Newbie and scared | ADHD Information

My son was diagnosed today with AHDH and mild ODD. I hvae always knows something wasnt "right" with him but she is the first Dr who took it seriously. She gave an Rx for Concerta, 15mg daily that he will start monday am. I jsut read in the medication forum and I have to say, Im concerned...no...im scared. I hate the thought of medicating him, but I dont know what else to do with him.  The thought of it helping him tickled me to death, but the side effects are terrifying! Nose bleeds, rushing to the ER, not eating, not sleeping, headahces...headaches in a 5 yr old! Tummy aches,  eye twitching...I dont know if I could live with myself if something I MADE him take made him hurt in anyway like this. ANd it sounds as if alot of times it doesnt help really. They still have issues with attentiveness, they cant go to sleep....and a kid with no sleep isnt going to be worht anything the next day. I read of kids who seem "out of it" while on the meds too. Im scared to death now to give this to him. How long does it take to "take effect"? IF he is going to have side effects, how soon will they show? Will he lose his personality, his sense of humor...which is just so terrific. He is such a sweet kid. I dont want to lose his good traits just to get rid of the bad. Now im wishing I hadnt taken him to the dr at all and maybe just learned to "deal with him" better. Any insite will be greatly appreciated.

The correct med and dose can make a great positive change for a person with ADHD. 18mg is the lowest dose posible with concerta. My daughter (10yo, 58lbs) is on 27mg augmented with guanfacine (which I won't discuss in this post due to length). Last year, before diagnosis and treatment, she was failing 4th grade, anxious, depressed and defiant. Because of her frustration in school, she started going into rages where she threw things, hit, wished we were dead and wished herself was dead. It was horrible. We got her accomodations in school (an IEP), started a positive reinforcement behavior plan and learned how to help her with the rages. This was helpful for the ODD behaviors and the rages, but did not help with her school difficulties. She tried out the concerta during the summer with only one side effect-slight weight loss (she is so skinny, she cannot afford any weight loss). She is now doing very well in school. She is happy, and is excited about school and is participating in class (last year she would not participate at all). She is still a funny, crative, quirky, loving child. She actually goes to sleep better now, maybe due to the calming effects of the guanfacine, and we are keeping her weight up (she likes the mandatory icecream).

If you do not get positive results that outweigh any side effects of the meds, change or discontinue the meds. It is your choice on how you treat your child and you are the best person to decide if it is beneficial and if the ADHD symptoms are bad enough to treat. Since you sought a diagnosis, I assume the symptoms were bad enough to worry you. I recommend you look for the thread on this board about Ogram's marble system for a positive reinforcement behavior plan. HTH

macsmom,

You most likely will not get all of the side effects ...and if you get side effects that you cannot deal with then you can go back to the doc and try something different...don't get discouraged if you don't find the correct med the first time...it took us a while till we got the med with the fewest side effects and the most benifit ( almost half a year)....as far as how long it take concerta to work, it is typically about 30-60 minutes.

the following is a link for all of the various meds used to treat ADHD...they have a good explaination about each med.

http://www.addwarehouse.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/article3. htm

Is your son in school? If so, do you have the day off Monday?    I always like to give my son new meds when I am able to observe him.

the side effects you described are not the common side effect of concerta,they are the VERY RARE side effects of the medecine.

the side effect you should see with the concerta are loss of appetite,give him a big breakfast before he takes them,there is good info on this board on how to counter this and stop him losing weight.sleeping problems are also the norm but with ADHD it is a common problem anyway.melatonin could help him and it is herbal.

as for headaches,concerta stopped them not give them and i am talking of experience as i am taking concerta myself.

i used to have daily headaches and since i started concerta 3 months ago,not one,i have IBS so i have a very fragile stomach and i had no problems,actually it is better now as i don't drink as much coffee,i did have stomach pain but then i realised that it was because i was not eating,i started drinking energy milkshake and it stopped.

what i would say is the benefits are amazing,it opened a new life for me,it does not cure my ADD 100% but it helps me managing it and lead a normal life.

keep an eye on his eating and his weight,i don't take my meds once a week and i don't stop eating all day,ask your doc if you can maybe not give him at week ends (don't worry about it too much,my appetite came back after 5/6 weeks but everybody is different)

 

