myeverything04
New Member
Hello Everyone,
I posted a few days ago regarding who to turn too when I felt our pediatrician wasn't grasping the effects Adderall XR was having on my difficult child. It was suggested that I start a new thread and introduce myself and my difficult child a little better. I am looking for imput as to if other children may have the same symptoms but a different diagnosis.
My difficult child's history started with being born at 33 weeks. I had a very difficult pregnancy - we conceived right away but I bleed at 14 weeks (blot clot, perhaps a twin but no one knew/knows). At 20 weeks I went in for a regular checkup only to find out I was fully ephased (spelling), dialated and having contractions. I was admitted to a local hospital where they attempted to stich my cervix closed but the stitch didn't hold. I was placed on a Turbutaline pump until I reached 31 weeks (to stop the contractions) but when I tapped out at the highest dose I was moved to Magnesium. This lasted a day and a half. I couldn't handle the Mag so I went off and delived my difficult child at 33 wks, 6 days.
difficult child had great lungs as I was given steroids while pregnant but she had a hard time feeding - wouldn't suck - so she was in the NICU for 30 days. She failed her first hearing test, which I was told was 'no big deal' as she was a preemie but did pass her 2nd test. I pumped for 6 wks but wasn't getting enough milk so we went to Neosure formula. Neosure didn't work as difficult child kept spitting it up so we tried a few others before we found out she had acid reflux. She was put on medications and finally was able to keep formula down. She adjusted to cereal and baby food with no problems. One thing I do remember is she had a huge sensory issue with popcicles the first few times she tried them. She also tended to eat too much and would often spit/throw up - not sure if her stomach just didn't know when it was full or what. difficult child also doesn't like to be held by anyone except mom or dad. This started at 4 months of age - my mom was a bit shocked as she said this normally doesn't start until much older.
When difficult child was 9 months old her dad and I split up. He was and still is a huge part of her life and she sees him and his new wife of 2.5 yrs on a regular weekly basis. This was also the time I went back to work and a friend of mine (whom I meet in the NICU as her daughter was an extreme preemie) began watching my daughter. My difficult child started early gross motor and fine motor intervention around 12 months as my friends daughter was already going and difficult child did qualify due to being a preemie. difficult child was late to crawl, walk, talk (and potty train). I just chalked this up to being a preemie and didn't think much of it. She loved puzzles, coloring and anything that felt different than a normal toy (loved the sand table, pasta table, water table, etc). She was a child that put everything in her mouth. She still, at the age of 8, puts things in her mouth. Loud noises did not go over well with difficult child and still don't. I still have to tell her when I'm going to turn on the vaccuum, the blender or when I'm going to flush the toilet. She doesn't like automatic hand dryers or toilets at public bathrooms. I saw a good improvement with her speaking skills but noticed she never sat down. I constantly had to chase her or have her sit on my lap during reading/music time. She had frequent meltdowns during eating because she wanted more but would have thrown up if she ate more. When she was 36 weeks old, the intervention with Help Me Grow ended as she was too old to go. She became VERY attached to my friends child (they were practically sisters) but our friendship ended in November 2010 after she made too many illegal bad choices. This of course has been hard on my difficult child as that was her best friend.
I want to throw in here that we were in a bad car accident when difficult child was 2.5. I over corrected on the highway, hit a guard rail, flipped the car 105 feet and then it rolled for another 100 feet. Because we had just moved into an apt on the 2nd floor, we had to move in with my dad for 3 months as I had a broken hip and couldn't walk. This is when I started laying down with my daughter at night to get her to go to sleep. I still have to do this now or she gets herself so worked up (scared, cries, screams and throws things) that she vomits.
So here we are at 36 months - difficult child begins pre-school, tries to potty train (finally a success at 4.5 yrs), starts becoming a picky eater, and really has trouble sitting still. She was always running around being distructive and was in her own little world a lot, not paying any attention to anyone but herself. ADHD/ADD runs in my side of the family as both I and my sister have ADD so I was beginning to wonder if these were early signs. She also had NO attention span, which most children don't at age 3, but hers was non existant. She was also an extremely emotional child. Cried when I dropped her off at pre-school, cried when I picked her up, cried a lot. I spoke to the pediatrician about her emotional outbursts but was told she could just be an emotional child. At 4 I spoke to the pediatrician about ADHD but she informed me to wait until Kindergarten. In Kindergarten her teacher noticed right away that she was inattentive and easily distracted so both I and her school teacher filled out a questionairre/survey (sorry, I don't know the names of them) regarding her behavior. The results suggested that she had ADHD.
