out of couriosity, did you find that there was a fine line between what works and what completely removed there personality.
[/QUOTE]That is funny that you said all of that. my daughter can focus best with 15mg of ritalin la (fine tuning it myself) but she lacks her spunk, and with the Addrell she is more social but has a harder time focusing. I just can't stop thinking that there has to be something that can do both. We have tried metadate and concerta (she was a basket case coming off it at night) and Ritalin la and now Adderal.
i guess only time will tell.
HI Kristen,
My dd is 8yrs and is on Concerta 18mg.. the lowest dose. With the Concerta she has been wonderful... full attending and reading/writing and attitude... everything has improved. Lucky she has not had off days with her meds.
Just a thought... maybe Adderall is just not the right med for her. There are many out there.
I too was releaved when we finally got the dx of ADHD... I went thru a faze that it was my fault and the guilt... but over time and doing a lot of research and talking to others I have become more knowledgeable about ADHD. I was glad that I came across this message boards... the wealth of info and support is wonderful.
Good luck to you and you daughter.
Kristen, if she is having problems is it all day long, or just for periods of time? If its all day long, she really shouldn't be that inconsistent. Sure kids are going to have good and bad days ADHD or not our kids are more extreme of course but try to pay attention to a few things If not all day, then when, what times, what the situation is, etc. Is she not focusing because she doesn't want to do the task, or is it she is trying and just can't focas? Know what I mean. My son generally doesn't have problems with focusing on meds, now his behavior can be worse some days and I think that can be expected. But if she isn't focusing alot of days then I don't think that is right and her meds may not be doing the job. My son had bad behavior everytime his meds wore off and is now on short acting ritalin every afternoon to conbat that. So, if thats her main problem(coming off meds in afternoon) then that can be helped with something short acting.
Good luck!
it is not all the time. usually when it comes to doing her homework. some days she is fantastic. but if she doesn't want to do it, it can be very frustrating. she just turned six, so when i ask her if the medicine helps her focus, pay attention, or have an easier time she has a hard time expressing herself. I don't know if she can connect her abilities with a pill she took 30-60 minutes earlier. However with both the ritalin la and the adderall she has almost no problems when they wear off. On the ritalin when it wears off her personality is more apparent, and with the adderall she is a little bit more exitable, but no major mood behavior problems.
Hi i am new here. I have a 6yo dd who was dx in Sept w/ adhd. She also has a hard time with social skills, and can be a little difiant (more with teacher then with me). We have tried metadate, Ritalin long acting and Adderall. currently she is on 5 mg of Adderall. Some days she is on fire (paying attention, very easy to get along with, good penmenship, just fantastic), and then on other days she is the complete opposite, moody, can't focus, fights with little sister, very emotional. When we increase to 10mg she is a zombie, no personality, doesn't talk. It's like this with all the medication. I am wondering if her inconsistency just apart of the enitre package, or is her inconsistancy in behavior with the medication unusual?
On a side note when the Psychologist dx her as adhd i was releaved. I honestly thought how simple is this. ADHD how hard can this be? Boy was i wrong.
The inconsistency is a part of the deal. Especially with ADHD-innattentive.Just so i am clear (a bit of adhd myself) it is to be expected to have inconsistency even while medicated? So when looking at differnt meds to we also consider the ones that have the fewest off days (among other things)?
My son has not had 'off' days as far as attention, etc, while medicated.
When the med is working, it is working. If she is having off days, the med is not working...it may be time to try another med or dosage.
Yes Kristen in AZ........inconsistency will happen......with or without meds. No med will be perfect and give perfect results. What you are looking for is improvement in the TREND of her behaviors. There will be up and down days. As a rule, it is best not to take isolated incidents of really bad behavior and make major decisions on that one incident. But.......if you see a TREND in bad behavior starting to take shape, that's when action is needed. The exception of course is when you suspect a bad drug reaction or serious side effect that requires you to stop the drug immediatey. This is why it is so important to have a written log of documented behaviors to discuss with the doctor when you are adjusting doses on a med trial. Write down dates, times, observed side effects, etc in a spiral notebook or similar fashion.
Okiemom
okiemom39163.7312615741Hi Kristen,thanks for the advice. we do keep a notebook on her progress, i even tape samples of her handwritting in it, so i can see how things progress, as well as times she took her medicine and the time she does her homework.
out of couriosity, did you find that there was a fine line between what works and what completely removed there personality.