Ritalin problems possible side effects | ADHD Information

Share

Frankiemum!!! Are you telling me that you read that there is a connection between Legg Calve Perthes and ADHD?!?!? My son has both also. What did you read and where, can you give me links?!

Mom2Bean

 " ...the same doesage, same medication but the tablet is a lot bigger and I have enquired but have been told that they are the same, but since starting the new batch in  things have gone wrong with him, he has  been complaing of headaches"...

Have you considered that you got the wrong medication?  If the pill size is different I would bring the medication right back to the pharmacy and have them check the prescription.  At the very least I would not give the med to my child again with those symptoms.  Headaches can be a sign of too high of a dose, but the other symptoms aren't as far as I know.

 

 

 

With the variety of symptoms that you are seeing, I wonder if your GP would be inclined to recommend a thorough exam at a Children's Hospital.  I'm not sure how health plans work in the UK.  Do you have confidence in the level of expertise of your GP?

Good Luck! My thoughts are with you.

thanx everyone, it is only since the new batch in may that he has started to show side effects. When he was admitted to hospital last week for his leg (he has Legg calve perthes syndrome a degenerative hip joint disease) I wasnt able to give him any medication as stupidly I didnt have it in my bag, i took it out because my little one keeps going down my bag and i would hate for her to take them,what I noticed on that day although he couldnt walk or put pressure on his leg, he was very alert with no confusion or zombie like state, he was obviosuly loud but once I explained to him that he had o be quiet as there was sick children he quitened down, there was a difference in him not taking the medication  but the next day when taking him back to the hospital within the housr of having his meds he had changed from being alert to a not with it state, headache and felt sick, he was hot and sweaty..going to see his doctor this evening..

But also having been looking up his new diagnoses with his hip and contacting their support group they have told me that sypmtom of the syndrome are ofetn mis diagnosed as ADHD because it causes lack of concentration and many other adhd like syptoms

 

I worry about what will become of frankie and how he will cope when he gets older but I have to take one step at a time with him and learn all I can to help him.

we have an appointment tonight with our GP so will let you know what she says, at this moment in time I would rather have frankie taken of his medication and also his school has said the same as they are concerned and to be honest I havent given him his medication today  and although this morning he complained of a headache he so far is ok he isnt jumping and running around the house destroying everything in site like he use to but I think that his leg/hip movements are restricting him although he wont admit it. I dont know if its related but about teh same time of the new batch he has developed this terrible burping over and over again, aswell as he started wetting himelf a few times a day and night now frankie has been clean since around 18months without any accidents at all.

His eye test is booked for next tuesday at 9:50am so I am preparing him for this  explaning what they are going to do otherwise he will be hysterical and not let anyone near him.

I am asking to change psychologist as I am not happy at all with how our's has been looking after frankie ,after reading up and chatting to others I dont think frankie has had the appropriate tests for ADHD, she seems to have basically took our word that there was no heart problems, tourettes, etc in the family on both sides, although a lot of the children in my husband family have either Autism or ADHD,learning / behaviour issues I think she has just taken it as hereditary.

will keep you informed of what happens

What did his doctor say?

[QUOTE=frankiemum]

blurred vision now awaiting eye test next week, slurred speach,  repeated high temperature, very not with it and looks like he has to focus on things[/QUOTE]

Those are some pretty serious symptoms there. Although they may be possible side effects, being listed as so, doesn't mean they are "okay". Blurred vision along with slurred speech, concerns me a great deal. Does his doctor know about this?
I'm no doctor, but honestly, if I went to my doctor and told him I was having these side effects, there is no doubt in my mind that my doctor would pull my meds. My sons doctor would do the same.
A zombie state alone, is never an okay state, along with his other side effects, I would be really concerned. Just my opinion of course.

Let us know how he is doing and what his doctor says. Good luck!

