ADHD/Anxiety cross overs? BTDT?

hi, I havent done everything, or anything yet , but I am looking to be a foster parent and adopt a daught **fingers crossed** , But I have 2 Bio sons that are both ADHD , I can tell you without thier meds, they are super hyper, and cant *( FOCUS ) like if you are asking questions, they will answer one or 2 , but become distrated VERY easily and start talking about somthing non related fast !! my oldest would be crazy eyed, and just not seem to be on this earth at all .. LOL my youngest has anxiety, he is 13 now, and has been scared to make new friends talk to to ctrangers, and esp talk to girls .. *( which soem is normale for a puberity aged boy ) BUT he cant sleep at night ethier, the dr said he may be getting his afternoon dose to late and that deters sleeping on time, So we switched him back to concerta and the only side effect so far is he is very emotional , if I get on him about not doing somthing or not doing it right .. he will cry .. and somtimes get ALL upset over nothing. as I know this is just a side effect, I just calm him down let him know its all alright and he doesent need to worry , and he usually calms himself down after that , BUT I can tell you thier is no way your child doesnt have ADD or ADHD and be on these meds. when my 18 year old was first introduced to meds for ADHD, I said well if my baby has to take this I am taking it first *( I wouldent advice this I was only 22 and very neive) ANYWAY the thing is this. IF you have ADHD the meds work to calm you down. if you DONT have ADD or ADHD **( like ME ) these meds make you HYPER as heck !!! shaking cleaning the house, crazy hyper and cant sleep at all !!!!! So he just probally needs a lower dose, esp if you can deal with his hyper moments ... try lowering dose in am, if more than one pill, and just one in afternoon , *( make sure to give at 12, NO later then 2, or he wont be able to sleep . ALSO ONE more thoughty with the ADHD or ADD, thier is almost ALWAYS another psy. problem that comes with these .. Like both my boys are bi=polar, and I belive thier is more wrong with my 13 yr old, b7t here in florence, s.c. I cant find a decent psyciatrist to take him too ........ I HTH and answeres some of your questions, feel free to message me, I will answer anything I know about good luck and enjoy your lil boy !!!! I CANT WAIT I am looking for a home of my own tgo rent, then starting my classes and homestudy, so I can foster mom , and hopefully adopt : ) thats why I am here to gain all knowledge and help and skills to deal with my NEW start in life of a home FILLED with LOVE, laughter, and JOY !!!!!!!!! ~~ starla *( sorry to write SOOO much very bad habit of mine and typos too .. sorry !!! )

BTDT. My son came to me on several medications including Adderall for ADHD. It our case, my son's anxiety was the cause of the symptoms which were diagnosed as ADHD. We knew for sure when, on a school break and under the supervision of his psychiatrist, we discontinued his medication. We didn't notice much of a difference in his behavior and he reported not feeling much different. But a week after he returned to school I got a call asking "WHAT did you do?". I sheepishly admitted we had discontinued the Adderall. The school responded "Well, the change has been amazing, he's so much calmer and more focused". So that was that, he hasn't been on it again. But we still have to deal with the anxiety and the results of that on his behavior.I know our story isn't everyone's story but I do believe a lot of foster kids have very high anxiety levels and that can cause symptoms which look a lot like ADHD or ADD. I think, under the supervision of a doctor, you may want to see what happens if you reduce or eliminate the medication for a period of time and evaluate what happens. In our case, it was not possible to change the dosage until after DCF involvement ended so it took awhile to find out what was going on.Best of luck! And let us know how you are doing.

I say cut the meds and see what happens. My ad was sent to me on ADHD meds.....she didn't seem to me to have a problem focusing, but was VERY hyper. Took her off the meds and she calmed down. The meds are like uppers if the kids aren't truly ADHD. Also, I teach emotionally disturbed kids, and have seen several on ADHD meds when even I could tell it was anger/trauma response.

many ADHD meds ARE uppers. that's why they're so valuable for resale at schools and on the streets. people without ADHD will react to them like anyone would expect with an upper--busier, more talkative, maybe more aggressive, zipping around like it's 8 o'clock in the morning. they are also addicting. that's why they are a controlled substance. the drugs stimulate that part of the brain that controls behavior. our little ADHD wonders have a "sleepy" part that needs the stimulation in order to self-regulate their behaviors. the rest of us do not need anything extra. for certain, if your child does not have ADHD, the meds will not quiet their business--they will increase it. if you see this, please, please, please do not just take your kid off. do it with the doctor's assistance. some meds for ADHD require a weaning down process. cold turkey makes for some serious withdrawal for some of the drugs. and having said that, i thank God for the meds. i have 2 sons who were beyond bouncing off of walls and never sleeping. without their medication, daily life was insane, school was beyond them, and they were constantly in trouble for behavior that they could not contain--not that they would not, it was definitely could not. get your prescribing physician on board. let him/her know what's going on and what you want to try. then follow whatever steps s/he gives you. good luck. and i really do hope that your child does not need the meds, but if they just need a med change, please look into that as well. again, best of luck!

