Concerta for a 6 year old? | ADHD Information
Memory problems do not a dx of ADHD make. Before putting my kids on Concerta, I would want to know precisely what is causing the memory issues. A neuropsychologist can best diagnose childhood disorders, including but not limited to ADHD. Pediatricians are wonderful first-line resources for childhood illnesses (and we love ours!), but they can't possibly diagnose a complicated neurological disorder like ADHD. I don't have a problem with Concerta per se -- my son was on it for 1.5 years until he switched to Focalin XR -- but I do have a problem with medicating a possible misdiagnosis.
Small Mom - would you consider six years old too young if the diagnosis is ADHD? I am also interested in Focalin XR. What do you like or dislike about it?
First, you should know that every med affects every child differently. ADHD meds are a trial and error process.
Second, methylphenidate, better known by its brand name Ritalin and the active ingredient in Concerta, has been studied in clinical trials for more than 30 years. The FDA approves the use of Concerta for children ages 6 and up.
Third, the Concerta capsule cannot be opened or crushed. It must be swallowed whole. Focalin XR can be opened and sprinkled on food. That might be the deciding factor for a 6-year-old who can't yet swallow pills.
Fourth, Concerta lasts for up to 12 hours. Focalin XR lasts for up to 8 hours and may require a dose of short-acting Focalin at 4 pm to get homework done.
Fifth, my now 12-year-old ADHD (mostly inattentive) son was on Concerta for 1.5 years. He did very well on it. Last February he asked to be taken off of it because he felt flat and inhibited. This fall he began taking Focalin XR. He is not complaining about it (pretty good for a preteen!). We are hearing no reports of inattention from his teachers. So far, so good.
Hope that helps. Please post again if you have further questions.
Thanks. You did a good job in answering my questions. My grandchild is 8 and has trouble swallowing pills. So the Focalin XR might work better. This is the first time I have heard of it.
BTW, Focalin is a refined version of Ritalin that is supposed to cause fewer side effects. That's been our experience so far.
Good luck!
Oh SHUT UP.
Why did you even post? Because you suffer from I gotta itis.
I seen your post and now I gotta reply.
schedule 2 narcotics MEANS IT IS A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, IT DOES NOT MEAN ADDICTIVE.. YOUR FACTS HAVE MORE HOLES THAN SWISS CHEESE.
SHOW YOURSELF...
bugzappers38665.8190162037
SmallMom,
Why did you leave out the negatives of Ritalin and other ADHD drugs ?
I believe parents should have INFORMED consent before they allow their child to be drugged and it's obvious that the doctors aren't informing them.
Concerned DAD,
Did your sons doctor ever INFORM you that Ritalin and therefore Concerta are Schedule 2 Narcotics ? That means that they are ADDICTIVE.
Did he tell you that Ritalin interferes with their growth hormone, so they may not achieve their full height? It stunts their growth.
And did he tell you that children have died from taking Ritalin and other ADHD "meds" ?
Check out www.ritalindeath.com and www.ADHDFraud.org
There's also this article in Medical News Today about a study showing some ADHD treatments linked to chromosomal changes that associated with increased risks of cancer and other adverse health effects.
Concerta is mentioned in it - but whether or not there's been further studies/updates, I don't know. This article is dated end February 05.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=20433
Curus, would you please share some of your personal experiences with us. That would truely help. Not something you found somewhere. But a personal experience. I think it would be helpful to know how you overcame a problem with ADHD in YOUR life.
And finally this one from September (2005) which is sort of 50/50 on whether ADHD drugs are safe. There's plenty of studies all over the internet for them, so probably studies like these are useful when weighing up risks and benefits.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/v-printer/story/517 4797p-4705010c.html
Curus, I find it sad that your support abortion and yet have a baby fetus as your avtar.
you support death of people suffering from illness and refuse to allow them to seek help, and the meds to silence the demons inside.
So as a result, the confusion and mental strain take over and they become overwhelmed with day to day life and can't function and then no longer wish to be dead, they are, in the final seconds before the end of life for them.
You advocate this. Because you refuse to think that there is something out there to help displace the thoughts and issues being dealt with on a daily basis.
Medicine, it is not candy. It is prescribed.
Mental Illness is not funny, or something to be taken lightly, yet you post medicines are a joke and that you can produce the answers.
