Maybe ADHD? HELP!

Have her tested for Dyslexia! Many children with Dyslexia are misdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD.
A wonderful website to visit with information on Dyslexia is: www.allcanread.net .

Just a suggestion, but a lot of studies have found that supplementing your child's diet with pharmaceutical grade fish oil can be as effective as ritalin in treating ADD and ADHD. It certainly doesn't hurt to try it out before trying drugs. I would also be concerned about side effects from the drugs which can include stunted growth, insomnia, loss of appetite, and changes in personality.

You could also try changing her diet. Dr. Doris Rapp wrote a book called "Is This My Child?" in which she did several studies on how foods can trigger allergic-like reaction and can create ADD and ADHD like symptoms. Common foods that illicit these reactions are milk, wheat, corn, soy, chocolate, eggs, food dyes and additives like nitrates. It may be worth looking into.

My husband was diagnosed with ADD as an adult and has found more success with Adderol than with Ritalin. I also have a niece who takes Adderol and it has helped her tremendously. My child who is only 5 has several ADD symptoms but we are having a lot of success with altering his diet (no wheat, Red #40, or dairy) and supplementing with fish oil.

The school district will give her comprehensive testing for free for this if you ask. They can tell you for sure. Talk with her teacher as well. Most of them are very perceptive about ADD. My son was "Hyperactive" back in the 70's. He was on meds for the 2nd grade only. After that, he was able to cope with learning on his own without medication. I understand from friends that Stratera (sp?) is a superior medication because it is not narcotic and does not have as great an effect on their appetites and growth.

I would get advice from experts, though. My son later went to college for a 6 year professional degree in Architecture and is now a successful architect. ADD is not always a bad thing. There are many professions which require divided attention.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

D. Kimbriel
Grandma to 2 beautiful boys

Your plea really touched my heart. I am the mother of a 22 year-old, 19 year-old and 17 year-old. The oldest (son) had ADD and Anxiety Disorder, and the middle (son) had ADHD to the max. My oldest was diagnosed when he was in the 6th grade through a long, long process. I should have known when he was a toddler, when I'd pick him up from daycare and he'd cry because he didn't want to leave -- couldn't transition to the change in environment. He struggled all through elementary school, actually having to repeat kindergarten, and by the time he was in the 3rd and 4th grades, his teachers were telling me he was just a "bad kid" and didn't want to learn! This is before many people knew what ADD was, and his anxiety disorder just compounded it. By the time he was 12, I was seriously thinking of sending him to a boarding school, it was so bad at home. I was honestly afraid for the safety of my other two (younger) children! Then, through a series of counselors, I was referred to a pediatric bahavioralist, who, through physicals, testing, questionaires, and contact with Bobby's teachers, finally diagnosed him with ADD. Bobby was under the care of this wonderful doctor for about two years, and on medication, which made all the difference in the world. He became a normal kid. Unfortunately, that doctor retired, but I found a great doctor in Lewisville who took over Bobby's treatment, and Bobby was able to make it through high school just fine. He actually went off his medication for both the ADD and Anxiety when he was a senior, and has had relatively few problems since then. I think he'll always have a little ADD and anxiety in him, but he's been doing okay and is now a college junior. My second son, who is 3 1/2 years younger than Bobby, was diagnosed when he was in middle school with ADHD. He is definately the hyperactive one! Chris' problems were definately hyperactivity, unorganization, and forgetting things. With Chris, the medication made him feel like a robot, so we didn't continue with it. Chris has had to overcome his ADHD on his own . . . with some success. He's now in his first year of college, and doing very well. He did struggle a bit in high school with organization and I don't think he ever turned in an assignement (because he couldn't remember to do them, or remember to take them back to school!) but he was an awesome test-taker and would retain information well, so he managed to get through until graduation. Now he is studying something he loves, so I think he'll do fine. Finding an outlet for his energy was the key to Chris' success.

My advice to you is to get your daughter to a medical doctor (as they are the only ones who can diagnose ADD or ADHD) and go with what they say. My husband wasn't in favor of medicating our sons, but he also didn't have to live through the bloddy noses my older son would give me! The doctors saved our life as a family. Although Chris was able to get through without medication, the medication made all the difference in the world to my oldest son, Bobby.

