Seeking Ideas to Help My Daughter Who Is ADHD, Medication Is Wearing Off!!

If this is happening right after she eats lunch I would consider maybe something in her food that she could be reacting to. Is this ia new behaivor? Would love to talk to you about this. My daughers Abigale and Emily are taking Adderal XR for Adhd and Add.

I have an 11 year old daughter with ADD. She has been medicated since she was 8. The one thing I found helpful was reading up on the latest medications for myself...doctors don't always know everything! My husband and I found we had to switch medications several times before we found the one that works best. We found Concerta works the best for us. Unfortunately, there is a lot of trial and error involved. Good luck to you!

You mention this happens directly at lunchtime... that makes me wonder if perhaps she's not sensitive to something in her food.

The reason I ask is that my oldest daughter was diagnosed as ADHD--- it turned out she had a food allergy to artificial coloring. It was in everything from the grape jelly I bought on sale to her cold medicine---even her breakfast cereal and the juice that was supposed to be 100% natural. Once we eliminated it from her diet her ADHD completely dissappeared. She is one of the calmest kids I've ever seen- she gets a little hyper if she's stressed but all the concentration issues are completely gone.

Hi...my daughter also has ADHD and takes medication. Is yours on a timed release medication? We found that is the only thing that gets my daughter through the school day. Even that begins to wear off around 6PM, but that actually helps her to sleep better, so we deal with it in the evenings easier than the school could for half the school day. She takes AdderallXR, and has for several years, only increasing her dosage when her weight gain merits it. Right now, at amost 17, she takes 30 mg per day.

My daughter was just diagnosed a few weeks ago and she was started on a new medicine called daytrana it is a patch that you put on in the morning and take off 9 hours later and last for 3 more hours after removal. It is time released and seems to be working very well. I can't open the patch but my daughter this morning showed me how and did it herself. I was proud. She is 9 years old and we can notice a difference even though she says there is no difference. There is also a certificate you can get from your dr for 40 free doses of the medicine in case it doesn't work you get to try it at no cost.

Hi C.,

I am also a single parent of an ADHD child. She is 7 and was diagnosed about 2 1/2 years ago. She has been on many medications because she also has some other problems that are treated with the same sorts of meds. I would suggest finding a doctor that you trust and discuss all of your concerns. Write down everything; all of your questions, concerns, teachers' notes, etc. and let them know that increasing the medication is your last resort. I hope this helps.

Hello my name is K. and i am a single mom as well i have a 14 year old and a 8 year old I have been single for awhile. my youngest daughter has ADHD she was diagnosed when she was 6 (she turned 8 today sniff) well at first i thought my daughter was just being a bully picking on kids then come home and tell me the other kids were being mean to her (she didnt know the teacher and i had an open communication going on) well i started her in counseling at child focus and she was assesed by the Pschyatrist, he doesnt belive in medicating kids for the heck of it he evaluates all the situation then they do testing it takes two day about 6 hours each but it is worth it and they found out that my youngest had ADHD with behavior disruptive disorder (which is commom with ADHD) they started he on Seraqul and Remeron in January this past year after a 3 month study of her on the medication (it takes that long to learn about the effects on your child) well it wasnt working for her the Seraqul was to treat the ADHD and the Remeron was to help he sleep at night( my daughter has PTSD (post tramatic distress disorder) i tried giving it to her at all different time frames to try and help but it didnt, i went back to the DR. and he put her on Adderall XR and at first it was 10 mg and it was wearing off and it seemed like it wasnt working, well he did increase her dose to 15mg and i give it to her 30 minutes before she gets on the bus and she is good to go, when she gets home she is sometimes moody but thats only normally in the beginning of the week but what i let her do is when she comes home i sit with her and we talk about the day what she learn if she wanted to call her grandpa and tell him and maybe about an hour after being home i assist her with her homework and let her teach me (i play dumb and let her explain it to me she thinks its fun) and then she gets her homework done pretty quick and normally with a good attitude. I redirect her when she starts getting uneasy and we just step out of the situation for a moment and then we get back to the task at hand, its called behavior modification, and it took a lot of patience but we finally got into a groove with things. I also work full time, so i do what i can to be there as much as i can i have taught several people who help take care of my daughter on how to redirect her so there is less complication, i even helped her teacher with just a little trick to help her so that why my daughter knows she cant try it at school either.
The thing with ADHD children dont really know what's wrong with them just that the get distracted easy and usually less patient than their peers/siblings,(most children know ADHD as a label which i think is wrong) i teach both my children that everyone is special in their own way. God dont make everyone the same it would be boring.) Children like to dance and play always moving so if you have to get up and dance for 5 10 maybe 15 minutes go ahead it helps make it fun and make sure your taking that few minutes of one on one with your child and then they will know the difference. I know you said you have 4 child (bless you) but try to spend as much indivdual time with each child. I make a mom daughter day every week one day is one then anthoer day the other then one day for all three of us we go to the park, walmart where ever (dont need to spend money go out and have a good time, might have a night in with them)
I am not sure what medication your daughter is on do the research on the medication (go to google and put the name in) and it will tell you so much info and it normally tells you the adfects of the meds and children and what you should look for. their is so many medications out there for Adhd you might have to change meds but in the long run its worth it, and a psycharatrist can only give you the correct dianosies because the know the mind and about behaivor in the mind.
you can do reasearch on ADHD and it will help you understand better it did me.