Thanks so far. If anyone has anything else to add or second, please do. Lotta and green, thank you for reminding me of what I know, but sometimes forget - that if the Adderall is working, then he has the disorder. Period.Hunter and Myodd, I hear you about weaning unneccesary meds. My intuition and brief experience with him tells me he may be able to function with less, and my research tells me that giving a kid from a methamphetamine-addicted family with likely exposure in utero what essentially amounts to legal methamphetamine is kind of scary.All that said, I don't plan on making any changes until a) he is settled in well here and transition issues are resolved, b) we have chosen a primary physician when my new insurance starts and accepted his/her guidance on the issue, and maybe c) when we finalize and don't need to worry about the court's or county's opinion on his needs. I really do appreciate the perspectives in the mean time. Thanks.

I am by no means an expert, just the mom of a very active boy, but here's my two cents. I assumed my son had ADHD, and at one of his physicals (age 4), when he was jumping all over the exam table, the doctor suggested we start him on meds for it. At that time, he'd been doing all sorts of wacky, impulsive stuff like running into the street, trying to jump onto train tracks (in a busy NYC station), throwing stuff and continuous movement all day long. But another doctor said to wait until he got to school and see if he could focus. If he could not absorb anything because his brain was in overdrive, then it was time to medicate him. He's now 6 and logic has taken over and cured some of the impulsive behaviors. And he is able to function in school. Although he is not a rocket scientist type of kid, he can focus when he finds something interesting. So, I just wrote off the ADHD and never had him tested. He still needs several hours of outdoors activity a day, to tire him out, and then he behaves. If he is bored or not tired out, he misbehaves. I have noticed that he lashes out at us, and acts really crazy and irrational when he has an unstructured day, or he is in a new situation - an unfamiliar home, a new restaurant, or transitions from school days to vacations or vice-versa. Then it's almost painful to watch his wacky behavior. He says off-the-wall stuff, hits us and mouths off. There is a boy in my Sunday school class who is truly hyper, so I can see a difference between him and my son. This boy just can't calm down even when he is interested in an activity, his mind just seems to be stuck in hyperdrive. He reminds me of a spinning top - he just never stops to see where he is or what he is doing. So I agree with you - the anxiety may be mixed up with the ADHD diagnosis. If you have a very structured routine, and he feels comfortable knowing the boundaries, it might resolve itself. Hope that helps. Rachael

Thanks Rach- Quick question: Looks like your boy is halfway to grown now, but when he was younger and needed supervision for his outdoor wear-himself-out time, how did you handle days when you were too busy and/or tired to supervise? Regular physical activity does help Little Guy a lot, but that means I have all that activity on top of work and homecare! Walking or riding bikes to the park, pushing on swings, horseplay, swimming 1-2 hours a day... Forget about him, I tire myself out! And if I give myself a "break" from so much activity, then I lose the "break" I would have earned as far as behavior goes. On the plus side, I've lost several pounds since he moved in. :arrow:

I know what you mean about wanting a break from the activity, but then losing the break for good behavior. That's what's so stressful. You can't get anything done for yourself. Sometimes we'd head to the park for the tenth time that week and I wanted to scream. Our house filthy, there was nothing for dinner and I'd be sitting at the park. I'm trying to remember how fitting in all the activity worked- those years all seem like a blur now. My husband and I passed him off to each other. One would rest while the other took Manny out. We have a Little Tykes roller coaster which we put at the top of a hill in our yard and he'd go on that over and over. We could watch him from the window, and cook dinner or just sit down. Chuck E Cheese was a Godsend. He'd run around like a nut and I could sit at a table and read a book, knowing he was safely coralled in. Then we realized big things like washing the car or pushing the garbage cans to the street and back worked really well for tiring him out. If we go to the grocery store, he pushes the cart (I keep my hand on the front though), and now I send him on missions to the furthest part of the store, for one item at a time. This keeps him moving. Then we just walked places - the library, the corner store and the playground. If I'm really tired, I'll make him a bet that he can't run across the field behind the house and back before I count to 100 - that works pretty well at times. He plays soccer - that is a good sport where all the kids run around the whole time. I don't work, so the summers get long. I take him to a lot of fairs - sometimes we will return several days in a row if it has a cheap admission price, lots to do and is open late. It gets a bit easier every year - just hang in there. But you might have to temporarily give up on stuff like cleaning the house, having people over and hobbies. Glad to hear that your son has helped you lose some pounds though! :o Rachael

Katrina, it sounds like anxiety along with a sensory processing disorder. Try getting a trampoline (with a net!!!) or one of those small indoor ones that have a handle that he would hold onto while jumping. Have him jump on it for at least the duration of a few songs on a CD. Read up on sensory diets and see if you can incorporate any of it into his day. Try a weighted blanket for bed time (dream catchers is a good one), and maybe a white noise machine.