You inhibit others posts, and hijack threads on a daily basis for your personal attack on medications.
If you find any of this hard to figure out, find the original post, read it, and go down the list till you see where you posted.. that post is the exact moment you hijacked this thread, you have no information except what you read. You have no experience in anything except posting, and you are just a general pain in the behind.
So since you interfere with a person finding help about something you don't believe in, why do you come here? to educate? whom? yourself? me? others?
People are well aware the dangers of life. Cars kill more daily, than your claims of medication death.
Further more, this is an escape, for adhder's and relatives of adhd people. not for anti people like yourself.
we gather here and post to one another and to others for enjoyment. you ruin that experience by posting too much controversy and unproven myths, or disproven myths.
So, with that in mind, just read and then try to fit in, not rock the boat.
bugzappers38667.8592476852Concerned Dad
Since as you said your concern is with the drugs for such a young child, I suggest you study the Alternatives section with threads for Naturpathic Doctors. I have just been reading it myself and if you haven't done so, I think you will find it very interesting. They can actually test the child to see if they are low in a neurotransmitter and check to see if the child could be having reactions to foods. This may sound hokey but some of it makes very good sense. I would love to have the testing for my little ADHDer.
GlenW-
I am so glad someone is saying something to these people, yet it is sad that they are ignoring the questions that are posted for them! I just found this site yesterday, and was very glad to see such a support for people and their families of adhd. I find it very disturbing that people have to ruin things that are supposed to be positive for people and it happens all over the internet.
Feel very sorry for these people because they have no idea what they are doing to other people's lives.
[QUOTE=bugzappers]
1. Curus, I find it sad that your support abortion and yet have a baby fetus as your avtar.
2. you support death of people suffering from illness and refuse to allow them to seek help, and the meds to silence the demons inside.
3. So as a result, the confusion and mental strain take over and they become overwhelmed with day to day life and can't function and then no longer wish to be dead, they are, in the final seconds before the end of life for them.
You advocate this. Because you refuse to think that there is something out there to help displace the thoughts and issues being dealt with on a daily basis.
4. Medicine, it is not candy. It is prescribed.
5. Mental Illness is not funny, or something to be taken lightly, yet you post medicines are a joke and that you can produce the answers.
6. You inhibit others posts, and hijack threads on a daily basis for your personal attack on medications.
7. If you find any of this hard to figure out, find the original post, read it, and go down the list till you see where you posted.. that post is the exact moment you hijacked this thread, you have no information except what you read. You have no experience in anything except posting, and you are just a general pain in the behind.
8. So since you interfere with a person finding help about something you don't believe in, why do you come here? to educate? whom? yourself? me? others?
9. People are well aware the dangers of life. Cars kill more daily, than your claims of medication death.
10. Further more, this is an escape, for adhder's and relatives of adhd people. not for anti people like yourself.
11. we gather here and post to one another and to others for enjoyment. you ruin that experience by posting too much controversy and unproven myths, or disproven myths.
12. So, with that in mind, just read and then try to fit in, not rock the boat.
[/QUOTE]
1. When have I ever said I support abortion?
2. I do not support death caused by lack of disclosure by the industry or people with conflict of interests. I don't refuse to allow anything, this is a forum. I post information here and people are free to leave it, not read it, read it, sum it up, make their minds up just as they do with any other information here.
3. Plain silly, trying to lay a guilt trip without cause. SEE 3.
4. Medicine is obviously not candy, but you appear to wish it were as you attack posts that show evidence that they are not as safe as candy.
5. Medicines are NOT a joke, as many people have found out to their cost. I've never said that medicines are a joke. I don't say I have the answers, I post articles that are relevant for consideration alongside others.
6. I hijack threads? When I post in threads others have started its normally to post information. However, YOU hijack threads I start with attack posts containing little if any info in them.
7. I don't find it hard to figure out. You have absolutely no idea what I know from experience. Nor will you ever as I have no intention of sharing my experience in your presence. You are one person and I may appear to be a pain in the behind to YOU and a few of your friends, but you can't speak for the rest of the 8,000 members. Some may agree with you, I've no idea. I do know that some do not.
