ADHD, Allie, and me

Allie and I have both been diagnosed with ADHD for about 2 years now.   Living with ADHD is like living with fireworks and landminds.  WE constantly have ideas and energya nd often start projects and leave messes as we go.  I am learning to manage ADHD and am doing my best to help Allie who is

WE have both been diagnosed by multiple doctors, psychiatrists ect.  I have gone to counseling, parenting classes and am have tried different medications.  Now that we finally have insurance, I was able to get on a controlled release medicine which works a lot better.  Allie is on one also.  Getting her to take medicine has been a challenge.  She does not like the gel capsules.  We have learned its ok to take them apart and put them in food, like pudding.

Like any parent, I did my research and tried other options before resulting to medicine.  I did not want to put my preschooler on it if it was unnecessary.  The end of last year, we decided we would try a low does of a stimulant to see if it helped.  It was like night and day.  She was happy, still creative and still active on the medicine

Dan thought that we should see how Allie did at school without medication.  She did well at school, but had a ton of meltdowns after school.  She was extremely aggressive, argumentative and just plain deffiant which is really challenging to deal with.  So after talking to another dr, I decided we should try having her go back on the medication and see if it improved behaviors.  When Alli arrived home from school she was happy, and not bouncing off the walls.  I was able to play with her without her yelling and arguing with everything I said!  So far, there has been no time outs or little girls sent to their rooms today...so I call that a success.

The afternoons and evenings are the hardest.  My medicine and energy wear off, and I often get tired and sometimes have headaches.  Alli often gets really rough with her sister and then they both end up fighting and unhappy.  I hope that putting her back on the medicine will help make afternoons calmer.  When they start fighting, I have a hard time getting things done and thinking clearly.  Afternoons here seem like walking around in an area filled with land minds or booby traps, you never know what and when it will set off, but it will happen and someone will blow up.

Which reminds me, I better end this blog before we have any blow ups or melt downs.