Hi. I highly recommend you post this question on a board just like this one, but for PDD/autism. I have a Spectrum kid and they do not necessarily get the same benefits or help from stimulants that ADHD kids do. Also, the autism is more a disabling factor than ADHD. MY son was on stims and they didn't help him, in fact he got aggressive, yet some Spectrum kids do thake them and it helps. ADHD behaviors are part and parcel of any form of autism. I'll post the link:

www.autism-pdd.net/forum/default.asp

 

Asd kids also require Therapy services. They also can do better by helping any allergens avoided. Vitamin therapy also helps some asd kids also.

The road to independence teaches asd kids who are NT's. I hear this is a great book. It uses pecs. Pictures to communicate. I use them cause of Daniel's language issue.

ok,my son is not on meds but i am so i thought i wwould give you my experience.

i also had a bad experience with retilin,the doc said it was because i was a high metaboliser.had to go back and get a slow release one.hope that help.

Hi

thanx for your replies. I always thought that you could just stop the medication but would have to graudually decrease the doseage??

 

MomWI

thanx for the very useful link I will post it there aswell, I really dont know a great deal about both conditions and could benifit from any advice or corrections if I am doing wrong, frankie is my 3rd child, I have 4 the other 3 are fine, when he was born he had well still has plagiocephaly where part of the back & side of his head is flat but I was old there wasnt anything to worry about and it will correct itself, but it hasnt,  he is particular at who he spk to but language wise he is ok but lately got a bit slurred, he has very enlarged tonsils and nasal speach, he weighs about 5 1/2 stone  he has lost just over a stone and a half but still overwieght  although he dont eat alot, and he will chose fruit over a sweet., we have tried for a few months cutting out all colourings etc in foods and drinks but it didnt make any difference. he has vitamins but only the chewy ones.

just a bit of back ground on him, if anyone can offer advice to me it will be greatly appreciated.

my son was diagnosed  2 yrs ago with both ADHD and Autism, he is on Ritalin 10mg in the morning and 15mg in the afternoon, he had a trial with concerta but we couldnt get him to swallow the tablet so he was put back on ritalin.  and a recent diagnoses of Leg Calve Perthes Syndrome. he has enlarges tonsils and sinus trouble

In may of this year, we had a new prescripntion from the hospital got his 10mg plus a 5mg tablets , the same doesage, same medication but the tablet is a lot bigger and I have enquired but have been told that they are the same, but since starting the new batch in  things have gone wrong with him, he has  been complaing of headaches, tummy ache, he appears to be clumsy, from what he describes he is getting blurred vision now awaiting eye test next week, slurred speach,  repeated high temperature, very not with it and looks like he has to focus on things all from what i have read to be some form of side effect from his medication.  I have redueced his doseage as I gave him his normal 10mg last friday morning and watched him change within the hour from an alert boy al beit in pain with his leg to a boy who went hot, felt sick, dry mouth, tummy ache and basically not with it, since then I have lowerd his dose and appointment next week to see the psycologist as I am not happy with how he is at the moment. when I asked th doctors they have told me its not the medication but I think it is, has anyone else had any experience of this as  for some reason the ritalin has started to disagree with him.

Also in the last month he had two major falls, one resulting in a bang to his head at school to which it was thought he had a fracture but thankfully just brusing, he then 10 days later collapsed with a headache that he had all day and sickness that after taking painkillers it wouldnt go away.. he was admitted to hospital and discharged the next day, result migrane due to the bang to his head, he still has a slight lump and bruising.

 

 

My son started on ritlan mostly because he could not swallow pills. We had to practice with small tablet type candy like m+m or skittles. Then we tried taking them with food, i would place the pill on the food he had chewed and was ready to swallow. We never had any of those symptoms. I would stop them for a few days and see if he is better. My son would be hyper but I think it would be better than being concerned with these symptoms. The only complaints I get is a mild tummy ache sometimes. He now take the concerta and that has worked well for him.So, I am wondering if when you do not give him the Ritalin for a day or two, do all of the symptoms go away?  If so it seems highly likely that it is Ritalin causing the symptoms.  Qualified doctors should be concernec about this.  Since a psychologist is not a medical doctor it would be a good idea to see a doctor too. 

