Help with my son who has ADHD | ADHD Information

You have a lot of options still.  My 12 year old had similar issues. He could hold it together in school but homework took FOREVER!! And he was frustrated.  He's only ever taken Strattera.  He takes it at night and it doesn't affect his appetite. He was taking it in the morning then we switched when he felt he wasn't as hungry.

My other son has been on several stimulants and they all affected his appetite.  But with a good breakfast and 2 Ensures a day his growth wasn't affected.  He's small but would be anyway. 

As for the zombie part, it may be a matter of finding the right medication.  I love Daytrana for that.  The release is even so that doesn't happen.


Is 4'10" and 80 pounds that thin?  Mine only weighs 85 pounds at that height. 
Daytrana works well for us.  I've noticed that since Tenex was added in the evening, he seems to eat quite a bit more.  It depends on your son's profile -- Tenex isn't for everyone -- but if he is hyperactive, it might help with that.
Thanks to everyone for the advise. It is very much appreciated. I am still trying to decide what I want to do with him, do I put him back on his meds or just leave it alone and see if he can cope...or if I can hope :)

No, he we have not tried those yet. I have been trying to read up on the patch and so far I really haven't been too impressed on what people have been saying about it. As far as focalin, I have never heard of this one. I will study up on that one as well.

The thing with my son is, he doesn't have a behavioral problem really. He is not out of control he just can't focus and is very hyper. Truthfully, I hate to put him back on medication due to the side effects of loss of appetite and he is like a zombie while on the meds but I am at my witts end with him right now.

Strattera only decreased apetite for me for the first two weeks. Then suddenly I turned into a fruit junkie and put on 10 needed lbs.

It's a hard drug to get on but the side effects go away. It's a med that requires patience and it doesn't start working for 4-6 weeks.

He sounds like my 13 year old daughter, who btw is 5'1" and 80 pounds, so really thin.

She did pretty well on Daytrana, but it did kill her appetetite. We just switched to Strattera and her appetite has returned and is much better.

Hi, I have an 11 year old son who was diagnosed with ADHD a couple of years ago. We decided to put him on medicine to help control this. He was on Concerta first, Adderall second and then finally he was put on Strattera. We took him off his meds last year due to extreme loss of weight. I have been thinking about putting him back on medicine because of him not focusing well at school or at home while doing his homework. Last night it took him 6 hours to do his homework, he did have quite a bit of homework and the reason so is because he isn't using his time wisely at school. He does play sports and has had to miss several practices due to not getting his homework done before practice and school work does come before after school activities. I feel like he has no time for family interaction and barely has enough time to eat dinner and take a shower before its bedtime. This happens just about everyday with his homework taking so long.

My question is this, is there any medication that anyone has found that does not decrease appetite? That is my main reason for not putting him back on his meds. He only weighs about 80 lbs now and is about 4'10" so he isn't very big now so I don't want him to loose too much weight again.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Have you tried Daytrana Patch or Focalin? They are both supposed to be better on appetite loss so are several non stimulants. I would speak to my doc about this concern and  it should be a child psychiatrist not a pediatrician.