ADHD, A FOUR LETTER WORD
Those dreaded letters scrolled upon a tablet first in the school, then upon the medical chart of your child. Solution, medicine, medicine, and more medicine. My son was only 4 when these issues began. I was a young mother, I did not know. No one told me.
My son, full of life, lots of energy, a beautiful smile, big blue eyes, my baby. It was only a short time of attending the pre-school before the "diagnoses" started. The teachers were lovely, the director (dictator) however, had plans. She knew better right? After all, she was the "specialist". What did I know, I was only the mother of this child. He was my first, I was young, and very much deceived. I believed the lies they told.
I was called frequently into her office. Sadly it did not take much to convince me that my son had this disorder. After all, he was active, he could not concentrate on his work, he would get up during class. The day I walked into the doctors office to have this confirmed was the beginning of our sorrows and grief. It took only 3 minutes of asking about 6 questions before the prescription pad came out of his pocket. And there it was, I chose to drug my child. I wish I had known, I wish someone had told me.
THE SIDE EFFECTS
I was told his appetite might decrease and that he would get a dry mouth, that was it. So here is what he went through:
1. Mood swings
2. Aggressive tendencies
3. Night terrors, woke up nightly screaming
4. Complained of "bugs" crawling on his skin
5. Smeared his own feces on his bedroom wall
6. Weight loss, extreme......his clothes no longer fit, they were too big
7. Dark circles under his eyes
8. Began chewing on his fingers until they would bleed
9. Worst of all..........quote from him, "I wish I was dead I want to kill myself!"
He would sleep for maybe two to three hours a night. I went back to the doctor to complain about all of this and here is what I was told about his behaviors:
"More than likely your son has other disorders that we could not see until he was given the medicine. We see this quite often in our patients. We treat for one disorder, but the medicine reveals what the "real" problems are."
MORE TREATMENT
During this visit he said my son had ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) and needed more medicine for that AND to help him sleep. In other words he wanted to medicate him for the new "disease" that cropped up as well as medicate him to treat the side effects caused from the first drug. I said no. I refused to give him more drugs so I went home and chose to give him a lower dose.
I cannot remember everything that was said, nor do I know what was written in his charts. I have requested my sons medical records as of yesterday and once those arrive I plan on posting my findings.
KINDERGARTEN IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HAPPY TIME
It was the first day of school. He was thrilled, I was nervous. For different reasons than most moms though. I knew what would happen before he ever began, and I was right. Within a couple of weeks of starting school the notes began coming home...."Can't sit still, squirms in seat, talks excessively, ect." Coincidentally, every report card I received as a child said that I "talked excessively". I was NOT medicated for talking, and at that time it was not considered a disorder.
The teacher and principle continued to give their personal diagnoses of my son and continued to press me about increasing his dose, maybe even give another dose at lunch. I had a very heated argument with his teacher when I walked into class for a meeting and saw that they had placed a partition around my sons desk at the far back corner of the room. It took every ounce of patience I had not to destroy it then and there. I demanded it be removed, this was abuse. Meanwhile at home things were just getting much worse. I was losing my son, he was dying and I did not know. Now typing these words I weep and cry, he needed me to speak out for him. I took too long, but I finally fought back.
I took my son to someone who specialized in natural health remedies and treatments. For the very first time my son had blood tests done. Something the doctor never did. He had a large amount of toxins of course. Though it is recommended that persons on these meds wean off slowly, I continued for one more week while "detoxing" my sons system with vitamins, nutrients, and healthy foods. After one week I flushed the rest of the pills down the toilet.
I began giving him plant enzyme capsules with each meal to help him digest his food. I changed our whole families diet. We eliminated all artificial colors, additives, and preservatives. I started making his school lunches rather than feed him the fast food garbage the schools give little children.
Once the school discovered I stopped all meds the fight became more intense. They did not like it in the least. They refused to give him the enzymes at lunch so I had to drive to the school everyday to make sure he was taken care of. I was told that they are only allowed to give drugs to kids prescribed by doctors. My doctor refused to send us a note asking them to give the vitamins to my son at lunch.
HOMESCHOOLING BEGAN
My plans changed. I was contemplating homeschooling, something I never thought of before, and knew very little about. I did not feel "qualified", but I knew I could do better than the school, I saw things there that disturbed me. Many kids were on drugs. It was not as rare as I thought. My husband and I were going to leave him in until the end of the school year. But just before Christmas break I was called into the principles office for another meeting. She began pressuring me again to go back to the medication. After a few minutes of listening to her insult my personal decisions for MY son I made a choice on the fly. "Gather my sons records, he will not be coming back after Christmas break. I am taking him home to love him the way God made him. He is never coming back." Her response?
HER - "Well I have a friend with four kids who homeschools and I can tell you it takes a very special person to homeschool their kids."
ME - "Well I think I am pretty special. Goodbye."
WHAT I LEARNED THREE DAYS AGO
The medication prescribed to my son was Adderall.
1. It is a stimulant
2. It is an AMPHETAMINE (no one told me this)
3. It is NOT supposed to be given to children under 6...........my son was 4 at the time. There have been NO studies of this drug for children under 6 years old.
4. During the time my son was taking it, 24 CHILDREN DIED WHILE TAKING ADDERALL AND NO ONE TOLD ME
5. Due to the deaths, Canada discontinued it for a time while the U.S. DID NOT
6. It causes the following side effects that no one informed me of and it was NOT handed to me by the pharmacist:
Agitation
Death
Heart Attack
Stroke
Mania, psychosis
Hallucinations
Hostility
Suicidal thoughts, ideation
Irregular heartbeat
Nervousness
Sleeplessness
Weight loss
There are more. My son displayed ALL of these above with the exception of stroke, death and heart attack. Never was I informed or told the medication did this or could do this. Remember, the doctor told me that these were NOT from the drug but rather a revealing of other mental disorders.
Additionally, they never did an EKG nor did they "monitor him closely" as they were supposed to. The FDA recommends frequent heart checks, blood pressure watched and EKG's while taking these medicines. My son was medicated and thrown to the side. They are also supposed to ask about your family history of heart problems, they did not ask me about mine. The majority of kids who die from these medicines suffer heart attack, stroke, or commit suicide. Children as young as 6 are taking their own lives while on these "safe" drugs.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
Yes we are still homeschooling. Do I still feel special? YES I DO! My son will be graduating this year. He is an amazing young man. Have we gone through stuff?......of course. The teen years have had turbulent moments, and that's okay. We have survived and did it without drugs. Imagine that!
He spends three to four afternoons a week volunteering at a local nursing home. He is a gifted piano player and will be attending a music ministry academy in the fall of 2013. HIs dream is to preach God's Word, share God's love and become a worship leader. Currently he is "practicing" his leading skills at our church. He is hard working, kind, and loves Jesus. He still has a beautiful smile and big blue eyes. He still has lots of energy. But I view it as a gift, not a disorder. He is creative and organized, a leader in the making.
One more note, the "test" they use to diagnose ADHD is VERY similar to the one used for gifted and talented students........just in case you needed to see the "specialness" of your own child.
Heather
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