6 year old 1st day on Ritalin | ADHD Information

My daughter has taken several forms of Ritalin. I agree the tummy pains should subside, but dont wait too long if it doesnt. It is probably not rebound as this happens when the extended release meds wear off and sounds like he is taking regular short acting Ritalin. I would give it a week and see if things settle. Hyperactivity can be increased by wrong dosing. Probably not too little Ritalin dose wise of they saw good improvement right away.

My DD had stomach pain on Focalin.  Her doctor said it often goes away with time, but DD's did not.  She did not have stomach pain on Daytrana (though it didn't help with her ADHD).  She was very chatty when she started Focalin--I remember noting that she talked nonstop from when I picked her up at 2:30 until bedtime at 7:30.  And when I say "nonstop", I mean that literally!!  That extreme chattiness did pass after a couple of days.

I hope the Ritalin works for your son. 

Hi there,
We live in Australia and my son is under a pediatrician in Sydney. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and receptive and auditory processing problems. I finally took the plunge and started him  on meds today. I,ve been feeling very guilty and worried about side effects. I gave him Ritalin 10mgs at 7.30am and he recieved 5mgs at 11am at school. When i took him to school he kept complaining of a tummy pain and that he was sick and to tired to go to school. When i picked him up this afternoon he was on such a high, talking very fast and very quickly, repeating himself, not cranky or upset but very talkative, not normal for him. Still complainingof tummy pain and he was very thirsty.  Are these the signs of rebound??
The teacher had written that there was a big improvement in his concentration in the classroom though very chatty.
Does this seem normal, will the tummy pain and hyper after school settle?
He was more hyper this afternoon without all the physical activity that goes usually goes with it, if that makes sense.
Interested to hear from other parents and their experience with Ritalin.
cheers
karen
joyacacia39216.2997222222Many other parents have noted that their children get quite chatty when first on the meds. It could very well be that he just needs to get used to the way he feels on the med, he may just now be able to think clearly enough to remember all the things he wants to say long enough to say them! It is good that the teacher noticed a difference the first day, that is not always the case.

I have also heard parents say that their children had some tummy issues as their child adjusts to the med, this should pass as his system adjusts. If not, there are other meds to try that may not affect him in these ways.

He may also not want to eat much while the med is in his system, so be sure he eats his breakfast before you give it in the morning, and if possible, time the dose at school for after lunch....if he has sleep problems, melatonin works wonders on many children, though I am unsure of its availability in Australia. Thanks for your post.
My son had a good week at school. The teachers could see a great improvement in work completed and in his concentration. No red cards sent home for bad behavior. I changed the times when i was giving the medication, he now has it after meals, so its reducing the tummy pains.
The problems at home are anger issues. Seems to be worse on medication. Blows up really easily, yells at me, very confronting, pushes his body very closely to mine, no personal space, he grabbed my shirt yesterday, my 16 year was a bit freaked out by the way he was acting. Going to sleep now is a real task, he is getting bags under his eyes, we see the specialist next month so i will inform him.
My son always had a temper but now it seems exacerbated.
thanks  for listening
joyacacia
joyacacia39220.8651967593Ugh.  It's such a dilemma when they are improved at school but not at home.  My 6YO has ADHD, and we have been through a couple of meds over the last couple of months--seems like everything helps her at school but makes her crazy at home!  Good luck.  I am with you on all of this. All the stimulant medications help my daughter at school, but we cant seem to handle the side effects. Good luck. There are many different options out there and it is a long, tiring journey finding what works, but something will work. Quite often it is a combination of taking what works and adding something to help with side effects, we've done that in the past.