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Post by camismom on Dec 4, 2003 10:55:09 GMT -5
Hello everyone! Cami has decided she no longer wants to take any meds. She wants to see how she does without them, if she can control her ADHD herself. She's at the age now where I have seen so many want the same (I used to work in a middle school). She apparently has a new good-friend she met since starting school with ADHD that doesn't take anything and "controls it herself" and Cami wants to do the same. She has had on again off again stomach troubles with the Strat and we recently spoke with her doc about switching her to a just-before-bedtime dose of it with Ritalin for the day, but last night she spoke with me sincerely and wants to try to go without it. Although hesitant (worried is more like it) I know we have prayed for a long time she would "outgrow" it or one day be able to control it, and puberty has set in which brings about SOME maurity and better control, I can't help but worry that she will fall behind, struggle, etc. , but I also realize we will never know until we try. I have a conferance with her teachers this afternoon (wish me luck  ) so I plan to discuss this with them. I feel that if this is something she earnestly wants, then she should get the chance, ya know? Esp. if the med's side effects drag her down so much. I plan to tell the teachers to give her some time (this learning "self-control" may not happen over night) before they jump the gun but if after a decent amount of time they genuinely feel she is not doing well off her meds, to let me know. I also told Cami herself that she knows herself better than anyone and if she feels herself slipping behind, not able to concentrate, etc. she needs to accept it and be willing to go back on meds if needed. Everyone keep her in your prayers and wish us luck!! Hope all are having a grand time preparing for our up and coming holiday! Take care! ------------------------------------------ Christy |
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Post by crillmom on Dec 4, 2003 11:05:38 GMT -5
christy, i think it is wonderful that your daughter wants to try no meds and is so atuned to her self. I would be very proud. Worse thing that can happen is you have to put her back on. No big deal. My husband was hyper as a child and was given a trial of ritilan in elementary school. HIs mother didn't give it a chance and did not like the side effects and took him off right away. (BTW my husband feels that was the wrong decisions knowing what we now know, he feels he would have had a more successful childhood with it) anyway that being said, when he reached puberty, he says, about eighth grade he completely calmed down and was able to "control it" on his own. So you see there are success stories out there. We are obviously hoping this happens with our son, he is only 9 now.. Anyway good luck and let us know how it goes, I am very happy for you. Susan
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Post by Dad2Brooke on Dec 4, 2003 11:16:42 GMT -5
Good luck Cami and Camismom. I wish you all the best and will keep you in my prayers.  Please let us know how this goes. I have always felt that some of the issues with Brooke's ADHD could be controlled by her, at least a little bit, if she really tried and really wanted to. It sounds like to me, Cami will really try and really want to. Also, her friend with ADHD will be a big influence and help. You know how that goes, you can ask a kid to do something a thousand times with negative results, but let a friend of theirs suggest it and it's done. |
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Post by camismom on Dec 4, 2003 12:05:46 GMT -5
Thank you Susan and Ralph! Your support means a lot! I feel that since this is something SHE wanted, she will work for it. Only time will tell! And Ralph, you are so right about this "friend" theory. I also feel she will be a good influence in helping Cami. I will keep you all posted!!
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Post by AnneM on Dec 5, 2003 12:37:43 GMT -5
I also told Cami herself that she knows herself better than anyone and if she feels herself slipping behind, not able to concentrate, etc. she needs to accept it and be willing to go back on meds if needed. Hi Cami'smom! ... I so much agree with you on your thoughts here ... and I wish you lots of luck!! .... My 15 year old son also has pretty strong thoughts about his meds ... (and I have to admit his thoughts change from time to time!) but that is fair enough ... as you say they know themselves better than anyone and it is essential that they "buy in" to whether they are medicated or not medicated when they reach the teenage years ... I find with my son that he (from time to time) decides he no longer wants to take meds .... So far this has never lasted for very long .... but just occasionally he has decided against them . This has normally been based on "My friends don't have to depend on pills and I don't want to or need to either" ..... a little like Cami's situation with her friend except the friends my son refers to DON'T have adhd .... so I think that Cami has the advantage here by seeing an adhd friend without meds .... The other thing my son "buys into" in a big way is his dosage. When the Dr put his dosage UP Sam said he felt "too quiet ... " and I have to admit he was very subdued at first on the higher dosage. He therefore opted to go back down to 36 mg for some months. Just recently however he has commented that he is noticing that he is having some problems concentrating and he has major exams coming up ... so he has asked to "try" the 54 mg again .... (as per doctors prescription). Soooo .... he is trying that again but every day or so I have a chat with him about "how are you doing on that dosage?". This time he seems much better and not so "quiet" as he was when he first went up in dosage ..... but at the end of the day its down to HIM .... When he is an adult he will HAVE to make the decision himself which is exactly the same with Cami .... it is THEY who take (or don't take) the meds ... I wish you and Cami lots of luck - please keep us posted!! |
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Post by camismom on Dec 5, 2003 15:11:25 GMT -5
Thanks Anne! I must admit I am worried about it. I had the conferance with her teachers and the four main concerns they had were all (laughingly) ADHD related: 1. Problem with attention, staying on task in class, focusing. 2. Problem getting assignments done on time. 3. Problem turning in assignments and projects on time. 4. Excessive talking. All this while ON the Strattera. What will it be like off it?  I so want to support her on this though, and I notified her teachers on this and asked for support from them. Like I told the teachers, we may just be pleasantly surprised. Since she wants it so badly, she may work extra hard to have it! I'll keep y'all posted! |
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Post by AnneM on Dec 5, 2003 16:26:21 GMT -5
Christy - I have to admit your list is all things that Sam still gets accused of (even on Concerta!) ... but the one BIG improvement we have found has been he no longer sets himself up as the "class clown" by trying to be funny (but in reality being disruptive!) ....
