry about all the side effects. Plus I worry about it changing her personality. Maybe that's a silly concern, but I don't want the medicine to take the spunk out of her. The doctor she went to prescribed Adderall. Have you had experience with this?

Our son who is also 8 was having some issues with school, he is impulsive, but hasnt run away from us as you described. He doesnt seem to understand that there are consequences though, like getting hit by a car if you dont pay attention, he wont stay focused, and his grades suffered, he was also not able to sit still in his chair in school.

We took him to a psychiatrist who said he was ADHD and there are varying levels of this...we made the decision not to medicate for now. I am not against medication, and feel sometimes its needed and each child is different. I am also concerned about side effects. Our Dr. sent us to a psychologist and he helped us learn behavior management tech. to use instead of meds..sometimes they work sometimes they dont. He told us meds basically take away a childs free will, meaning, he will get better grades, he will stay in his chair, because he wont want to get up, he was also concerned about the weight loss effects since our son isnt really able to lose weight as he is thin as it is..

For us, for now we just decided to work on the behavior tech. and postive rewards. We have good days and bad days. I just resigned myself to not be against the fact that some day he might go on meds, and some day he might not need them and might learn to adjust his behavior to the world he lives in.

Our psycholgist was a big help. we saw him once a week. It helped our son to talk things out and learn the behaviors and we discussed rewards there and then followed thru with them at home.

I know that it wont work with everyone, but it is what we did. I also would suggest that you dont just take a regular peds advice on meds and ADHD, I would suggest a psychologist and other mental and behavioralists for a diagnosis and med suggestions..I think they are more qualified. good luck

Also, you may want to check into all-natural products that treat ADD/ADHD.
There are so many ways to deal with this, I would not just go by one doctor's evaluation/advice. I'd certainly talk to someone else who deals with this all the time, and who is open to different forms of therapy.

It really is a difficult call to make. I'm a teacher, and I've worked with plenty of kids, medicated and not, with serious ADHD behaviors. I can only tell you that the syndrome itself can be very difficult for a child to manage, and I genuinely feel for these students. The meds can have significant side effects, particularly if they are prescribed by a doctor who has a heavy hand on the prescription pad. For the meds to work out, I believe there is a lot of trial and error, adjusting of dosages and brands, as well as how often and when to take them. It's not an easy road, either way, and there is no one right way.
I believe that some of the biggest difficulties these kids face is with peer interactions--kids are unforgiving and do not have the capacity to understand when a fellow peer's impulsive and occasionally obnoxious behavior is sometimes beyond his/her control. ADHD kids often wind up ostracized or socially isolated b/c of their behaviors. For instance, my bf has a 9 yo son with ADHD, and when we socialize and all the kids are playing downstairs, he inevitably flips out with all of the over-stimulation and lashes out at another kid in some inappropriate way. He hit another kid over the head with a Guitar Hero guitar, for example. So, of course, the other kids close ranks and exclude him from that moment on.
I'm not telling you this to upset you. But I think parents and doctors often focus on school work, where to me, the biggest struggles come on the playground. Best of luck, I hope it all works out for you and your child.

I have no experience with ADHD and medications. My only experience that even remotely relates to this is with medication's for depression. I know it is not the same, but I see a lot of similarities regarding the aprehensiveness of these meds. I personally take anti-depressants medication, and was very aprehensive before starting. I got a lot of negative feedback from people around me regarding anti-depressants, and a lot of horror stories.

However, my experiences have been far from negative when taking these meds. For me, it has been a life saver.

On the other hand, I think that you have to be very careful in taking medications that change behaviours. Again, this is not a similar medication, but prior to being put on anti-depressants, I took Chantix/Champix, the medication to stop smoking. It is notorious for inducing depression in pre-disposed patients, and I can 100% say that if you have mental health issues, or have ever had mental health issues, do not take it. I do not believe they should even market it in the first place. I was not 100% happy before taking this medication, but I do not believe that I was suffering from clinical depression. I was in a rut, so to speak. After taking the stop-smoking medication, I went from a little down to being diagnosed with severe depression.

So, I do believe that you have to be very cautious in taking medications that alter a person's behaviours and thoughts. You are taking a medication that alter's levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, and I think that should be approched with caution.

I think that if you are considering the medication, do your research, but don't take other peoples horror stories as a reason to not medicate. If I had've listened to people who told me not to take anti-depressants, I wouldn't have had the enourmous benefits that I have. On the other hand, if I had've listened to the stories regarding Chantix, I would've prevented those weeks of hell. It is a double edged sword, and ultimately, you will never know the absolute right route to take unless you do medicate. Only then will you be able to make an accurate decision as to whether or not that is the right choice for your child, and yourself.

Everything should be done before applying medication.

According to the World Health Organization, psychiatric drugs (including medication for ADHD) take 2, 3 and 4 place most prescribe drugs for youngest patients.

They are increasingly being prescribed and the younger children (eg aged four to seven years) where no one knows exactly what will cause a reaction, nor the first attempt to treat by psychotherapy. It is not surprising if it is known that in 2000. in America only, for the ADHD drug market worth 625 million U.S. dollars.

What is worrying,that most drugs are not tested for pediatric use, but may be based on past experience that a doctor prescribes medication.

I have alot of friends who have kids with ADHD, some are medicated and some are not.

I really agree with this comment!! Being socially ostricized can affect your schoolwork and self esteem.

I am all for meds if they are needed. It's like telling a diabetic to manage their sugar without meds. Just my opinion.

Also you can give the meds a trial period and if you don't like how your child is on them, you CAN go off them.