8. I've had a number of pms from people thanking me for the help. Not everyone thinks the way you do.
9. Because people get killed by cars, that doesn't excuse the pharmaceutical industry from non disclosure of adverse effects and the deaths that result by their deceipt, any more than saying that because more people get killed by cars than get shot by murderers then its OK for people to murder.
10. This maybe an escape for you, and for some - but others come here looking for help and for information. You have no idea of my situation so cannot state why I should or shouldn't be here.
11. Not everyone comes here for enjoyment... see 10. Personally, if I were coming for enjoyment I'd stick to the off topic area generally, rather than the medication or articles areas.
12. I fit in perfectly easily - its just you and a few of your friends who try to ensure that I don't. Perhaps you could try harder to stop rocking the boat with confrontational posts like the one I'm answering. I don't chase YOU around threads in a hostile way - I try not to reply but thats what I do sometimes, reply to YOUR posts aimed at me. Perhaps you could just ignore my info posts like I TRY to ignore your hostile ones, but have failed to do again now.
Once again, still hoping its the last time - Bye.
Why don't you guys just start a thread to argue on. Call it "For those who just want to argue".
cynthiatweedle38667.935787037
I'm staying away from the majority of the posts - can't say that for everyone but I hope they do. It's useless and all its doing is alienating all the good people I've made friends with here.
The anti-med people are going to stay until people stop posting against them. Actually long after that since they are on a holy crusade to make sure that no meds are used by anyone. I can't fight against a holy crusade noone can. They are always going to believe they are right - even if the deaths are totally not the meds fault (which the majority are not by the way) they will simply cry "cover up" and the fight goes on.
I give up. I'm going to stay as long as its tolerable and I'll help people as much as I can but fight these boneheaded attacks against us? Sorry every time I do it's always the same - I contradict everyone gets upset and they go to the next thread.
Anyone interested in checking out alternative forums until we either get our forum back or decide to go where the admin is more vigilant against this - let me know via pm - I have two that I know they do not have a toehold in.
These are supposed to be websites without trolls. Maybe the
second one would be a good choice. It seems to do no good to
reason with people who are dead set on some anti idea. I didn't
know anything about boards till I started here. I've made
mistakes but I've learned from them. It's too bad about this
board especially the ADHD medications section. It is just gone.
http://millermom.proboards23.com/index.cgi?
http://barb1.proboards31.com/index.cgi This one actually belongs to some of us from here and absolutely no trolls are tolerated.
http://supportforadhd.proboards31.com/index.cgi
I know cynthia. Until this summer this forum was clean of propaganda either way too. But the hype about meds is growing all over - they have a very good network of people working hard at convincing people we're all just a bunch of junkies turning our kids onto stuff they don't want us to have.
But we know better - and as long as we can reach the people with options (I like how many are bringing up alternatives like omega fatty acids and the exercises (which are totally new and I'm surprised by it), instead of just saying we are bad.
Now - if we could only teach the anti med people to say "yes, but" instead of calling us liars and druggies?
GlenW - They don't appear to be teachable. I tried but won't again. However there are some neat things in the alternative board, if only some of them weren't so darned expensive. The anti's don't seem interested in anything positive. I guess alternatives goes against their anti view point also.All I can say about Curus is that he is evil. He has no idea what it is like to be ADD or ADHD or Bi-polar. His only goal is to hurt people on this forum. He is a pathetic excuse for a human being.
I almost wish he would get cancer so I could Troll the site he is trying to find answers on and tell him he doesn't have cancer, that it is all in his mind and he shouldn't even consider chemo or radiation therapies. I would so like to repay him for the disservice he has done to this site.
All I can say is . Thanks for adding some humor to this mess.[QUOTE=cynthiatweedle]The anti's don't seem interested in anything positive. I guess alternatives goes against their anti view point also. [/QUOTE]
Cynthia, you may have missed it, but I have posted stuff about Omega 3 etc. I'm for alternatives, particularly removing aspartame etc from diet and eating nutritional food, supplementing with Om.3 and vitamins, particularly the B group and Inositol - I take those and a multivitamin. I don't know about other people who post the info on the negative aspects of drugs (doesn't actually make us anti med either, just anti lack of disclosure and lack of publication of negative trials, and anti trial data being altered to code serious adverse effects under "nausea" and then people suffering or dying because of it etc) but presumably most if not all of what people think of as 'anti' med folk are for nutritional or alternative options. 
