Medical testing for medication and neurology Dr.

[cristinarodriguez]

I have a 9 year old boy with ADHD he always had all signs of high ADHD since he was 18 months but was never diagnosed by Dr's ,and we still haven't made the decision of which medication to have him take, his pediatrician ask me which one I will like to try, I can not find a specialist here in Las Vegas there is a shortage in Dr's/ specialist and so on.

I got a referral from his pediatrician to see a geneticist, there is only one so it took him 6-7 months to see him, he too measures on his head and body and sent him on his way saying "there is nothing wrong with him mom", I ask him if he can do some blood testing on him to find out what type of medication will work better for him and he said "I dont do that type of test" he was very annoyed that I even ask him or even that I took him to see him when I guess he expect him to have some type of physical genetic deformation /syndrome?

Did I took him to the wrong specialist? I also got a referral to see a neurologist and I am afraid they wont look into anything , can some one tell me what type of testing a neurology can do for my son? beside the testing to find out the right medication(not sure what the name for that test is called) he also has gotten hurt on his head numerous times always getting stitches ,from falling back and hitting the back of his head at 2, getting hit in the face with a swinging rod bar in the park near his eye socket, also running into a still bin and open his forehead and other 3 more accidents, is there any test he can do to make sure everything is ok inside his head?

please advise,

[Jaden78]

Hi Cristina,

I’m sorry you had such trouble getting the help you need. Our pediatrician suggested the type of medication to try. It’s odd that yours asked you. Maybe you could ask him to give you more guidance on the options, as there are many. Or maybe a referral to a child psychiatrist for the medication management. It’s just the beginning of a long journey.

As for the genetic testing for the right medication, my doctor said that there is not any solid evidence as of yet to prove that this is an accurate way of deciding about the right meds and that slow, surpervised trial and error is the best.

As I understand you can get neurological assessment. It tells you about strengths and deficits in how the brain works in areas of executive functioning, working memory, etc. If you are concerned about a possible brain injury I think you are on the right track. Possibly a brain scan? I’d assume you’d have to ask your dr what he recommends.

Not really sure if any of that is helpful but wanted to reach out anyway. Good luck.

[Elijah1]

You have to ask yourself why you should see a neurologist. If you are looking to localize the ADHD in the brain, it is not likely that this doctor will help unless there is some past history of a brain insult. If that doctor can help you decide how to treat the ADHD, then it may be worthwhile to do it.

Doing a genetic test for 'choosing' a medication is probably not worthwhile at this time. I assume you have read about ADHD so you know that stimulant medication (Ritalin and Adderall products) work the best. Just decide if you need treatment for home and school or just school and how long you need the medication to last during the day to help you choose which one to try.

[Pennywink]

I am also surprised your pediatrician is asking you which medication you want to use. And then sent you to a geneticist? Honestly, I’d consider looking for a new pediatrician.

There is some reports of genetic testing helping to find the right medication. But as ADHD isn’t found to be cause by a deficit in a gene, like Downs Syndrome, a geneticist probably wouldn’t be much help. A neurologist might be a little better, depending on co-existing conditions (we see one for my son’s Tourette), but probably also not your best first choice.

As someone else posted, a pediatric psychiatrist would be the best choice, especially one with a focus on ADHD. A pediatric neuropsychologist could also help with testing to find strengths / weaknesses, and treatment recommendations - though a neuropsychologist doesn’t prescribe medication like the psychiatrist can.

If there aren’t a lot of private child psychiatrist’s in town, maybe look at a Children’s Hospital of nearby university?

[anirush]

I took my grandson to a neurologist. She told me he didn't have any things that she needs to run tests on like sleep apnea or seizures. She also told me that she didn't thing test to see what medication works best were accurate enough. It's tough I was hoping for some answers

[Parrot36]

We see a psychiatrist to prescribe my daughters medicine and she did the genetic test in her office. She just swabbed his cheeks and within a week we had the results. It’s not fool proof but it at least provides some guidance. The max you can be charged is 300 and insurance will likely cover some of it. Might be worth a visit to a pediatric psychiatrist to get a specialist who can handle all of your concerns.

[fleming007]

Thank you for sharing your story. This is a very bold move. I had a similar situation and I understand how hard it is. The fact is that my son had severe nervousness lately and I did not know what to do and decided to immediately consult a doctor. He said that symptoms ranging from mental fog to anxiety are often caused by an imbalance of a neurotransmitter in the brain and suggested purchasing special tests from myhealthconfirm.com/ in order to find out the result as soon as possible and we did so. After carefully checking the results, we realized that the problem was completely different. We were glad that he had no problems with mental perception!