My 9-year old was put on ADD medication today and I'm worried

I have worked adolescent and children's mental health for a number of years. I have seen medications help the most hyper and distractable of children! It seems you have done just what I would have done, try everything else first! Yes, ADD and ADHD are often diagnosed just for the adults in the child's life convience! It appears you have made sure that your child DOES have a problem before resorting to a diagnosis and before resorting to meds! Kudos to you for that! Many children, after meds, are able to focus, learn and enjoy life so much more! My son's college roommate had been on Ritalin for years! He tried college without it and could not focus. He is 26 years old and is now on Straterra. He is apparently one of the few that didn't' outgrow the ADHD. As for stunted growth (one of the side effects that is so talked about) he is 6 foot 4 and 260 pounds!! The children seem to 'catch up' on the growth...even if it is stunted at first! BEst of luck and keep us posted!

Just becareful. I am not saying all but a lot of doctors are really quick to diagnose these things. I have read articles and watched documentaries about how add and adhd have become the most overdiagnosed problems in america. It seems that is a child is not developing or acting normal as everyone else that something is automatically wrong with them. I know you said you guys have been monitering her for a while now so hopefully this is not the case with you, ust watch her closely if it gets worse or anything weird happens I would take her off it immediatly and call the doc. And whatever you do, I realize that doctors generally know whats best but always try to trust your judgment if you dont agree with the doc get a second or third opinion if you still dont agree, I'm not sure what to tell you there just dont ever ignore your intuition as it is normally correct. Good luck.

Personally, I would get at least 2 more opinions before putting her on any medication. Is she really smart? Could she just be bored in classes? My husband was one of those kids always getting in fights and misunderstood because he was bored in class. They put him on ADD medicine (granted he is 26 now, so we are going back almost 20 years) and he wasn't ADD at all. Are there other things that could be wrong? Other kids picking on her, anger issues, or a learning problem (like dyslexia)?

Are you sure she isn't just bored silly? When I was in 3rd grade, they thought I had ADD because I wasn't paying attention in class. They told my mom to keep an eye on me at home. Well, at home I could pay attention fine to things that interested me. Then they did the standardized testing and were surprised at my results. My lowest result was 5th grade math. My highest was 9th grade vocabulary/reading. They put me in with the 4th graders for math and independent study in the library for reading and my grades and attention improved because I was more interested in what I was doing. On the other hand, the doctors will monitor her closely for bad reactions.

The Doctors in our area used to subscript these for many children but they have cut back on them over the last year. I have a nephew on it and he is not controlled at all. If you stay alert to his changes, you should be able to use it safely

My son will be 8 tomorrow. He has been a very um..spirited child his whole life. I finally got him tested a few months ago and he was diagnosed ADHD. He was started on Concerta at first and he seemed to improve a little, but not much. The doctor upped the dosage and he started acting worse than before he started taking anything at all. He was taken off of it immediately. He then tried Focalin AR and it didn't help at all. He has now been on Vyvanse for the past 2 months and is doing much better. His only problem is loss of appetite. Just keep the doctor informed on how she is reacting to the medication and how it is working.

Some of them medicines have some bad side affects, keep a close eye on her. But if you did your research you already know about the side affects and how scary it is. My grandson is on medicine, my daughter tried all of them. She even tried not giving him medicine for awhile. He is a good kid, but cannot control his activity level. He can't focus or pay attention, its sad too because he wants to. Some kids need medicine. I have gotten emails from a company called NativeRemedies.com they claim to have stuff to help ADDHD naturally. They use herbs, vitamins, natural products. I have never ordered from them, I am planning to order some stuff for other reasons. That might be something to look into. Way back in the day all our good medicine was from natural things and some of it we still use today. Good luck.

This discussion is now a year old dfinster and I am wondering if there has been any improvement with your daughter. Also is she still of the same medication and do you think there has been any progress from that? Agreeing to your child starting to take one of these types of medication is generally a very difficult decision for caring parents. It does sound though that you looked at all the alternatives plus sought several opinions before accepting that this medication might help your daughter. A number of years ago when my ex-wife and I separated, both my daughters had some problems both at school and at home. I was informed they were disruptive in class and not willing to follow instructions of their teachers and nor would they do their homework etc. On the home front, most of the time when there was a problem, it arose when they were with their mother. I had very little problem when they were with me or it was soon sorted out very quickly. The school recommended the girls be assessed which duly happened but only by the local Doctor. He said they both had ADHD and put them on ritalin. I was furious when I found out because I did not want threm on medication plus they had excelled at school prior to this. My ex and I had very bitter words about the situation as she would not agree to getting a second opinion. I actually took matters into my own hands and had the girls assessed by a psychologist as well as a psychiatrist and child welfare worker. They all agreed the problem was not medical but they were insecure as a result of my ex and I separating. Luckily the girls had not been on the ritalin for long and there were no side effects. However it took a fortnight to get the girls off that medicationas it was reduced gradually. After that experience I am sure you can understand why I think you did the best thing by your daughter by exploring other avenues plus seeking more than the one opinion. At least she is being treated for a genuine condition. I shall be interested to hear how your daughter is one year on from when she first started on the medication.

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My son used to be on Ritalin. I hated it. I think he was misdiagnosed and I do think they are quick to give kids today the ADD diagnosis. But since it's been 2 years and you've been monitoring your daughter's situation, perhaps you could try the medication. When my son was in 7th grade we moved to a new school district. I took him off the Ritalin and never put him back on it. The teachers at his new school said they had no idea he had ADD. I don't think he ever did.

first you are taking cre of your children well set ,but you are having most serious problem you take doctor advise or you another school she is feel very relax you talk with your child we are only for you tell your daughter she is telling her problem.