Under the circumstances you might try meds with the Ped and if you do not have success, go to a psychiatrist that is experienced with med managment. A psychologist can guide a pediatrician but they do not tend to have a lot of med management experience because they cannot prescribe meds (unless Africa is different from the US.
If the anxiety is due to dealing with ADHD, I would try low dose ritalin first. It is in and out of the system quickly, comes in generic forms and is a first line treatment for ADHD. If the ritalin makes the anxiety worse or there are unacceptable side effects, I would then try the strattera or find a psychiatrist depending how nervous I was about trying the strattera.
If the anxiety is from something else, straterra might be a better bet, but has the limitations mentioned above.
Really educate yourself (like you are doing) so that you can work well with the Ped and get the most out of med management.
Good luck, you know you have the support of the members here through this process.
Thanks guys. Hopefully the med aid will cover the meds when he does get it prescribed. It's the psych that's the problem - here psyschologists are not covered by medical aids. The option about low dose ritalin sounds good. And I will check out the free medication sites and see if any cover South Africa. Possibly they have divisions here or something like that.My 8yo ds was diagnosed ADHD / Anxiety in December. The ped says it's between two medications for him, Ritalin or Strattera, based on what a psychologist says is causing the anxiety. That's all well and good, but I made an appt with a psych for the first week in Jan (she was closed until then). All she told me at the time of the call was to call her in Jan to establish what the cost would be (new year, new cost). So I did. It's 0 up front, for an hour and I'm not sure I can claim it back from medical aid. I can't afford this. So I'm not too sure now. I will call his doc again in the morning - but, other than take a risk on one of the meds, I don't know what to do. Also second grade starts this week ... and I wanted my son to be on the med before he made too bad a first impression on his new teacher. I will have to go and speak to her nicely.Gutsy:
You have to consider that Strattera takes at least two weeks to start showing an effect. I don't want to be too pesimistic with you in regard to this med. I was told by my doc that it only works for 70% of patients. My son is on it since 6 months ago and I am not happy with it. I had a appointment about two weeks ago and I was looking forward for a change of meds, the doc didn't want to, instead he added another medication. I am very skeptical about this other med and I am going to look for a second opinion. I would love to do it right now but the expenses are too many. I will do it as soon as I can.
Every human being is a particular case. I am convinced that Strattera is not working for my son BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IS NOT GOING TO WORK FOR YOURS. You can try it if the doc suggests but keep in mind that it takes time, so you will have to be very patient. It is also possible that you will have to try different doses based on body weight until you find the one that works, and in the mean time, there are side effects in regard to moodiness.
Sorry if I am being too negative about this med, but if it weren't for my son's tics I would have started with a stimulant at once. I am really willing to go for a stimulant right now even with my ds tics. I guess we could try to see what happens; if it is more beneficial for his hyperactivity and concentration, I guess I better take the risk, and if the tics aren't too evident for him to have social problems, I will be happy.
Good luck and keep us posted!! Feel free to pm me if you have something to ask,I will be glad to help you!!
Mariaven39089.1900578704Gutsy someone on another board I go to had listed a bunch of websites where you can get meds free or lower cost. I actually searched a few of them for my job to help one of my consumers (clients). Let me get back to you later with them. Okay here they are: