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shaleywhale
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/09 537 total posts
Name:
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Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
DD is 12 yo (will be 13 next month). She has suffered from anxiety since she was about 7 years old, but lately it has gotten worse. Her anxiety often has no origin; her heart will race and she will feel a sense of dread, like something bad is going to happen... yet everything in her life will be going great. It seems there is no precipitating factor for her anxiety attacks. She experiences anxiety every single day, always in the morning and evening, but lately she even gets it just before meeting up with friends. She gets so frustrated when we tell her to breathe, because she says she has been trying to do that for years and it's not helping.
I also plan to have her evaluated for ADHD. She seems to be a classic case of typical "girl" style ADHD symptoms. I understand that anxiety and ADHD can go hand in hand - she says she has a hard time turning her brain off at night, which is when the anxiety creeps up the worst. She is frequently up until all hours of the morning because she experiences anxiety and can't stop thinking... plus she will often actually get up out of bed and start random projects that pop through her mind.
She will be going for her annual physical towards the end of August, so I plan to talk to her pediatrician at that point. But I figured while I wait, I will see if anyone else has any experience, either with their child or personally.
If you or your child has been treated for adhd and anxiety, would you be able to share your experience? Is there medication that can help? Therapy? A combination? Yoga? What works for you? What kind of doctor would you see for that sort of thing? Think it's ok to wait until her ped appointment, or should I bring her in sooner somewhere? (and if so, where? The ped? A specialist?)
Ugh. Anxiety sounds evil. I feel so bad for her when it happens. It confuses her, too, because there is frequently no root cause to address in order to alleviate the anxiety, so she just has to wait it out.
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Posted 7/17/17 4:11 PM  |
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stinger
LIF Adult
Member since 11/11 4971 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
I am not experienced in the clinical piece but to complement her treatment try the LI center for mindfulness. They have youth programs which could benefit her.
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| Posted 7/17/17 9:53 PM |
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shaleywhale
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/09 537 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
Posted by stinger
I am not experienced in the clinical piece but to complement her treatment try the LI center for mindfulness. They have youth programs which could benefit her.
Thank you for this... I will look into it! 
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| Posted 7/18/17 10:49 AM |
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Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
I no longer live on LI so I can recommend anyone- but I needed to get my DD into therapy for anxiety and depression, and I called the ped's office to see who he recommended. His rec did not take my insurance so I ended up going to my ins co's site to see who they did cover. Then I did some research and found a place. Good luck!
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| Posted 7/18/17 11:58 AM |
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shaleywhale
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/09 537 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
Posted by MrsProfessor
I no longer live on LI so I can recommend anyone- but I needed to get my DD into therapy for anxiety and depression, and I called the ped's office to see who he recommended. His rec did not take my insurance so I ended up going to my ins co's site to see who they did cover. Then I did some research and found a place. Good luck!
Thanks. Did you find that treatment helped/is helping your DD?
I wish you both all the best. This is so not easy. 
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| Posted 7/18/17 2:48 PM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
Is it possible she has Pans or pandas?
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| Posted 10/11/17 4:47 PM |
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Sash
Peace
Member since 6/08 10312 total posts
Name:
fka LIW Smara
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
If you are still looking for info or help, my Stepson was diagnosed with ADHD and behavioral problems. He used to suffer from some anxiety that came out of no where like all of sudden being scared of elevators or car accidents.
We put him on concerta and did therapy, I posted about our treatment in the old thread:
ADHD Thread
We tested my now soon to be 9yr old and the doctor said he had ADD tendencies. The doctor said to onylnexplosre medicine if you see his grades being effected. His grades started really slipping last year and we decided to put him on concerta as well this school year.
So far it's like a different kid school wise, at home he was always calm. He just can't focus in school. Let me know if you have any questions.
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| Posted 10/11/17 5:48 PM |
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shaleywhale
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/09 537 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
Posted by LSP2005
Is it possible she has Pans or pandas?
Thanks... of course anything is possible, but she doesn't have a documented history of strep. And she's been pretty consistently anxiety ridden since she was *at least* 7, but thinking back, it was probably even earlier (and she just didn't know how to express it).  So, no episodic course of symptoms... her emotional lability and anxious nature is very consistent.
I do feel for those parent's with kids suffering from PANDAS/PANS. I know someone dealing with it... it's not easy in any sense (between the symptoms and the doctors and the school and the red tape). I feel terrible for them, and no one is making it very easy to get help.
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| Posted 10/12/17 8:46 AM |
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shaleywhale
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/09 537 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
Posted by Sash
If you are still looking for info or help, my Stepson was diagnosed with ADHD and behavioral problems. He used to suffer from some anxiety that came out of no where like all of sudden being scared of elevators or car accidents.
We put him on concerta and did therapy, I posted about our treatment in the old thread:
ADHD Thread
We tested my now soon to be 9yr old and the doctor said he had ADD tendencies. The doctor said to onylnexplosre medicine if you see his grades being effected. His grades started really slipping last year and we decided to put him on concerta as well this school year.
So far it's like a different kid school wise, at home he was always calm. He just can't focus in school. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you! I am going to read your old post now. We just this year (8th grade) put my daughter on meds for the ADHD. So far, the meds seem to be helping with her school issues - she presents as a typical "girl with ADHD"... daydreaming, talking excessively, emotional, super messy. Despite all her daydreaming, her grades were always good, so a few doctors insisted that she couldn't have ADHD since she wasn't in danger of failing nor was she rocketing out of her chair to run around the classroom and being impulsive. 
Anyway, she is much better at focusing at school these days. She comes home and still dances around the house or repeatedly walks around the center island as she's talking a mile a minute, lol, but that isn't hurting anyone (well, except me. She makes me dizzy with her dancing/spinning/circling and I frequently can't keep up with what all she is speed talking about  )
The doc that is treating her said that sometimes kids with ADHD find their anxiety resolves with treatment. My daughter is not finding this to be the case. She still cannot turn her thoughts off at night and she is still feeling the impending doom/racing heart/etc. So while the ADHD portion of it is better, the anxiety isn't. Hoping that some therapy will help her learn coping strategies for dealing with anxiety, whether the anxiety is random or whether it actually has a source... such as from peer issues/school issues/life issues.
Ugh. Sorry I rambled so much there. I'm just so overwhelmed and nervous. In real life, I tend to keep things very private and to myself, so apparently I can't resist an opportunity to anonymously spew my thoughts.
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| Posted 10/12/17 9:01 AM |
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LSP2005
Bunny kisses are so cute!
Member since 5/05 19458 total posts
Name:
L
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Re: Anyone have a child being treated for adhd *AND* anxiety?
Hugs to you. I only asked about pans because I have two friends with kids who expressed symptoms like you are describing whose kids both ended up diagnosed with it. It is so sad and difficult. I truly hope you are able to get your daughter the help you are seeking. Hugs mama, and strength.
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| Posted 10/12/17 9:40 AM |
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