Parent of an ADHD child

I am the parent of an ADHD child. My youngest is 8 years old and suffers from ADHD. Currently in the second grade, we held him back in the first after he was diagnosed, he is doing well in an advanced class. He does very well, he gets two doses per day. One with breakfast and one at school with lunch. It took his pediatrician, teacher, and school counselor all of 30 seconds to diagnose him. We struggled, all of us. But his struggles were by far the worst. I can sit on here and bitch and whine about how much I had to handle. About how bad it was to be at a restaraunt, or shopping, or how his school work suffered but no one, and I mean no one suffered like he did. He had what we called "bad" days. He knew he was having them but he couldn't help it and that was the most awful part. It was frustrating for everyone involved but I still can't imagine what he went and still goes through. He would constantly be disciplined. Not just by me but his teacher, the bus driver, his babysitter, it didn't matter. And he tried. He would cry at night asking why he was always being yelled at and why he was doing so badly. It would break my heart.

Let me state a few things....I am a very lucky guy. I have two wonderful kids. Both are loving and caring kids that go out of their way to do what is right. My youngest is so eager to please and to do what is right, and kind, that it is almost to a fault. He is always first with a hug and an "I Love You". His teachers cannot say enough about him. He will be the first one to give something up for someone else. I know I am biased being the dad but oh well. That is the way I feel about it. On top of the two wonderful kids, I have a beautiful woman that I intend on spending the rest of my life with. I live close to my family so that my kids can see thier grandparents frequently. I am still on friendly terms with thier mom, but only for thier sake, but still friendly. I get to see them about half of the time, not including sports or school functions. My kids love my fiancee, and I KNOW that is lucky. I have heard horror stories and thankfully she is wonderful enough that we have been able to avoid any real problems.

Ok, back to where I was before. His school days were bad. He would get up and walk around class. Just get up and walk around. It was distracting for the teacher and all of his friends. After a lot of counseling with his teacher and the school counselor, not to mention his pediatrician, the decision was made to hold him back. I have not regretted that decision at all. He is able to excel in class now, giving him a much needed boost to his ego. We took him to the doctor with the express intention of making sure anything that was done was not going to take away from his "personality". I wanted him to be better but not at the cost of becoming one of the horror stories you hear about. Walking zombies that were not kids any more but lumps. If I lost my perky, energetic, and most important loving, child then it wasn't worth it. The doctor agreed and he is on the lowest dose available right now. He will still struggle on days that he might miss his medicine but I do not regret any decision that we made so far. His "good" days far exceed his "bad" days. He is still loving. We still get hugs and kisses and I Love Yous all of the time. He is still as energetic as before. He loves his sports. I just wish we could have seen it sooner and helped him avoid so many "bad" days.