It’s all been worth it, but... | ADHD Information
DS is now 11 years old. He was diagnosed ADD/ADHD at 5.We settled on concerta and some behavioral therapy. Last
week the same teacher (small private school) that said
they would "try" their best but didn't know if they could
meet his needs 5 years ago, told me he was "the most"
motivated kid in middle school (out of 60 kids). I wanted
to cry. I am so proud of him. He has a great crew of
friends at school, loves reading, is the star chess
player and is one of the better pianist in the school.
So today he was off his meds, and I must admit we all
take things in stride and just try to keep him happy and
safe, but...He is so different off his meds. All the
maturity and social skills go out the window. It's pretty
amazing that a pill can make such a difference in his
life. That said, I would love for a little of the
direction and motivation to stick when he's off. If his
teacher could see him today she would be shocked. I honestly think the school has forgotten that hyper boy
who would get into so much trouble.
Don't get me wrong he has matured a little but when I see
the other neighborhood kids his age it's like night and
day. He only plays with younger kids when he's off his
meds. I think he feels less judged. I feel like he has
this secret life on the weekends.
Does this sound familiar?
Cautiously Happy MomI think you are all right. We just noticed that after he has been on the meds, say two weeks straight, his patience is shot and he seems very angry. That could also be hormones.
Wrestling season is about to start and there will be little time for med breaks.
The funny thing is we are not miserable when he is off the meds anymore. He just doesn't give a hoot about anything and is not even paying attention to the air in front of him. He gets funny looks from stranger (like why is this big kid bouncing like Tigger?), but we tune it out and don't take him places where he will be embarrassed later.
But you're right. We need to just leave him on them.
Thanks for relating.
Why do you take him off the meds on the weekends? If they make that much of a positive impact on him then maybe you should consider keeping him on them all the time. If his brain needs the meds that badly then his brain would probably do better if he didn't have the inconsistancy.
My son is so severely ADHHHHHHHHHHHHD that I never take him off the meds. He needs them so desperately! He takes his medicine everyday 7 days a week. He's miserable without them and as a result so are we! 
Has ur doctor recommended taking your son of meds at weekends? maybe you should think about taking him off his meds and see how he gets on
If you notice negative effects after two weeks straight of meds then maybe you should vary the dose or change meds all together. My son is like that with his Ritalin. The doc says he's just one of those kids that you have to keep his system a little off balance or the effectivness of the medicine wears off. What we do is vary the dose every 5 days or so. He usually gets three doses per day but on the weekends we give him 4. This seems to do the trick. You may want to talk to the doc about it. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
Hi Miranda234
Please keep in mind when assessing your son's maturity level that for children with ADHD, there is a 30% maturity lag. The problems for these children does not lie in the lack of maturity but rather the inability to pick up on social cues in a social setting when off of effective treatment. These children are very aware of the fact that they can't keep up socially with their peers so they gravitate towards younger children many times.
As far as the medication, it allows the child to focus and make choices rather than act on impulse so when the child does succeed at something, its the child that deserves the credit, not the medication. The medication unlocks windows of opportunity and then its up to the child in terms of success or lack of. Good luck with your decisions and please keep us posted.
Congratulations on the positive reports from school! Gives me hope for the future with my own son, who is 7 now.
Know you have years more experience than me, but thougth I'd share that we found weekend med breaks didn't work so well for us on Concerta. We love Concerta and are still on it (with Tenex), but noticed when he's off it a day, he's almost worse than on nothing. It's like major rebound or withdrawal, if you will. If he's off two days, the second day is much better, but that first day is rough and he's extremely impulsive. So we stopped doing the weekend med breaks. Don't know if this rebound/withdrawal is common among others as I know the meds are supposed to be in/out of your system, but in our experience it seems to take a day. Just thought I'd throw that out there to consider. :)
Take care!