first day on med | ADHD Information

I am an adult male (33). I just found out this year that I have had ADHD all my life. I was prescribed Concerta 18mg initially as well. I found that it was very mild with me. The were no side effects that I could tell, but then again, I am not 9 years old.

When I was nine years old, I remember struggling horribly with school work. I think the fact that your son can pull the grades he can with ADHD and without meds for so long is a real testament to his ability. I went through the whole stealing thing when I was young too. Everyone in my family just thought I was rotten... no one suspected ADHD with me, though in retrospect it seem utterly obvious. This was some 25 years ago though, so I guess maybe people didn't know as much then. I remember having terrible bouts of guilt and depression after these episodes. It never occurred to me that I was ill, until much, much later.

The only advice I would give is to try and remain compassionate and patient with him. I know he can make you mad, but this is a serious condition that can be very difficult to understand for a young mind. He is doing very well for a young man with ADHD in my opinion, as far as the grades go. I am sure this has a lot to do with your skills as parents, but also with his ability. I hope the meds make a difference with him. I know they did with me.

Good luck!

CD
The Absent Mind40108.6701736111For my daughter, Concerta lasts about 9 hours.   When she started stimulants,  I saw an immediate difference - for the good.   She's been on stimulants for 3 years and my only regret is not starting sooner.

I noticed a change immediately with my medication. At first, it felt like I had one too many cups of coffee, but that effect faded after just a couple of days. Now, the meds make me feel alert and calm - like I imagine most people feel all the time.

It might be a good idea to keep a journal tracking symptoms and side effects. Your doctor may find it useful if changes in dose or medicaiton are needed. When I started my meds, I made a chart with my major symptoms and some common side effects of my medication. Then I rated them 1-5 after each dose. You can also ask your son how he feels. I'd either ask specific questions (as opposed to "how do you feel?") or give him some words to use to describe how he's feeling. Kids at this age don't always grasp things like frustration, distractability, etc. I'd also ask the teacher to let you know how things are going every day until you get the med dosage right.

 

Let us know how it goes!

  Ok my 9 year son has adhd since he was 5. Never been on meds untill tomorrow after finding that he took money from us and then lies to our faces( This is not the 1st time him taking and lying to us). We just got sick of it and we are going trying meds

After trying just 4 years without meds and recently tried omega 3's for 3 months I just decided why cause our family all this turmoil. Even his 4th grader teachers agrees. The teachers ( all 3 of them) says he is really try his best to stay focus and I know this by his grades , which are pretty good becuase we work so hard and I know my son studies hard because he comes home witht 100, 90's or 80's. it would be a rare thing if I see a 70 or less. So I know he is really trying hard to stay focus on school. but it kills me as well i know he can do better.  And these were are agreed with all of his teachers!!!  They claim they do not encourge him to be on meds, but he will STRUGGLE LESS in school.  

Example math quiz 25 questions got 85% . The last 3 question were all wrong ( problem solving ) I asked did you use scrape paper for the math.

NO scrape paper  ( wow he good in math)  reason becuse he did not want to miss recess with his friends so he rushed in his head the last 3 questions!!!  that annoys me.

 

y getting the concerta 18mg.

Will I see the result right away?

And how long does it last 8-12 hour??

Not looking forward to see the side effects, but I have to give this a try since his impluse is getting out of control now.