Western Courier

Originally posted by

Chris B

Yep, unfortunately, I have to deal with this at work all the time. I see people come into our pharmacy for this, that, and the other thing. Some kids (most of them on welfare, so we're paying for it) are taking liquid Fluoxetine (Prozac) and ADHD medication ie. Adderall XR, Focalin, etc. The dumbest parents in the world are the morons who got pregnant at 18. Then their kids become Ritalin zombies throughout high school. If only these idiots realized that kids are supposed to be a little wild, and if you use good parenting skills (punishment, reward, reinforcement) and teach them to focus on the correct things (not this cartoons for 30 hours bullshit they allow these days) and give your kid at least SOMEWHAT of a well-balanced diet (all the morons let their kids eat 50000 grams of sucrose/day and wonder why they're running around all strung out with behavior disorders). And the physicians are at fault too but what the hell are they gunna do. "Theres something seriously wrong with my child!" There needs to be laws against the diagnoses of psychological disorders in children by general practitioners and the state needs to require all medication be approved through a certified child psychologist who is far more qualified in diagnosing these illnesses than a regular MD or DO.

I'm going to ignore most of your rantings and faulty generalizations because I realize that most others who read your posting will do the same. I've just got one question for you. How many children do you have?

Originally posted by

Chris B

Yep, unfortunately, I have to deal with this at work all the time. I see people come into our pharmacy for this, that, and the other thing. Some kids (most of them on welfare, so we're paying for it) are taking liquid Fluoxetine (Prozac) and ADHD medication ie. Adderall XR, Focalin, etc. The dumbest parents in the world are the morons who got pregnant at 18. Then their kids become Ritalin zombies throughout high school. If only these idiots realized that kids are supposed to be a little wild, and if you use good parenting skills (punishment, reward, reinforcement) and teach them to focus on the correct things (not this cartoons for 30 hours bullshit they allow these days) and give your kid at least SOMEWHAT of a well-balanced diet (all the morons let their kids eat 50000 grams of sucrose/day and wonder why they're running around all strung out with behavior disorders). And the physicians are at fault too but what the hell are they gunna do. "Theres something seriously wrong with my child!" There needs to be laws against the diagnoses of psychological disorders in children by general practitioners and the state needs to require all medication be approved through a certified child psychologist who is far more qualified in diagnosing these illnesses than a regular MD or DO.

you know sometimes people are working and still recieve help for things like medical insurance because they can not afford the medical insurance through their job. Also sometimes parents do more for their kids then throw them on pills, like therapy and groups and psychiatry apts. Don't judge a book by its cover.

Originally posted by

Shari D

We adopted a baby girl, and at age 2 years she was acting different . I don't know what I exactly mean by different, but I knew something wasn't right because she was my 9th adopted child.Plus I also have 3 bio children. At age 3 I ended up taking her to counseling and they said that she needed medication, but I was against putting her on medication at this young age. We tried different statagies to help with behaviors and nothing worked. She demanded so much of our time it was over whelming, and we were dealing with tantrums for no apparant reasons which came full force from out of the blue. This was total disruption and frustrating beyond our wildest dreams.Things would get better at times which gave us hope, but then she would start again.Finally after counselling and two more years we had no choice but to resort to medication. At first for ADHD. She seemed better at first but then it wasn't helping.She acted out at Day Care, would make up stories, that were beliveable, until we realized she was lieing !Then our family strutuce was being so disrupted we had to put her on other medication which was risperdal which helped alot at first. Now she is going on 8 years old, and we have been in counselling on a dailey basis at times, plus also once a month to help manage behaviors, and her medication is for ADHD (Stratera) Risperdal 3 times a day, and Tegretol 2 times a day. We still deal with manic episodes, and its heartbreaking but at least manageable.She has a hard time at school keeping friends because she tells lies and makes up stories about the kids in her class, so we are still trying to find coping stratagies in counseling.I still get depressed to think we have to medicate her, to be able to deal with her, but I realize that without this medication she would probably be hospitalized. I still get comments from family members and friends who don't think we should have her on medication, which makes us feel worse, but they don't live with her on a dailey basis either. We are afraid of the effects of the medication on her still developing brain, because there is no concrete evidence about the long term effect. This loving child can be a handful, but we will see her thru this terrible disorder, which has now been diagnosed as bipolar/ hyperactivity/ and attachment disorder. We have also found out that this is in her bio family with her mom having depression, maternal grandmother anxiety and bipolar. Her aunts with bipolar, her uncle with bipolar. Her bio father with severe ADHD.
I try and read up as much as I can on this disorder, but there isn't much about children with bipolar. So any information on this would be appreciated. Thank You Shari

