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loulou

RITALIN

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Hi everyone,

 

My son has been on Ritalin for 3 months since he was dx with ADHD. He also probably has AS.

 

I've decided to give him a day off the Ritalin today because i'm having a major guilt trip about "drugging" him. I feel like i'm suppressing his natural personality, but on the other hand i know it's a brain disorder, which is not "natural".

 

I'm TOTALLY confused :wacko: Has anyone else had guilt trips over medicating their child?

 

He's been all over the place today and hasn't stopped moving or talking since 7am. He's crashed into the furniture three times, tripped over twice, knocked a glass over, the list goes on! When he's on the Ritalin, he's much quiter and calmer.

 

The thing is, he seems HAPPIER today, so that's making me feel even more guilty.

 

OMG, why is life so hard?

 

Sorry to ramble on, but it helps to get things off your chest sometimes.

 

Loulou x

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Hi Loulou,

 

My son was put on Ritalin when he was 8 by the specialist centre we have spoken about via PMs.

 

It was introduced in conjunction with a very intensive behavioural therapy programme, with a Child Psychologist visiting us at home to work with us. This Intervention Programme cost the Health Service several thousand pounds I believe, and when the prescribed number of visits were finished we were referred on to a specialist at CAMHS who continued to work with us.

 

We carried on the therapy for many years, adapting it as my son got older.

 

When he was 14 he decided he didn't want to take Ritalin anymore, and he came off it with no return of his extremely hyperactive behaviour.

 

It might be worth asking if you could have some kind of behavioural therapy to use with the Ritalin. For my son it seemed to give him the 'mental breathing space' to take in the therapy that he wasn't able to access before.

 

It's hard, I know, and last summer we took the difficult decision to take him off Sertraline as we felt it was not helping him at all. There were no adverse side effects, and now he is in a specialist environment he is doing so well without any meds. I'm so glad I listened to my instincts over this.

 

Good luck,

 

Bid :wacko:

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Hi Bid,

 

I think yesterday was a huge learning experience for me. Kai was hyper all day, mind and body all over the place. He never actually played with anything for longer than about 2 minutes. My house was a disaster zone last night!

 

It made me realise he definately has ADHD and now i don't feel so guilty for giving him the Ritalin. I don't know how i coped with him when he was like this every day!

 

He was really tearful last night, maybe he felt different without his medication.

 

Today, he's had his medication again and he's been fine.

 

The behavioural therapy is due to start in March. Hopefully it will help. If he gets into the special school, i think that will make a big difference.

 

Thanks,

 

Loulou x

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My son was put on Ritalin and i soon took him of it when he became a zombie and since then I have found that in the USA there are many parents taking lawsuits as Retalin is part of the Cociane if I remember rightly and most users are being addicted , my son went onto respirdone which did help.

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Hi Loulou

 

I really understand your feelings of guilt - I often share those feelings, and they're a good thing, because it means that you aren't being complacent about how you're dealing with your son's problems.

 

Guilt isn't pleasant, but it keeps you on your toes - it helps you remember to reassess your decisions, and decide on an on-going basis what you want to do next.

 

You started the medication for good reasons, I'm sure - no-one gives meds to their child lightly (at least no-one on this forum). Just remember to be balanced in how you look at it all.

 

Glad you're feeling a bit more reassured about things today.

 

Elanor

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