Posted by Simcha on August 17, 2003, at 16:15:32
In reply to Concerta, A Worried Mom!, posted by Essence on August 17, 2003, at 8:05:58
Essence,
Please check out ALL the information on ADHD/ADD treatments. There are many ways to treat this.
Also, please be careful with any "studies" that Peter Breggin writes. He is not an objective scientist at all. He is out to "prove" that all drugs are made by evil drug companies and that the drug companies own the FDA. Thus his point is that any treatment with medication is bad.
Please get a balanced viewpoint, positive and negative. There are side effects for every drug including aspirin.
I wish my parents would have taken me to a psychiatrist especially when I was in High School. It would have saved me decades of misery in depression. My medication, talk therapy, vitamin supplements, good diet, excercise, and spiritual practices have literally saved my life.
Medication alone usually does not solve everything. If there is something biological, like with me I have depression on both sides of the family, then medication may be an important piece of treatment for your child.
The children I work with receive therapy, counseling, behavior modification, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and sometimes medication. Usually in the school where I work everything else is tried first before getting a psychiatrist involved.
Also please look for a psychiatrist that specializes in treating children. Children react differently than adults to medication and they need more monitoring than most adults. Their bodies are changing so fast. They may even outgrow their need for medication. Sometimes I have heard from the psychiatrist that during puberty medications need to be changed or adjusted because of the chemical changes going on in the child's body.
There is no easy "fix" for any of these issues. Please, do yourself and your child a favor and look at the reasonable options and discount the alarmists. Any extreme like, "This med will make it all better," or, "Meds are evil and should never be used in children" is bad advice in my observations.
I'm not sure what qualifications Larry Hoover has. He may be a doctor, I don't know. Please know that I am NOT a doctor. I am a counselor who specializes in behavior modification. I see the changes in the children when they go on and off of medications. We, as a team try to help them either way.
I hope that you find something that works for your son. I can tell that you love him very much and that you want what is best for him. You are the one who has to make the choice, since he's still under 18.
Please read all of the posts on this topic and look up real studies. Interview doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors so that you can have all the best information available to you when making your decisions on how to help your son.
Fear is a natural reaction to any problem your child might be having. Since I do not have children of my own I can only imagine what your dilemma is like. I do not claim to have all the answers for you and I do not claim to know exactly what you are going through.
All I can do is offer my experience in working with this population. It's only my experience and there is much more out there than my experience.
Blessings,
Simcha
> A few months back I posted regarding my 16 yr old son and his ADD problems. At that time he was tried on Wellbutrin and went psychotic on it. He swore he would not touch another drug again for his disorder. That changed, now he's seeing a psychiatrist next week about starting Concerta, which has just been approved in Canada. I'm worried, one of the side-effects is psychosis. Any experiences with this drug would be so appreciated. Thanks
> Ess
poster:Simcha
thread:251524
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030812/msgs/251632.html