14yr old girl on 40mg of adderrall???? | ADHD Information

Hi,

My neice has ADD and her doctor keeps upping her dosage. She started out with 10mg and my mother (her grandma) noticed improvement in the first week. Then she started sliding so the doctor upped her to 20mg and then the same thing happened and he upped her to 30 and now he is upping her to 40mg. It is my understanding that 40mg is a very high dose.. especially for a young teenager.


She is talking non-stop, can't sleep at night, and says she hears voices that tell her to do things (dangerous things -so she says). This really concerns me because everyone thinks she is just saying those things for attention. I hope that is the case, but it could be very real. If the adderall is keeping her up at night and she is on just about 0 sleep for a few days.. I can see those voices being very real in her head. Keep in mind.. my neice shows major signs of depression and anxiety. She worries about everyone and everything all of the time. It seems she has a hard time figuring out what is reality and what is fantasy sometimes. She is very nieve for a 14 yr old. I know all 14 yr olds are nieve, but she is extremely nieve and behind in school.  I am just wondering if this is the wrong medication for her. I am positive her adderrall dose is too high. Im just hoping my sister (who I just told abou this discussion board) questions the doctor and they lower her level back to 10mg..

Any advice would help.... 

Thanks!

Lorie

Has the doctor been told of the side effects? They can't do something if they have no idea it's happening

Voices aren't part of the side effects of adderall.  Agitation can be.  The closest thing in taking too much would be paranoia - which does happen at too high a dose with almost all. 

Most likely your niece has some other problem (like bipolar disorder) that can look deceptively like ADHD but reacts poorly to ADHD meds. 

I would recommend she get sent to a pediactric psychiatrist who specializes in this kind of disorder - so she can be checked for alternative problems.  It sounds like this doctor is not fully versed in ADHD so probably is just going by trial and error.  And definitely make SURE that they know what the side effects are - most likely they'll have her drop the meds ASAP.

 

Thank you for the advice. I will show my sister these messages and hopefully she will tell the dr so she can get off adderall asap. My sister is willing to try a natural product for ADD that I read about on the boards so I will be getting a supply of those supplements for them too.

I just found out that my other neice who is 12 has ADD too, but I don't think she really is. She acts like a normal 12 yr old girl... why do doctors want to medicate every child they come across! I am the one who pushed for the 14 yr old to get tested, but I also didn't think they would put her on speed (adderrall).

Thanks again!

Lorie

I would definitely talk to the doc about these side effects ASAP. Some people hallucinate on the meds--perhaps the voices are a side effect. Also, going on no sleep will just make things worse. You say she's talking non-stop. Was she like this before meds as well? If not, that's a definite sign that she shouldn't be on Adderall (or at least the dose she's on).

You also say that she's showing signs of anxiety and depression....TELL THE DR.! People are often misdiagnosed with AD/HD when they actually have anxiety or depression (or a combination thereof).

I would be tempted to go to a different dr. Getting a second opinion might be the best idea in this case (for proper diagnosis and medication management if needed).

Good luck and keep us posted!