While ADD can greatly affect your ability to concentrate if left untreated, too much medication can have similar effects for different reasons. Unfortunately, many doctors prescribe dosage amounts which are the same for everyone and parents tend to listen to the doctor's advice. If you feel that your ADD medication is affecting your concentration, it's probably time for a change and a few tips can help you convince your parents.
Instructions
1. Mention to your parents that you think your ADD medication may be having negative results on your concentration. Be prepared to offer examples. You may be surprised to find that your parents are more receptive than you thought. If so, schedule a doctor's appointment to discuss your dosage.
2. Keep a regular journal in which you write entries various times throughout the day. Keep track of when you take your medication, when you feel you have trouble concentrating, feelings of anxiousness or sleepiness and any other symptoms you feel you are having. Not only can a journal help to convince your parent's and your doctor that the medication is too much, it can also help you to organize your ideas in order to see them more clearly yourself.
3. Maintain your journal for one to two weeks and then talk to your parent's a second time. By this time your parents have had some time to think about the idea that you are having trouble with your medication, despite the doctor's advice. If you wait one to two weeks without mentioning it again and nagging them constantly, but present to them an organized journal of your symptoms, they will be far more receptive to considering a change.
4. Assure your parents that you are aware of your ADD and that you are not claiming to not need medication at all. Make sure they understand you simply feel that you are taking too much medication or the wrong medication for you. The goal of ADD treatment is to normalize your life, not to simply exchange symptoms.
5. Enlist the help of your peers and teachers if your second attempt fails. Speak to your friends and teachers who observe changes in your concentration daily and ask them to take notes when they notice changes. After another week or two, ask them to join you in discussion with your parents. While most parents will agree to see your doctor before this is necessary, it can be a last resort that will definitely get your parents thinking.
Tags: your parents, your medication, your concentration, convince your, doctor advice, feel that