Comments on: Megan Meier Tragic Death – Depression and ADHD

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:58:17 +0000

Hi Barbara,
Chelsea is taking Vyvanse, 50mg now. She started on Adderal xr, then Concerta?? different meds, different doses. Some gave her ticks. Others worked well but wore off fast. She was doing really well on Vyvanse, but now she is failing in school and is moody etc. She sees the psychiatrist next week for her meds. Her counselor is going to meet with the doctor and I to discuss other alternatives. He thinks she might be depressed and need added meds but I think it is the meds that are making her act depressed and anxious. Maybe I will ask them about Ritalin. Has she had to change the dose over those 5 years? Does she eat and sleep well? I get so worried about her sometimes. I appreciate your response. Thanks
Rachel (Chelsea grandma)

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:40:40 +0000

This is in response to Chelesa.

You mention that your grandaughter is taking adderal. My daughter also reacted this way on that med and i would suggest trying a different medication, they are not all the same. My daughter has been taking Ritalin for over five years now and she is doing great!

By: Don K Potochny

Don K Potochny — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:29:50 +0000

I live in the St. Louis area, where the story of Megan’s premature death is front and center. As I write this, Lori Drew’s fate lies in the hands of 12 jurors.

The other glaring aspect missing from this tragic story is the link between depression and stimulant medication withdrawal. Did Megan ever take an ADHD stimulant medication? If so, was she not taking the stimulant medication at the time of her suicide?

The multifarious angles of this case-parental responsibility, cyber-stalking, ADHD and Depression-have been mentioned in the mainstream media. Why has the media neglected to pursue the side effects of ADHD stimulant medication?

Depression is one such side effect when the medication regimen is discontinued.

Don

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:10:14 +0000

Hi Everyone.
I am so glad I found this site. I am helping my son, a single dad, raise his two young girls. The 10 year old had ADD and has had trouble in school since kindergarten when I was told by her teacher that ” something is terribly wrong with this child”. Everyday was a nightmare. She was diagnosed and put on Adderal, but the doses wear off so fast we are always changing dose or brands. Chelsea’s natural aptitude for drawing took a nose dive with meds and has never come back. She is now in the 4th grade and hasn’t gained a pound in two years. She is short tempered, anxious, showing little affection for anyone but me, has little or no appetite past breakfast and needs melatinin if she is every going to sleep.
When her medication works she gets through school but still has a hard time focusing and is slowy but surely falling behind because when she gets distracted at school she misses whole sections on instructions and then is very lost. The school she attends now has been wonderful but now they are at their wits end as to what to do with her and say the 504 plan can’t help her enough. She feels like she is the only one with this problem. She feels like an outcast and is treated like one by most of the kids in her class.
The school now wants her to go to Therepeutic Day Treatment School to get more help. She went there for a summer program and their methods are “Time out rooms” and sticker incentives. Did that ever work for any of you?
she could do days on end in time out and it does help her focus on her work. I want to help her.
she is a beautiful child. I took her off her meds this week for the holiday break and she is eating up a storm and sleeping great without melatonin. Her behaviour is still something else but at least she is happy and laughs and has been hugging and kissing her dad like he has been gone forever. (something she never does on meds.)
I know she can’t be in school without them and I am trying every way I can to help her control herself but she is not very compliant. I am even trying to use Binaural Beats Sound therapy. I even have to demand that she listen to this once a day because she thinks everything I want to try is dumb and won’t work anyway. If TDT can’t help her I am going to home school her and at least try to get the basics into her. I don’t imagine she will ever go to college unless she decides to try as an adult. She is very smart, brilliant by her teachers standards but will not do paperwork.
I can’t figure out what is going on in her head. Can any of you tell me how you managed to learn
as kids. What can I do to motivate her? How can I help her be the best she can be? Any help would be appreciated. I don’t want her to be another statistic.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:00:12 +0000

Thanks David! Your kids are very lucky to have an understanding father who has been there and done that… rockhead? nah, I don’t think so

