ritalin

My three year old son was recently diagnosed with ADHD.

The doctor wrote a prescription for ritalin that I've had for about two months. I wanted to try other approaches before I tried medicine. The problem is that it takes me 15 minutes sometimes to get Nik to acknowledge my presence, and even then I only have his attention for a second or two. He is so impulsive and HYPER all the time, I have a hard time controlling him. He hurts himself. He gets so frusterated that he'll bite and pinch himself. And he'll launch himself off of the couch or the table. He has bruises all over him from throwing himself on the floor, from all of the dare-devil type things. I get so paranoid that someone will see his bruises and misinterpret them and call social services on me.

The bottom line is that I finally filled the prescription and gave him the damn medicine. And I saw results from day one. I almost cried when we went on a walk and he held my hand. When I talk to him, he actually LOOKS at me, and listens to what I tell him. I think his language skills might improve too, now that he's able to focus on what's being said. I have him enrolled in a pre-school program for the fall that has behavior therapy. I'm confidant that with medicine and therapy he'll be ready for kindergarten in a couple of years.

Wow, this was really long. I just wanted to share. My family thinks ADHD is a hoax, and think it's just bad parenting on my part.

 

I was one of the earliest people to be prescribed ritalin, when I was about 14. They looked at my gpa vs my IQ and figured the issue must be that I had ADHD.

I took it, and felt more able to pay attention, but also more spaced out and sweaty. My grades went up a little, I ended up trying to get high on it and didn't really achieve the goal, so i stopped taking it.

After I stopped taking it my GPA went up on its own

I think 3 is far too young to give kids any type of psychiatric medicine, and that its overprescribed for teens. It seems a lot of the most violent and crazy teen behavior, such as school shootings, started up right along with the rise of anti-depressants and psychiatric medication

I think its an awful idea at this point, your very young kids brain is forming at a rapid pace right now, messing with that is not a good idea. 3 year olds by nature are going to be hard to keep up with

 

Do NOT give him ritalin unless you want him to grow up a brainwashed machine like everyone else on it.

There is obviously a plot against young kids of today seeing how 1/4 newborns will be diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, yet 50 years ago everyone got along good without it.

 

ADHD is fairly well understood from a physiological perspective.

Theres a major neurotransmitter in the brain called dopamine which is critical for a lot of things. People with ADD have less dopamine.

Prescribing them stimulants will prevent the reuptake of dopamine so it stays in the neuron longer. Thus they will be able to focus better, demonstrate better critical thinking and such.

Though personally, if I were a doctor, I would never prescribe amphetamines to a 3 year old. Ever.

There are now some specific dietary concerns you should have for your child. Primarily, you need to give your child a lot of antioxidants. Blueberries.

 

it's tricky. 3 seems too young.
all ritalin ever did for me was help me grind my teeth and feel great. and then suicidal.

 

It's not and anti-depressant, it's a stimulant. You probably know that anyway, having taken it. I know it works for my son, and I haven't seen any side effects so far. I feel guilty as heck for giving it to him, but I've tried everything I can think of. Nothing worked.

I don't think you have any idea what it's like not being able to take your son in public. I've had the cops called. Twice. Because people thought I was kidnapping him in the supermarket he screamed so loudly and was so worked up that he bit his tounge and had blood poring down his face. His launguage skills are an entire year behind because of this. He can't even tell me when he's hungry.

You can judge all you want, but you just don't know. And I really do mean that in the nicest possible way.

 

well if you need to give your practically baby a pill to zone him out enough to deal with when people have only been taking it for the last 25 years or so, then I guess you will

but think about it

 

did anyone ever suggest an elimination diet to you to see if any of his behaviour is caused by severe food allergies?

just wondering...

if it were my child (and i understand it is not) i would consider all other possibilties before giving them a pill.... especially at such a young age....

 

I know enough about the physiology of ADD, and I'm sure it's very tough for you as a mother.

My concern is the effect of years of amphetamines on a developing child's neurology.

Either way there are some dietary concerns you need to address for your child every day.

First off, what is the dose?

Secondly, you're child should be eating foods with lots of antioxidants. Blueberries and Pomegranate are very good, and should be consumed every day.

I've got a paper somewhere that has a lot better dietary advice. I'll track it down and PM you.

All the best for your child.

 

Exactly what would you suggest that I do then, if you know so much about it?

Beleive me, I'd rather try just about anything else than medication.

And he's not zoned out. He responsive and receptive for the fist time in a long time. He isn't a zombie.

 

not being a doctor I do not know, but I certainly feel that developing infants do not need psychiatrists

I always see parents struggling with out of control young ones, do they all need to be indocrinated into the pharmaceutical world from nearly birth?

seems very wrong to me. Being a parent isn't always easy.

 

The dose is 5MG.

And Lode, thank you very much. I'd love to see the paper.

 

It may be a few minutes for the article. Google didn't turn it right up.

Here is what I would suggest. Call your doctor and tell him you think the dosage is strong and would prefer to give him half a pill.

See how he responds to that.

Again, I do think there are advantages to medication, however your child is at such a young age, and long term use of amphetamines can be harmful. I'm not trying to frighten you, and I know your interests are only in your child.

Just my advice.

Again, all the best, and I will get that article to you.

 

Heres something good I just stumbled across on google answers you may be interested in.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=447593

 

I have a few papers from college I can send, but they arent very supportive of stimulant therapy. I also have struggled with adhd symptoms and can probably understand what you're going through. But, in my opinion 3 years old is a little young to be learning drug use cycles. ADD drugs have strong effects on me, both good and bad, and I am 6'1 180. It is speed.. Diet is big thing to take a look at first.

I just hope he doesn't turn into one of those ritalin kids that is all scrawny and twitchy. And spaced. He might not be a zombie yet, but that comes with more chronic use.

He also might be blowing lines by the time he's like 8.

 

Sedating your kids does seem much easier than parenting.

For the sake of everything that's good out there, do not give your 3 year old speed.

 

you did consider changing the kids diet? I mean really changing it?

It is bogus to give a three year old medicine of that sort. agree with BSR and B420.

 

I would say that your comment seems a little harsh if it is directed at the OP. I mean, I don't know her personally, but she seems like a fairly resposible parent and that she has not come to this decision easily. She must have been at the end of her tether to get to this point, and I'm sure she has her child's best interest at heart rather than an easy life.

That said, Amanda, I would try my absolute utmost to do anything possible to avoid giving a toddler psychiatric drugs. Try homeopathy, alternative therapies, changes in diet,,,

My heart goes out to you as I know this must not be an easy situation to handle nor a decision that you have taken lightly.

 

i hope you're not feeding your kid lots of sugar and junk food at least. like everyone else has said, i agree that 3 is way too old to be giving a kid regular medication like that. his brain and body are all still growing and changing. you never know he might grow out of it. it does sound tough for you but not THAT crazy, i mean my sister was running into walls and i was biting people when we were 2. that's just how most toddlers are. i won't judge the OP cos i dont know her and have little information on her situation but

in general i think parents have become really shit at their job these days. kids get way too much coddling and discipline has almost vanished. it's breeding a generation of fucked up kids. those ongoing medications often do more damage than good. people treat their kids like eggshells these days, it's ridiculous. well that's my rant for the day.

 

have you looked into anything along the lines of autism? I've worked with people with developmental disabilities and have been diagnosed with ADD myself. I've been on Ritalin among others so I know a bit about what your son's about. You gotta do what you gotta do and it sounds like you're looking around.

Check into things like heavy metal cleanses and things like that. Are there large sources of stress in your lives? I know I'm hyper sensitive to stressful situtations and the odds are he is too.

Good luck with everything.