Everyone responds to the meds differently, so it is more of a matter of finding the treatment modality that fits your son. I would start by looking on the formulary for your health insurance to see what meds are available to you (that might save some headaches). This might help narrow th choices. The first line of treatment for all types of ADHD (hyper , inatentive, combined) is stimulant meds (methylphenidate, amphetamines), followed by non stims (Strattera) and other meds (anti depressants and alpha 1 antagonists). Here is a table with many meds on it (it is from 2004 so is missing a couple newer meds like the Daytrana patch, some generics, etc).
http://www.myadhd.com/treatment_tools/medicationchart.html
My oldest is inatentive and responded well to concerta, but had so much trouble getting the pill down that I asked for something that could be sprinkled on pudding. The doctor had a coupon for a free trial of focalin so we are trying that. I just found out that the only long acting med that we can sprinkle that is on my insurance is Methylphenidate ER so we will make a change to that soon. We have seen no side effects except lowered appetite and a little drowsiness on the focalin (there were no issues with the concerta on the few days she was able to swallow it).
vickie39128.4217013889Thanks for the reply Vickie. I guess I should look at the insurance issue. The chart is definitely helpful. While I realize that everyone responds differently to the various medications I was just curious if there were specific ones that were generally prescribed more for kids with inattention / focus issues as opposed to kids who have more hyperactivity issues, or is it all viewed as interrelated? Also, I'm trying to get prepared for the neurologist visit and don't want to be blind-sided or not in a postion to ask the right questions. Thanks again. Ask that question to the neurologist. He/she may have had experiences that make them prefer one med over another for inatentives. My kids' psychiatrist has seen no differences and treats them both the same. All docs base treatment prefferences on the literature and the experiences their patients have had.Hi. I've been reading the posts in this forum for awhile now and it is certainly a great resource with a lot of wonderful people lending support. Our son AJ is a 7 yr old 2nd grader who has been diagnosed with ADHD (more emphasis on attention). He gets 504 plan services at school and is lucky enough to be in an inclusion class as a "normally functioning" child. AJ does fairly well academically mainly because we are constantly working with him and because he gets one on one attention and extra time for tests at school. He also gets pulled out for extra help several times per week. His problem is primarily lack of focus. He needs to be redirected constantly. He wants to do well. So here's the issue...We've tried many of the natural, holistic options out there for over a year now and none of it seems to be helping. We are taking him back to a neurologist in a week and we have come to the realization that he may need some type of medication. We have accepted this as a possible reality and are reluctantly prepared to go with it if that's what is necessary. We want AJ to have every opportunity to succeed and there is a chance he might not get placed in an inclusion class next year. In preparation for our neurologist appointment, I'd like to get some opinions as to what the better medications might be for attention and focus related issues (not so much hyperactivity). Also, what questions / rebuttals should we prepare for. Sorry for being a bit long winded. Thanks