Medication Guilt

[ADHDmetoo]

Do any other parents have a deep guilt of medicating there children with ADHD? I just read this about Parkinson's and worry even more... sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

[DayFisher]

I think our society has lead to a lot of parents feeling guilty about medicating their children for ADHD. We feel guilty and selfish like we are doing it for our own piece of mind. Others are very quickly to pass their opinions good or bad. Remember that everyone's needs are different and that medication is an option. My child has started medication along with some other therapies to help reduce her struggles. Medication wasn't a first choice because they get such a bad rap, but then remember any medication can cause worry, from Tylenol to Adderall...don't beat yourself up!

[Janice_H]

Yes, initially I felt a lot of guilt for putting my child on medication. He experienced several side effects - lethargy, sleeping most of the day, loss of appetite, mood swings, aggressiveness. Seeing him in a different state was hard to accept. Once his system got used to the medications, the side effects subsided and he is doing better. Feeling a sense of guilt is normal.

[sea8shell]

Yes, my husband and I went back and forth about medicating our daughter. I still worry about it, but the benefits have outweighed the risks. At the end of the day that's the only thing you can really ask yourself. Is this doing more good or not? Is your child's behavior better, are they able to focus more, sit still longer, get along with other children better and show improvement in schoolwork Our daughter just couldn't do it anymore without the medication. We were really left with no other choice. She was just out of control on all fronts.

[ADHDmetoo]

Thank you all for your responses. Our son is doing well in school and isn't getting into trouble. We have an s storm in the evening though which we are still trying to figure out medication-wise. I feel he wasn't like this though before the medication. He had some behavioral issues, but never to the extremes we are seeing now when the meds wear off (major 3 hour plus meltdowns, saying he wishes he was dead, throwing toys off the 2nd floor to the 1st floor almost hitting us, throwing the chair down, etc.). And I worry that because of our medicating him now, there were be horrible consequences in the future like early onset and higher propensity of getting Parkinson's disease or other issues. I feel we just don't know yet the long term affects of these drugs we are giving to our kids. It saddens me. But I am honestly not sure we would be able to not have him on medication unless I quit my job and dedicated my full time to homeschooling him myself.

[5Flyingeagle]

I have the opposite guilt. I wonder if I am doing the right thing by not medicating. She is doing ok at school at the moment (2nd grade). She does have a few issues but not too bad. Though when she gets home it is another story. If she had a bad day at school she lets me know. It is like she trys to hold it together at school and trys to please most people but when she gets home she releases the whole day on me. I can handle it for now; but the older she gets the worse her behavior gets. She has ADHD both kinds, ODD, OCD, Anxiety-NOS, some Sensory issues and some fancy word for not being potty trained at night.