Anyone grow up on Ritalin?

I haven't had the drug, but could probably use some amphetamines to stay on task at work (and off of letsrun). However my 16 year old brother in on some ADD medication and it has really turned his life around. Right after his freshmen year of highschool he got caught smoking weed, so my parents put him under house arrest for all summer, monitoring what friends he was with and enrolling him in soccer and summer nordic skiing programs.

They had originally attributed his piss-poor grades to having dumb friends, but after he started hanging out with a new group of kids his grades didn't improve. Mid way through last year he was tested for ADD which he had. He is now on some drug to help him cope. In one semester his grades went from Cs and Ds to As and Bs, and his goals went from being cool to being "top-5 in state in nordic skiing, A honor roll". Part of this is attributable to a serious commitment on his part to jumping through the hs hoops, but some of it has to be attributed to the drug.

Also, sometimes he gets obsessive about small tasks in ways he never did before. We were scraping the paint off our house to repaint it and the entire family had different sections. A few hours later we reconvene to see how much work is left, my mother, father, sister and I had all finished large portions of our wall, while he had only finished about 1 square foot, but he had completely stripped every speck of paint of it (instead of just removing what was likely to fall off. We all went in to eat, while he stayed outside for 8 hours working on the thing. It was kind of scary.

It has made a positive impact on his life (by conventional measures).

You have to ask yourself: how important are the subjects my daughter is learning? Do grades really matter in elementary school? She is capable of understanding the material, she just isn't interested in showing it in the traditional way.

dont do it wrote:

Luckily I snapped out of it and now I just drink heavily (being a NORMAL college student) and run alot.

Thanks for the response. I truly appreciate your input.

She already knows that she's not "normal"-- too many trips to the doctor's office, too many questions about her activity level, told to "calm down" too many times...

We really are emphasizing exercise. She has swim practice 4-5 days a week, flag football on weekends (yes, my daughter plays football), and outdoor play for at least 2-3 hrs a day immediately after school.

Is it easier for you to concentrate at certain times of the day (morning vs. afternoon/before vs. after running)?

i am 28 and took it starting in third grade or so up until high school. my experiences are as followed: it helped me concentrate. i was not a wild child, my mind just wandered and i had trouble focusing and staying still for long periods of time. as i got older, here is where i had issues. it totally zaps your appetite. i remember in high school not eating lunch once because i wasn't hungry and puking after basketball practice. as the previous poster mentioned, you become very quiet. i compare it to smoking weed. as a teenager, when i smoked weed i didn't speak for hours. the same holds true for ritilin. you give the pill to kids with the hopes of helping them focus, not shutting them up. as far as what the previous posters said about the detailed medical aspects, i have no response. the bottom line is that it isn't going to hurt your kid longterm and in most cases, you will see results. i will say that in my day, very few kids took the pill, whereas now, if a kid isn't an A student, parents feel their kid has ADD or ADHD. try a test run with it and see if your kid responds. if their grades increase and their teacher notices an improvement, then why not take the pill. i personally feel hyperactivity is directly connected to maturity. some kids acknowledge the importance of school and listening better than others. it is about bearing down and concentrating and some kids have a tougher time than others doing so.

Moral Breakdown wrote:

Part of the problem too may stem from being "overtired," so the kids compensate by being overly high-strung.

And of course, our refined and sugar-infused junk diets most definitely contribute.

Over-tired is possible. She is calmest in school after vacations and weekends when she sleeps in. She is getting about 9.5 hours of sleep each day during the week, though...

As for junk food, the wife had diabetes during her last pregnancy and has maintained the diet they put her on. I'm a former runner. We don't have a lot of junk food around the house. In fact, if anything, my daughter is too skinny and needs to put on weight...

Have you done any reading? I like Daniel Amen's book Healing ADD (there's another book with similar name, diff author, which I haven't read) for a number of reasons, one of which is that he discusses a number of approaches (exercise, diet, behavioral modifications, supplements, ...) to be used instead of or in conjunction with meds.

Also I'm surprised everyone's talking about Ritalin - I thought Adderall was considered better these days? A girlfriend took it, said it was like getting glasses and everything snapping into focus, and only then realizing how blurry everything had been.

Great response I do run run run.

