Reply to Child with ADHD-- if you decided not to medicate, why?

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Reply to "Child with ADHD-- if you decided not to medicate, why?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]We don't medicate our D because there's a history of addiction, including alcoholism, in our family. I didn't want to run the risk of having my child become dependent on medications and I was concerned that ADD medication might be a gateway to other types of medication. 
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We made the opposite decision.  On my side there's a strong family history of substance abuse, depression and suicide as well as undiagnosed ADHD (they're dead now and can't be formally tested).  I'm determined my kids won't go the route my siblings did. We talked to the kids from an early age about how our brains are wired and the dangers of addiction/depression.  They also know about the suicides in my family and the role our brains play in it.  We talk a lot about mental health and mindset. I think this is the best tool we have to help keep our kids healthy.

As far as medication goes, we avoided it for a while. We started out doing what PPs have suggested, structure/routine/exercise/diet, etc.  But, our DS continued to struggle and it affected his confidence/esteem.  He'd be so very hard on himself.  It was hard for me to see, especially since I know that's the road to depression.  It was even harder for DH because he recognized DS's struggles.  DH was diagnosed with ADHD after our oldest was.  Watching DS struggle was like re-living his own struggles and he didn't want DS to go through what he'd gone through.  DH also suffers from depression and given my family history, the comorbidity of depression and ADHD, we have legitimate grounds for concern.  Our oldest DS had too many negative side effects with stimulants so he's on a non-stimulant.  We're not looking for him to be in the top of his class.  We want him to enjoy learining and do his best.  ADHD medication helps him with that.

It sounds like you made the right medication decision for your family.  Our situation is a little different with the history of depression/suicide.  We see ADHD medication as a tool to mitigate the propensity for depression and self-medication.  [/quote]

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