Hi there I'm 21 and have just been diagnosed with ADD. I had suffered from depression for 8 years. In Australia they have something called a GDR scale which GPs use to diagnose depression. The medicine does not interact with the ADHD medication.
When you think about all the times your son has been frustrated from the ADHD, if he bottles it up it has to come out somewhere through the body, and this was the case with me.
Medication is a little daunting, you may have to try one or two to get the right one. A good doctor will start him on a half dose of a mild antidepressant so his body can get used to it without any major side effects. It takes a few weeks to work, but if he does have depression this will help immensely. It's not a sign of weakness he is feeling this way...it's a perfectly normal response. I wish you all the best.
im 15 and im on concerta and a lot of my friends have add as well and ive noticed that some of my friends that have adhd are also bi polar, you should have your son be tested for thatSounds like he is suffering from depression. Even if he has ADHD and is being treated if he also has untreated depression then all the ADHD meds in the world won't help the situation.
I have been reading these boards for about 6 months and so many of the answers have helped me, but now I am at the end of my rope. My son, 15 was just diagnosed this year with ADHD. We knew something was wrong, and had him tested in 4th grade, but the tests came back borderline and the school insisted that he could do it if he wanted. Long story short, we started him in January on Concerta, saw a little improvement after a month, dr. upped it, my son said he was sad all the time and was bursting into tears, backed down on the Concerta -- finished the school year okay - not great. Summer was okay, but of course, no school, so no problems. Started high school in August - and it has been going downhill fast -- dr. changed to Adderal XR and we're on the second change on that -- to be honest with you, I do not see that much of a difference between being on med. and not being on med. maybe a little less hyper -- but school work hasn't changed - still d's and f's, home life is a mess. He comes down from the pill about 6pm and our home life goes downhill along with it. I cannot get him to do homework, he says he doesn't care -- well here it is in Dec., and he's already in danger of flunking 9th grade.
Help!
High school is tuff. Have considered a private school where less pressure. The kids this age just want fun. We are not there yet but my non adhd kid is this way some. Tell him no pass no play if in sports. That does it for my daughter.rshn