I know the first time I took medication, I could feel those things. After a while, those effects are not as noticeable.
You could try the book Stopping ADHD by O'Dell and Cook. The exercises in it have helped me as much as medication did. I don't take meds anymore.
My son also takes Adderall XR, 15 mg, but we started at 10 mg. He's never had any of that. From time to time I'll ask him if he ever feels his heart is pounding fast, and he always says no. The racing heart would worry me. Maybe the dose is too high for her. I'd definitely call the doctor.
Thank you all for your help. She is doing better now and I am going to wait until Monday to call our doc and see what she says. I just felt so bad for her through the day, and had a few "guilty" moments too, btw...
I also want to know what differences some of you have observed between the regular Adderall and the XR version. I did enjoy a few moments when I saw how calm she was and good with her sisters. Hopefully we will find the right med soon - I know I'm just beginning, right??
Thanks again for the help.
Hi all, I haven't logged in in a while. We were given our first prescription for my daughter's adhd and I have given her the first dose.
It is Adderall XR, 10 mg. Pretty low dosage from what I understand. I gave it to her two hours ago and she has been on the couch whimpering (not continuously though) for about an hour. She is complaining of her heart racing and her stomach being in knots and just feeling so "weird". She is upset and I wanted your opinion on it. She isn't saying anything about it being "meds-related" - she says she has a bug.
But I am worried. Is this normal? Is there a "wait it out" period, even with side-effects as this?
Thank you!
maybe the dose is too high, or it is the wrong med. Adderall, even at a small dose is a VERY strong med.
I would guess it is med related, and I would not give it again until speaking to her psych. When did they do the premed EKG? it might be time for another one......
Oh, thank you for the posts - this helps a lot! There are some other parents going through the same thing with Adderall right now it seems...
My dd did not sleep a wink last night - she was up for 36 hours straight. AND then when I got up, she was watching cartoons - she jumped off of the couch and said "I feel better!" and was in hyper-drive the entire day. She did not stop until I forced her to go to bed. She was twice as hyper as normal - it was so weird! I was just waiting for her to crash, but she didn't until bedtime tonight.
I am going to call her doc tomorrow and see what she says. We'll see!
Thanks again for the posts...
i truly am NO expert...but from my own dd's experience and from our appointment with our pediatrician after 3 weeks on adderal...it sounds like you are experiencing WAY TOO MANY side effects, ie. insomnia with adderal as well. not enough sleep is not healthy either...for you or your dd.
again...we are new to this as well...but a short acting med is working better with our lifestyle...she's asleep by 10 or a bit after:) i was freaked when she'd still be awake at midnight and our christmas tree was lit up in the morning because she had been up doing the night:) :) :)
i know that i need my sleep....and kids need theirs too.
btw...my dd is now on a short acting ritalin 2x ( 2.5 mg) i'm not sure if it's working at school yet, but she's happier and she's sleeping and not complaining of stomach aches. she likes the school nurse so i don't think she minds going there...she likes attention:)
36 hours straight awake seems way off...just my 2 cents. again...this med thing is all new to me too...but pm me if you need to:)
hugs,
shelley
oh btw...my dd was on 5 mg for the first 2 weeks..then 10 mg for 2 days and then i bumped her down to 7.5, a capsule and a half until we saw the pediatrician. 10 mg was way too much for my dd....way too much! that's why we are pill halfing with the ritalin to start off with....
shelley
adderal xr was not the right med for my dd...she became headstrong, complained of stomach aches and had insomnia. when my dd was on 10 mg she was dilated and hyperfocused, but every child is different. we switched my dd to ritalin and right now she's on 2.5 mg 2 times a day...but she's sleeping and not complaining of stomach aches.
btw...my dd did adderal xr 3 weeks...we tried to give it time to work:) my dd is 9 and she didn't say that she felt her heart racing or anything like that...she just said she didn't feel well.
good luck!
shelley
I think it's safe to say that for most people, kids and adults, you will feel the side-effects of stimulants like Adderall much more during the first week or two than after that. That was the case for me anyhow. I started with the immediate release Adderall, and there was a disticnt "ramping up" with heart beat and all...I remember describing it at the time to my wife like this: "I feel like my body jumps into a "high idle" (as in engine adjustment) but that my brain calms down".
I found that the "ramping up" and the "rebound" effect when the drug wears off is much, much less with the XR than it is with the Immediate Release. So I use the XR. My suggestion is to stick with the XR for at least two weeks, ideally a month in order to see how much the side effects diminsh or go away (or, conversely, get worse).
You mentioned that after taking the med the first time she stayed on the couch and wimpered. I suggest, especially early stages (first week or two, definately the first time trying it) you not sit down on the couch and wait expectantly for the side effects to come--that'll only magnify them psychologically!! Instead, take the meds and do something (not strenuous, but active)....walk the dog to the park with your kid, go to school, take a drive and visit a park, nothing overly different or extraordinary, but something nice and someting that will allow your kid to have enough disractions so that the initial side effects won't be unnecessarily amplified hyperfocus.
Yes, Shelley, no sleep is fun, that's for sure...
I took her back into the doctor today and they prescribed Concerta, 18mg. I just never know if I'm doing the right thing - I think that's normal, right?
We'll see how this one works...