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Re: my 12 yr old was prescribed ritalin today.. » seeknsolace

Posted by zeugma on June 3, 2004, at 13:41:11

In reply to Re: my 12 yr old was prescribed ritalin today.., posted by seeknsolace on June 2, 2004, at 19:59:13

> > > Please try something else.
> > >
> > > Stimulants are not what is needed< (Ritalin)
> > > Try no refined sugar products, no pop, cakes,
> > > candy etc....
> > >
> > > Adderal, Strattera, and Ritalin are bandaids that do not work. You childs brain and nervous system are still developing....it has been my experience that my wife and I had similiar diagnosis for our daughter....and we made the proper dietary changes and she became a different
> > > girl.
> > >
> > > We have great succces with smooth Herbal Teas
> > > natural fruits and vegetables and of course...plenty of exercise.
> > >
> > > Anything but Ritalin.
> > > PLease read article above concerning Paxil & Children..
> > >
> > > God bless
> > >
> > > Buckeye Fan
> > >
> > i respectfully disagree with the above post. I was diagnosed with ADD in an era that was much less 'med-happy' than today's. my parents were not inclined to take the then-outre step of using a stimulant to treat my condition. Instead I became the prey of a varying band of quacks, psychoanalysts, tried 'natural' cures like tryptophan, dietary changes, exercise.... they simply did not work and my academic carrer and self-esteem were dealt severe blows. ADD is a serious condition, and meds like Ritalin and Strattera do work. My life has been completely changed since I sought out a specialist in ADD who has been helping me on the pharmaceutical end of things, which I consider a precondition necessary IF your child does have a case of ADD serious enough to warrant intervention. I am in my mid 30's and for the first time have been able to hold down a full time job. ADD is not a condition to be treated lightly; it can ruin lives and lead to years wasted in misery.
> >
> >
> zeugma.. what does it feel like to be add? I want to try to understand my child a little more, all he shows me and expresses to me is that he is angry and hates me and hates the world, hates his life, but that doesnt tell me what the depth of his emotions are. How does it feel to be on ritalin? Do you feel drugged, lack emotion, feel like a different person.. for the worse or better?
>

It's hard for me to answer the question at the beginning of this paragraph because I doubt I'm 'typical' ADD. I have lots of comorbidities, Non Verbal Learning Disorder, depression, narcolepsy (beginning at age 23, but my sleep was terrible long before that), and on and on. On a stimulant I felt all right, but was taken off because I lost weight quickly. On Strattera I do not feel remotely 'normal,' but it is better than nothing.

When I was 12 I expressed similar feelings to my parents which leads me to suspect that it is true ADD combined with anxiety/depression, and it needs to be taken seriously. The meds are not 'normalizers', but they do improve things in a few crucial areas. They are no cures, but they can help, and i strongly believe they should be used if the condition is serious enough to warrant their use.
> My son is too resistant to attempt any natural approach or any exercise. He is able to exhibit control most of the time, but that could have come from me constantly yelling and being angry over his behavior all these years. As it is now, when he has an explosive episode, when I get to yelling and screaming, then he calms but that only lasts a matter of minutes.
> When I was severely depressed/ exhibited ADD symptoms I could not exercise because my mind was too chaotic to plan anything. I have begun to exercise (and it is an excellent thing to do, of course) because my attention and depression have improved sufficiently for the rudiments of an exercise program to be followed. Your son might have better self-control on a stimulant or Strattera and these other strategies that Buckeye Fan advocates might be able to be implemented. That's how I would look at it.


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poster:zeugma thread:353129
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