Thanks so much everyone of you! I am off work Tuesday, and plan to keep him out of school that day and start the meds then, so I can keep an eye on him and see what, if anything happens. Im still worried about it, but feel I have no choice but to at least try it. Tonight just confirmed it. On the way back from his dads (weekend visitation) he was soooo irritating. He has this thing where he will be sitting there, fulling ingrossed in whatever is going on be it a movie, a book, playing with a toy...whatever...adn he will just all of a sudden BLURT out ANTYHING! Usualy some kind of irritating noise of some sort. ANd he wont stop. Just comes out of no where. Plus he starts hitting himself in the head, like its fun or a game, for no reason. PIcking on his sister, bit difficult getting him to bed. Typical stuff with him. Things alwasy seem worse after he comes back from Dads. They go every weekend but the last one of the month, and they are in the car for nearly 5 hrs each fri and sunday, since there dad lives 250 mi from us. You would think he would be tired after that long in the car, but noooo, hes like the energizer bunny. Anyhow, I also plan on sending a note to his teacher letting her know I have started him on meds. I will be sure to post about how Tuesday goes. Thanks again everyone, I love this site already :)

macsmom,  the concerta should not be doing that I would talk to the doctor immediately and have it changed there are others on the market.  I had my child on concerta before and did not like how she was when it crashed.  Ritalin LA i found worked better for us.  Medicating is a hard choice but sometimes necessary and then you have to deal with the hype and bad press on top of it all.  I was told the negative stuff was from people who have had pre-existing health issues and because they were on these meds they made assumptions.  There are risks with all meds. even diabetes meds.  I wish you the best and welcome you to the board.  Jill

Yes, it is very scary when first trying meds.  Just remember, if he has side effects (all drugs have side effects) that are unacceptable, then talk to your doctor about changing meds and/or dosage.  Lots of people on this forum has had good results with Concerta.  We didn't, so we switched to a different med and are doing fantastic.  All people react differently to different meds.  You can't really predict in advance what the reaction will be.  Good luck!Thank you all for your comments. Jillette, he hasnt started the meds yet. I will probably keep him out of school on Tuesday and try them the since I am off that day. I want to keep an eye on him. He has never taken meds for this before and Im nervous. I feel like a bad mom for doing this. I am SO bad about second guessing myself, and Im doing it now big time. Wondering if maybe he would be ok with out it. But then i think surely his pediatrician, whom I adore, woudlnt recommend it if it werent needed, right? I should at least try it, right? I just dont want him to lose himself with it, lose his personality, sense of humor, the kid has a personality as big as the Grand Canyon lol. Its endearing, and I dont want it gone. I guess we will just try it and see how it goes. Pray for us please, pray for him. He is such a good kid.

macsmom - don't let the naysayers get on your back!  The worries you have are valid - but it would be the same say if it was an antibiotic you are giving.  "Oh dear - what if he goes into anaphylactic shock?  Has a reaction with hives and stops breathing?  Should I let the infection stick around?" - NO!! The things you mention happen but are atypical and rare.  Some kids and adults do find when first taking the meds that they lose weight, lose sleep or other mild side effects.  Typically they pass and are short term.  The meds only stay in the body a day or a couple of days depending on the type.  If things occur you can take him right off them!

The medication manufacturers and the government have set out methods to make sure nothing goes wrong.  With Ritalin for example it's HIGHLY recommended that an MD take regular weight and height measurements to make absolutely sure no changes in the negative occur.  It is rare but some kids stop growing regularly or lose weight.  The measurements make sure all is well and don't worry if there is a stop in height it goes back to normal shortly afterward.

The benefits far outweigh the risks!  Especially with ODD - left unchecked the antisocial side of it can scar a child for life.  Don't forget to get therapy for your child in tandem with meds - no therapy and eventually the meds will no longer work as well and you're back to square one.  Therapy will give new tools and new hope - as well they can keep track of any progression in the ODD that may not be seen easily by you.

Done right a full spectrum treatment like this works extremely well!  The school should be involved and with everyone on your side you simply cannot help but move forward!

Best wishes!  As a male who had ADHD his whole life I'd be glad to give you insight if at all possible.

Go to the medications board and start educating yourself.  As a mom, you wouldn't let your kid keep taking meds that seem to be effecting him badly.  You also may want to go to the alternatives board and see if you can find a complimentary regimen.  Omega 3 fatty acids can really help.  I don't know if these can help with ODD, though.  Maybe Jillette can tell you.  Her dd os ODD.  ODD is a pretty challenging disorder and it's possible that natural remedies might not help.  Jillette, what have you found?  Remember too, that if you try natural remedies or drugs and they don't seem to be helping, then stop and go to another treatment regimen or change doses.

My son is on Daytrana, a ritalin patch.  There are not "low spots" (his words) in his day and the rebound he had on Ritalin LA doesn't happen with the patch.  There's a daytrana thread on the medications board, I'll bump it for you.  Good luck, don't panic and stick around.  You'll find out tons of stuff to help your son on this board.
susieb brings up a good point about natural remedies...I have read on this board and others that omega 3s with high levels of EPA are quite good for mood...there is a product called 3omega + mood by genuine health...this product has an extremely high level of EPA....you may want to do some research on the omega 3's hopefully they could help with the ODD