Is everyone nervous starting meds??? | ADHD Information

Yes, we avoided them for several years after his diagnosis, biggest regret of my life. My son should have started meds immediately after the diagnosis.

My son ended up being labeled due to him impusive behavior that could have been controled by his meds that he is currently taking. My own fears hurt my child. It still saddens me and makes me feel so guilty!

Remember, MOST meds leave their bodies after they metabolize them through their systems. Straterra does NOT, it builds up in the blood over time. But concerta and adderall do. Check that out if it is a concern.

Or is it just me???

We decided to start dd on her Concerta (18 mg) tomorrow.  The next few days are nice and quiet for us, and dh is off work.

I know in my heart this is the right way to go, but I'm nervous.  You never know how these things will go, that whole trial and error thing with meds.  I guess I will watchfully wait, hope for the best, and try to keep my own anxiety in check!


Everyone is nervous with the unknown. At 18mg you may see absolultely nothing to some good effects to mild side effects. We saw nothing with the oldest and mild improvement with the youngest. Bad side effects are really uncommon but they are what we worry about the most. Hang in there and be watchful. I hope you get to effective treatment soon.

My son will be 5 in a couple weeks.  His pediatrician recommends medication for ADHD.  We're planning on starting it when he turns five, but are nervous.  We have been talking about medication for awhile and I think we're ready to try it.  Now that I know the signs of ADHD, I can look as far back as to when he was an infant and see the personality traits.  I like to focus on the good ones:  Outgoing, Expressive, Happy, Likes a Challenge, Thinks outside the box, etc...

i AM NERVOUS ABOUT GIVING MY ds A DOSE HIKE. iT ALSO TOOK ME 1 YEAR TO GIVE INTO STARTING HIM ON THE MEDS AS WE HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH fOCALINXR AND MY SON REFUSED THE MEDS. PART WAY INTO 4TH GRADE HE DECIDED TO TRY VYVANSE BECAUSE YOU CAN OPENIT UP AND PUT CONTENTS IN SODA. OOOOHH SODA IN THE MORNING. HE WAS HOOKED AND DID WELL THE LAST 7 MONTHS OR SO. BUT NOW OLD BEHAIVIORS ARE COMING BACK AND WE HAVE TO INCREASE. I AM A NERVOUS WRECK. hE JUST GOT THE VYVANSE 50 A FEW MINUTS AGO, WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

I THINK EVERYONE IS NERVOUS ABOUT STARTING MEDS. IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT OUR 1ST CHOICE.

We all go through the anxiety.  ESPECIALLY in the beginning.  It took me 6 months to finally give in to give her medicine (and her doctor telling me if I didn't she was going to wind up hurting herself or some one else).  I am so glad that we did.  The first year was aweful for us.  We had a hard time finding her right medicine and dose.  Then we found concerta.  This has been a life changing medicine for us.  My dd and me finally have a great relationship.  She hates not being on her meds too.  It is great to see her reach her full potential and be happy.

Good luck to you!!

Hi, Tosca. I have felt (and still do feel at times) very much the same way. We started our son on meds last spring when he was in preschool and didn't tell the teacher as we wanted an unbiased opinion on whether things changed. There was about a month and a half of school left and he did great on meds -- only one or two challenging days in the bunch. In fact, at my last IEP meeting with his teacher, she commented about how much "progress" he had made and how she now considered him to be one of her peer models (in a half/half class). We were thrilled! While I know he needs the meds for school, we've gone back and forth on whether to give him a break for summer. We've pretty much limited giving him meds to situations where we know he'll need a little more control, like birthday parties, Disney World, etc. He's been a bit implusive and mouthy lately, which has been frustrating, and has made my husband and I rethink the med breaks as we hate getting upset with him if he can't always help it, etc. I really can see both sides, but am starting to lean toward Bethann's POV that you have to do what's best for your child. It is a tough decision to make, I know!

I really prayed a lot during this time for my ds. I was terrified at giving him a pill...However, it DID improve his quality of life.  He made solid friendships, school work became much easier, trouble became less...Meds are NOT a cure-all. I mistakingly thought it would be. Your daughter will still be herself, if on the right amount and right med, and kids need help in making good choices. 
Give yourself some reassurance that if the meds don't work-you do not have to keep giving them to her.  You know? It isn't like if you give her one pill that she has to take it every day from now-on!  At any given moment, you could be done with it.  But also know that there are some really rewarding results to the med that is right for her.  She will really benefit from the purpose of them. 

We are currently taking a summer break. Our doctor said that ds needed to gain some weight (he's 7 now, been on meds since March of last year) and for us to see how far he's matured.  It's been interesting but we were prepared. Some times we do too much yelling but we're all doing our best! ha ha  He is eating and having a great summer and we're learing 'patience'!!   Basically, I am just showing you that it's not a permanent decision.  Do what is best for her, but don't knock anything (within means) that could make her heart a little happier!  ADDer and ADHDers have a hard road some times, their hearts get a little too heavy...we need to get them to smile and help them when we can!

Best of Luck, Keep us updated!

Thank you all.  Glad to see it's not just me :)

She's been on them for 3 days now, and dh and I both agree that she's not really having side effects, other than taking an hour longer than usual to fall asleep (but 1 mg of melatonin did the trick last night).  Her appetite's been good, no anxiety.  What's hardest for me to assess is any actual change in her behaviors- I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm starting to think *maybe* something is clicking in her.  She's been better at looking both ways before crossing the street (I didn't even have to remind her!), and twice she initiated a little tidy-up of her room without me prompting her to. 

I guess maybe I am looking through the microscope a little too closely...being a paranoid mummy!  I am however keeping a daily sort of journal to keep track of any changes...and trying to remember to BREATHE, LOL.



The journal is a great idea!! See, give yourself some credit, you're doing a great job!!  You'll make the right choices for her...Yay!!