Worse on medication?? | ADHD Information
The Ritalin LA advertises that it can be sprinkled on food, and our doctor concurred. I give it to him right after breakfast too. He hasn't complained about any side effects, but we're still only on 10mg. And trying to get that kid to eat fruit is next to impossible, so citrus isn't a problem, also no caffeine. Except I did give him a half of a Diet Pepsi last night at dinnertime and his rebounding symptoms weren't as bad. I think it may have helped.Yogurt is ok per my doctor. I give my son his in sugar free chocolate pudding. The package insert for Ritalin LA suggests sprinkling it on applesauce. My doctor says any food is ok, as long as it is room temperature. Warm or hot foods will change the meds long acting release mechanism. The purpose of swallowing the sprinkles in yogurt, applesauce, or pudding is so that they will not be chewed, only swallowed.
LJD
I'm in the same boat. My DD who is 5 started on Adderal almost two weeks ago. The lack of appetite and insomnia side effects disapated pretty quickly (within 4-5 days). What I am more concerned about are her moods. My DD is and always has been really moody and quick to anger, so at this point I'm trying to figure out if it is better or worse on the Adderal.
Her teachers have noticed big improvements with her focus, hyperactivity and concentration. I think the jury is still out with regards to her impulsivity, which I think is her worst problem.
It is so hard as a parent to know how to handle the meds. I am constantly calling the doctor to see if things are O.K. Its just really hard to know how well things are working. I do agree with a previous poster, however, that if there are no truly serious side effects, that you need to give these meds time to see how they really work.
Suzi
Dear Mom2greatkid,
I'm sorry that you're having the troubles you've told us about. However, I was wondering what kind of child you have. See, I'm 20 years old and was diagnosed with AD/HD combined type (the best of both worlds) when I was 10 years old. The reason I'm asking about your child is because sometimes the personality and details about the child can help when figuring out how to deal with the problems of medication and discipline. Honestly, the kid sounds a lot like I did at his age, except in my case the disorder didn't get out of hand until 5th grade. You said he's a sweet child, and that the problems only got out of hand just recently. It's a good thing that he's sweet, for sure, because I know what he's probably going through after "bad nights" and run-ins with the family members. Actually, the same thing happened to me, and still does sometimes when I go home from college. You might want to try adderall, because my parents had me on ritalin and I was about 60 lbs almost all throughout middle school until i was switched onto Adderall the summer of my freshman year of high school, when i went up to 90lbs. Check with his teacher and make sure that he is in fact eating at school, because I know that I would use my lunch money but not even eat because my appetite was gone. If he's eating healthy at home, it might be because he's hungrier. Even now, because of my medication, I don't generally have a lunch, and dinner is when I eat the most. But as for changing medications so quickly, I say give the ritalin a chance, but if it starts taking its toll on his appetite, get him off it, because it can stunt a person's growth from the lack of food intake.
Good luck
Dear MOm2greatkid,
My son is 7 yrs old as well. What kind of yogurt are you using to give him the ritalin? Is it any fruit kind? I noticed with my son (who is on Concerta) that even taking meds with apple juice made it seem as though the med had no effect. Have you tried sprinkling it in plain milk and not allowing any juices or fruit of any kind for at least an hour? My husband and i took alittle bit of a different approach. Even though the rebound effect was awful at first, we wanted to give each dose of medication appropriate time before any changes. We noticed after a couple weeks the negative side effects like the rebounding lessened considerably and we were glad we gave it time. Of course, if there was any medically dangerous side effects, we would have taken him off immediately.
I wish you the best.
Our son is on depakote with Strattera working good. Behavior is the most problem now.He has more than adhd though.
Have you checked with the doctor to see if sprinkling the medicine on yogurt is ok? I don't know about RitalinLA but my son is on Concerta and we have been told he can't chew or break the medicine because then he would be getting all the medicine at the same time instead of throughout the day and it also could possibly be an overdose of medicine.
Just a thought.
