my daughter is almost 14 and I still wake her early to give her first med dose of methylin ER, then she takes another early afternoon. Luckily for her it doesnt really suppress her appetite so we are able to do this. The days I don't (like Saturday and I dont; want to get up at 5:00) our days just don't go as well. She does SO much better with the dose at 4:30-5:00am and another at noon. I agree with Happyrock that it's worth it for her to have her symptoms in check. She is also quieter and like navywife we do have to pull her off the computer or away from the tv or she'll hyperfocus and do that for hours, but if we do she;s fine.
Could you maybe try a different med during the summer when not in school to see if you feel his personality is more able to come through, then you could always go back to the Concerta?
Hi Macmom,
We also have given our 15 year old son his meds before he wakes up. He gets 27mg and 36 mg concerta as well as 5 mg of Quick release ritalin. The latter just kick starts everything. Then he goes back to bed for 45 minutes - hour and then gets up and has a bath and is ready for the day. After school at about 4:30 - 5pm he gets 15 mg of quick release ritalin so he can cope with the evenings. His Rebounding is awful for us so it must be dreadful for him...
I use to feel bad about the meds, but I also remember back when he started at about the age of 7 when we gave him a plecebo to see whether the teacher could really see a difference. I saw him at about 10 am as I dropped something up at his classroom and he ran up to me crying. "Take me somebody who will fix my ears because I can't understand a thing they are saying to me!" This was the moment I knew that he needed meds like a diabetic needs meds.
Keeping your child feeling in control to me is worth the two doses a day. And yes ADHD does suck!
First of all I'd like to say Welcome Back!!
Have you talked to his doctor about your concerns? Our DD is 9 and is also on 54 mg of Concerta. We also have problems in the morning but we try to get her to eat breakfast before giving her the meds in the morning (sometimes we just have to get up a little earlier). This seems to help with the appetite. We noticed if we got her to eat first her appetite didn't seem to be as suppressed. We also have VERY late dinners. We wait to have dinner until 7:30 or 8:00 (after the meds have wore off and her appetite is at full force) and then she still gets a bedtime snack. It's worked so far (she's gained 4 lbs in the last month). We used to have dinner at normal times but it was such a waist of food and time because she never ate so we started the late dinners.
We don't have a "zombie" effect. She's quieter than when she is off the medicine of course but she'll still talk your ear off and laughs and smiles all the time. One example is we went to a Japanese school the other day and all the other kids in her class were being so quiet but Emily was talking the Japanese kids heads off and they loved it. She was quite popular because she loved just talking to them and wasn't the least bit shy. Sometimes it just takes a little coaxing to get her off the computer or from in front of the TV to go do something but once we do she is just like any other kid.
ADHD is hard at times and we as parents have more challenges than most parents but it is our children that have the real challenges. I try to keep that in mind when she is having a bad day. Just take it one day at a time and always voice your concerns to your son's doctor. You are his only advocate and you know your child best. And we are always here for you!! You are not alone!!
First of all long time no post lol.....