October mommies - *September(almost there!)*

Yeah, I'm all for vac's. I'm not sure I see a link. It's possible, but I just don't totally buy into it. Kind of like the whole global warming thing... Sure it's warming, sure we're polluting, but it's also a natural cycle that happens every couple of thousand years. Anyway...

I also kind of think Autism is grouped with ADD or ADHD. Now don't get me wrong I may change my tune if it was my kids, but I think a lot it has to do with diet and discipline. Sure there are some "actual cases" of each that I'm sure require more than that, but I just think it's over diagnosed and every one reached for the magic cure pill. It's to bad really. Because then the kids that really do need help a lumped in with a bunch that just don't want to behave. JMO..

I think autism is something that can be difficult to properly diagnose because of the different degrees of severity just like ADD and ADHD...I think many docs are to quick to just make a diagnosis just to throw a few pills at the kid and hope it helps.If Jenny McCarthy managed to cure her son's autism with a diet then maybe she could figure out a way to cure world hunger DH was diagnosed with ADD when he was in school but was never treated with medication. Luckily my MIL wouldn't allow it. I think that any kid who is wiggly in their seat on a regular basis ends up diagnosed as "special".I know that there are often too many kids in the class rooms and so its hard to spend more one-on-one time with some individuals but it's not fair to label them....Ok I don't know where else to go with this..LOL I basically forgot my argument...Sorry for the brain fart

Shannon

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in the 4th grade. I took medication for it until I was about 15. I agree. People are so quick to label kids with ADD or ADHD when really they are just active kids who talk a lot. Well, I actually do have ADD. If you had a real conversation with me, you'd know I get distracted REALLY easily. You know that joke about people with ADD and being like, "oh look, a butterfly!" in the middle of a conversation? Yeah, I actually have done that a couple of times. Isn't that sad? But the thing is, you can pretty much ween yourself off of the drugs as you get older. It's really just a personal choice to grow up and start paying better attention to stuff. Pills never helped me with ADD or depression. They all make you feel like a complete other person, like you're not yourself. It's actually really frustrating. Anyways, that's my two cents on ADD and ADHD. ^_^

Hi Ladies,

I was also diagnosed with ADD and took meds until I was about 12 years old. Thats when puberty hit and the pills effect did a complete 180 and made it worse. Its strange how that works. My brother is ADDHD. If you met him you would know for sure he is ADDHD. He is 28 years old and still the most Hyper thing you have ever met. It is not just extra energy its crazy nuts. I do, however,think some doctors are just too quick to write an Rx to try to take care of everything without putting forward effort from them or expect any from the parents. In a way I feel lucky I grew up with my brother because with this LO I have a better understanding of what a truly hyper active child is and what one who is bored with excessive energy is. My mother also had us on a very restrictive diet growing up. Of course no sugar, nothing with dyes in it. Like no red, blue, green or yellow (unnatrually) foods. This was back before people knew about gluten. If they did I am sure we would have been on the gluten free diet as well. I also have a cousin who is about 7 years old now that has Aspbergers which is a light form of Autisim. He truly has it. I can tell you Autistic children very smart but there is definately something missing for them. Its really kind of sad. He has also been put on a special diet and strict schedule. It has helped him so much.
Oh well, I guess I have rambled long enough! I will check back later ladies!