Thanks for all the input! Well, I have some good news - when I picked up my son from after school care yesterday he just GUSHED about what a good day he had. He said "mommy, that stuff really worked! They picked me in gym class for the Sports Award of the Day for being such a good listener!". I can't tell you how RELIEVED that made me!! He was sooo proud!
And he wasn't quite as bad last night. Still a little spacey, and distracted - but no tears. The teacher is supposed to give me a report on Friday about how he's done this week. I'm hoping for the best, because we up it to 20mg on Saturday. I really think it's going to be between 10 and 20 mg for him. I can't see going up to 30.
Oh, and I just give him his meds sprinkled on plain old vanilla yogurt, with a water chaser. 
don't see him becoming hostile. Just unchanged, and even more inattentive at night. Is finding the right dose this frustrating for everyone?
Mom2greatkid.......If you see no changes then medication needs to be adjusted or changed. Finding the right med and right dose is a frustrating experience because everyone responds differently but its not uncommon for the child to go through a trial of meds. One doesnt build a tolerance on stimulant medication but if it appears to stop working or the child becomes hostile, the dignosis should be revisited. However, your childs case whereas you are not seeing the benefits, I would contact your childs doctor as a dosage adjustment or change of meds are in order. Good luck and keep us posted.
It's definetly been hard on us and just when you find one that works, it stops working or they build a tolerance but in general in the long run without it - he stares into space all day at school and definetly gets fussed at more for not paying attention.
Good luck though. My D.S. is 9 and was diagnosed at 6, we just took a 3 month break to find a new medicine. We're still working on it. We just started Ritalin LA 20 mgs, then a booster dose of regular ritalin in the afternoon (just 5mgs). So far, so good
I think I would talk to my doctor about changing medication. Not upping the dose on this one. A friend of mines son was on Ritalin LA and he grew very angry and was extremely hostile towards her, he is now on Adderall and doing fine. I don't see him becoming hostile. Just unchanged, and even more inattentive at night. Is finding the right dose this frustrating for everyone?My son, age 7 was recently diagnosed with ADHD. After prompting from his 1st grade teacher, we got him formally tested. I had suspected he had ADHD from the time he was 22 months old. I said I would never medicate unless it interfered with school and it certainly has. He interrupts in class all the time, gets into trouble at school (little stuff) and is extremely inattentive. At home he is forgetful, inattentive and hyper. But so so sweet.
3 days ago we started him on 10mg of Ritalin LA. He can't swallow pills yet, so I sprinkle it on a spoonful of yogurt. The thing is, I think the medication makes him MORE hyper. It certainly hasn't slowed him down. His appetite remains the same, in fact I think he may be eating more (and he is one skinny kid!). And about 4:00 in the afternoon, when he's "rebounding" until about 9 at night he is a complete nightmare and can't focus at all! Worse than without the meds. Poor kid came into my room crying last night about his "bad night" and that everyone seemed to be yelling at him. I must have told him to get in the shower 10 times.
Anyone else experiencing no effect other than a negative from the meds?? We are supposed to up the dose in a few days. I just hope school was OK for him today... 
Does anyone have the "symtoms" of ADHD compared to Bi-Polar? Sometimes I think ODD is there also, but I don't know those exact symtoms.
ISnt this supposed to be a forum for ADULT ADD?
Actually, this folder is labeled "ADHD Medications" which is includes adults and children . This forum is for all but you can post under the topic "Chilldren and
Adults with ADHD and perhaps you will get better results.
Look into bp kids as your child could be this instead. Some are misdiagnosed.
Last year my son was the same and swallowing pills was impossible...he refused. As he got a older and we kept practicing...he is now taking strattera and ritalin LA...we did not see much improvement on either drug taken solo...this combo is quite effective...he actually does his school work :-)ISnt this supposed to be a forum for ADULT ADD? I would appreciate it if this is concerning children please post in that forum. I am desperately looking for information on ADULT ADD and myself and others should not have to weed through posts concerning children! Thank you!