Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - my son is 14 and seems to have all the signs of?

My son was diagnosed in the first grade with ADHD. I as a mother can relate with you and mixed emotions about putting your child on medication. He is now 13yrs. old and struggles in school, having the same issues with school work each year. He has never been a fighter but got in a fight this year because a kid kept calling him stupid. As I have watched him grow, it's like watching myself. I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until a few months ago, at the age of 34. I have been on meds for a couple of months. I am having some side effects but this can be fixed with changing dose or med. I can say for the first time in my life I had clarity and could focus!! I then understood how important it is to find the right med for my son and treating his learning disorder is like treating diabetes or some other disorder. Sometimes having ADHD can cause depression and anxiety. It usually goes hand-in-hand.

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You may notice once he gets on the right meds for ADHD some of the other sympoms may decrease. Everybody reacts differently with meds. I would take him to a specialist for his ADHD and talked with them about his diagnoses and medications.

Hi Misdee,

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My son is 12 with Adhd and is on Vyvanse 30mg. My husband and I never wanted him on medications. He has been this way since kindergarden. As he got older and could tell us how he was feeling. He was frustruated alot at school and at home. He could not concentrate in class. He could not sit still, it would drive him crazy. He was not feeling himself. So we decided to try Stratera. It worked but he was getting really pissed off and frusturated. We needed something else. It takes time to find the right med sometimes don't give up. So we tried Vyvanse. This really works for him for his Adhd. The only thing with Vyvanse is that it cuts his appetite. Especially at lunch time. So the doctor told us to buy him Ensure drinks and let him eat at night when he is starving. My son never weight alot in the beggining. Maybe that's why your son is having so many problems right now. He might be frustruated from his Adhd. Don't rule out that he is bipolar if he has seen a psychiatrist. Their is some great medecine for that too. Good luck and take care. Keep in touch o.k.

I'm not an expert. However, divorce is traumatic for everyone, especially when kids are involved. You said your son has had AD/HD since he was little, and you are okay with him taking that medicine. You didn't say what med they put him on for the bipolar disorder. I exhort you, please, don't make him go through the trauma of being off his medicine for the bipolar disorder when he is visiting with you. Things are bad enough without that. Like the others have said, different meds react in different ways, in various people. Please, give his med time to work, and see how he's going to do with it. Sometimes, it takes trying several meds one at a time, to see how it's going to do. If you don't agree with the diagnosis, take him to the psychiatrist of YOUR choice-someone you know you can trust, and try it again-IF you have the finances to do so.

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If not, then you need to trust your son and your former husband about the current diagnosis and wait patiently to see if your son's meds are going to work. You DID mention that your son HAS said to you that he has some problems with anxiety and depression. Since he has said that, you cannot deny that he has a problem. ADD/ADHD usually never comes by itself. There is usually at least one other emotional problem that comes with it. They have done scientific studies that have proven that. PLEASE, keep us posted on how your son is doing with all this. Thank you and have a great day. :)