My son is 5 and 2 years ago was diagnosed pdd-nos. 1 year later-at a follow up-we were told he would likely not get thesame diagnosed him the same due to his progress. So-basically keep doing what you are doing.
Last summer we saw a lot of anxiety and rigid as well as hyper behavior so we called the developmental ped to talk to her. We had an evaluation with a tem of professionals and were sent home with questionnaires for us as well as his teacher and daycare director. At the follow up we were told he is ADHD and given a script for ritalin. She looked at me like an idiot when I asked about the anxiety issues.
So-I set out on a mission and did lots of research. I found an MD who does comprehensive evaluations and tries natural treatment first. We started GF/CF diet, fish oil, probiotics, and enzymes . He's doing well and someone (who doesn't know of the treatment) told how calm he seemed lately
Yesterday we went back to discuss results of fecal/urine/blood tests and found his thyroid is over active (runs in my family). We were told symptoms of this could be: agitation, anxiety, hyperactivity, and difficulty concentrating (sounds like my child).
As he is so young she does not want to do pharmaceuticals so we are adding certain foods to help the thyroid even out. We will go back in a month-retest- and reevaluate.
I am frustrated that we were originally given a script for ritalin(at 5!!) without a comprehensive evaluation!
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Thanks to everyone who responded. I realize that diet doesn't fix/cure all. The point of the post was that the doctors we had previously seen were simply treating the symptoms and not digging into what is causing the symptoms. So, before lab tests came back we were told to try the GF/CF diet as those are the two most common food allergies. We were told if the tests did not show an allergy and after a few months on the diet there wasn't a change then to discontinue.
nope , it was a long process it took at least 6 months of evaluations, counciling, eval from teachers, MD , psychologists, nutrition changes, added vitamins , etc. before finally having to resort to medication.
and at 5, ADHD behaviors can be age appropriate.
Nope. Every single one of my (every 2 years from mid 80s to late 90s, and the 5 since to present), and my son's ADHD evals has been comprehensive.
It's something ADHD families SOAPBOX about. It's a really long and involved process, and it's generally not docs who are the problem ... It's school systems, insurance companies, and parents who want to know with a single appt.
It's a long process to get eval'd correctly, and it can be expensive, but with a proper eval across the multiple providers necessary, misdiagnosis is almost impossible.
Similarly, meds in comprehensive evals are rarely a first choice. Instead they're an option to try that is ALWAYS combined with therapy. First meds, for one thing are rarely the best choice, it's usually 2-4 meds on down the line IF meds are chosen at all. They're frequently not at first, then gone to later approached as a tool instead of a 'fix'.
What my son needs to help his ADHD and his "symptoms" for lack of a better term at this late hour are ever changing and evolving. We have chosen to NOT medicate but seek other options. Everyone has their own views and opinions, but I do not think that a diet fixes ADHD - there are other issues at hand that may add or aggrivate his mood/temperments that may increase said symptoms, but a diet is not a fix all solution, you said point blank that there are underlying thyroid issues. I would work on those issues and continue to seek out options that work for your family and frequently have your child re evaluated for ADHD.
I just wanted to commend you and all the parents that look for answers beyond medications for ADHD!!
Kids are labeled and medicated everyday, there are so many other things that can be going on in our children's bodies. Many are afraid to question professionals or look for other ways, thank you for not being afraid to question and for listening to your gut!
All the best to you and your son!
A lot of people are very quick to jump to drugs for ADHD I commend you on not going that rought. We have not gotten our son diagnosed even though we are sure he has it. We have done fish oil with him and when we are out we make him drink caffeen Mt. Dew if possible and it brings him down. But so many just on giving them meds for it that can cause other problems in the long run. Don't get me wrong there are many that need it but there are other ways to treat some kids.
Good luck and God Bless!
I have three daughters. My eldest, who is 11 1/2, has ADHD and ODD. My middle, who is 9 1/2, has Autism, ADD, mild ODD, lactose intolerance, learning delays, seizure disorder, and some other related issues. Prior to starting Concerta (ADHD) for one and Intuniv (ADD) for the other we put many behavior plans and expectations in place. In addition to that, we have found the Feingold Diet to be a godsend. An absolute blessing.
Please look into the Feingold Diet. It's essentially about eating as naturally as possible and avoiding highly processed foods and foods with a lot of chemicals in them... ie. food-like items. It's also about identifying trigger foods and ingredients that your child's body is allergic and sensitive to that should be avoided and could be causing more than just physical symptoms but behavioral symptoms as well.
For instance, High Fructose Corn Syrup and artificial food dyes such as Red 40, Blue, and Green are the worst offenders for my daughters. Their kidneys and livers can't filter out these toxins nor metabolize them, so they coarse through the system until the body expels them. During the time that they go through the body, including the brain, there's emotional upset including mood swings with anger, misbehavior, hyperactivity to an extreme, nausea, headaches, dizziness, and at times vomiting. If my eldest gets Red 40 on her skin because it's in a lotion then her skin swells and puffs up in allergic reaction. She vomits up Christmas cookies and red velvet cupcakes.
Removing and minimizing these things has improved their behaviors more than I can say.
Anyway, my best advice is to research the Feingold Diet.
Yes, what you describe is staggeringly common, where ADHD is given as a diagnosis without a really good work up to rule out other reasons for the symptoms. There are many other health conditions that look like ADHD but it's easier and cheaper to just hand out pills instead of doing a deep diagnosis.
My oldest son was dx'd at age 7 and given prescriptions by 3 different doctors that I didn't fill. We worked with a nutritionist and did use many interventions that helped improve his overall health and mitigate some of the symptoms. Now that he is 14, we are taking another look at stimulant medication to see if it can get him the rest of the way there. I would say that all of the other interventions combined have given us maybe a 50-75% improvement in his issues and now that he's old enough to have a voice in his treatment, it seems worth seeing if medication can provide further improvement. That said, his psychiatrist ordered an EKG before starting the stimulants and it came back abnormal, so we have to do additional testing to make sure this is safe for him. I am very glad that we didn't blindly fill those prescriptions when he was younger.
Good for you for pushing for answers!
Good for you for doing your own research and being your child's advocate. I wish my SIL would do the same. My 11 yr old nephew was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in first grade. He also had a lot of anxiety so he was put on Straterra. It calmed him down, but also killed his appetite. He was always a picky eater, so they let him eat what he will eat, which is all carbs. He is almost at his max dose of Straterra so they don't know where they'll go from here. In addition to that, they started him on Prozac last summer because he was showing signs of depression. I feel like they're not doing enough to help him. They should be working on changing/improving his diet, letting him get some exercise, and just seeing what else they can do besides drugging him.
Best of luck to you!
No. It was a really long process to get our son the help he needed for his ADHD. Everyone I know who has a child with ADHD has had a similar experience ... very long evaluation. Medication only came up when other medical strategies failed, a good year later.
We have had a very similar experience.
It's actually a big part of why I no longer completely trust mainstream medicine. Once you get outside "the box" - and see great results - it's hard to trust people who told you the exact opposite. And insisted that mainstream practices would benefit your child when they clearly harmed him.
My entire family is much healthier thanks to what we experienced. So in a way it's been a blessing. Just wish we hadn't had to learn the hard way . . .
If mainstream meds work for other people - great. I just want to make sure that we don't "mask" an underlying physical problem which might be resolved.
PS: I loved JB's answer.
