Medication Difficulties | ADHD Information

I tried to write you fishersofmen but i got back a mailer failure notice. I will try again maybe I had the email address wrong.

 

Losingmymind27

losingmymind2739343.4601736111

TO: team 2004

Ritalin 5mg, I am going to call the doctor and see about getting that med. Homework is a nightmare and the volome of work increases every year. At this point thought I would rather struggle at home than receive calls from school.

Thank you all this forum has been a godsend. I only cry every other day now. :) and thats saying alot.

I am pretty much a newbie on ADHD and can't offer any advice on the meds
for children... but I wanted to lend my support. I wish you and your son the
best.. keep working on it and don't give up. You both deserve to be happy.

thankyou Gridley support of any kind is welcome. You guys are going to make me cry.

losingmymind27, your son sounds SO much like my daughter it was like I had written what you wrote.  We were on Ritalin and were having a hard time with homework too so the Dr suggested trying Concerta.  My daughter was angry and agitated.  It didn't help at school at ALL, the teacher kept me very informed.  I asked my dd if she feels like she is focusing better on it and she replied with "no....I feel like a different person." Words that made my heart ache like nothing she had ever said before.  Because what I saw in her was like a different person too.  We went back to Ritalin 10mg in the AM, 10mg at lunch, and at 4pm when she gets home, I give her a 5mg.  Unless she has no homework, then I don't give it to her (in hopes of her eating more dinner, Rit does lessen her appetite). 
Keep trying with the meds and pay close attention to changes.  We're still struggling with it all. 
Keep coming here, it's wonderful therapy and information on these boards.  Way more than any Dr has ever given me.

Dear losingmymind27,

At the time, I was a bit curious about brsmom e-mail and why she needed to share her information with you by e-mail.  All of my experience on this forum has been unbelievably positive.  Everyone has been open, honest, sharing and caring.

Please do not let this bad experience scare you away.  You are in a good place.

For more sensitive matters, the private messenger system on this site works very well.

As for the Ritalin, as your doctor to give you an extended release drug that comes in 10 mg.  The dose on the concerta might be too high.

losingmymind27,

Sensory integration has to do with the way the person deals with things such as space, sound, touch, texture, taste.

My son had a problem with self regulation, loud noises, certain smells, easily overstimulated but couldn't self regulate to calm himself. He also had a problem with the way he held his pencil/crayon and pushed down too hard.

He has an Occupational Therapist through our public school system that provides therapy. It truly has helped.

The thing with sensory is that they change. They do "go away" once the person has learned to manage those areas in need, however, new ones can come out.

My son also used to hate having his hair washed, the smell of popcorn, brushing his teeth. He has a speech delay that I feel is due to sensory. The sensation of the tongue thrust and his teeth gets in his way.

But I reread your original post and wondered if there is any thought on other diagnosis, especially for saying things inappropriate and having a blank look on his face like he isn't comprehending - what about aspberger's? I just wonder because there are so many things that fall on both the adhd and aspberger's and sensory spectrums. I am not a professionals just a mother who has been down this road and have thought about this for my son as well. If you want any info on aspberger's just google it and there are websites that will ask you certain questions, that is what I have done.

I Private message a lot here also but I have never responded to a blind email. There are people that will enter these boards and are against meds and believing that ADHD even exists

There are so many great people with a lot of wisdom here!! The best information I find comes from families experiencing this first hand, living it so to speak, not a professional who has studied it!! You need both, don't get me wrong, but what other families are dealing with and going through really helps me to realize I am not alone, and I need that daily!!

Please stick around!!

The fishersofmen person brsmom sent me what i consider to be spam. It was a big long article about the horrors of Ritalin. Not personal experience at all. It seemed like propaganda of some sort. I feel like you tricked me and I regret giving out my email address. I will be more careful on these forums from now on.

I am sorry you were tricked by brsmom. Please use the PM button in the future for personal contacts. It is a bit safer.

I know it is hard to go through med trials to find the best med for a person. It can be expensive when you only use a few pills and need to change.

