ritalin

I have a three yr old...I just can't imagine medicating her with something like ritilin without exhausting all possible other options 1st. I also agree with the previous poster that thing likes ADD ,and ritalin are diagnosed and prescribed all too often- if it was me I would consider getting a second opinion even..I would worry about things like autism,which often git missed diagnosed as ADD..
and definatly look into behavioral triggers in his diet.You would be amazed what things like red food color can do to some peoples behavior.

 

I take ritalin.

How many mgs is the script for?

3 years old is far, far too young to give narcotics to your child. It is a narcotic, and it's a stimulant, yadda yadda, you have your reasons for not giving it to him. Find a child ADHD specialist. Ask your family doctor for a referral.

There are child ADHD specialists out there who can help both you and your son with alternative methods. It took me nearly a year to get a referral for an adult ADD specialist to see me, but that's because there are very few adult specialists, however there are a whack-load of child specialists out there, and learning disability therapists who can assist your son.

Good luck.

 

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was four. I started taking Ritalin. It only gave me more problems i.e.- Trich(I started pulling out my own hair),several OCDs and a terrible temper. As soon as my parents took me off of it, the other problems faded out. The only medicine that I've had any kind of success with is Adderall. But, if he seems to be doing fine, that's great, just be cautious.

Also, as someone with 2 autistic cousins, I would have to agree with everyone who has mentioned autism before me. It is very often misdiagnosed and you should have him screened.

Good Luck.

 

:applause: Best post so far....

*now continues reading this thread*

 

My ex was put on ritalin when he was 6, and all it did was mess him up. He started up with these strange habits, like blowing on his chest and hands, and becoming scared of touching things that others had touched. He still has those habits (among others) that he only got once being put on ritalin.

I think that putting your children on meds at 3 is just mental, but it goes to show you what doctors are like these days, they write down a perscription and move on to the next patent.

I agree that you should go to a specialist before putting your kid on drugs, his brain is still growing, and I can't see that medication having anything but a negitive effect in the long run.

 

I do not think that it's harsh at all. I think that giving your child drugs is irresponsible parenting. How would you react if someone let a 3 year old smoke marijuana to "calm him down"? People would probably freak the fuck out. Even though marijuana is clinically known to be much less dangerous, have much less addiction potential, and has its long-term effects known.

There is no telling how all of these medications will affect kids when they get old. I know plenty of adults who take ritalin and it fucks them up. I haven't ever seen it truly work for someone unless they were taking it in combination with something else. (Concerta or such).

Hell, I even took ritalin once my freshman year of school to try it out, and it just made my head spin, making me sick as shit for the entire day.

As I said, giving your child such a powerful drug, especially at such a young age is extremely irresponsible. I'm not one to tell people how to raise their kids, but I will not withhold myself from saying this...

Giving ritalin to a three year old is a crime in my book.

 

...

Sorry, this thread reminded me of this Simpsons episode...

 

I personally think that prescription drugs in general are bad news, breeding a reliance on pills rather than cure. That goes for all age groups, and especially so for kids. I don't think that it's a good idea to be giving drugs to a child so young.

However, it was your comment about 'being easier than parenting' that I took offense to. I thought that was an intentional swipe at a mum who seems to maybe need helpful advice rather than to be condemned.

 

I did not mean it as a personal attack, but more of a refrection upon American parenting which seems to be very dependent on pills instead of parenting itself. I do apologize for it coming off as an attack.

I do feel very strongly about the subject though, and find giving such drugs to children as something that's utterly disgusting.

 

Homeopathy. It doesn't work.

Changes in diet do help. I also agree with the posters who say that a spreeing for autism is important.

It's very easy for a single 21 year old guy who doesn't have to deal with the serious repercussions of having the police called on you for accompanying your 3 year old.

And again, I do not think giving amphetamines to a 3 year old is the best option, as it can have serious long term repercussions.

 

some guys actually did smoke up their 3 yr old nephew and i think the other one was like 6 or something.
i think they're going to jail.
that's also disgusting and totally irresponsible.

anyway, i think that fact that its basically just zoning out your kid, and willingly putting his future health at risk because of side effects, is not a good idea. three yr old boys are also naturally really hyper and all over the place. I understand it seems more extreme in his case....but i'd exhaust all other options before i go to ritalin.

this whole thread is pretty funny though. She gets bitched at for trying to be able to hold her kids hand when lots of people who replied pop benzos and are never not stoned out of their minds.

bitch! don't you dare try and give your kid a better life! *pops valium* *takes a hit* *sips a beer*

 

trust your instincts. if you think its not a good idea, its probably not. i have a 3 year old girl, and she's pretty good most of the time, but she does have her moments and i know how frustrating it can be. i was diagnosed with ADHD so i'm sure at least one of my kids will be. i was put on medicine for it, and it made me focus better, but i wasnt myself. i stopped taking it without telling my parents, which is a pretty common thing to do, i find. i personally would not put my either of my kids on medication unless they were old enough to understand the consequences and decide for themselves. even then, i don't think i would like it. 3 years old is so young, his brain is developing so much. these are critical developmental times, and rather than trying to medicate him, try to work with him, embrace the fact that he is independent and unique and distract him from things that will get him in trouble. sports, anything. he has all this energy and doesnt know what to do with it. he needs to learn how to put it into constructive things, and not just "make it go away" with a pill. it will be hard, but he will be a better kid (and adult) if he learns to deal with all the energy and excitement he has.
good luck!!!