By: David

David — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:26:34 +0000

I have ADHD, but was only diagnosed a couple years ago (I’m 39 years old). My childhood years were “interesting” — terribly long story, perhaps to show up somewhere in print sometime — but one thing I’m really, really glad about is that I had a massive case of not-listening-itis and blew off pretty much everything anybody told me. (This included “you should graduate high school” — I dropped out in my senior year — but fortunately I managed to make a successful life without it.)
The reason I’m glad I was such a rockhead is that I’m now watching my children, all five of whom are either diagnosed or strongly suspected of having ADHD, go through living hell in school. They’re getting the same “you’re not living up to your potential” crap people tried to feed me as a kid, only they aren’t as iconoclastic as I was, and tend to take it to heart. Of course, ADHD makes it really incredibly hard to “live up to your potential” (as defined by society, anyway), and it’s extremely easy to end up on the slippery slope of self-hatred and depression. It’s a nasty business.
I’m doing what I can to help my kids realize that they don’t have to bind themselves into the straitjacket of Society’s Expectations, nor will it fit very comfortably, but there’s only so much you can do. I can’t really recommend the route *I* took wholeheartedly, either, because while it did have some good side effects in hindsight, it’s fairly miraculous that I’m still here to talk about it .

Keep up the good work, Bryan! I like your blog, and I respect your courage. Don’t let the bad seeds get you down.

By: Fay

Fay — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:18:48 +0000

I am 43 years old and have been diagnosed with ADHD. My son is 9-years old and has also been diagnosed with ADHD.

When my son was in 1st grade and in trouble at school almost daily. I received many comments about my parenting style. During teacher / parent conferences all that was discussed was my son’s misbehaviors. The teacher suggested I take him to the doctors. So I did and he has been on medication for 4-years now. Yes, it has helped in the matter of less school problems but has effected his health, no weight gain, sleep, etc. He was taking Concerta and recently switched to Strattera. After noticing major symptoms; sleep all the time, moodiness, etc. I decided to research the web. I found this web site that has changed my mind on children’s medication, http….
which tells of only some of the children’s deaths and the correlations of my son’s same symptoms. I informed his teacher of why I took him off medicine and that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he died from it. I get the feeling she is not happy because she said, “your child and his education would benefit from medicine.” Funny, because 2-months prior to taking him off she said she didn’t think ADHD had anything to do with his problems in school and that she said, ” he seems to focus when he wants to and I have seen him sit and draw for over 40minutes.” Obviously she has not done her research on ADHD. I have found no point in arguing with someone who has their mind made-up on the subject. What scares me is she is on the “school’s team” for IEP’s and 504 plans-something that I have not been successful at getting my son on because they said their are worse kid off than my son. Maybe now that my son is off medicine and they experience the “wasp” in the classroom they will change their minds.

For the last four years I have been convinced medicine is the answer but now I am seeking alternative methods for my child. Do you have any advice?

In addition, I wanted to also say that after my son was clinically diagnosed, I was too. I was 38-years old at the time and have been taking Ritalin for the last 4-years. It has been the best thing for me and has changed my life.

I also am going to school to get my Masters in Education and have worked in the schools. I hear all sorts of so called theories of why or why not children should or shouldn’t be medicated. Both sides have bashed me for one reason or another.
Most of these people have not done their research and only go off of what they hear or want to believe.

With my experience mosts of the educators or people in the school systems want to blame the parents and most parents want to blame the educators and school systems. I can understand both sides and wish somehow they could learn to work together. Sure you can say some work together but they still have their secret beliefs and hold them behind each others backs.

What bothers me is when a child is in special ed and one can physically see their needs, they are treated and cared for with empathy & sympathy. But a child with ADHD (scientifically proven mental illness-PET scan) is not given special care or treatment because of the symptoms are seen as negative misbehaviors due to the child’s disposition and parental upbringing.

I would like to warn people when they research ADHD to use critical thinking- think about what is their motivation behind the web site, who is posting it, etc. Most of the web sites I found on ADHD (educating people on the issues) is bias information that comes directly from the pharmaceuticals themselves.

Fay

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:12:58 +0000

Very well spoken, thank you for your words Christa!

By: Christa

Christa — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:58:35 +0000

Bryan,
I worked as a special education aide and and after school facilitator with children with ADD, Bipolar, and Behavior Disorders. I heard the same comment over and over again if the parents would just discipline these kids etc….
Before I worked with these children, I was not sure about ADD either but after those four years I know that it exists and that the proper medication with working with their behaviors can make a big difference. The problem that we ran into at our school was that the medication was so expensive that a lot of the parents could not afford it. I can see so clearly how Meagan committed suicide. I wish that people could see into the hearts and minds of these children to understand the pain and confusion that they are feeling. But good news is that children with ADD can grow up to be adults that contribute to society with proper medication and help. I have seen some of the younger children make it to high school and they did great because of the intervention and help they had as young children. The funny thing is that a lot of adults have ADD and are unaware of it and it is the cause of problems with relationships.