I can’t believe that is has been a whole year since we first started this ride. When I wrote the article To Ritalin or Not we had just started on the unknown for us, but only because we had to come to the end of what else to do; we really only had one choice. What a ride it has been for our 9 year old. After all the worry and sleepless nights of ” have we done the right thing” to now it is amazing the difference in her quality of life.
It hasn’t been an easy year either. The family broke apart and we had visitors that should never have come to stay. I have learnt to be very careful with people that I let into our lives. We wouldn’t have coped as well as we did if the problems of Miss 9 were still as they were before we started the medication. She still had meltdowns and trouble coping with the family splitting, but at school she could concentrate and was able to talk about her feelings instead of acting them out.
I was worried about when she was to come off them, but there isn’t a withdrawal with her tablets. So she only takes them during the week for school. On the weekends she doesn’t need them, because she doesn’t have to focus and be quiet for so long. We were very lucky in the fact that the only side effect was the loss of appetite during the day, but by 3pm she is hungry again and back to normal. I make sure that she gets a big breakfast and a snack for school, even though she doesn’t feel like eating we have come to an agreement that she has to eat one thing while at school. Then it is afternoon tea and dinner.
The difference in the quality of life is amazing. She can now sit through most of the classroom programmes and even helps some of the the other kids when she has spare time. This is something that she has never been able to do from way back when she was a toddler. It would have ended up in a physical tussle and rude words. In saying all of this, it doesn’t mean I now have an angel all the time. The birthday party invitations are coming in now and she got so excited the first time to go to a party. I would never have left her at someone else’s home without me for fear of what she might do or say, but now she has sleep overs.
She hasn’t lost her fiery personality or stubbornness that she has when she really wants something done. There are tempers and tears, but they are the kind that every child gets now and then. It’s just not the out of control mind blowing fists and teeth coming at you.
As a whole family we are looking forward to the future and all the unknowns that come with raising children in this day and age.
I still believe that Ritalin is a last resort, but for parents that are in that place where there seems no way forward, remember you are not alone. Always get a second opinion. People will always give their opinion whether it is wanted or not, so take what you think you need and ignore the rest.
Responses to “Ritalin One Year On: My Story”
good on you for making this hard decision for your daughter; my parents made the same decision for me, for the same reasons, at around the same age as your daughter, and it has changed my life.
while i don’t like that i have to take medications, i know that i have had a future that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. as a school kid it helped me with making friends, fitting in, as well as school work: i went on to do well at school and uni and even did a phd. while concentrating continues to be a battle for me, i’ve achieved a lot despite that – and the medications (ritalin as a kid and dexamphetamine now) have helped when pure self-will just isn’t quite enough. now, as a mum, i am sure i would make the same decision my parents did. i just hope my son is not as high energy as i was! my partner, thankfully, has the opposite personality. we work well as a team!
the biggest battle for me now, as a grown woman, is organisation: i am naturally very disorganised and messy, but just can’t handle working or living in a disorganised or messy environment (!) which causes me a lot of stress. if you can start equipping your daughter now with basic organisational skills (list writing, etc etc) for life outside school, i’m sure she’ll thank you in the future!!
that’s so great to hear, we tried both kinds of Ritalin and they did nothing for my 2 kids.
It actually made them worse, so we have swapped over to Concerta and what a difference on the Ritalin my son was regressing and becoming non verbal and having melt downs and ignoring the world.
I am so happy that your daughter is so happy in her own skin and is succeeding with her progress.
I was placed an Ritalin for ADD when I was 12 and have to agree with all that is said above. It helped me to calm down and to actively participate in classroom life. Without it I don’t think I would have been able to make it thru school and certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.
I didn’t read your first story but this one has me in tears. I am so happy for you that things have taken a turn and your daughter has made some friends. That’s the part that got the tears flowing! Good luck for the future.