Shari-
The internet is a great resource for gathering information about bipolar and other disorders. Some other websites that I have looked at in the past are:

http://www.bpkids.org/site/PageServer?gclid=CKmI3KHHo5ECFQ2aOAodv3yedw
This is a website to used to educate people about the disorder in children and adolescents.

http://www.bpchildren.com/
Here is another one.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767903161/homeschoolzone/
Here is a link to a book that I must admit I have not read but is supposed to provide some great information on bipolar children. Also, if you search amazon.com for books related to that you will see a whole bunch to choose from. I hope some of that information helps, good luck.

Originally posted by

Shari D

We adopted a baby girl, and at age 2 years she was acting different . I don't know what I exactly mean by different, but I knew something wasn't right because she was my 9th adopted child.Plus I also have 3 bio children. At age 3 I ended up taking her to counseling and they said that she needed medication, but I was against putting her on medication at this young age. We tried different statagies to help with behaviors and nothing worked. She demanded so much of our time it was over whelming, and we were dealing with tantrums for no apparant reasons which came full force from out of the blue. This was total disruption and frustrating beyond our wildest dreams.Things would get better at times which gave us hope, but then she would start again.Finally after counselling and two more years we had no choice but to resort to medication. At first for ADHD. She seemed better at first but then it wasn't helping.She acted out at Day Care, would make up stories, that were beliveable, until we realized she was lieing !Then our family strutuce was being so disrupted we had to put her on other medication which was risperdal which helped alot at first. Now she is going on 8 years old, and we have been in counselling on a dailey basis at times, plus also once a month to help manage behaviors, and her medication is for ADHD (Stratera) Risperdal 3 times a day, and Tegretol 2 times a day. We still deal with manic episodes, and its heartbreaking but at least manageable.She has a hard time at school keeping friends because she tells lies and makes up stories about the kids in her class, so we are still trying to find coping stratagies in counseling.I still get depressed to think we have to medicate her, to be able to deal with her, but I realize that without this medication she would probably be hospitalized. I still get comments from family members and friends who don't think we should have her on medication, which makes us feel worse, but they don't live with her on a dailey basis either. We are afraid of the effects of the medication on her still developing brain, because there is no concrete evidence about the long term effect. This loving child can be a handful, but we will see her thru this terrible disorder, which has now been diagnosed as bipolar/ hyperactivity/ and attachment disorder. We have also found out that this is in her bio family with her mom having depression, maternal grandmother anxiety and bipolar. Her aunts with bipolar, her uncle with bipolar. Her bio father with severe ADHD.
I try and read up as much as I can on this disorder, but there isn't much about children with bipolar. So any information on this would be appreciated. Thank You Shari

I would first like to tell you my heart goes out 2 u and your family. I am a mother of five children for the past 6 yrs my three oldest children have been on just about every medication out there, 4 different mental/behavioral agencies and hospitalized they are now 11,10,&8. I have been disgusted with most of the so called medical professionals we have dealt with while others have been very helpful. I myself am currently doing alot of research on over medicating our children. these medications they use they don't know the long lasting effects of them they don't know what could happen to our children down the road. my 3 were on that risperdal high doses and all it did was make them gain alot of weight and increased irritablity. they have diagnosed my children with adhd, bipolar nos, pdd pervasive developmental disorder, odd, mood disorder nos. with all the medications my children are worse than when i first took them to a doctor. after the med, therapy,hospitalzationsand school based partials i have three extremely defiant children that threaten to call children and youth if they don't get what they want . Wheres the help i don't know but i will find some somewhere because over medicating our children is a legal way of using them as lab rats!

