Have you considered talking with a nutritionist? There are many foods which impact hormonal balance and perhaps the addition or elimination of a few of them could help. I know as a grown woman, there are foods that I now avoid in order to combat mood swings. Good luck!

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Thank you, I'll check that suggestion out.

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I definitely think that you have to expect some mood changes with kids as they enter puberty. It is important to know and for her to know that some of this is really normal and not at all related to the ADD/ADHD. I think girls try on many different behaviors and personalities as they try to figure out their true identity. I really like the book "It's Perfectly Normal"-great book for kids about changes that occur in puberty. Also the American Girl book-The Care and Keeping of You is also good. My daughter is ten and a half -she doesn't have a diagnosis and we are already experiencing a little emotional turbulence! Hang in there

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Thanks, we have the American Girl book, but I will get the other book you suggest. Believe me, I know it's normal, but unfortunately, it is not a little turbulence and since I suffer from PMS, I know it can be bad. We will just keep hanging on.

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My daughter is almost 11 and we're also struggling with her recent hormone changes. Between that and her ADD, I feel like I can barely take it sometimes. I also wonder if I'm doing all that I can to help her through it. I will definitely get the two books that were listed in a previous reply. Any other suggestions would be great too :)

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I am working with my recently turned 11 year old son. He is going through an angry stage. Everything is someone else's fault. He agues with me constantly about things and tells me that everything he doesn't do is because I got in his way.

I found on sale a small tape recorder today. I am going to try and tape some of our conversations and then play them back to him. Perhaps hearing what he sounds like when he is so agressive may help. I know that this is part of the disorder and punishing doesn't work for kids with this type of thing.

Medication for my son was lowered this year. He's only been on the lower medication for a few months and he seems a lot happier, he is not so doppy but the anger is still present.

I am not sure if this is of any help to you but perhaps you could take videos or record your daughter if you think it may help her to hear or see herself through your eyes, which is what I hope taping my son does for him. Usually he is calmer after sports practice so I plan on playing the tape for him when he gets home and is vegging. I hope that he'll listen on his own (I won't stand there with my puss on, glaring at him) and come to his own realization.

Good luck,

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My son has had anger since 1st grade and is 14 now. His diagnosis is ADHD, depression and anxiety. Depression can show itself in a number of ways.... Withdrawal or Anger to name a couple. My son takes an antidepressant in addition to Focalin. This doesn't mean we don't have to continue with the teaching process. We wait for a calm moment which usually occurs every evening after dinner. During this calm/teaching moment we try to explain how we feel during the times of his anger. This has been quite successful. He is a genuinely compassionate young man and so wants to treat others well and has learned to ask for a private moment when he has anger that he needs to recover from. It has taken a long time to get this far but so worth the time and effort!

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I'm wondering if you had any luck with taping your son's outbursts of anger. We are going through this now, and it is a total nightmare. He had these issues at 3 yrs old, and in a couple of years he learned to deal with the anger in a better way. Now we've taken a giant step back and we are VERY concerned about the future. Is this something that gets better eventually? Is it normal for ADD preteens? He is a compassionate child and feels so bad when the anger happens, but can't seem to control it. He has had recent trouble taking responsibility for his actions also. Any comments? Thanks!

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Hi. I can share in your misery. I'm sorry I don't have any solutions for you....yet. My 14 year old son, deep into puberty is miserable with the anger. He is tremendous outbursts, and is an explosion. It all started when he was about 11/12. He'll go for months without an outburst, and then he'll have 3 in a week. I have tried a therapist, psychologist and psychiatrist. No luck. We think things are better, and then he has an outburst. Like your son, he is miserable when he thinks about what he has said or done to people, and he is losing friends...really a tough blow in middle school. I just wanted to let you know there are others in the same boat you are, and we can pray that things will get better....

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I just have to say thank you, thank you, thank you for your feedback. It helps so much to know that someone else who has a child with ADD is dealing with this. We are having issues several times a week, and even in the midst of a meltdown, he is saying that he can't control it. I keep looking for an answer; like maybe we'll find the right combination of medication and/or dosage, etc. We just keep feeling that all of this is related to the ADD and puberty. I had no idea this could be so hard. I thought if I was an involved parent, had coaching, dr's, medicine, etc.; my son would not experience bad times. I'm finding that's not necessarily true. I'm starting to think that sometimes the best we can do is to hang in there with them and help them in whatever way we can to feel our love. In any case, hearing from other parents in the same predicament helps me realize that I'm not a bad parent. Today he was so defiant and angry in church, and my husband was really upset and embarrassed. We talked about how it's probably more important what our child thinks of us than what OTHER people think of us. What do you think?

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jjbiscotti said: Have you considered talking with a nutritionist? There are many foods which impact hormonal balance and perhaps the addition or elimination of a few of them could help. I know as a grown woman, there are foods that I now avoid in order to combat mood swings. Good luck!

I'd really be intrigued to know which foods affect your moods. I absolutely can't think of anything in my experience like that, except that eating a big dish of pasta usually makes me feel much better about the world.

Thanks, Bill [br] www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/3/index.html

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Since being diagnosed myself, I just finished reading a book about women and adhd. The book mentions that hormonal changes, such as drops in estrogen, can affect a female's adhd symptoms and that some women take a higher dose of medication during PMS or during menopause. Most studies have concentrated on young boys with hyperactive ADHD but there are more studies being done on women and girls with ADHD and how it can be expressed differently and how hormones can affect it.

It's something you might want to look into. Fortunately I've never had any problems with PMS but I am definitely going to keep it in mind as I go through menopause.

Elaine

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My 14 yr old has been reacting with extreme anger/tears over minor things as well, such as wearing snow boots in a 3 inch snowstorm and getting a flu shot (he also cried and tried to escape the exam room - it was very embarrassing). He is also going backwards homework wise, and socially he looks down a lot when you try to speak to him, grunts answers (I have to guess at whether it is a yes or no), etc. My relatives who are counselors at schools suggested re-testing him for possible Aspergers implications. Scary but we are having a psychologist test him in a few weeks. In meantime, I too appreciate any ideas/feedback. I know some of it is related to normal teens/hormones, but sometimes his angry response is so extreme I don't know how to react.

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