The second doctor we saw (who is very good, and an adult who lived through ADHD as a child) is Dr. Mike Rios in Lewisville. His phone number is ###-###-####. I would highly recommend him, even if you have to drive an hour to get there. When we were still seeing him, he was sharing an office with a psychologist, Dr. Steven Allen, who is also wonderful.

I hope this helps.
A. in Grapevine

I recommend Chiropractic Care. I don't know where you live, but in NRH there is a Wellness Center that has seen great results in ADHD children without medication. Here is the website http://www.lifechiro.org/index.php?file=/nyk/templates20/...

Chances are she is just bored, because of the process of information so quickly. Once she gets into middle school AP classes are probably what will keep her interest.

Medication has so many terrible side effects including suicide attempts and depression.

Good luck in your pursuit.

My son has ADHD and takes Vyvanse. It REALLY helps him. I was against meds at first too but for now they work. My doctor said we may be able to start phasing out of meds at about 17 or 18. Some people disagree and think you need to be on meds for the rest of your life and I don't think so.

Anyway, if you have any question about Vyvanse, feel free to PM me.

ADHD is overdiagnosed a lot of the times. Some Dr.s will just prescribe meds without really trying to figure out if that is really what is going on, so it's great of you to be seeking advice and symptoms to look for.

A lot of symptoms are things that many children and adults experience, but it is the severity and amount of them that are present to look for in ADHD.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-h...

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/symptom.htm

Many parents have discussed their experience with various Dr's and health professionals in this arena. However, many Dr's are quick to label ADD/ADHD and prescribe meds. If you don't want to put your daughter on meds there are many proven alternatives that can help improve focus. Diet can play a huge role.

I highly recommend an incredible book titled Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief by Winston and Maimes. From the book "There is a category of herbs called adaptogens that help the human body adapt to stress, support normal metabolic processes, and restore balance. They increase the body's resistance to physical, biological, emotional, and environmental stressors and promote normal physiologic function".

To watch a video on the history of adaptogens go to VitalHealth.TunguskaMist.com to learn more.

Many parents have had wonderful results using the Tunguska Mist Adaptogen Sprays to help restore balance in their children and improve their focus. Teachers often comment that the student's grades go from C's/D's to A's/B's.

My husband and I have been taking adaptogens for a long time, and we're passionate about helping people reduce the damaging effects of stress and restore balance NATURALLY, without medications. Good luck and God Bless:)

Hi L.. I totally feel your pain.... We have a son (8 now) but teachers, starting with Kindergarten, talked to us about him exhibiting behaviors associated with ADHD. But I, like you, didn't want to believe it. I have a masters degree in education and so I knew where they were coming from for sure, but still didn't want to think about it with my own child. Just a mother's nature, I think. But anyway, we tried EVERYTHING before medicine b/c I didn't want to put him on anything pharmaceutical. But after battling with the teachers, we finally took him to a child psychiatrist for a complete diagnosis. He diagnosed him with ADHD and we started him on medication. We had to play with it a bit to try to find the one that worked best with him minimizing the side effects, but found one that is great for him. At the beginning, I did not tell his teachers at school. I wanted to do my own "blind study" to see if it really did work. After about a month, I get a note from his teacher telling me, "I don't know which natural rememdy you're trying now at home, but whatever it is, it is working. He is like a different kid." So...I had my answer. My doctors told me to look at it like this: if your kid had diabetes (a disease that they have absolutely no control over) you would give them insulin. This is the same thing. It's something that they cannot control and if medicine helps, then that is a good thing. My son went from a low B-C student, to having STRAIGT A's this year with perfect behavior. It really is amazing. It makes me feel bad for him b/c there was so much time that went by (Kindergarten and half of first grade) where he was missing important stuff in school. But now, he's right on track. My advice for you would be for you to take your child to a psychiatrist, someone who can really diagnose issues with the brain...not a pediatrician. Just my two cents. Hope this helps and good luck to you!!!

I have a blog with information regarding diet and behavioral interventions that help kids with primarily inattentive adhd. The URL is http://primarilyinattentiveadd.blogspot.com