Take Care,

I have to say you guys I disagree. I feel like everyone is all down on meds and I think that makes for a bad situation. I am not saying every kid who squirms needs ritalin by any means. But I have seen the havoc these ADHD kids reak on the classroom unmedicated who need to be. Parents are too afraid to give their children the medication they need. If your kid was sick you would give them antibiotics or whatever necessary. I am not saying pop every pill possible but there is a time and place and if any of you end up with a child who is truley ADHD like mine I sincerely hope you will not deny them the right and prospect of a normal happy life. My child used to come home in tears because she could not hold a conversation with the kids and they made fun of her. The teachers wrote her off as a problem child and didn't bother with her. She was suffering. The medicine made a night and day difference and I will not ever feel bad about putting her on medicine. The first time I could sit down and read a book to my daughter was the first day she took her medicine and she was 5. All those years she couldn't sit long enough, or even listen long enough for a short story. I am sorry if I offend any of you but I sincerely hope that more parents will consider medicine as an option instead of being so closed minded to it. It would of been cruel to not put my daughter on the medicine, I worked with kids who I knew needed medicine but their parents were too concerned with "being natural" and "not using medication" so their kids suffered. Not saying to not try all the other options. We did diet and exercise, therepy, and everyting under the sun even herbal remedies nothing worked. But this mentality that medicine is wrong is sad and wrong. Not for everyone but needs to be considered. To those of you that have it and got off medicine that is awesome but would you have rather not beein on medicine and been made fun of and treated like a freak? I get to enjoy my daughter now adn spend time with her verses dealing with her on teh medicine. I get to bond and be a parent not a parent always having to discipline. I feel like we were robbed of those years prior to the medicine becasue all I could do was try to keep her from hurting herself or others because she was so out of control and no it was not an issue of consistent discipline, My husband was in the military and I work in law enforcment we have discipline under control in our house hold trust me. It is a chemical imbalance that does generally right itself starting in puberty and ending in the twenties or so. My daughters psychologist likens it to a car having bad breaks. The child can't stop suddenly and switch gears. anyways sorry if I offended anyone this is just a topic that is very near and dear to me. I feel like the best thing a parent can do is be informed.
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Eileen - I am sorry if I offended you but I am not anti medicine. My brother took it and it made a world of diffrerence. I took ritilin until it had a polarizing effect (which happnes a lot at puberty) and it helped significantly. What i am against is doctors who quickly diagnose kids as being ADD or ADHD when they are not they are just kids being kids and sometimes parents dont understand that. Many Doctors (to me anyway) seem to want to get thier money from pharmasuitcal companies by writing Rx-s with out doing a lot of research. I had one doctor that i would go to and if I just asked for an Rx I would get it. No need for anything else. Infact she wanted me to take a depression quiz and told me how to answer it so I could get the drugs. I didnt - but its just a harsh realization. If your child truly has this problem - which many do I have no issue with medications. Its when they dont and parents just want their kids to calm down and not make so much noise and not be such a bother to them that I have a problem with the meds.

I do agree with you there. I think a major part of the problem is the lack of physical activity in school now a days. My 8 yr old has 1 recess a day for 30 minutes after lunch. When I was in school we had a morning, lunch, and short afternoon recess. expecting kids to sit for hours on end is crazy and a major component of the squirminess that seems to be being mislabeled.
There are a few books out there by noted authors and psychiatric degreed people on the lack of recess adn the tie to ADHD diagnosis.
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Eileen-With my long winded ramble yesterday that is where I was trying to head to...I just meant that too many docs take a wiggly kid and say oh they have add or adhd and just throw pills at them.there are very definetly children that are on and should be on meds.I worked as as a teachers aide for 2 years for at risk middle school kids.We had a few that were great and a pleasure to work with when on their meds and very difficult to work with off them.i'm not anti-medicine either, not by any means.i'd be lost myself but i think certain types should be more carefully prescribed.truly thats all i meant yesterday.if any of my children were diagnosed with add or adhd and truly needed meds to help them, i wouldn't hesitate to get them.but there are alot of kids on them that definetly do not need them...hope i didn't offend either

So my DH said I was as big as a house this morning - and he is still breathing. He didnt mean to, but he did. He meant to say I am NOT as big as a house he just accidentally left the NOT out of the sentence. Then he did the manly "no thats not what I meant, it didnt come out right" thing they do... OH how good I feel. This after last night I just had to reorganize and clean out my linen closet. Well it has a smaller door than the normal ones and I cant actually fit into the closet. So I had to have DH get in there and get stuff out for me. I felt so defeated. So I am as big as a house, cant fit into a closet - but he was trying to tell me I looked good. LOL I guess its a good thing I have a sense of humor. We did end up laughing pretty hard at it.

