ADHD & Gymnastics DD is struggling. Any ideas?

[Aussie_coach]

Keep in mind, many doctors are hesitant to toss around meds - especially stimulants!! - to depress the potential for dependency or escalation (that is, turning to new drugs to mimic or increase the desired affect). Perhaps the percieved problem is greater than the actual problem, and the doctor is being cautious for that purpose.
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There is a lot of controversy in the media about "stimulants" but the reality is quite different. Stimulants have been used to treat behavior disorders since the 1930's, back then they didn't know what ADHD was but they did recognize the condition was effectively treated by stimulants. Riltalin has been used to treat behavior disorders and hyperactivity since the 1950's. Because these medications are primarily used to treat children they are in fact one of the most studied medications available today, They are very safe there are many people today who have been treated with stimulants their whole lives and there are no long term side effects being seen.

Also it is a myth that stimulants are addictive in ADHD. Kids, teens and adults who get addicted to drugs are addicted to the effects of the drugs, it gives them a high and takes them away from reality. For a child with ADHD stimulants calm them down and brings them back to reality.

 

[LMV]

Some thoughts:
-The obvious disclaimer is that while I am a physician I do not want anyone to take this as medical advice. Anything I am contributing is best considered and then discussed with your child’s doctor.
-No one should be adjusting their children’s medications for any illness without knowledge and approval of the prescribing physician. This is a safety issue first and foremost. Beyond this with controlled substances [which most ADHD medications are] this could be construed as an attempt at controlled substances diversion and parents could actually face felony charges.
-Yes, ADHD/ADD are often misdiagnosed in all possible ways. Kids without this illness end sometimes do end up on medications which is bad. It is equally bad when cases are missed or when we ascribe to a theory that providing appropriate medications for ADD/ADHD is somehow less important or morally less justified than treating bacterial pneumonia with antibioitics.
-Our understanding of ADD/ADHD has changed a bit even over the past 5-10 years. We now understand that many kids with ADHD have impulse control issues that if untreated will cause more problems down the road. [Because we live in a far too litigious society my psychiatrist FIL says that MedMal cases where ADHD was missed or untreated and the child went on get in trouble with the law, have substance abuse issues etc and now is coming back to sue are popping up.] So if your daughter is having problems with impulse control issues in the afternoon then to me that would be something to discuss with her doctor [and from my perspective it would be a reason to consider medication adjustment in some fashion]. At one point ADHD medications were mainly prescribed to facilitate school success [and with this treatment goal it made sense to focus on the school day and even to advocate drug holidays over weekends or vacations] now that we understand more about the illness treatment goals have been adapted.
-ADHD often exists co morbid with, confounds and sometimes even predisposes to other problems so if there is question about the diagnosis, the treatment approach, or anything it is perfectly reasonable to request a referral to a child psychiatrist for a second opinion style consultation.
-I’m not discouraging also working with skills based approaches at grounding and control. As adjunctive measures these may be great. I also think giving coaches the information they need to understand your child and help be part of the solution is great.
-In fairness, I think some pediatricians [especially the triple boarders in the group] do very well with ADHD/ADD and some do not. A consultation with child psychiatry as a sort of second opinion is always good too. My sense is that a lot of pediatricians are doing more with psychiatry just because there seems to be such a shortage of child psychiatrists in many pockets of our country.

I hope you manage to navigate through this to a workable safe solution. Good Luck!

 

[Rainee100]

Ask her pediatrician about an extended release medication. Mine lasts 10 to 12 hours and is used in children and adults.

 

[AGM78910]

My DS has been on the extended release ADD meds for about 8 years. Great improvement over the other kind and it does last for about 10 hours. Our pediatrician recommended exercise in addition to the meds as well as making sure he gets plenty of protien. With gymnastics nutrition is very important because the gymnasts burn off calories so fast. And ADD meds also rev up the metabolism.