My son did have overdose symptoms twice; once with new batch of Concerta and another time when he took 2 tabs of 18mg each instead of 1 tab @ 36mg.  I called the doctor's office and  the maker's of Concert and neither could provide any explanation of it.   I have noticed sometimes that a new bottle of Ritalin LA may be  a bit strong  for ds when  we first get it and I have  reduced the dose a bit  for  a short period of time.  

Let us know what happens after you see the doctor and psychologist.  Good luck!
Sorry to hear things are not going so well but i'm positive they wil get better

My son Tom has been on ritain or another name is equisim  xl  20mg  he takes 1 in the morning its a slow realise tablet which takes about 20 min to act and wears off
(or as i say u start to see his full of beans ) about tea time. Tom also surferered headaches but only lasted 1 day and hasnt had any since .With all thease drugs it's giving it a try outwaying the pros and cons and possibley trying something else thats suits keep going let us know how u get on

toms lucky mum


frankiesmom, of the two disorders, Aspergers is far more serious and, yes, you need aggressive interventions for these kids to maybe live an independent lives (not all can). Right now I'd focus on Aspergers and not even worry about ADHD behaviors, since all Aspergers kids have ADHD behavior. Not all professionals even agree that ADHD with Aspergers is a seperate diagnosis--our NeuroPsych didn't. I highly recommend learning all you can about Autistic Spectrum Disorder, one of them being Aspergers Syndrome. You need to have interventions in place for school and in the community. These kids are socially clueless and often have very poor life skills, even if they have very high IQs. An example: My friend's 29 year old Aspie got diagnosed late (age 21). By then he was sick and tired of labels. This kid has an IQ of 160, and can speak three languages, but he has NEVER been able to hold even a menial job, such as cleaning bathrooms at a church. He has been fired from every job he applied for, and a lot of that is his lack of common sense, which goes with Aspergers, and his lack of social skills. No matter how much he is coached NOT to question his bosses, he does. He always gets angry at them or says they're not fair or kicks up trouble in the workplace, then he doesn't know why he was fired or what he did wrong, and cries. He is married now (God help his wife...lol). He met her onlnie and flew to Chile to marry her, then started floundering in Chile. Bottom line: He is flying back home to live with his parents again because he can't find employment in Chile either. He is on Disability and his parents are terrified about what will happen to him when they are gone because his siblings are not sympathetic--they just think he's lazy. Get your child school and community interventions. Aspergers kids fool us--we think, because they are bright, they'll be all right, but many end up disabled. The best prognosis requires very diligent autism interventions. Good luck! MomWI38903.5531828704Just to let you know, my adhd son mikey was on ritalin,
equisim also, his side effects were, head aches sickness & stomach cramps, they passed after a day or so, he isnt on it any more. Nothing bad we just decided for him not to be on meds.

the medication had been taken back to the pharmacy at the hospital whom said they were the same medication but had been made by a different manufacturer and with advice from our own doctor we have decided to take him of his meidcations to see if the symptoms still persist at the moment he has been of for 1 week

with regards to the perthes syindrome & ADHD, I havent found any link with the two other than maybe the side effects of the medication for adhd as some say it can cause joint pain, the hospital last week said there was no connection between the two, thats just my opinion I dont know been looking on the internet but havent found anything. we are back on friday for a x ray on his hip so I will enquire again.

Frankie had eye test today and results are perfect eyes.... tried to get an appointment with his doctor for today but nothing at all not even emergency one!

my son is on ritalin LA(slow release 20 mg in the am) works great!! also medidate another form of ritalin slow release which also worked great. hope this helps, for he was on 10, 10 and 5 mg of regular ritalin but seemed to take awhile to get back on track after next dose to dr recommened the LA