Treating ADHD and Keeping the Peace!

I can't tell you how many times I have been told by parents that they don't need to go through a medical evaluation for the purpose of a medical diagnosis of ADHD because they REFUSE to medicate their children - they don't want the child to become a zombie. Before I give my personal opinion, I want to say that every decision to medicate or not medicate is every parent's right and that any decision ought to be made carefully. Everyone's circumstances are different, every case of ADHD is unique. Please take what you hear others say into account but make decisions which make you and your child comfortable.

After we went through getting the diagnosis from my son's pediatrician, we opted, at first, for medication. Our son was struggling terribly to function as a student in first grade. Behavioral modification didn't seem to help quickly enough and his needs were so severe we felt we didn't have time to wait it all out. We needed a quicker fix.

We gave 2 different types of stimulant medications a try. The first was Adderall. This medication made my son very moody and physically aggressive so we switched to Ritalin. We used the extended release versions of both. Neither helped. His moody and general disposition was so greatly affected we took him off medication. My sweet and happy child became this depressed, sad, and overwhelmed little boy who became ready to cry at the slightest frustration. A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of the FEINGOLD DIET. To be honest, it sounded like a bunch of nonsense when I first started reading about it but when stimulants weren't working, I wanted to try anything. My son was struggling so much, I couldn't bear to watch him get off the bus walking toward me with tears in his eyes only to slump into my arms and sob, telling me about his hard day. I had to fix him. Please see my article How the Feingold Diet Helped Our Family.

Eventually, after 2 more years, we tried the meds again with great success. For details, please read my article Ready for Meds.