 

[ryantroop]

There is a lot of controversy in the media about "stimulants" but the reality is quite different. Stimulants have been used to treat behavior disorders since the 1930's, back then they didn't know what ADHD was but they did recognize the condition was effectively treated by stimulants. Riltalin has been used to treat behavior disorders and hyperactivity since the 1950's. Because these medications are primarily used to treat children they are in fact one of the most studied medications available today, They are very safe there are many people today who have been treated with stimulants their whole lives and there are no long term side effects being seen.

Also it is a myth that stimulants are addictive in ADHD. Kids, teens and adults who get addicted to drugs are addicted to the effects of the drugs, it gives them a high and takes them away from reality. For a child with ADHD stimulants calm them down and brings them back to reality.

You will note that I never said that the drug itself was addictive. It's the effects that are, and when the meds are bouncy (caused by parents playing with med times/doses or kids doing the same), the brain tends to naturally head towards other drugs that cause a similar reaction - then you start getting into addictive drugs, and dependency problems. You will also note, that no drug in itself is addictive, it is how it reacts bio-chemically to create addictive behaviors and dependency. What happens when a child with ADHD seeks a stronger stimulant on their own because they know it will "ground them" or "help them focus more" and in reality they are adding on a string of side effects from the new drug?

Im also well aware that a very pure form of speed has been given to pilots for years to increase reaction times while flying at intense speeds. It's not the drug that is addictive, it's the desire to be in that elevated state of awareness and percieved feeling of empowerment.

However, this is a gymnastics board and not a medical/education board, and the only reason I brought it up was to encourage the parent to consider the consequences of taking medicating a child into their own hands instead of following the advice/direction of the doctor. I have worked with many students who have parents who either don't care, or do what is easier for them instead of the child, and it creates a really frustrating environment for everyone involved.

Our focus should always be on the well-being of our athletes, and as coaches/parents/moderators, etc... we have a responsibility to be a voice that reflects our responsibility in our gyms. There is a reason most posts requesting medical advice are squished ASAP. It's not our place.

 

[Aussie_coach]

We could start a whole debate but that does move away from the purpose of the thread. There is also much evidence that ADHD medication in fact reduce that likelihood of drug dependence later in life. The personality of ADHD tends to lend itself towards drug experimentation and many ADHDers who are not on medication tend to find other drugs to self medicate as they get older.

I agree that the last thing we want is to be playing with medication and have parents changing medications without consultation of a doctor. Although most adults with ADHD do actually do this, once they have been on the medications long enough and learn to read their own bodies they do often have permission from the doctors to adjust dosages and times.

The purpose of my arguing to look at other medical options is that it is important to parents of ADHD gymnasts to understand that there are other options. Sometimes our doctors don't enlighten us and we feel we have no option. Nothing that has been suggested in this thread is possible without a doctors support anyway. But maybe it will give people the information they need to actually go back to their doctor and ask, is there something else we can do?

Also to understand that ADHD is a medical condition and without medical treatment and gymnast with ADHD will never be able to reach his or her potential and will struggle in ways they shouldn't have to struggle in order to succeed.

 

[ARKGYMMOM]

Ok so to clarify, DD is on an extened release medication and just had it upped before she went back to school. The does is given at 7.45am and is worn off by 5.45pm. So she is getting her full 10 hours. We went back to the Dr. Tues. and he did agree to give us a short acting med for nights that we have homework. I am currently happy with the effects of the caffeine and gym partner. I want her to have to learn to "deal" with being ADD to a certain extent. One of these days we may not have meds or forget them and I want her to have some tools internally to be able to deal with this disorder.

Although obviously I am not a Dr. either I have to say that I agree with the idea that my DD is not going to get "addicted" to the medication. IMHO a lot of drug and alcohol abusers are either looking for the "high" or making a bad attempt to self medicate a problem that has not been diagnosed properly.

Thank you all so much for being so awesome and supportive.

Just a little brag.......My DD learned to do her cast to handstand last Friday on caffeine.

 

[KieQ]

It's three months later...how's your gymmie doing?

Caffeine was my first thought after reading your first post. It's worked well to help my girl focused without playing with med's.