It was in December of 2009 that she was first diagnosed with ADHD by a counceling group in our community. This diagnosis was based on both the questionairres myself and her teacher filled out, and an observation the councelor made during a few visits to her school. For 6 months I tried all the non-medication ways of helping her cope (strict schedule, adjusting foods, getting her in activities to burn off energy, etc) but nothing was helping so we tried Focalin XR for 30 days - needless to say she had EVERY side effect possible - no sleeping, no eating, she became nasty and mean when the medication wore off, upset stomach, etc. So I pulled her from the Focalin XR (May 2011) but didn't try anything else as summer had just started and I didn't want her on the medication over the summer anyways.
In June 2011 her school informed me they were only "moving her" to 2nd grade based on her age and height but were not "promoting her" to 2nd grade (as her reading/math skills were at the level of a Kindergartener), I took her to a local children's hospital for a 2nd option on the ADHD. She was confirmed ADHD but also added Mathmatical and Reading dyslexia. It was only 3 weeks into this years school year (September 2011) when her teacher contacted me as difficult child was humming, talking excessively and inattentive so much that she was concerned. So that is when I tried the Adderall XR.
I have (as well as my ex-husband and his wife) noticed a huge improvement with her overall behavior while on the Adderall XR. She is able to play alone, which she NEVER did before, for 30+ minutes, can sit while doing homework, isn't getting into trouble for talking/daydreaming at school and just seems to be more in tune with what is going on. But her appetite is a complete disaster. Like I mentioned before, she is PICKY and now won't even eat the few things (salami, mac & cheese, pork chops, pb&j) she actually did like. So I'm trying to give her the high calorie foods but she won't eat anything except Cheese Itz and junk.
I'm asking for imput from others to see if there could be anything else besides, or instead of ADHD. I have already had her evaluated for learning disabilities at the local children's hospital and thought any other 'things' would have come up but now I'm stating to wonder if she needs to see a neuropshy.
Thanks sooooo much for your imput! Finding this site has given me hope that I can figure out what is going on and help before it's too late.
I posted a few days ago regarding who to turn too when I felt our pediatrician wasn't grasping the effects Adderall XR was having on my difficult child. It was suggested that I start a new thread and introduce myself and my difficult child a little better. I am looking for imput as to if other children may have the same symptoms but a different diagnosis.
My difficult child's history started with being born at 33 weeks. I had a very difficult pregnancy - we conceived right away but I bleed at 14 weeks (blot clot, perhaps a twin but no one knew/knows). At 20 weeks I went in for a regular checkup only to find out I was fully ephased (spelling), dialated and having contractions. I was admitted to a local hospital where they attempted to stich my cervix closed but the stitch didn't hold. I was placed on a Turbutaline pump until I reached 31 weeks (to stop the contractions) but when I tapped out at the highest dose I was moved to Magnesium. This lasted a day and a half. I couldn't handle the Mag so I went off and delived my difficult child at 33 wks, 6 days.
difficult child had great lungs as I was given steroids while pregnant but she had a hard time feeding - wouldn't suck - so she was in the NICU for 30 days. She failed her first hearing test, which I was told was 'no big deal' as she was a preemie but did pass her 2nd test. I pumped for 6 wks but wasn't getting enough milk so we went to Neosure formula. Neosure didn't work as difficult child kept spitting it up so we tried a few others before we found out she had acid reflux. She was put on medications and finally was able to keep formula down. She adjusted to cereal and baby food with no problems. One thing I do remember is she had a huge sensory issue with popcicles the first few times she tried them. She also tended to eat too much and would often spit/throw up - not sure if her stomach just didn't know when it was full or what. difficult child also doesn't like to be held by anyone except mom or dad. This started at 4 months of age - my mom was a bit shocked as she said this normally doesn't start until much older.