 

Well it's better to start tackling these things earlier rather than later as this child will be learning to focus at this age and some thing like adhd can prevent the learning of such habits. oddly adhd does not really mean that you've less attention but that you're always focused on something to the detriment of what people are trying to get you to focus on. so you end up focusing on everything that catches your eye/ear/mind so thourghaly that you don't bring the focus back on your original topic. hence Ritalin will help when forming habits that mean that one day the child could function with out the help of pills. I my self was diagnosed late in life but even then help was slow coming and as my psychiatrist explained to me the meds we tried on me may have helped when I was younger but I had deceads of bad habits to work against too. We had great chats about it cos I'm a psychologist and she's a psychiatrist so I was well informed enough to ask the tricky questions and get the long version answers. Adhd is no passing thing and you can be smart and well adjusted as hell but still find that you fuck up your own life and spend it is a state of frustration or surrender. It is Important to stop the meds once in a while having first informed your doctor and if you should do it during the school year the teachers, cos the change may really freak them out, but I'd not take your child off the meds during the school year unless there's a pressing need. The dose is not particularly high though I don't know your child's body weight. the next thing you can do for your child is start teaching organization and goal focused activitys. Oh and diet can help lots I'm often surprised how many people don't realize the effect of certain foods at certain times of the day on children. any Questions give me a pm and I'll let you know the little I do know. and beware the advice you'll get from magazines and websites. Good Luck to both of you

 

Yeah, people shouldn't smoke their kids out either. The people who smoked the kids out are in jail... for a reason.

I do not see how this is at all relevant. Puting the kid on pills because the police was called is ridiculous.

I do see what you mean, I am not a parent and am not in the right position to make such a decision. This still doesn't change the fact that pharms are bad for you, no matter who you are... she doesn't have to take my advice and not give the kid the pills, but I will continuously state my opinion on the subject, because I honestly believe that I'm right. It's not like I'm doing this out of spite or anything, I really do think that people are hurting their kids by giving them meds at such a young age. I would be warry about giving a 3 year old too much Tylenol....... while this thread is about ritalin, something that's a million times stronger.

 

Rubin...just my 2 cents...

When a person who needs a chemical in their brain takes a med for it, the chemical goes up to a "normal" level.
When a person who does not need the med takes it, the "normal" level they had goes up to abnormal...

That is why you got sick. Not because the medication is bad.


That said, I would not give my 3 year old anything like that. And this is coming from a mom who could not take her 3 year olds shopping because they would cause scenes just like the one you described. I am actually surprised the police were never called, because there were times I was waiting for it.

I stayed home a lot, and only had 2 people I could trust to sit with my kids. The older one has Autism...the younger one is just a tornado...

For me, a few years of staying home is worth his health in the long run.

 

Kids wouldnt act up in the grocery store if they were diciplined.

When me, my brother or sister acted up we were taken out to the car where we would receive a nice backhander or two. It would be a long time until we acted up again.

Ask any old man or women about how kids act these days they'll tell you parents are failing to bring their kids up properly.

 

Are you sure that you're not 50 something? For fuck sake, you're trying to say that everything can be controlled by beating your kids. FRom experience, I beg to differ.

Should she slap her three year-old into submission? Are you trying to say that all of your parents' generation were brought up properly? Why are there so many fucked up adults then?

I'm all for free speech but what the fuck are you actually trying to say here?

 

Ritalin has really helped me, and I've used it very responsibly, as an adult. I had my first pill at age 19 after a couple years of struggling to find out what was going on with me. I would strongly recommend that people experiment with a specialist, and NOT their family physician when it comes to taking the medication and alternative methods. My family doctor doesn't know everything, and he certainly doesn't know how to effectively treat the symptoms of ADHD, which is something that I have had to discover and find on my own.

Young boys are hyper-active, and I can't imagine what it would be like to try and raise one with ADHD after just having a baby.

Keep your chin up, dear. There are some really great physicians out there and support groups that can help you in ways that you aren't even aware of, with such a child.

Best of luck, you deserve some relief.

 

lol. Im not talking about beating, im talking about moderate discaplin when the kids in the wrong. Giving a kid ritalin is by far worse. Your giving a kid a foreign substance that you know fuck all about exept what the doctors and the panflet say.

You can take things in your own hand, or you can leave it to some assholes in suits whome pay doctors to prescibe their goods to kids.

are you stupid?

 

Stupid? Maybe. Ignorant? No.

Ignorance is the deliberate cultivation of stupidity (William Gaddis)

I have to say that doctors may know a little bit of something after all their studying. I don't usually stick up for the medical profession but if I go with what you're saying here, then why should I believe a doctor who says I've got cancer when I actually know nothing about it except what he/she and the pamphlet says.

I'm presuming that the mum here doesn't know what to do with her son, and has turned to professionals for help. So, I believe that she is taking the matter in her hands rather than dealing with it with the back of her hand like you suggest.

Now, she may not have got the best advice from her physician(that's not for me to decide, but her), but suggesting that all kids can be dealt with by discipline shows a huge amount of ignorance on your part. What if the kid is autistic? All the discipline i the world won't help.

Amanda, sorry for going off the point here.