Still here.

Willow has had both good and bad days since my last post.  The good days are coming more and more often and we are so thankful for each and every one of them.  We have now tried Adderal, Adderal XR, Focalin and Intuniv.  None of these work for Willow. Her system just can not handle the stimulants in the first three and the Intuniv seemed great for a few days while she was on a 1mg dosage. Before we got to the second week where the dosage goes up to 2mgs her behavior reverted back to screaming and yelling and tantrums.  The 2mg dosage really pushed her to the limits.

So, being the handy-dandy, read everything I can get my hands on to try and help my child kind of mom that I am I started reading more about ADHD than about FAS.  Willow's therapist does not think she has FAS and part of me wants to totally agree with her.  More tests in the future will make a determination of whether or not she does.  In the mean time I am trying to deal with her ADHD.  It seems that our little one may have a magnesium and zinc deficiency.  When we realized the Focalin was not going to help Willow I bought some magnesium and zinc and she tried it.  WOW!  What a difference!!! She was calm and down-right delightful almost every day.  When she went back to the Dr he wanted to try the Intuniv to see if it would help and he kind of shrugged when I told him about the magnesium and zinc. I don't think he believed me that it was helping her as much as it did.  Looking back I wonder if the Intuniv was working at all or maybe she just still had some magnesium and zinc in her system from our little trial run with it.  Once we realized that Intuniv was not going to work for her I gave her system a couple of days to settle and I started her on the magnesium and zinc again.  Our sweet, calm, delightful child has returned!!!  She has been pleasant and giggling and PLAYING with her siblings! REAL playing and not just being bossy or playing near everyone else!  She plays and laughs now!  She has never, EVER been able to play card games or board games with us because if she didn't win well that was just the end of the world.  She plays UNO now. She will play over and over with anyone who will play with her!  If she doesn't win she is fine with it!  I don't know if this will last but for now we are enjoying each and every moment of Willow's delightful little personality and her wonderful hugs and giggles!  

I will post again soon to let everyone know if this lasts.  Here are some links to articles on magnesium and zinc. Please consult your child's pediatrician before using magnesium or zinc.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/328125-magnesium-deficiency-adhd/
http://www.adhdnews.com/testforum/test2737.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9368235