hi i am new 2 the forum i am a mum of a nine year old boy with add.it is full on he was diagonised around the age of 7 or 8.he takes ritalin when he is at school but i only give it 2 him for school once in the morning before he goes .thats it i choose not 2 give it 2 him the rest of the time.i feel it really affects his appetite and sleeping and i think we lose our brodie 2 a degree it may help with concentration but where does his personality go.teh back chat is very stressfull limits dont exist.iwhen u go 2 the pedatrition and they give u your medication i think they should hand out help and support as well 4 the parents i am sure its out there but i feel they dont offer enough support.just my opionon.
Rachel,
I understand your frustration. I have an 11 year old that wasdiagnosed at 7 and has been meds since then. I too feel that parents aren't given enough support. The remedy is self education. I read everything I can get my hands on.
If you think his meds are changing his personality, then he might not be on the right meds. You might have to talk to his doctor about changing to something else. Make notes of his behavoir and how you giving his meds before his next appointment. Finding the right med may take time and a couple of different meds.
Please don't be offended by my next comment, it sounds like you are not giving your son his meds as perscribed. He may not be getting the full benefit of his meds because of this.
Sometimes it takes a while to find the right med for your child. We are currently on our 4th med. We started with Concerta, maxed out it within a year. We went to Adderal XR was doing ok. We were part of a dosing study for Modifinal, which the company stopped. The modifinal was great, but my son gained 35 pounds in 7 months. ( You can get modifinal, but a doctor would have to prescribe off label. A psychiatrist can do that, your pediatrician may not want to.) We went back to Adderal XR for a year. We were asked to participate in a study for Vyvanse. We are currently on 30 mg of Vyvanse.
We had terrible sleep issues on Adderal, along with a very poor appetite. We have resolved our sleep issues and the appetite is better. He evens seems to be making better food choices, very picky eater. And he has gained 2 pounds in past month. My son's personality is still there, but the vyvanse seems to help with the focus and hyperactivity. It also lasts a good 11-12 hours. It also has helped with some of the aggresive behavior we were starting to have because of puberty.
Hi,
my son 10 yrs started on ritalin but we found it wasn't great for him. His paediatrician prescribed Concerta which has been great. We feel his doesn't lose his personality but he actually has a chance to harness all his energy and focus much better. I agree with refuho - educate yourself, there is so much out there that can help our kids. Go to a support group, read this forum, read books. Good luck.
Ritalin has a 3-4 hour span after that he may experience a rebound situation. This means that the meds drop out of the system and the body reacts - for many it is a multipication of the ADHD symptoms. My son gets very aggressive and answers back. He can be silly and jumpy and is very unpleasant to be around. That is why ritalin is perscribed usually 2 or even 3 times a day. The idea is to work out when the symptoms begin returning. Then introduce the next dose so that it kicks in when the other is running out. On the weekend observe your son to see how long it works. Then take this information to your doctor to discuss introducing the next dose. Maybe the dose is too much if your notice that he is showing a significant change in personality. This all needs to be observed and shown to your doctor. So make a note every 1/2 hour of his behaviour in a day. (Attention/focus , personality change + -, aggression) and then take this to your doctor to discuss medication doses and / or medications of which there are many many choices.
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