I was diagnosed with ADD my senior year of high school and began taking stimulant medication. I immediately saw an improvement in my ability to focus and in turn saw my grades improve. I also experienced some of the negatives that go along with stimulant medication such as restlessness and loss of appetite, and because of this I only took the medication when absolutely necessary.

I'm now 23 and take adderall on a daily basis and find it to be an absolute blessing. It helped me focus through college lectures and now helps me in my career. I still have to deal with the negative side affects of the drug, but I know the positives the medication brings to my life make it worth it. Stimulant medications are not a panacea, but coupled with counseling and education they can help relieve some of the frustrations that many ADDers experience.

Don't blow off the possibility that your daughter has ADD because of the negative connotations that surround the disorder. Many children with ADD grow up to be depressed adults with feelings of low self worth because they were never treated. Keep researching and if you decide that your daughter does have ADD help her deal with the problems now so she doesn't have to struggle with them as an adult.

Lastly, keep in mind that many adults with ADD consider it a gift rather than a disorder.

Here's an article from an ADD coach on some of the benefits:

There is a common misconception in the world that having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a bad thing. While the ADD-wired brain certainly presents some challenges, it also offers some incredible benefits. The following is a list of characteristics that I consistently see in my clients, friends, and colleagues with ADD.

1. Compassion

People with ADD have a tremendous power to connect with other people. But it goes a step further than that. We also have an advanced ability to empathize with others, and to see many different perspectives.

2. Creativity

I've never met an ADDer who wasn't creative! Writers, painters, musicians, film makers, designers, sculptors, comedians - the list goes on! Artistic talents are abundant. Composers Mozart and Beethoven are believed to have had ADD.

3. Drive

When an ADDer is bored with a task, completing it can seem like torture. But give an ADDer an interesting project to work on and watch out! When we want to succeed, and we have the necessary tools to do so, there is no stopping us!

4. Problem Solving Ability

ADDers thrive on solving problems and puzzles. Give us an interesting problem to solve and we won't be able to drop it until we've found the solution! Important historical inventors such as Thomas Edison and Thomas Jefferson are believed to have had ADD.

5. Hyper-Focus

The ability to hyper-focus is something that ADDers can use to our advantage. When kept under control and directed towards productive tasks, like accomplishing goals and living dreams, it can be an incredible asset that allows us to get the job done, and done well!

6. Sense of Humor/Comedic Flair

Most ADDers love to laugh, and many also have a knack for making others laugh! Famous comedians such as Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams are rumored to have ADD.

7. Resiliency

There's no denying that even though there are many great qualities that come along with ADD, there are also challenges. But ADDers have an incredible ability to bounce back from those challenges, and others' criticism of those challenges that we've endured.

8. Intuition

ADDers have a sharp sense of intuition. This may be due to highly tuned levels of perception, or great insight into the human mind, or something else that we have yet to understand. Whatever the reason, it's a very useful gift!

9. Idea Generating

ADDers are wonderful idea generators. We don't usually like to be bothered with details, but we can come up with ideas at lightning speed! We're a true asset in brainstorming meetings!

10. That "Special Something"

Many ADDers feel that they have a unique way of looking at the world, a perspective that others just don't understand. That is, until the ADDer meets other people with ADD! You might say that we're on our own wavelength!

I am also a special education teacher and sister of a brother who benefited tremendously from Ritalin. Is the school looking to put her on a 504 plan or an IEP? I'm just wondering if she needs specialized instruction or just some accommodations. A lot of the difficulty with students with ADD has a lot to do with the lack of applying strategies taught rather than needing help in academics. A lot of students with attention problems have average to above average academic skills. My brother never needed extra help, but needed accommodations (extra time, assignment notebook checks, etc.) to be successful. He also benefited from things such as having long-term projects broken down into smaller parts and functional movement breaks (delivering a note to the office when he is fidgety). If you decide to go the medicine route, you can always do it on a trial basis. It works for some kids and not for others. No one can force you to put your child on medication. Do what's best for your child (which may be medication). I'd suggest seeing a psychiatrist as opposed to your pediatrician).

Thanks for all the responses. I can't thank everyone enough.

We're going to try one or two more things before trying the drugs, but I do appreciate all of the input...

