I have a newly diagnosed ADHD 8 yr old son. Our ped has asked that I do some reading/research on these two drugs and choose one that I feel would best suit my son. I've read the drug manufacturers literature, but I'm looking for some unbiast feedback from anyone who has taken this med or had a child who has taken this med.
Did you feel it was effective, any side effects, pros, cons, etc.
I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of the information and would appreciate any advise, feedback, etc you feel might be helpful.
Thanks in advance.
Lisa
Everyone responds differently to the different meds. Vyvanase is a pro-drug (a substance that the body metabolizes to form the active medication) form of adderal (amphetamine salts) that is exspected to last 12 hours. Amphetamine salts are considered by some docs to be the best option (most effective with the least side effects-but again everyone is different); but the word "amphetamine" can scare off some parents. Because of the metabolizm to get to the active med, there may be a lag before effectiveness. This med should cover school, homework and afterschool activities.
Metadate is a long acting (8+hours) of methylphenidate.Methylphenidates have been around a long time and come in many forms from short release to 12 hour release. This is made of a dose of immediate release med plus a second dose in about 4 hours. This can be augmented with a short acting form for after school activities or homework if needed.
Things to consider:
Do you have bad mornings and need the med to work pretty quick?
Is there homework or afternoon activities that he needs meds for?
Either can interfere with sleep, but many kids actually sleep better with med in thier system.
Either can interfere with appetite as well.
My daughter just started Vyvanse and has had severe stomach pains. We just contacted her doctor and are going to change it. We even tried a 7mg dose. She also broke-out in a rash all over her back and has no app. The full dose of 30 mg worked but then she didn't even want to get out of bed or eat and still complained of extreme stomach pain. All children are different though. So good luck.
Thanks for the replies.
We're going on week 2 of Metadate and things seem to be going well. He's not had any major side effects that we've noticed. We're going to wait another week or so to see if we need to bump his dosage, but as of now things are looking good.
Thanks!