Inattentive ADD ???

[Horst]

Hello,

My 9 year old son has just been officially diagnosed with inattentive ADD, but I've been pretty sure he's had it for about a year and have been working with it. Anyway, we just made the difficult decision to try meds and last week started Adderall XR.

It hasn't been the "magic bullet" that I'd hoped for. (Is there ever a magic bullet? sigh) He is on the lowest dose, but still had some major meltdowns when he came off. The first few days seemed like maybe there was some improvement, but then it seemed like he was in a brain fog and thoughts couldn't shine through. Some stomach ache as well.

Anyway, my question. What meds or therapty has worked for kids out there who are not hyperactive, who are inattentive? It seems like there is much more info on the hyper vs the inattentive.

This ADD path already seems long and we've only been on it for a year. I hope we aren't one of the ones who try med after med with no real change and end up feeling like we are using our son as a medication experiment:( I guess I'm kind of discouraged.

Horst

[amcfanny]

Horst said:

It hasn't been the "magic bullet" that I'd hoped for. (Is there ever a magic bullet? sigh)

Anyway, my question. What meds or therapty has worked for kids out there who are not hyperactive, who are inattentive? It seems like there is much more info on the hyper vs the inattentive.

We just started meds the beginning of this school year. Yes, I niavely thought that it would be a magic bullet. I've experimented with many different levels of concerta. Just when you think he's making progress and is getting his work done consistantly - wham - he falls back into that pattern of incomplete work. When all is said and done this year. I'd say it was just like first grade - without the meds - the ability to complete work waxed and waned irregardless of the amount of medication he took. I did recently try a couple of days without any medication and was able to see that it was really helping him in many ways even though he wasn't completing all his classwork.

My kiddo takes concerta. I'm not even sure what other meds he could take to help with the focusing. He is limited to meds that wouldn't exacerbate his tics.

I agree with ya - there seems to be alot more info out there on the hyper vs. inattentive.

Good luck...just finding this place has helped me alot. Seeing I'm not alone in this struggle. I'm sure someone with much more knowledge and experience will pipe in here soon enough.

[kstquilter]

welcome horst,
i guess we were lucky because ritalin helped dd almost the first day. don't ever feel like you've used your child as an experiment. i take an anti-depressant and have had to try about 5 different ones before finding the one that worked. just like taking many medical tests until they find the answer, sometime you do have to try different meds until you find the right one for your child.
don't get too discouraged tho. this is a great board with so much experience who are more than willing to share with offers of help.
some days it will truly be a very long road no matter how long you've been on it and other days, not so bad!
this board is also great for venting when you've had an especially bad day.
keep plugging away and you'll find the answers you need with a little help from your friends!
karen

[AnneM]

horst!

As the others have already said ... don't be despondent ... ! You will get there!

My son is the inattentive type of adhd (i.e. add) .... We found that Concerta worked extremely well for him .... The straight ritalin however did NOT ... I cannot speak for Adderall ... he has never been on it and in fact I do not think we have it here in the UK ...

Keep going .... the type of med AND the dose needs to be correct .. and once you get that sorted out you really will see a difference !!

GOOD LUCK!

[brookesmom]

Horst,

My dd has been dx with innattentive-ADD for about a year and on Concerta since October. It has not been the magic answer but it has made a huge difference in our lives. Other than appetite issues it has worked very well for her, we had to bump her up once in February but other than that it has really helped.

Does your child have an IEP or a 504? Mine has the IEP with several accomodations which has made a tremendous difference in my dd's success this year. We are also setting up visits to a Psychologist to help her handle some of the emotions and stresses that comes with ADD. What I have come to realize is that this is going to be a life-long journey with my dd and that there is no easy fix. Some days I feel like I can't do it another minute but most of the time I am so excited and proud of how far she has come.

Be patient with the medication trials. You will find alot of very knowledgeable people here who can help and support you. Good lucK!

[Horst]

Thanks for your encouragement.

I called the doctor yesterday and he gave me a new prescription for Concerta. Andy took the first one this morning, so we'll see... I know that I am just doing this in an effort to help my son, but I hate trying out meds on him. I wish this whole process was more surefire and not hit or miss:)

I really do appreciate your sharing and advice.

Thanks,
Horst

[brookesmom]

What dosage is he on now?

[finnmom]

Horst said:

I wish this whole process was more surefire and not hit or miss:)

Oh that would be so nice!! How´s the concerta working.... any new´s on that front...

[Horst]

Brooksmom,

Andy just got started, today in fact, on 18 mgs of Concerta. He doesn't yet have an IEP or 504. There has been talk of it, but I guess I'm waiting to see how he responds to the meds. How has the IEP or 504 benefited your child? If you don't mind me asking, what accomodations were made? We had a GREAT psyco-educational test done (paid for out of pocket) that pointed out Andy has some verbal expression issues. It is hard for him to put into words what he knows. I'm wondering if some accomodations could be made there.

Thanks for your help and to everyone who responded, I'll let you know how Concerta seems to be working.
Horst

[brookesmom]

Horst,

The IEP has benefitted my child in so many ways. She does not have any learning disabilities but showed significant underachievement for several years. Her test scores showed that she was weak in reading comprehension, decoding, working memory and processing. So she sees the resource teacher outside of the classroom 3x a week. She also sees a social worker because she is not very good at asking for help with anything. So they work on self-advocacy. Organizational skills is probably the biggest goal on her IEP. Accomodations she receives are: preferential seating, tests are read to her, extended time on tests and assignments as needed, signatures in assignment notebook and help packing her backpack. I am sure there are a few more but I think you get the idea.

I know that you mentioned waiting to see how the meds worked before you moved forward with a 504 plan or an IEP. My dd had struggled for so long in school that I did not want to wait another minute. The change in her this school year has been dramatic. We still have to take it day by day but I feel so much more hopeful than I ever have. Now if you want to talk about how the ADD impacts the home life well that is a different story..................................No IEP or accomodations for that!!!!!!!! I am still learning how to cope with the challenges at home.