concerta and hello from a newbie with ??? | ADHD Information

Hi everyone, My name is Dee, I have been reading for a while and see just what you are talking about with regard to some people trying to make things more difficult for others.  That is certainly not why I am here.  I am here because I am in love with my daughter and she needs help.  She will be 8 soon and i finally broke down and put her on concerta.  that was 9 days ago.  the doc said it was " fast Acting" but took a week to work!  Okay!  Well, i thought she was hyper before and now she is just a mess.  she is non stop whining and crying and just worse then ever.  did I make a mistake? should I take her off of it?  Is she having a bad reaction? the doc seems to care less and won't see her again till Dec 1st.  he says to keep her on it, she is only on 18mg, she acts like she has not slept in 2 months.  she has absolutely no control at all.  i am so scared for her and don't know what to do.

any advice for a newbie?

Thanks to all that are here to share the love!

Sorry, I meant to tell you in the P.M.  All that does is push your topic to the top so others will see it first thing in the morning, hopefully.bump up. 

what does that mean?

 

Deanna....if this doctor could care less as you state, maybe you should get a new doctor. Was your child formally diagnosed with ADHD? If so, stimulant medications dont take a week to work and once the child is on the right medication at the target dose, effective results should be seen within 60 minutes. In your childs case, based on the reaction she got, its not working at all because your child is experiencing undesirable side effects and no benefits. This indicates that the dose is too high, the medication is wrong, the child may have more than adhd going on as with bipolar disorder, stimulant medcations can trigger a bad reaction or, the diagnosis needs to be revisted. (Im not suggesting your child has bipolar disorder as there are other reasons I stated above that this could be happening)  I highly suggest you have a formal asessement done of your daughter by a clincian trained in the field of diagnosing and treating childhood disorders and if you have done so already, get a second opinion. Also, getting a full medical for the child to rule out other medical conditions that might be causing your childs difficulties is always wise as many medical conditions mimic ADHD. Good luck.Your questions are all realistic concerns which should be immediately answered by your doctor. I am curious if your doctor give you a handout on behaviors to look for ... signs of overdose, underdose or perhaps indicators if this may be the wrong type of medication? With my son we could see his response that day if it was compatible or not. Overdose symptoms for stimulants can be lethargy and crying as I recall. Concerta had this effect on my son once or twice, which was very upsetting to me. I was on the phone immediately with my doctor and then later with the pharmacist and makers of Concerta. (I called the drug company because the dose had not changed yet he experienced these symptoms when med was refilled) The doctor allayed my fears that it was not life threatening for my son. Each person is so different. You have a right to expect the doctor to be more responsive and caring. Personally, I liked starting out on a short acting stimulant like Ritalin. If the dose is wrong, they are not stuck with a long acting medication to ruin the entire day. What type of doctoris she seeing?dee,
a search of "concerta crying" on medcation message board here may interest you with others' similar responses to your daughter's

as of this morning thanks to you all I will not be giving abby her meds.  I will do as you all suggest and see what happens.  Please keep your advice coming and I will continue to write as well.

dee

Dee,

If meds don't work, there are three possibilities:  First, it's the wrong dose.  Second, it's the wrong med (kids react differently to various stimulants).  Third, it's the wrong diagnosis.  In your case, if your daughter was diagnosed with ADHD quickly by a pediatrician, I would certainly take her for a thorough evaluation, preferably by a neuropsychologist, who can assess for many childhood disorders, including but not limited to ADHD.  Stimulants can make kids with other disorders much, much worse so that is important to take into consideration.  Having said that, when my son first tried Concerta at age 9, he was started at 18 mg, and he would be weepy and irritable right after school so his doc determined he needed a higher dose.  He went up to 27 mg and never had a problem again.  When is your daughter's crying occurring?  Is Concerta helping her at all during any part of the day?  If she is worse all the time, I would definitely stop the med and find a doctor who listens to your concerns and acts upon them.

 

 

 Dee,

    People react differently to drugs.  For the most part, the drugs do what they were "approved" for, but some people they have no effect and others have serious problems with them.

    Check out www.ritalindeath.com.   ADHD drugs

Sorry, Reality.  She already knows you are a Troll and none of what you said is the truth!  Too bad!

So reality somehow morphed into "guests"?  Nice try, reality, but you can't fool us.

 

 

thanks contrary!  For all of ya, gave abby a mountain dew this morning, did not give her a pill, she is doing pretty good, not one melt down yet.  i will be getting a new doc on monday and having better tests done immediatly to figure out what is going on!  You guys are the best!

Please know that ritalin death is a scare website. Moving on, if she is agitated on stimulants, you may have the wrong diagnosis. Has she seen a NeuroPsych? Who diagnosed her?

Please try to sift through the people trying to scare you. Some of us really do want to help.

deanna,
that's great! Best of luck to you and Abby

not sure how to get back to each of you directly.  I understand about the scare sites and all i am only focusing on good people such as jfla,psm0904,contrary and glen, others that are trying to help.  I worry so much that it could be even worse then adhd!  I knew since Abby was 2 that she was hyper, and struggled with her all these years, she is so bright and has such a great sence of humor, but she doesn't know when to quit, she won't let go, she can't control her self and climbs walls, it eventually leaked into the school and effected her social life and grades as well that is when I knew I had no other choice but to do something.  when you wait so long and finally make the choice to medicate only to find a shmuck for a doc and to see your daughter going off the deep end it is terrifying. If you have other ideas, send them along, she is calmer today, thankfully.  Maybe I am the crazy one!

Sure would be great if we were not tossed all over the world and we could hang out and really chat!  I will post this new as well for you , like I said not sure how to get this out to you all.

thank you

 

 psm904,

    Are you saying that www.ritalin death.com is a fake website ?

I know I'm a newbee, but I think that is harassment,"GUEST"

Deanna I am going through the same thing w/ my 11year old son , started concerta one week ago and we're having a real hard time. I feel like I'm walking on egg shells around him as not to upset him. And then I have to go lay w/ him every night because he's crying and that is sooo scarey to me. We go see the doc tomorrow, I'm thinking this is not the right med for us. Also his problems are like your daughters more social, he doesn't have a hard time making friends he has a hard time keeping them because he is so overpowering. This is definately a trying time, I am so glad I have this board to learn from.

bizzemom,

does you son act like abby all whiny all of a sudden out of control with emotions worse then before?  I mean she was hyper before but since the meds it seems totally out of control. I stopped her from taking it today and gave her diet mountain dew on and off it seems that the caffeine helped and she went back to being her less hyper and not all moody.  obviously the meds were wrong for her and I am seeking a better more informed caring doc in the AM.

Maybe you to should try this if he is acting this way as well???

Dee

Dee,
I think he has cried more in the last week then in his whole life! And he gets upset so very quickly. I have been seeing this after school so I thought it was him coming down off the med, if this is the case its not worth it. We go to his dr tomorrow for his annual physical and I am also thinking of switching to a pediatrician.
"Kids are worth it"
                                      Bizzemom