Hi, my son was diagnosed with HDAD and PDD NOS and had some maniac and OD episodes.
We tried some drugs to calm him down first, but it didn't help because of the side effects. My son stutters, has sleeping problems, occasional tics, etc. Medications made those worse.

I can't advise about medications, every child is different and I know what it is really works for some.

However I want to share what we did for Philippe and what worked for us.

1. Diet (he has whole wheat bread grilled cheese & raw vegetables + fish oil for breakfast).
2. Exercises (we ride bikes to school and run for 5-10 min on a playground before the school starts).
3. Martial arts (helps with discipline, coordination, motivation). Tae Kwon Do worked better when Karate.
4. Swimming (helps with sensory issues).
5. We signed for www.attengo.com program (focus, attention, short-term memory).
6. Reiki (we tried it first when he started to stutter to easy up his speech). He goes through speech therapy now, but we continue with Reiki ones a month to for overall health benefits.

He couldn't do kindergarten and school suggested special ed. He is very bright (98%) and Department of Education gave us fonds to go to Special Ed private school if we found a placement, and we couldn't!
He was so explosive and out of control what he was refused a seat at four high functioning SE schools!

Now, Philippe goes to a regular class at his neighborhood school, has very good grades and functions really well. He doesn't take any medication.

It took us two years to get here, but now we feel much more in control and Philippe learns about his condition and how to help himself to overcome it.
We hope that knowledge and practice will empower him unlike a "magic pill".

I think you are absolutely right about trying alternative remedies. Eastern "holistic" aproach is really working well for my son.
Kids with such problems has sensory issues. They are overly sensative to all stimulus. It overwhelms them to the point they can't deal with it and go ballistic or withdraw or became over anxious. Reiki and relaxation therapy as water Shiatsy helps them to let it go.
Regular therapy really does miracle for our son to be more balanced and calm.
Also oversensitiveness, high imagination and boundless energy can be a sign of a gifted child. You said your girl likes to make art and is very calm and focused while doing it. May be this is a way out for her? Is there any museums/art programs in your area to get her involved? May be she can make friends with other kids like her who like art?
These kids can be very passion about their interest and can learn to channel their restlessness toward something constructive and positive.

I would also recommend some books what help us a lot.
Raising Your Spirited Child Rev Ed: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
The Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids: How to Understand, Live With, and Stick Up for Your Gifted Child by Sally Yahnke, Ph.D. Walker and Caryn Pernu (Paperback - Jun 2002)

Originally posted by

Doreen D

I have a child who has always had severe anxiety and many other issues I am her parent I live with her and deal with her most of her days and nights no one wants to give her medicine because they dont believe she has any issues. I just want them to listen I take her to a counsler last week who says (while my child is coloring) ok we can see she has adhd (she was showing no hyperactivity and was focused cause coloring for some reason is her one thing she can focus is on art) BUT then the counseler says my child has no anxiety issues or bi polar (she cant sleep, she goes into severe anxiety over a rain storm she is so afraid to be alone yet I always assure her she is ok) I could go on and on but basically they cant help her says shes too young to be diagnosed! Shes almost 11 and has been diagnosed when we lived elsewhere easily. The drs are running scared of helping children. If not meds then at least listen and believe and give advice. I am going to try natural remedys (she already gets no red dye no caffeine limited sugar and still is so hyper and cant focus) I work very hard with her I care for her deeply but if the drs wont help at all its up to me. They charge enough to tell you sorry we wont help you but heres the bill. They dont know my child my other older children and my family and friends who do know want to march in and tell these drs but that would make us look "crazy" I guess its sooooooooooooo confusing.