I for one would quietly post the info like everyone else does, but generally am not allowed to do so because its almost always followed up by confrontational posts by one or two others. I'm not considered a troll on any other site LOL, and I do have a couple of sites of my own too - the guest book on the main one has been signed by someone from this site, that person and the people who pm don't feel I'm a troll by any means.
Contrary, I'd have thought you'd have known by now (being as you feel that you understand me so well that you can decide I'm evil), that I'm a female, not a "he". I've said so a few times. But it doesn't matter. 
curus I haven't actually read any of your posts. I assumed you must be someone who posted things like what I have read. That why I laughed at her joke. I think I had better get some rest.
cynthiatweedle38668.0160416667
Its OK Cynthia. And actually I laughed at it too.
Have a good sleep.
concerned dad - I think you're right to suspect the studies and to consider the possibilities if studies are flawed.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11717
"...Whistleblower Dr. William Pelham, director of the Center for Children and Families at State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY).
A leading ADHD researcher for 30 years, Pelham is a former member of the scientific advisory board for McNeil Pharmaceuticals..."
"...Between 1997 and 1999, he was paid by McNeil to conduct one of three studies used to get FDA approval. The company currently uses the three studies to claim that 96 percent of children taking Concerta experience no problems in appetite, growth, or sleep. But Pelham says the studies were flawed. The original intent of the studies was to measure both side effects and main effects of the drug. But two of the three studies, including Pelham's, required that the subjects had to already be taking MPH and responding well to it in order to enter the study. In other words, by stacking the studies with patients already successfully taking stimulants, McNeil ensured the subjects would be unlikely to register side effects, Pelham says..."
Thanks for the responses.
I'm pretty comfortable with the diagnosis. We've done quite a bit of testing on our children with several different specialists. A few years ago I thought all of this stuff was just a bunch of parents over medicating their children. So we aren't lightly going down this trail.
My concern is with the drugs for such a young child. I don't know if the doctors really know what the long term effects are on young children. I've seen no studies (and to be honest, I'm not sure I'd believe one anyway since I think most studies are bogus from the start). I know there is a growth issue and that bothers me. However, my son's current mental state bothers me even more. If any of you started your children on these drugs at an early age, I'd love to hear from you, good or bad.
Oh, maybe this will be of some help to someone - My wife put the Concerta pill in a spoonful of ice cream and my 6 year old swallowed it with no problem.
concerned dad38667.5364930556Reality-
Why did you happen to leave out that the top reason for those deaths are because those children have other medical problems, like heart problems. Maybe research and put in all the information as to not scare people that are truly trying to help their children!!!!!!!!
Thank You GlenW!
I just get so angry when people say things like that!
I feel like I am doing the right thing for my son, he was having so many problems, with school, and his social life, and other activities. He is already seeing an improvement in himself!!! That's got to be something said for his meds!!!
Take care and thanks for the reply!
Great to hear it Jen!
I don't mind the people who come into our forum and say their peace - give an alternative to meds then let everyone decide. It's when they say "meds are poison don't use them you're not ill anyway". That's inflammatory, needless and totally lies as well.
You got help for your son at a perfect time - while he's still developing the image of who he is. That will help him be a much more stable and happy kid by the time he reaches puberty. I had to struggle through my childhood and am always glad to see kids who don't have to.
Keep us informed of how he does! That certainly helps new moms and dads here who are doubting their decisions.
Jennifer - Reality always leaves out the real why for the deaths. His method is to say that it's the meds fault - that the meds are just another form of cocaine or whatever. The information out there shows that the deaths are from children with preexisting heart defects. But does he say it's the doctor's fault for not following protocol and monitoring both the patient and the intake? No. That's another forum and he'd be up against more educated people than here.
ADHD meds are amongst the safest medications taken by people for any reason. They are short lasting and flush from the system quickly, have very few and mostly tolerable side effects and when taken as directed are non-habit forming.
The alternative is a child who is going to have that much more trouble with life, social interaction and education.
I have a 6 year old that is struggling to remember what he learns at school. He has lost confidence in himself and wants to give up. The pediatrician wants to put him on Concerta. I am concerned that he is too young to be taking medications like Concerta. However, I'm at a loss for options and we have to do something.I have 2 other children with memory problems. One of them is in 5th grade and has been on Concerta for a year.