Dawnie - we have a lot in common. Our 7yo son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and started on Concerta yesterday. He had a really good day at school...was very proud of himself for finishing 7 worksheets. His teacher, who has been very supportive, sent home a nice note. Since I gave the meds to him at breakfast, I didn't see him until 2:45 when he got off the bus. He seemed himself, but complained of nausea and his head feeling funny during homework time. Obviously the levels are dropping off by then...so I guess this is causing the problems in the afternoon.
I'm still learning so much about this disorder, and what to do for him. I've avoided medications unless I've really needed them for most of my life...and I do the same for my kids. However, ADHD has really been affecting Mitchell's life (not to mention our family life)...so here we are. I'm so frustrated and overwhelmed.
My seven year old son first started on Adderall and was great for about two weeks and then it all went down hill. They then put him on Concerta and my husband and I didn't like it at all. In the evening he would become emotional and mean and make strange faces. We now are going to try to up his dose with the Adderall tommorow and see how that works.
good luck
My 8 1/2 year old was on ritalin for 3 years, then we thought we would try concerta (one a day and no meds at school) WOW wsa that a mistake. She went from being happy and outgoing to depressed and crying all the time, not playing wtih her firends, the school noticed her change also. We gave it a 3 week trial alos, took her off one day gave her riatlin..........and WALLA had my little girl back
We are still using ritalin and all is well, she is growing and gaining weight really good. And much happier now....
my daughter has been on concerta for 2 years she is 7 years old and a week ago they upped her concerta to 54 mg and she has been a monster every since temper outburst and hating the world and this is not my little girl.It seems like it might just the wrong medicine for him. My son just seemed really out of it and no appetite. The meltdowns and rebound didn't happen until 6 hours later, and not the first day of it. He'd be great at school and would have this horrible "come down" in the PM's - usually during critical hours, like after-school sports, dinner or just 4:00 homework. It's certainly been hard to get the right meds, but after giving my son a month off, he asked for it, he's 9. After I gave it back to him, he came home and said "Mom, I was the only one to get the english right, now I'm as smart as Sam." LOL
My son took Concerta for 1 year and half and I wouldn't have switched to Adderall XR except it seemed to stop working (Maybe they build a resistance or somehting, I don't know) and the Dr. didn't want to go to the highest dose because of his age and weight. Stopped Adderall b/c he became violent on it dudring rebound time. However, I've heard other say that Adderall XR is great for them and Concerta has been really bad for their child. It all depends on the child.
Tinkerpixie,
Thank you for your response. I couldn't agree more about the schools. My son does have a wonderful supportive teacher this year (1st grade), but I feel like that expect him to be a robot. Afterall, kids are going to be kids and it's hard for them to sit still for 6 hours. Heck, I don't like to sit still for 6 hours. It is BS!
When I was a child we had plenty of PE time in school. It seems now there's very little to no PE time for the kids to run around, stretch their legs and burn off some of the energy. I was raised in OH but now live in FL and the schools are really pressing the kids a lot harder down here because of the states poor reading scores. I've spoken to my son's teacher about this and she agrees but has to adhere to the states guidelines. She said they are teaching 2nd grade to 1st graders and it's much more difficult for the kids.
I didn't want to turn to meds, but he's always having notes sent home for calling out, not following directions, getting out of his seat, and disturbing others (cuz he's not being quiet). Teacher says he has short attention span and will not focus and is easily frustrated.
I don't know... It was a very tough decision to turn to meds. I think we are also going to seek behavioral modification therapy which is supposed to help the child learn to focus and have better self control.
Good luck and please let me know how the concerta works for her in the long run.
Thank you so much for your reply. It's so helpful to hear others trials and tribulations. Sometimes my husband and I feel so alone and helpless in trying to do what's right for our son.
My son finally leveled out after a couple of hours and was sweet as pie the rest of the evening. I gave him his med this morning (2nd day) and will see how today goes. Maybe it's just an adjustment period....
After several years on Ritalin,my daughter was started on Concerta.
The 1st day back to school with it,and the teachers say she has trouble controlling herself..
They expect her to be the "perfect" student,and its BS. They want her to sit still,not move and not speak until told to. She has ADHD/ODD.
2 years in that school and not much problems... If it doesn't work then I'll check into other alternatives for meds.
I agree that it's definetly harder on them these days, than say for our parents. I'd love to just let mine be but he'll suffer at school from other kids as well. His teacher's really great, but he had a sub in there when he was off his meds and she picked on his handwriting - I was ready to scream when he told me that, but short of telling the principal that she ought not be in school if she can't not pick on a kid for one day about his handwriting, there's not alot to do.
They have to deal with stuff from teachers about performance, from other kids about not being as smart, etc. It's all bull and we're all resorting to medicine to support the lifestyle we live. Not just kids and ADHD, but heart problems, obesity, etc. But we don't eat as healthy as my parents, we don't have as much outside time as I did as a kid. We have them in organized sports,etc.but with the homework that just mean we grab McDonalds instead of a sit-down dinner.
We spend more time worrying what our kids think than our parents did. We spend less time with our kids, less time making meals, more time running around because that's the way our life is. these days. We all work, we have to, and our kids suffer. What can be done? I don't know . . . I wish I did. I'm rambling I know but it's just a viscious cycle, isn't it?
Our 7 yr old son was just diagnosed with ADHD. He has trouble focusing in school and staying seated. He is also hyperactive. He is smart when he wants to put his mind to it, but has fallen below level on his reading and is struggling now. We have always been against meds and finally decided to give it a try because he has so many notes coming home from school and his grades are slipping.
The Dr. recommened we start him out on 18mg of Concerta. Gave him his 1st pill this morning at 9:30 a.m. All was going well until about 1:00 pm. He began raging uncontrollably, flaying his body around, hitting things, hitting himself, and even hit me. He is saying he hates everything and that the medicine is making him feel mad. He finally started to physically calm down somewhat by around 3:30 but is still feeling very angry/irritable. He also says his stomach hurts, which the Dr. said is a side effect. This is not my son.
Has anyone else experienced this type of side effect with Concerta? Will this subside? Help.....