Our adopted 5 yr old son has been diagnosed with ADHD and other things. I know in my heart he needs to be on some sort of medication. Every specialist and teacher that's worked with him even says so. My husband is having a really hard time accepting this. He's read online about the long term affects and is cautious. I'm at the point where I want him on it NOW! His behaviors and moods are affecting the whole family, his success in school and he's not a happy child right now. I'm at the point where I hardly want to be home. How can I comfort my hubby's fears so we can help our son??
God 
Bless!
Look up the meds that the doctor recommends, have your son take an EKG to rule out any heart problems (this can be a risk factor for complications) Explain to your husband that the meds will not cure your son (therapy helps, too) but will help him in school. My son came home in kindergarten and said he was stupid cuz he couldn't sit at circle time or read like the other kids. THAT's when we started meds, when his behavior started impacting his self esteem. Doing it before that happens could be really helpful to your son.
I was in denial also - not MY child I would say. I worried about her taking anything and what others who didn't understand would think of me as a mother. My daughter was 3 when she was diagnosed - a very young age but the doctors all agreed it would be best for her and my sanity. She was a danger to herself -she had no fear and was hurting herself all the time. She would roll around on the floor and get so upset that she couldn't sit still, she was never able to watch a show on TV, never able to sit and eat dinner, couldn't sit to read a book, it was impossible to take her out in public, she would be too rough with other kids and they wouldn't play with her. NOW... she just turned 6 and is one of the smartest kids in her class and has alot of little friends. We go out and shop together, we have family meals - I have my daughter and I can enjoy her now. We all know how you feel and how hard it is. These meds don't build up in their system - my goodness, you can certainly tell when they wear off, lol! My dd is on Vyvanse and I LOVE it. The only thing I've never liked side effect wise is how it effects their appetite BUT my dd was prescribled Periactin(sp) and keeps her weight on now - she's my chuncky monkey again. :) Bedtime was always a nitemare too - since she was 2 to be exact - would take hours for her to fall asleep - she takes 3mg melatonin and gets a good nights sleep- we all do! I look at it this way.... if my child was diabetic or was diagnosed with anything else for that matter, would I HELP her or worry about how I'd feel about it and others? The pros outway the cons as I see it. Do what you think is best in your heart for your child. Good luck and please update and let us know how it's going. :)
Both of my sons have severe ADHD and started out on Adderall then switched to Vyvanse when the Adderall let down was becoming violent. I worried about the long term, too. My dh has ADHD and has been on Ritalin for 22 years. The only long term effect it has had is one inch shorter than he might have been off it.
Just like his_penguin I couldn't enjoy my kids. We took 16 trips to the ER for stiches before they were four, and had social service called on me three times because of their behavior (each time was ruled out). The medication saved my sanity; I was able to reduce the dose of my anti-depressents (yes, they were that bad).
Although we have tried to find a good counselor, it is hard because we can't afford them, even though therapy and meds are the best course for ADHD. A great place to get more information for you dh would be http://www.chadd.org/
TAKE YOUR CHILDREN OFF THE GARBAGE
- Erin333
on Dec. 22, 2010 at 11:46 AM