Ritalin | ADHD Information
Behavior getting worse when the Straterra increased would be another red flag to me. Straterra is is formulated similar to many antidepressants, and antidepressant use is also contraindicated in children with mood disorders due to (you guessed it) irritability and mania.
The way we finally conquered our daughter's bipolar was to be systematic. Start with one drug. Increase it until we can't any more or until the problem gets better or until it's obvious it isn't working. Add second drug, ditto. And so on. Keep a mood chart throughout the process. If you keep throwing different drugs at him at different times, you never know which one is working and which one isn't.
If he has a mood disorder with co-morbid ADHD, you need to stabilize the mood before conquering the ADHD. I don't know if this site will let me post a link, but check out the Child and Adolescent Bipolar foundation at www.cabf.org for info.
Again, learned through very hard experience, but now we have a stable, happy child, so I'm happy to pass on the info.
Audrey
Can anyone tell what experiences they have had on Ritalin (good or bad). We are being switched from Strattera to ritalin.
My mom instinct says no to using it, but I cannot put my finger on why. Would appreciate any thoughts.
My son is 12, very aggressive most of the time, hates everything, extremely defianate. He also takes 5 mgs of abilify.
Thanks
I have just started this week, all i can say so far is my head is quite.
Best of luke with your son.
Decisions should be made based on accurate knowledge, not fear. Every individual responds differently to stimulant meds but when the right med is found for the individual, side effects should be minimal and the results bring about quality of life for the child. Speak with a professional in med management before making any decision in order to educate yourself about the meds and alleviate your doubts. Ritalin has been in existance since the 1930's.
I have done some research on it this weekend. Which by doing that it dawned on me that his behavior got worse when the dr. increased is his strattera. I am still not sure, so I am going to speak with dr today.
He is on abilify because he was/does have extreme mood swings. He has not been diagnosed with a mood disorder (bipolar runs on his father's side of the family). I know when the abilify wears off and see a difference once we give his med.
The ups and downs of ADHD are draining me physically and mentally, just hoping for some kind of small break. I cant even leave my 12yr ds in a room with my other two children (ages 10 and 3), some kind of chaos will erupt.
Why is he on the Abilify? I ask because it's an atypical antipsychotic usually prescribed to kids who have a mood disorder or aggression issues such as ODD... and stimulants like Ritalin can cause mania in kids with mood disorders.
You may want to ask your doctor what his/her reasoning is behind the Abilify/stimulant combination. Abilify IS occasionally prescribed off label for ADHD but there are other, cheaper antipsychotics out there to try first before you jump into Abilify (Risperdal, for example).
I'm not a doc, but I have plenty of experience with both ADHD and bipolar, the hard way.
Audrey
Oh, and fyi my 13 yo daughter takes 10 mg abilify and has successfully for several years... caused a little weight gain initially but nothing a little exercise and vegetables couldn't fix. You may also want to ask your doc about raising your abilify dose from 5 to 10 before adding on another med.
Audrey