I want to second pretty much what everyone else said about the meds. I'm not anti-meds either, for those who truly need it. I myself have taken several types of anti-depressants so I know the stigma that goes with being on the meds and making that decision. Like several others have said I just think some diagnosis's are given to soon. Part of my feelings for this is something that happened to me as a child. I had fairly sever separation anxiety which I now think was some sort of coping mechanism (whole other story) but in frustration my doctors put me on an adult dose of xanax at the age of 6. Talk about turning you into a zombie! Even though I was young I'll never forget the day my mom came home, I think it was from an AA meeting and said I wasn't going to take the meds anymore. She found out that I was taking almost twice the dosage of an adult male!

Aside from that I've watched my biological Dad suffer with bipolar disorder and sever depression for the better part of his life. He's been on so many meds at different times I'm not even sure I know who he is. One day he's intelligent and talkative, the next he's just a mumbling, vacant shell of a person.

Wow.. that got long! LOL I guess it truly seems like we all agree. There are times when the proper steps have been taken and there are people who really need the help or the meds, there is just a trend of overmedicating and jumping to conclusions which seem to only benefit the pharmaceutical companies..

Jessi- I actually totally agree with you also. I think we are terribly wasteful and could do a lot to help save the earth and our resources. Through recycling, compost, and just green living in general. I do believe the wastefulness of natural gasses and oil has helped contribute to the problem, I just don't think it's the whole cause. KWIM?

Amy- I'm sorry your DH slipped and your feeling slightly defeated right now. I think about sometimes how hard it is on us to be growing and growing, but it's attached to us.. the change is so personal. I can't imagine what it's like to be on the outside. I don't think he meant to be hurtful he's just not used to seeing you with a little being inside.. LOL Good thing is.. It'll all be over soon! Keep smiling.

Amy- I think my regular doc gave me the same survey about being depressed.I took it just because i wanted to see what was on it.Surprise surprise i was showing i was depressed, course that was 3 years ago when DH and i were going thru some major marital issues.poor thing, its a good thing your dh corrected himself.i know how defeated you feel too.It'll all be over soon tho and will be so worth it.

Shannon

It's funny you guys are talking about these meds. I had a meeting with DS's teacher last week along with the School Physcologist. The teacher mentioned that DS had problems paying attention in class. The Physcologist was quick to say, there is meds that can help him with that. My reaction was "He is 4 years old!". Then the teacher jumped in and said that he has gotten a lot better in the first few weeks of class and that it was undercontrol. If he is diagnosed with ADHD, then I will take care of it, but the teacher and I agreed that we shouldn't rush to any conclusions yet. I was just mad at the Physcologist for atomatically talking about meds. I know my boy has a lot of energy, but don't all boys/girls that age?

I am not against the meds either, but I was just so shocked that she was talking about meds at the mere mention of not paying attention.

Anyway, DA appointment today went okay. 3 centimetere dilated and still 50% effaced. So I am guessing it will be awhile.

Jennifer

OMG 3CM really? I have never gotten that far without pitocin. Did your docotr say anything about iducig (my m key is ot workig) you? 3cm is alot to me ayways. Get ready!

OMG! I am so glad I found you guys! I have a lot to say but I can't sit in this chair very long...still hurting! I posted Brenden's birth in the announcement section but I wanted to come here and let ya'll know that we are okay and Brenden was born at 11:28pm on the 24th! I can't believe he is already a week old! What a precious gift I have been given! I'll write more later but I am so glad to have found everyone! Thanks for the link Amy!!! Keep those LO's coming!!! I just love all the pics!!! -Michelle

Hey Ladies,

I have been MIA for a few days...missed all the meds chat.
I have no experience with any of it but I do think Dr's are quick to give out meds.

Michelle, Congrats!! Great picture! They're both gorgeous.

AFM:Well, last Thursday I lost my plug and I really thought I would have some action this weekend but NOTHING!! So, as of right now still set for 6am, Wed induction. I went Friday and got a pedicure and I go today for a hair cut & highlight so maybe my after pics won't be too horrid!
My last DA is tomorrow afternoon, hopefully I've dilated some on my own.