![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by giosmom on February 19, 2004, at 0:01:51
My son was diagnossed with ADHA (hyperactivity and inattentiveness). His therapist wants him to start on Strattera. Can anyone give me info on this, and experiences? My son is 12 and I want to do whatever I can for him, but my husband views ADHD diagnosis as a "crutch" for us to use ~ that our son just has no interest in school work, etc.
Thanks for the help!
Posted by utopizen on February 19, 2004, at 4:22:36
In reply to Strattera, posted by giosmom on February 19, 2004, at 0:01:51
> My son was diagnossed with ADHA (hyperactivity and inattentiveness). His therapist wants him to start on Strattera. Can anyone give me info on this, and experiences? My son is 12 and I want to do whatever I can for him, but my husband views ADHD diagnosis as a "crutch" for us to use ~ that our son just has no interest in school work, etc.
>
> Thanks for the help!Um if you couldn't pay attention in class, would you have an interest in that class?
The only crutch being used here is on here is a rather feeble attempt to support some baseless logic (at no offense to your husband's thinking). Before amphetamines were used, pointed hats called "Dunce Caps" were employed. Is that less of a crutch?
Straterra... if your son responds, that's great, because it's not as effective as Ritalin or Adderall, but is conveinent in that it can help ADD patients who also have anxiety or depression at the same time, an added bonus.
If having an interest in school work is a crutch, then maybe your husband needs to reassess what his ambitions are for his son. Perhaps talk with him, and ask, "If this can help relieve some of his suffering, isn't that worth it?"
I'm a college student now. I was already smarter than my peers, but my attention deficit really held me back. I remember staring at my assignments on my desk in school all day long, wanting nothing more to be a "good kid" and finish them, but couldn't hold my attention span for long enough to even comprehend what to do. I wasn't hyperactive, so it didn't get caught until I was in college by myself and realized *that's* why I got straight F's in high school.
Call it what you want, but your teachers don't look up to you when your kid's getting straight F's. Crutches are for people who suffer, and your kid is suffering, whether he tells you or not. He suffers. He will suffer more once he realizes the consequences ADD has on his friends, schoolwork, and overall behavior.
To me, it's not a crutch. It's a life preserver. I can swim very well on my own, and I still take the meds to help me stay afloat. But when I was a little kid, I needed the life preserver to do this. I needed to float, even when my body wouldn't let me.
Would you throw a life preserver to your drowning son? Or would you think it's just another crutch, he's just another punk looking for an excuse to drown, and he needs to sink or swim? You know the right thing to do is to relieve his suffering, from now and into the future. You know better than your husband, and you need to trust yourself and help your child. There's too many parents who don't care what their kids do in school, grade wide or social wise or anything.
By posting on this board, I think you already know the answer to your own question. Suffering is hurtful, and relieving it is helpful.
Posted by B2chica on February 19, 2004, at 8:44:20
In reply to Strattera, posted by giosmom on February 19, 2004, at 0:01:51
giosmom
I am 30 and have a diagnosis of ADHD and Bipolar2. The pdoc i saw was the first time anyone ever questioned if i had ADHD. He was Very surprised it was Never brought up to me before i had almost every checkbox marked on that dang list. School has Always been a struggle for me, work as well. Though i'm still processing all this i'm really reflecting on my k-12 education and Really wish someone would have noticed and helped me before. My life may not have been such a struggle as it was. So i want to share my support on the amazing job you've done thus far as a parent. Supporting and following your instincts.
My psychiatrist also mentioned that they have noticed (in much research) that children identified with ADHD and left untreated are later diagnosed with bipolar (i was amazed to hear that).
As for your husband, well...my husband reacted about the same way to my diagnosis. "it's all in your head". well (chuckle) it technically is...however it's in your brain. a physiological aspect that noone (including your son) can control. If you break a leg you get a cast, if you get a cut you get stitches, so if you have chemical imbalance, use medication that will level you out. I love my husband very much but he's very old world (small town growing up) and still has the stigma insight to mental illness. It's been very hard on me, but i know in time and with my help in making sure he's educated on Exactly what's happening, maybe the fear and resistance will go aside and acceptance will seep in.
Best of luck to you.
B2chica.> My son was diagnossed with ADHA (hyperactivity and inattentiveness). His therapist wants him to start on Strattera. Can anyone give me info on this, and experiences? My son is 12 and I want to do whatever I can for him, but my husband views ADHD diagnosis as a "crutch" for us to use ~ that our son just has no interest in school work, etc.
>
> Thanks for the help!
Posted by TheOutsider on February 19, 2004, at 9:33:25
In reply to Re: Strattera, posted by B2chica on February 19, 2004, at 8:44:20
I think Utopizen put things a lot better than I ever could.
But I'd just like to ADD (know pun intended)my own thoughs.
I think you are doing exactly the right thing by taking your sons problems seriesly.
I'm sad to hear that your husband doesn't, although its all to common. I had a similar experience with my pairents, particularly my mother. When I triad to explain to her why I was self medicating for my ADD, she said I was looking for ways to avoid having to try!
I actually believed her, and began to wonder if I was just 'lazy'.
My dad wasn't especially supportive either to begin with, although he has since changed his mind.As a result I became sevearly depressed, and almost had a breakdown before I plucked up the courage to go and see a private doctor on my own iniative! I had to go privately because adult ADD is not really recognised in the UK.
It is really important that you are there for your son, especially if your husband is not so supportive.
Posted by terrics on February 19, 2004, at 10:17:25
In reply to Strattera, posted by giosmom on February 19, 2004, at 0:01:51
My nephew went til third grade struggling to get Cs and Ds. and then was started on ritalin. He is a really nice kid. Very loving. Yet he can drive you insane when he does not take his ritalin. He taps, fidgets and accidently breaks things due to his clumsiness. My sister showed me something: He was sitting at the table trying to do homework and kept getting up and walking around and talking. She then gave him his ritalin and within 30-45 min. he was settled quietly at the table doing homework. He also startes getting As and Bs.
Also I work with alot of school kids who have adhd and often see similar results. I know very little about strattera, but if he was my son I would give it a try. There are also other medications for adhd so if one doesn't work, don't give up. terrics
Posted by Bill LL on February 19, 2004, at 14:56:48
In reply to Strattera, posted by giosmom on February 19, 2004, at 0:01:51
In all seriousness, your son could be a very strong student deep down inside. I think you should absolutely, definitely, give the ADD meds a try. It not only helps ADD kids with their grades, it also helps them to make more friends.
Straterra is not as quick acting as Ritalin or Adderal. It makes some people tied at first, but after a couple of weeks the tiredness should lessen.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.