The different forms of methylphenidate can have different effects on a person, even though they are the same active ingredient but in different release forms. You might call the doc and let him know that the concerta  is a problem and see if you can use the ritalin 3 times a day to get by for now. This would give you time to see which meds are offered with prescription assistance. There may even be coupons for free trials for these (that is how we tried both concerta and focalin).

I would also keep a diary of med doses and times and effects (positive and negative) to help you and the doc to taylor the meds to your son's needs.

vickie39343.5138425926

I am a 27 year old singe mom of one 8 yr old son with ADHD. He has some problems with spatial differences, very clumsy. Argues alot and doesnt know when to stop. He also says out of line stuff out of the blue. He told his teacher he wishes she was dead. We will be riding in the car and he will mention crashing. He also has problems understanding body language etc.. alot of other things too much to mention.I am finding it hard to cope. I dont have any friends here where I live and I feel so alone. I find myself wishing I had another life alot and I hate myself for it. My son has been getting in trouble constantly since he started pre-school. At first it was "He wont sit for circle time. he doesnt listen, maybe he cant hear."  "He has a blank look on his face I dont think he comprehends" Had hearing tests done, saw a speech pathologist, they said everything was fine. In kindergarten I was at conference at least once a month with them telling me that "He isnt at grade level, he cant read. He doesnt listen, he is angry." "We want to have him repeat the grade'" I wasnt going for it. I bought Hooked on Phonics, took him to Sylvan for assesment. Assessment at Sylvan=$$$. Hooked on Phonics worked great. Still a struggle in school with behavior, heard from the principal and teacher at least once a week. conference after conference it got so bad i would throw up before the meetings because I dreaded going to them. In second grade his teacher suggested ADHD to me. I was skeptical. I had always thought that this was a fake disease. I saw his doctor did some assesments with doctor, teachers, counselors. I should also mention that his doctor to my surprise is a specialist on ADHD. He is a MD and a PHD. We talked I still had reservations so he gave me some websites (one was this one :) . I came back to see him a month later and started my son on Ritalin 10mg BID. I felt so bad cried all night. I just felt like I was giving up. Within 2 months I had my first good conference and he went up 2 grade levels in reading. Everthing was fine except for the fact that homework was a terrible time. It would take us 2.5-3 hrs to do 2 worksheets. I would give him the answer and ask it back and he would look around and give me the wrong answer.I was so frustrated, went on like this until this yr. Grade 3 homework harder cant spend all that time on 2 pages, lots more homework. I asked the doc for something that lasted longer becasue his 2nd dose of Ritalin wore off at about 4. He prescribed Concerta 36mg instead of the Ritalin and he has been on it 7 days. He has been In house suspended once, calls from principal and babysitter etc... This medication has made him very intense and angry. He yelled at me when he was playing his video game and he actually punched a student 3 times because the boy teased him about how fast he runs. He is very uncoordinated. He also threw a shoe at his sitter. He has never done this before.  At this point I just dont want any calls so I am seriously thinking about going back to the Ritalin and just struggling with homework. I figure as long as he is being good and doing good at school I shouldnt complain.I have to leave my desk at work constanty because I cant hold the tears back when I get one of those dreaded calls. I am at my wits end. I paid 0 for that med. Does anyone have any similar experiences and could give me a little advice on meds?

P.S. Anyone here know of any support groups in the Northern California area? Fairfield to Sacramento area.

I will try to post often, this is good therapy.

It doesnt sound to me like either med is the ideal choice for him. There are lots, and lots, and lots of med choices. Call the doctor back and tell him your story with the Concerta. Ever child reacts differently to each medication and each medication dose. Hang in there, the med adjustment period is full of frustration, but try to be patient, and dont settle, keep trying.I agree with Diane V, there are alot of meds out there and this one doesn't sound like the right one. We are on FocalinXR which is a  long acting cleaner form of ritalin and so far so good. That doesn't mean it will work for you. Talk with your doc, sometimes they need a booster dose in the afternoon to get them through. the doc will know better. Some bring out anger more than others. It really is a freakin science. We leave it up to our child phych who specializes in ADHD with Anxiety(our sons problem). Hope you can work this out soon.

