The Secret In the Sauce

My ex-husband sent me a link to a snippet from the Today show with Matt Lauer where they discussed the issue of over-medicating kids with ADHD. Take a look: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/3677250#46251298 The choice to medicate is intensely personal and I don't fault anyone one way or another. Preston spent a little less than a year on medications that seemed to really help but also induced side effects that created additional problems. As for ADHD, I think it is a disorder that is both psychologial and psychiatric. Families living with this disorder could tell best.

Well, either he is manic, it was the full moon, he senses my own weakness as I'm pre-menstral or it is fall-out after having spent the previous weekend with his dad and just the difference between two households. OR, I totally jinxed myself by actually posting how well he had been doing. Any way you spin it, the tables turned and he morphed into his angry, volcanic self half way through the week last week. I won't 'un-say' that his supplements are working, because they are. And on that note - he was AMAZING today! No eruptions and we got through math homework AND a book report AND making a Valentine's box! Whoa! I just have to figure out what is at the bottom of these major turn-arounds after doing so well. With that being said, I also really struggled last week and I've got to get my head back in the game. So, the random book I've been picking up as I sit in my office and wait for my computer to actually catch-up to what I am asking it to do, is Dr. Daniel ...

No sooner do I wonder when the next full moon is and low and behold it is upon us! Preston has had mounds of excess energy in the last couple of days but has channeled it well. He had a moment of 'craziness' to which I asked him where it was coming from and the big confession... wait for it... wait for it... drum roll... SMARTIES at school. Honestly, why is there so much candy at school - all the time? So many teachers know of the rigors of kids with ADHD and that colors irk their little brains, yet, candy flows like a waterfall. And holidays, birthday's, special 'awards' all come with candy! How in the world would I start a campaign to ban colored candy from our schools? Seriously. Anyway, that's all for my big rant. He's calm again. Maybe I need to think more about what over-stimulated him in that moment instead of banning candy from school. The former seems a little more realistic and take-onable. The original thinking behind my post tonight (which wasn...

When is the next full moon? Have you heard that people go crazy during full moons? After I heard that I just happened to notice that Preston had a rough, rough week when it was a full moon. It was a rough week for me too not just because of Preston but because it was a full moon. Bizarre. There isn't a full moon until the 21st. I'm holding my breath that we don't get all crazy again! And I guess since the past won't change I won't feel the need to knock on wood when I say that Preston had an AMAZING week. Amazing people! He went with his dad on Friday and I called him that night because I missed him. I missed him! And he was so totally adorable on the phone. He was focused and conversational and loving. I ate it up. He said that they had been watching blue something and I asked him what in the world that was and he said, "I have no idea!" And then he told me that he watched me walk away after I dropped him off and thought, "Oh that's so sad!...

Okay folks, the following address http://www.naturalnews.com/034660_ADHD_diet_symptoms.html , links to an article regarding ADHD and diet. As we know, this is the exact route I am going with Preston so I support it fully. However, I do have some qualms with it - the biggest one being that diet alone doesn't change severe ADHD. Some people commented that they changed their kids' diet and the issue went away. If it is is severe enough, it unfortunately isn't that easy. Ohhhh how I wish it was! As far as the article goes, these are my two points: 1) I get a little worked up when people question the validity of this disorder. As is the case with everything in life, unless you have experienced it, you really don't understand it. I am embarrassed to admit that I did not validate the diagnosis of ADHD in other kids myself; I always figured it was mostly due to poor parenting. After struggling with my son so vehemently for several years with his inability to reg...

First, I heard about the ABC's yesterday: A - Attitude B- Believe in yourself C- Courage to do what is right This is so pertinent in  conducting your life based on the fact that you only have control of yourself and how you are going to influence your own destiny. Yes, it is our choices that determines our destiny. Yes, I do believe that everything happens for a reason and that stars align and fate brings people together or situations happen (bad and good) and it is our reaction to what is brought our way that makes us or breaks us, has us progressing or falling behind, becoming stronger or weaker. I heard recently that if you aren't moving forward you are indeed moving backward and I think that is absolutely true. Today, I guess I'm feeling decently strong because this situation with Preston is a test and how I come out of it is up to me - how I react, my attitude. This can make me stronger or make me miserable. It is so stinkin' hard and alot of days I am so anx...

My husband came across an article yesterday that is absolutely fabulous. It isn't anything new that I had heard before but some points jumped out at me as reminders of what I really need to be doing. I'm surprised I haven't come across this site before but it looks like a wonderful resource. More than anything I am saddened but also feel less alone in reading the comments that people make. I'm not alone in this struggle and so many people are exhausted and don't know what to do to help their kids and help bring some more peace back into their homes. That is why it is so important that we reach out to each other and help buoy one another up. It is SO hard and so many nights I throw my arms up in exasperation and am completely unsure of what to do next. The article at http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/879.html  mentions that "a certain percentage of kids externalize the anxiety and depression they're feeling," says Larry Silver, M.D., a psychiatr...