I hate to here these things. I was classified as ADHD in middle school in the late 70's. There was a book out at the time that modified my diet and it did help some. When I consumed cola, red food coloring, chocolate my eyes would dilate and I would become more hyper. I cannot remember the name of the book and my mother had it before she passed on last year. Running did help me out a lot and running taught me how to concentrate. I would also practice sitting still. I would do this in the bath or in the pool and try to be still until the surface of the water was still. I am not an expert on it but looking back I believe that hyper kids should not be medicated but need extra help with learning how to focus and to stay still. Today I am a teacher and a life long runner. My parents swear by the diet but I eat all of those things today and they do not make me hyper.

Eluedeman wrote:

I hate to here these things. I was classified as ADHD in middle school in the late 70's. There was a book out at the time that modified my diet and it did help some. When I consumed cola, red food coloring, chocolate my eyes would dilate and I would become more hyper.

That's another idea-- it may be the crap that they feed them at lunch in school.

God, I'd be furious...

Yet another thing to try....

tom cruise wrote:

there is no such thing as "ADD". it's an entirely manufactured "disease"

The US government manufactured AIDS -- doesn't mean its not there taking care of the gay problem.

NO! You guys are glib. Psychiatry is a PSEUDOSCIENCE! Did you know that Adderall is a street drug?

people just need to control there kids. you make them focus. i beleive this south park clip will give you all the info one would need

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYkHYibMoFg

"She does bounce off the walls at the end of a school day. Any other time, she'll sit and read for hours..."

I bounce off the walls at the end of a work day too, then I go for a ten-mile run, eat, sit still and read for hours, and sleep well.

So in YOUR case, have her play on an after school soccer team, or compete with a gymnastics team, or participate on a swimming team, or even run or just be active (just don't pull a Brianna J. on her) to burn off the natural physical energy a healthy, developing child SHOULD have. They cut out PE classes in many schools you know and that could be a problem with her energy levels too.

Ritalin is shit. I took it for awhile when I was a kid and it seemed to exacerbate all sorts of emotional problems for a few years. I also experimented with drugs in high school and I think the Ritalin was in part a catalyst. Clean living dude now of course...

I have known that I have had ADD - inatentive flavor for some time now, I grew tired of screwing up at work, not being able to complete tasks, focusing on crap that didn't matter, etc. I saw a shrink about 2 weeks ago, was prescribed Adderall, and have since had the calmest, least anxious, most organized and productive 10 days of my life. The only thing that I regret is that I have wasted so much time not being productive.

It turns out both my kids started Ritalin in high school for different manifestations of ADHD and it made a world of difference, both academically and in sports. I'd be happy to discuss my experiences off-line with you. My son is now through college and my daughter is a senior.

There is such a thing as having no talent. Some people just can't run fast, and I'm one of them. When I was a little boy coaches could tell right away that there was something wrong with me. My VO2 max and lactate threshold were way below average, and I couldn't train for more than a few minutes before getting too tired to continue. Clearly I just wasn't producing enough of certain hormones.

Thankfully, my parents took me to Victor Conte who hooked me up with PEDs. Now I can keep up with my peers and may even run in college. All the terrible symptoms of no-talent disease are gone thanks to a regimen that would make even Tyler Hamilton gasp in disgust. Thanks to cheating I'm finally performing to my potential!

Do you know what subjects she has trouble staying still in when at school? Are they ones she finds particularly difficult or gets bored in? Many people rush through assignments or act up when they don't understand what they are supposed to be doing. My understanding of a child with "true" ADHD is that they have trouble concentrating/paying attention/staying still even during activities they enjoy, so if she is able to sit for 3 hours reading or watching TV or concentrate during her soccer game etc, I'd look into this a little more. If her grades are suffering in only a few subjects, and those are the ones the teacher complains about your behavior, you might speak with the teacher a bit more about her performance, their teaching style, what other children are doing in the class etc. I also think that when children are diagnosed with ADHD by the school psychologist or assessed (a teacher shouldn't just "diagnose" them) by a trained professional an individual education program is offered since the inattention and hyperactivity can interfere with learning. Just some ideas for you to also consider...

If your child does have ADHD and you are interested in a drug to help the condition, there is a non-stimulant FDA approved drug called Strattera. It is relatively new, so long term effects (like the rest of these drugs) aren't fully know. But it's another treatment option.

does anybody else notice how the original poster used dozens of ...'s? He acts like the end of every single paragraph is some epic story that needs ... every five lines. I know I'm not the only one out there who noticed that shyat.