Meds are definetly not working. Do you think that they could be bringing out another disability, maybe bipolar? ADHD meds do that with bipolar. They make the bipolar worse.

My son has sensory integration. Space issues was a problem until an OT and ADHD meds helped him. He is sooooooooooooo much better!

I would call the doc and tell him/her about what is happening on the meds. ASAP!

Do you know about sensory integration?

Children’s Nurturing Project Support Group
For parents of young children with special needs. Parents are welcome to come alone or bring their children for a time of socializing and play. No rsvp needed.
Every Friday, 10 - Noon
Child Haven Administrative Office, 733 Webster St., Fairfield.
Call 707-422-0464 for more information.

___________________________________________________________

WELCOME TO CHADD SACRAMENTO!

MEETING TIME: CHADD Sacramento meetings are held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. one Tuesday of the month (see dates noted below).

MEETING LOCATION: Sutter Center for Psychiatry, 7700 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA

DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 50 to Power Inn exit, then turn right on Folsom Blvd, Sutter Center is approx 1/4 mile on the left side (just past Home Depot and Storage Blvd).

MEETING FORMAT: 1st hour - Guest Speaker, 2nd hour - Break out groups on various topics (adults, parenting, medications, tourettes, etc.). To meet the needs of both adults with AD/HD and parents of children with AD/HD we have speaker topics on adult and children's issues. Some topics will cover both children and adults.

MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2007-2008:
2007: Sept 11, Oct 2, Nov 6, (no meeting in December)
2008: Jan 8, Feb 5, Mar 4, Apr 1, May 6   (no meetings Jun/July/Aug)

Greater Sacramento CHADD
Holly Graff: chaddsac@yahoo.com or call 888-759-9758.

____________________________________________________________

Sacramento: Topic: Breatkthrough Solutions for Educational and Behavioral Problems.
Speaker: Dean Garrison, M.S.

10/2/2007 - Tues.
7-9 pm

Sutter Center for Psychiatry

_________________________________________________________

My 7 1/2 year old tried Concerta--also made him agitated and uptight.  He would argue about things he did not argue about off the meds.  He also complained about stomach pains.  My conclusion was that the 18 mg dose was too high (the blood plasma levels actually increase throughout the day and peak in the afternoon).  He actually would hit his brother once every day at the same time, and then afterward would be a complete angel as he was coming down off the drug.

We were somewhat successful on 20 mg Ritalin LA (a 8-10 hour drug) although he metabolized the drug fairly quickly, so we were left with a 45 gap in the middle of the day before the second dose released, he also could not handle a full 20 mg.  I had to dump 1/3 of the beads out of the capsule.  He was agitated and disregulated on the full 20mg.

We have been successful (so far) on 10 mg Methylin ER (a generic 6-8 hour extended release).  He metabolizes it in 5 hours and takes it twice a day (7 a.m. and Noon).

There are also Ritalin SR (a 6-8 hour); Metadate CD and ER within this class of drugs.

You might want to educate yourself on the various methylphenidate based drugs and their delivery systems and dosages before meeting with the doctor so you can give him/her some direction on what you think would work with your child.  You know him better than anyone.

Good Luck!

We also had similar trouble with Concerta when we
started. Then we concluded that because he was
going to sleep later (a side effect of the meds), the
problem was that he was overtired. We started him
on clonidine to help him sleep and it worked
wonders.

I gather from this site that homework time is still
difficult for a lot of ADHD kids.

He may just need a ritalin booster for homework. You could also try another stimulant altogether like adderall XR or vyvanse both of which are long acting and in a different class of stimulants than ritalin. My kids have done much better on adderall than concerta. Also a lot of people see great results with the daytrana patch. keep trying. It will get better.

 

Good luck!

Keep trying different meds. Definitely. My ds went through several short
and long acting meds before we found Daytrana. Hang in there. It will get
better.

Thank you all for your advice. I called the doctor today and made an appt to discuss the different meds.

Bethann--what is sensory integration?