Help My Teenage Daughter Is Driving Me Crazy

I don't know alot about adhd. Do not close your mind to your child needing medicine though. They probally just haven't found the right mix for him. I had no clue about my child until he was 15 and he just totally shut down . He started crying alot,having stomach and headaches.went 3 days without sleep, and walked around the school like a zombie. I took him to the hospital and they admitted him to the psychriatic floor and I had to leave that night. He was first tested for drugs witch all turned out negative and then was put through many other test. They ended up diagnosing him with bipolar and at the time I had no clue what that was . It was a horrible thing to have to go through seeig your child being treated like all the others there that had many other problems too.If I had only had this knowledge when he was younger he could have been on medication and not went through this. Keep your mind open and realize it is a chemical imbalance in the brain and only medication can control it. It could be though that they have not diagnosed him with the right disease so ask alot of guestions and research on the internet. Goodluck!

HI C., I sure hope this will help the situation a little bit. There are many social services that have programs for children with all kinds of disabilities.
Catholic Charities, LEAP, Boys and Girls Club, Good Will Industries has a large program. Local Neighborhood Center Human Services can refer you to others in your area and for the most part you can make phone calls to find out where and what is offered. If you have no luck please email me back and let me know the area and I can supply the phone numbers for you. Hang in there. B.

C.,

How old is your son? I am a single mother, and I have a ten year old son with ADHD. He was also diagnosed with ODD which is Oppositional Defiance Disorder. My primary suggestion to you is to talk to your doctor about getting him off of the Adderall XR. My son took this for a year and it was the worst year of them all so far. Adderall is Methamphetamine ( the same drug is found in Crystal Meth ). It had a tendency to make my son VERY angry and aggressive. There are many many other medications on the market that do not have this affect. My son takes Strattera, and Concerta to balance him out in the evening.
It is really really hard caring for a child like this, especially being a low-income single mom. I am a full time college student, and work part time, and take care of my 10 year old son, and 4 year old daughter. If you need someone to talk to, please feel free to contact me privately via email here and I'd be happy to talk to you. Sometimes the best help is a good listening ear.
Also, it might help you to talk to your family doctor about a referral to Children's Behavioral Clinic. My son sees a wonderful counselor there. It take a while (a couple of months) to get in, so have your doctor do this as soon as possible. They do have male counselor's there, and that would help him have a male role model as well. My son's counselor is great. He plays games with him, and is well-knowledged in the gameboy, and has a daughter with ADHD, so he has an easier time getting my son to open up than his last counselor did.
Hope to talk to you soon!

Kim - Columbus

Hi C.. I'm sorry your both going through so much. I'm not an expert on ADHD, but I have tried to raise my nephew for 7 yrs. with ADHD, ADD, CD, etc... and it had been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the whole family. I know you have been to many doctors but you may want to get one more opinion on medication and diagnosis. We found out a lot of doctors like to assume your child is a text book case and always want to medicate right away. We had my nephew on Ridylin which made him spacey and he lost his appetite(lost weight). He was on Adderall which made him angry and mean(he kick me in my stomach when I was 6mths. pregnant)and pretty much anything would set him off. One other med. which made him very depressed all the time. We had enough of these medications, so we got a another opinion and also looked into Chinese medicine, herbology, homeopathic medicine and counceling. I don't know if this will help, but it helped my nephew in many ways. Look in the phone book or internet for qualified doctors in your area. Check them out first before you make any appointment and maybe you will find a better solution to help your son. Also, you might want to try family night{inside or outside), or family time so you can all share in the love you have for each other. In your search for a male role model, you might want to try at your place of worship. You and your children could make new friends, get advice on any help you might need, shoulder to cry on, or enven a little peace. My heart goes out to you and your family. My prayers are with you. I hope you find the help your looking for. In the meantime hug your son a little more even when your angry and remind him how much he is loved. I found out from my nephew that he was not sure he was loved because everyone around him always seemed angry with him because of his behavior he had trouble controlling. It made me feel bad. Hugs and reminding him how much he is loved helped him some, along with being excited about all his accomplishments. His accomplishments seem so much more meaningful to him than others. I hope this might of helped in a small way. God bless all of you.

Good morning,
It sounds like you have a lot going on. I can relate to the single "Mom" thing. I was a single mom for 7 years and just got married two years ago. I have a 17 year old son and a 13 year old daughter from my first marriage. I just had a baby with my new husband and he is 3 1/2 months old. Things will get "BETTER"!

I have been on the rollar coaster ride with my oldest son and can relate to some of the things you mentioned in your email. I belong to the Chamber in Clermont County and there is a ADHD & ADD advocate that belongs to my network group. I would like to pass her information on to you. I think she may be able to help. Her name is Jenifer Fox-Gerrits and she is with Life Management Strategies ###-###-#### give them a call. It's worth a shot!!!

Good luck,
S.

Hi C.,
my name is S. and I'm 26 years old and have two little girls. I feel you but on the other. I was told when i was 7 that i had a.d.h.d. I was on every med that they could give me i ended taking adderall. My mom took me off the meds cause during the school year i didnt eat and i got very very thin. So to help she kept my busy and it worked plus we made our house very adhd friendly. I would look at getting him into things like sports your local rec dept should be able to help.. sports and dance classes helped with me things where I could run around and burn that extra energy... good luck hun
S.

I don't know what city your in but where I am at we have a place called the Downriver Guidance Center (I belive they have a website) I would try to contact them and see if they can either help or direct you of where you can get some help, that is what they are they for is to help in situations like yours. It's called The Downriver Guidance Center on Northline Rd in Southgate, MI 48195

I work at a non-profit organization in Cleveland Ohio that does therapy, psychiatry and other programs for troubled youths. i deal with children in your sons situation everyday. we also have a mentoring program (big brother type). I am sure that there is a similar organization in your area. i would say your best bet would be to call your local chamber of commerce to see what is available in your area. here is a link to the boys and girls club of cincinnati. http://www.bgcgc.org they might be a good place also.

Do your kids qualify for medicaid? My husband is a pediatrician at a clinic in Canton that caters to families on medicaid. They also take insurance and charge on a sliding scale. Also, he has a lot of experience working with kids with ADHD. And there is a FT social worker on staff. Look up the Margaret Shipley Child Health Clinic at ###-###-#### if you are interested.

Good luck!

have you looked into boyscouts? I am not sure where you are located in the cincinnati area... but the general council is Dan Beard http://www.danbeard.org/default.aspx Phone: ###-###-####

you can email me if you would like for more info... my son is in the cubscouts so I have a few contacts..... -C.