HOWEVER, there is a bit of me that also questions whether that isn't just because he has "MATURED" beyond recognition in that time!! .... which would have happened with OR without the meds !! .... and I have to be FURTHER HONEST and say we haven't given it a chance to find out !! (i.e. if he came off his meds it might well be that MATURITY is now taking care of the problems he was having when younger) ....
I am really, really keeping my fingers crossed for Cami and you ...
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Post by camismom on Dec 5, 2003 16:29:14 GMT -5
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Post by Linda on Dec 5, 2003 18:35:39 GMT -5
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Post by AnneM on Dec 7, 2003 8:55:38 GMT -5
I find this a very interesting post...because I just discovered Paul is not taking his meds every day and he is doing fine without them(FINGERS CROSSED)  I told him it was really up to him because he knows his body better than anyone.  Anyway I wish you the best of luck...and truly hope it works out for you.  Hmmmm Linda ... are you thinking what I am thinking? That maybe many of our kids really DOOOO grow out of needing to take their meds and that maturity and learned behaviour can actually take over ? This just has to be GOOD news  |
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Post by Linda on Dec 7, 2003 10:13:27 GMT -5
Anne...I sure hope so! |
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lisle
Full Member
Posts: 142
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Post by lisle on Dec 7, 2003 19:29:05 GMT -5
Hi,
A couple of thoughts. Half of kids outgrow the hyperactivity, according to our dr. However if there's an attention and possibly learning disability, like a lot of kids have, they still struggle. That is not to say there aren't compensations for that both imposed by the child and aggreed upon by the school. I guess it is a matter of degree. I really respect parents who are willing to let their kids find out for themselves. I think my son is less self aware and would just say all is fine when his teachers say otherwise. In fact, that happens as it is.
We take vitamins, not meds.
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Post by mskris on Dec 8, 2003 12:59:23 GMT -5
Ahhh, Christy - best of luck to you and Cami in this experiment. I think you're doing the right thing.
As the last poster said, my ds (only 8 right now), seems quite unaware of his own behavior/lack of control most of the time. One day when we forgot the strattera, his teacher noticed right away. She took him aside later and asked how he thought he was doing that day and he thought everything was fine! We had left a message for the teacher, but she hadn't gotten it yet at that time.
He often says he doesn't want to take his meds, and when I remind him that things go so much more smoothly when he does, he doesn't agree! However, without the meds (even on weekends at home), he's so much more volatile/emotional, and we inevitably have altercations. You'd think he'd recognize that, but no. Maybe it's because he's so young? What do you all think? I think the main reason he doesn't like to take the strat is that he occasionally (maybe 2 x per week) gets an upset stomach from it. We do everything we can to alleviate/prevent that, but it happens sometimes and it always upsets him (he cries).
I do hope he becomes more self aware and able to stop the meds as he matures. Again, let us know how Cami does.
Kris
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Post by AnneM on Dec 11, 2003 12:05:17 GMT -5
I just found this article which very much relates to our discussions here on this thread. It is basically looking at how well adolescents can tell whether they need their meds .... the results in fact seem to indicate "not very well" .... especially when it comes to how well they are concentrating! ... Anyway, its interesting and its definitely relevant to this topic..... www.helpforadd.com/yr2000/nov.htm |
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Post by camismom on Dec 12, 2003 10:51:32 GMT -5
Well, it didn't last quite two weeks, but she started back on her meds today. She was noticing her concentration trouble herself, yet she was having good days and bad. It took an email from her favorite teacher yesterday to make her see the bad was outweighing the good. The email was asking for help, like I said sent by her favorite teacher, in noticing her falling behind in class, not able to keep up, take notes, keep focused, and saying she knew she was trying to go without meds at least thru the start of Christmas break, but the teacher is already worried about her. Soooooo, experiment over. She started back today, and hopefully will catch up and be ok. She was a little disappointed, but after a pep talk she perked up some and accepted that just because she's not ready now, it doesn't mean she wil never be!
Thanks for all the support on this!
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