Thank you for your time
K.

Hi C., I think this is a question only you, your doctor and child should be involved in. Good Luck B.

My daughter is also ADD, and I might have suggestions, but I have questions. First, what medication is she taking? Is she ADHD or just ADD. How severe? Are your other kids also ADHD? What medication(s) do they use? Does she have any of the other co-morbid disorders or disfunctions? i.e. anxiety, depression, obssessive-compulsive, bipolar, etc.? I've done my background work with this stuff for my daughter, so I might be able to help you or give you some ideas. Sounds like you have your hands full!

D.

I found this great product called Synaptol.

"Synaptol consists of all-natural ingredients that are essential in making it safe and effective. It contains no chemically generated compounds, fillers, or artificial additives, and unlike pharmaceutical drugs, does not require a prescription and has zero negative side effects."

Here's the website for more information:
http://www.micronutra.com/synaptol.html

I hope this works for you too.

My name is T., i too have a child with ADHD, he is ten years old now. It is definitely a daily battle and my prayers are with you. I as well am a single parent. The only thing our behavioral doctor and therapist say can help in your situation is either a different medicine altogether or taking a second dose when the medication is wearing off. What type of medicine is your daughter taking? It may just be the wrong medicine for her. Getting the right combination for each child is definitely difficult, but well worth it in the end. If you are getting medicine from your pediatrician i recommend finding a behavioral doctor who specializes in ADHD, it really helped us and is well worth it all together.

i'm sorry to hear how rough things are for you. i have no advice on this but i wanted to let you know that as for the single parent issue i've been there i was on my own with 3 very samll children for a couple of years and it is the hardest thing i've ever had to do. all i wanted to say was good luck, this is a great place to vent and get support and help when you need it, try not to let it get to you to much as hard as that is, all things pass in time this will to. once again i hope that things work out quickly for you. take care. Kari

my daughter is 11 with autusim and adhd. she takes 10mg in the morning and 10 mg before lunch it get's her thru the day. C. l. what is her dosage? my daughter takes adderall.

Here are some resources I have found helpful. I am not against meds, my son has been on many different kinds. If anything some meds cause a child to be more irritable. I myself would not try upping the meds. From my experience it just made my son zoned out when we uped his meds. We give my son a supplement call Coromega. All it is is orange flavored fish oil, you can really try any fish oil but you'll have to mix it with something. There is scientific evidence that kids with adhd benefit from this.But it is not a cure all perfect substitute. I will add some links here. Try it before upping the meds.

http://www.remedyfind.com/healthconditions/37

http://www.coromega.com/

http://www.healingwithnutrition.com/newsclips/archive/ome...

Hi C.,
It is refreshing to know someone wants to look at options rather than increasing medications. There are many, many testimonials of children who have overcome ADD/ADHD challenges with nutrition. Food additives are a great direction to look as well. Depending on where you are, I could give you the name and number of someone who recently solved a grandson's ADHD issues. Within two weeks, his teacher said this little boy was having the best two weeks of his entire school year. Wouldn't that be wonderful to hear of your daughter?

Let me know if you want more information.

You should definately look into different medications. You need one that last longer, not that is stronger. My husband is a pharmaceutical rep and sells ADHD medication. I know that Focalin XR (Extended Release) last up to 10 hours as do some other once a day ADHD meds. You can also give her a short acting one in the afternoon just to get through the rest of the day if hers wears off early. Talk to yuor pediatrician and if they can't help find an ADHD specialist. Let me know where you are and I can get you some names from my husband. Good luck.