When difficult child was 9 months old her dad and I split up. He was and still is a huge part of her life and she sees him and his new wife of 2.5 yrs on a regular weekly basis. This was also the time I went back to work and a friend of mine (whom I meet in the NICU as her daughter was an extreme preemie) began watching my daughter. My difficult child started early gross motor and fine motor intervention around 12 months as my friends daughter was already going and difficult child did qualify due to being a preemie. difficult child was late to crawl, walk, talk (and potty train). I just chalked this up to being a preemie and didn't think much of it. She loved puzzles, coloring and anything that felt different than a normal toy (loved the sand table, pasta table, water table, etc). She was a child that put everything in her mouth. She still, at the age of 8, puts things in her mouth. Loud noises did not go over well with difficult child and still don't. I still have to tell her when I'm going to turn on the vaccuum, the blender or when I'm going to flush the toilet. She doesn't like automatic hand dryers or toilets at public bathrooms. I saw a good improvement with her speaking skills but noticed she never sat down. I constantly had to chase her or have her sit on my lap during reading/music time. She had frequent meltdowns during eating because she wanted more but would have thrown up if she ate more. When she was 36 weeks old, the intervention with Help Me Grow ended as she was too old to go. She became VERY attached to my friends child (they were practically sisters) but our friendship ended in November 2010 after she made too many illegal bad choices. This of course has been hard on my difficult child as that was her best friend.
I want to throw in here that we were in a bad car accident when difficult child was 2.5. I over corrected on the highway, hit a guard rail, flipped the car 105 feet and then it rolled for another 100 feet. Because we had just moved into an apt on the 2nd floor, we had to move in with my dad for 3 months as I had a broken hip and couldn't walk. This is when I started laying down with my daughter at night to get her to go to sleep. I still have to do this now or she gets herself so worked up (scared, cries, screams and throws things) that she vomits.
So here we are at 36 months - difficult child begins pre-school, tries to potty train (finally a success at 4.5 yrs), starts becoming a picky eater, and really has trouble sitting still. She was always running around being distructive and was in her own little world a lot, not paying any attention to anyone but herself. ADHD/ADD runs in my side of the family as both I and my sister have ADD so I was beginning to wonder if these were early signs. She also had NO attention span, which most children don't at age 3, but hers was non existant. She was also an extremely emotional child. Cried when I dropped her off at pre-school, cried when I picked her up, cried a lot. I spoke to the pediatrician about her emotional outbursts but was told she could just be an emotional child. At 4 I spoke to the pediatrician about ADHD but she informed me to wait until Kindergarten. In Kindergarten her teacher noticed right away that she was inattentive and easily distracted so both I and her school teacher filled out a questionairre/survey (sorry, I don't know the names of them) regarding her behavior. The results suggested that she had ADHD.
It was in December of 2009 that she was first diagnosed with ADHD by a counceling group in our community. This diagnosis was based on both the questionairres myself and her teacher filled out, and an observation the councelor made during a few visits to her school. For 6 months I tried all the non-medication ways of helping her cope (strict schedule, adjusting foods, getting her in activities to burn off energy, etc) but nothing was helping so we tried Focalin XR for 30 days - needless to say she had EVERY side effect possible - no sleeping, no eating, she became nasty and mean when the medication wore off, upset stomach, etc. So I pulled her from the Focalin XR (May 2011) but didn't try anything else as summer had just started and I didn't want her on the medication over the summer anyways.
In June 2011 her school informed me they were only "moving her" to 2nd grade based on her age and height but were not "promoting her" to 2nd grade (as her reading/math skills were at the level of a Kindergartener), I took her to a local children's hospital for a 2nd option on the ADHD. She was confirmed ADHD but also added Mathmatical and Reading dyslexia. It was only 3 weeks into this years school year (September 2011) when her teacher contacted me as difficult child was humming, talking excessively and inattentive so much that she was concerned. So that is when I tried the Adderall XR.
I have (as well as my ex-husband and his wife) noticed a huge improvement with her overall behavior while on the Adderall XR. She is able to play alone, which she NEVER did before, for 30+ minutes, can sit while doing homework, isn't getting into trouble for talking/daydreaming at school and just seems to be more in tune with what is going on. But her appetite is a complete disaster. Like I mentioned before, she is PICKY and now won't even eat the few things (salami, mac & cheese, pork chops, pb&j) she actually did like. So I'm trying to give her the high calorie foods but she won't eat anything except Cheese Itz and junk.
I'm asking for imput from others to see if there could be anything else besides, or instead of ADHD. I have already had her evaluated for learning disabilities at the local children's hospital and thought any other 'things' would have come up but now I'm stating to wonder if she needs to see a neuropshy.
Thanks sooooo much for your imput! Finding this site has given me hope that I can figure out what is going on and help before it's too late.
I've found occasional tune-ups with- nutritionists to be very helpful. The hypersensitivity to sounds is so familiar - makes me think sensory issues, which again are not uncommon in preemies. But again, that's my bias, just based on life with- a former preemie. 
