8 year old and ADHD

[FantasyPanda]

I'm looking for some advice from others who may have been in a similar situation. Last October, my DD 8 (7 at the time), was diagnosed with ADHD. She was given a months trial of medication and everyone saw a huge difference. She was able to focus for longer periods of time, sit still for once, her aggression improved, it was like having a different child! But she hated the medication, it took a lot of pleading for her to take it which made me feel guilty, so after the trial she didn't have any more.

A couple of days ago, however, she asked me if she can go back on the medication. She told me she doesn't like feeling so out of control and would like to try it again. I told her I'll see what I can do.

Can I just ring up her peadiatrian and request for more medication? Or does she need to be re-assessed?
Thank you.

Just contact them and request. They will let you know if they need to see her again for weight/bp or a chat or whatever.

She can also try a different medication if the side effects were causing her to not want to take the first one you’ve tried.

It should not be an issue if she has already had it.
Phone the pediatrician. It is awful for young sufferers the uncontrollable confusion it can lead to depression too if untreated.
I hope your DD feels better soon.

@FatherBrownsBicycle thank you, I'll contact them Monday and see if I can request to get her seen.
@Emeraldshamrock I didn't know it can lead to depression I just felt terrible having to basically force her to take something she didn't want, and she didn't understand why she had to take them. She didn't like being "different" (her words).
@PlanDeRaccordement I'll bear that in mind, thank you. I don't think there was any side effects, she didn't mention anything that concerned me. She wanted to be like her friends who didn't have to take "yucky tablets"
It took two years to get her assessed, so I really hope we won't need to start at square one again.

I've been able to avoid medication as DD is not violent with her meltdowns.
She's 12 and fairly depressed the chaotic lifestyle of not being able to focus or organise themself or keep up academically with their peers, their differences become more obvious to them as they get older.
I'd focus on as much therapy as you can get to help her learn to read her emotions learn to plan etc.
I know there is feck all help available sometimes you're better off reading and trying yourself.

It saddens me so much that children have to suffer. It shouldn't be that way. I'm so sorry your DD is experiencing depression, its heart breaking.
The aggression is so hard to handle. Once she's worked up, it's full on hitting, kicking, pinching and biting. I have to pick her up and physically remove her from the situation, wait until she's calm enough to listen to some reasoning and then we practice our breathing. It can take hours.
She's always been slightly behind academically, but thats never been a problem until this school year when her teacher refused to understand and piled the pressure on, and she's now still at year 1 standard. Covid didn't help! And to add to it, she has a mental age of a 4 year old.
I'll have a look into different techniques and therapies to help her cope.
Sorry to waffle on!

I don't know your dd but as a personal sufferer I don't understand why you wouldn't take medication if you're lucky enough to get it.

Adults are fighting tooth and nail and sometimes having to go private to get a diagnosis and continue treatment as life is so challenging for them as adult.
I found working impossible without medication but since taking it it's had such a positive impact on my life but I'm just one ADHD sufferer and mine's inattentive type so your dd needs to find what works for her.

There's other medication for ADHD but I don't know if it's easier to access for children but there's very little support for adults so I'd recommend getting the support now so hopefully she can find something that's best for her to carry on with long term as it really can be life changing.

@FantasyPanda I think you're right putting her on medication. I am considering antidepressants for my DD but she refuses any medicine or pills as she has sensory eating issues.
I don't want to scare you my DD was 8/9 when she started to fail in school too, she is very immature it was very evident now she is 12.
Does she know about her diagnosis? DD is very creative I compliment her by saying look at your wonderful brain, it may be wired different but it encourages creativity so when she uses all the bathroom products to make a new potion I don't go mad anymore.
Search up good role model sufferer's and talk about their battle and how fab they are, it is a lonely experience focus on the positives.

@ChockyBicky I'm so sorry, I didn't realise it was so hard to get help as an adult. That's terrible that it's not more recognised. Will definitely take all the help I can get from her pediatrician and will get her back onto medication. Thank you for sharing how it is from your perspective, it was really helpful.

@Emeraldshamrock yes she does know about her diagnosis, I've been as open and honest with her as I can in a way she could understand. I've searched up some role models who she could connect with, some being some of her favourite singers, so hopefully that will encourage her to believe that she's not alone and can go on to achieve great things.
Did you get any support from your DDs school?