My DS came home at 6 and wasn't diagnosed ADHD. but there was anxiety. Fast forward 4 years, he's showing major anger - bad enough where he has a teacher in a one-on-one setting. He's seen 3 psychiatrist, none of whom pick up on the anxiety. I tell the psych and she gives him Celexa. there is such a change. Is he still hyper? Yes, but I'd rather the hyper than the anger. and with the Celexa, he's able to sit still in school.

Well, first, I gather the child is still in care? If so, you can't just not give medicince prescribed by a doctor. If would be "medical neglect" and could definitely be brought up by a defense attorney. But LG was very hyper vigilant and is also ADHD (as well as autistic--actually, I don't think he truly is autistic, but rather that he has some other nuerological disorder that is similiar but different from autism, which really isn't to the point.) He is also labeled PTSD symptoms. When he was very hyper vigilant there was just a feel to it that was different than the ADHD. There was (and is just after visits with siblings or birth family) just a tension in his body and that look of anxiety in his eyes. Being on or off of ADHD medication lilttle impact on those behaviors. Plus when he was hyper vigilant, he is literally "on edge". He perches on chairs (to be able to escape faster), he goes into hyper drive near doors (ready to bolt in case he's being locked in), will not just flinch-something that is so ingrained even now sudden movements cause him to flinch-but actually run and hide behind furniture. The ADHD thing....he's non verbal, so he can't say what it feels like, but you can literally see the world flashing in his eyes. Without medication his attention span is about 3 seconds-he gets distracted in the middle of even playing and relaxing to the point he can't complete preferred activities. He's bouncier...but there is a relaxed quality especially in his shoulders. He doesn't do the constant scanning and isn't so defensive when its just ADHD--just animated and flickery. The other caution about not giving Adderall.....I had a girl placed with me who was on Adderall. I was told it was for ADHD. Turn out it *wasn't* for ADHD, she had a personality disorder. Unfortunately, her medication wasn't at theraputic levels, but without it at all, whew, that was rough. DSS really thought the dx was ADHD, because that was what they'd been told--it was only once her full record caught up with her that we found out the truth. Finally, my son isn't on Adderall, but he has been on Intuniv, Strattera, and something with that eludes me at the moment. His behaviors after missing 1 dose aren't any different than on the medication. When they do medication management he can't take any meds and has to skip the doses. Its no biggy because the medication builds up in the system. But miss 2 to 4 doses and Flash comes to visit. The other issue, is that when he does miss a dose, its not the "missed" dose time frame that causes a problem--its the day of the next dose. On those days Mr. Cranky Boots visits with his pinchy fingers.

I think anxiety can very much present as ADHD (though certainly some may have both). Our former son was extremely hyperactive the first couple years we had him (before devolving into something way worse than hyperactive) whenever he was in a social setting or something was more stressful than normal. Yet, he could sit for hours putting together a several hundred piece puzzle-- by choice at the age of 5-6. I could not ever convince myself to put him on meds when he could easily focus for long periods. Unfortunately there aren't great meds for bad cases of RAD...

Anxiety can present like ADHD and ADHD stimulant meds amp up anxiety. The problem is "specialists" see 'foster' kids and hyperactivity and diagnose them as ADHD. L was seen by 3 specialists along with the school psychologist and i was the one to notice the anxiety.

I've noticed a huge change in my son as he's settled in more and is less anxious. He was diagnosed with ADHD just before moving in with us, and has been on Adderall for the last 3 years. I do believe it's a correct diagnosis, but I think the symptoms were increased because of his anxiety.We're typically only medicating him for school, as he still needs the additional help to assist him in focusing. But we didn't use it at all this summer, or on the weekends. Most of the time he is able to maintain his age-appropriate behaviours. HOWEVER, when he's anxious or excited he reverts to his old extra hyperactive behaviours. Sometimes if I know he'll be in a stressful situation I'll have him take his Adderall even if he doesn't have school. It just helps him focus on what's going on a little better.