C. S.
Mother of 2 girls 3&1/2 and 2.

Hi, I have two kids w/ADHD. My son was on Concerta for two years and as he grew his metabolism just chewed it up.Also I was told by the doctor that kids systems can just get immune to a drug so it does not work any more. So by 12noon or 1PM he was out of control again. His teachers were frantic. So his doctor changed him to AdderalXR in the morning and Strattera at night. Seems to be a good combination for him. Sorry I read you did not want to mess with the drugs, but it's about all you can do really. All the counseling and so called therapy interventions can not correct a brain chemical imbalance. That's what ADHD is, a brain chemical imbalance.

Hi C.,
My son, 11 has ADHD. We have been through it with him... He is a great kid with no self control. We played the medication game for 1.5 years. We had moments of relief and moments of horror. The best advice I can give is to buy this book...
***** THE ADD ANSWER. by: Dr. Frank Lawlis***($15.00)
Honestly, I can tell you what worked when for my son but each child can be SO different. This book covers it All!!! Discipline, learning tactics, social issues, holistic approaches, and DIET! (and more!) With you stating that your daughter changes so drastically right after lunch, I'd start there. There can be so many food triggers. I too felt that my son's meds were wearing off. Now I have TAKEN him off! I soon realized that his moods were so much better without his meds and his anxiety/frustration was almost non-existant! I don't want you to think I am all against meds, no way! I just know what's working for us... I will say that there are still times that I want to give him his little pill and a tall glass of water because things still aren't perfect but things never are. If he is truely trying (at least most of the time) and I am as well and we are surviving and happy isn't that what REALLY matters?
Also, I don't know what city you live in or what Dr. you use, but Dr. Bell, in Mount Vernon is awesome! He actually listens and is open to and encourages your thoughts and ideas. He was very cool when I told him my thoughts and actually researched and printed up TONS of info on studies and diet triggers and stuff like that for me and when I told him that I wanted my son off the meds, he was very supportive of that! That can be RARE!

Hi. My 11 year old is also ADHD. He has been on Concerta for a year now. It, in my opinion, is a wonder drug! It is a time release med so it lasts most of the day. I don't notice the "Change" in his attitude until about 7p.m.. He takes it about 8a.m.. There are different doses based on wieght. We have had to increase once but it was after he grew several inches and gained a few pounds. ask your doctor if it would be right for your daughter. I dreaded putting him on any kid of meds but I'm so glad I did. I have my son back.

I second the recommendation to investigate further whether diet or environmental allergy could be contributing to the problem. She may have ADHD, or a combo of mild ADHD + allergy, or perhaps even no ADHD and misdiagnosed allergy. It's worth it to consider all of these - highly recommend the book by Dr. Doris Rapp, MD, called "Is This Your Child?"
http://www.drrapp.com/products.html)

Also sleep issues - lack of sleep can induce and/or exacerbate ADHD symptoms. Check out: Sleepless in America by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
http://www.amazon.com/Sleepless-America-Misbehaving-Missi...

Lastly, could the medications have side effects that are causing issues?

I'm sure your daughter doesn't like feeling mean, picking fights, etc., so I hope you and she are able to find some good solutions soon!

You know...ADHD can be handled holistically and is a better option for ALL kids IMO. Putting kids on drugs CAN lead to an addictive personality, and can even take away from thier real personalities.

Food has a lot to do with the way your daughter reacts at times. STAY AWAY from anything with RED DYE in it...especially juices. NO SODA or sugary drinks, keep up with the fruit, but give her as many greens as possible. Omega 3 is a very useful tool for kids with ADHD. There are foods that are high in this, such as fish...but can be administered in a vitamin.

I would try to ween her OFF the meds instead of go to a higher dose. My son has ADHD about as bed as it gets...but I still refuse to give him those pills. No way, never. Not that I'm judging you, I'm not. I just feel that all other possibilities should be exhausted before resorting to drugging our kids.

We had the same problem with our daughter.

Rather than increasing her dosage right away, our doctor recommended the same medication and dosage, but switching her to the extended release formula. This gave us a longer "window" for her medication to work and it solved the problem for quite some time. We did end up increasing her dosage eventually, but not until a year later after she had grown considerably.

Best of luck to you.