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Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

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Original poster

Inattentive ADHD teen - meds experiences

56 replies

Pantoufle23 · 09/07/2021 23:13

Hi, I have a recently diagnosed 15yr old dd. Academically able and school were completely unaware whilst she has been falling apart at home with homework and revision, massively propped up by us. Appt with psych in a few days to discuss meds as we’ve tried pretty much everything else, though it hasn’t been an easy decision. Keen to hear experiences of those of you with dc diagnosed in teens, esp girls. How much have meds helped and any problems with them? Big thanks x
(Also posted in child mental health)

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Manchestertimes · 01/11/2021 23:48

Hi, just thought I would give an update. My daughter is now on 50mg medikinet xl and it works but not seen the light bulb effect! She says she doesn't feel any different but I can see she can focus better. Maybe this is just as good as it gets.

mightyducks · 22/10/2021 19:29

Well just thought I’d update, it’s been a really positive half term for him, the meds have made a huge difference to him at school, I got my first ever positive phone call ! One of his teachers rang me to say how well he has done this term , it brought a tear to my eye. He also got one of three awards in his class for hard work during the half term , he has never had an award before! I think these meds may have just saved his education.

Manchestertimes · 18/09/2021 01:43

Hi all, we have upped the dose to medikinet 20mg and again it has had no effect good or bad! Speaking to doctor again on Monday so will probably increase dose again. Hope something starts to work

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 07/09/2021 19:23

Glad things are going well Mightyducks, and good luck with the dose increase Manchestertimes. We are still struggling but I know we are in the minority - it isn't usually this difficult!

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Manchestertimes · 06/09/2021 23:21

Glad things are working for you mighty ducks. We have had a week on 10mg medikinet but so far it has had no effect whatsoever. Upping the dose in a few days so hopefully will see some effect then.

Tomnooktoldmeto · 05/09/2021 15:37

Fantastic news @mightyducks we’re back to school on a new dose tomorrow for both of mine, DS always struggles with his appetite but turns into a munchie monster when his meds wear of so I make sure to have high calorie dense snacks available for the evening

If you get worried about eating a lot of schools will help by monitoring on special tables or allowing into lunch early with a friend

Good luck to everyone on the thread with school returns, it’s our last year and quite an anxious one with 2 additional needs teens taking A levels

mightyducks · 05/09/2021 14:59

Hi we are nearly 2 weeks in now , all seems to have gone well so far, just a lack of appetite when he is on his meds , can definitely see the impact on them , one they wear off he is bouncing around again after 6-8pm ! We are upping his dose on Tuesday and he’s staying trying that for a month. Really hoping it makes a difference for him at school but I guess we’ll see how it goes

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 26/08/2021 12:22

Hi Manchestertimes, wishing you all the best with the new meds and hope you see some results quickly (so many do). We started on Elvanse yesterday (lowest dose), nothing much to report unfortunately at this point. Dose increase from 4th Sept potentially.

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Manchestertimes · 26/08/2021 12:14

Hi Pantoufle, how is your daughter doing? We are starting on medikanet 10mg next week so will let you know how we get on.

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 20/08/2021 15:58

Thanks Tomnook. We will have to speak to school at beg of term. Had hoped of course she would be doing better by now, and the meds process and disappointment has increased anxiety levels etc . I am not sure though that school will be able to do much about grades etc apart from extra time etc? So hoping the Elvanse will help.

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Tomnooktoldmeto · 20/08/2021 15:25

@Pantoufle23 keeping my fingers crossed for you! DS went on meds at the exact same stage just make sure school take it into account as academic flight paths will have been calculated on your DD prior to diagnosis without meds or extra time

If anything from year 10 is used to calculate grades due to Covid they should remember to take this into account to prevent your DD being adversely discriminated against

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 20/08/2021 14:23

Good luck Mightyducks - hope it helps your ds.

Tomnooktoldmetoo - we are prob going to try Elvanse next week. She’s not on anything atm as the methylphenidate was only helping for about 30 mins if that and we were having a problem with BP and heart rate as dose went up. 😔. I’m getting pretty stressed as only 2 weeks til yr 11 so crossing everything this one goes better for her !

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mightyducks · 20/08/2021 13:28

Hi thank you, yes it’s going to be very interesting to see how it works for him , the lightbulb moment sounds interesting!! I’ll report here how it’s going and support/advice/ handholding!

Tomnooktoldmeto · 20/08/2021 09:28

Hi @mightyducks good luck for Monday, everyone is welcome here. Hopefully you’ll see the light switch moment when it starts to kick in, it never gets old

mightyducks · 20/08/2021 09:01

Hi just hijacking the thread, my son starts Concerta XL on Monday so was interested in the topic!

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 12/08/2021 18:32

Thanks yes will give it a few days before worrying too much. Her heart rate appears quite high anyway so there isn't much leeway! Testing at different times.
She does seem more engaged but no sign of being able to work any quicker (which doesn't really make sense)?

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Tomnooktoldmeto · 12/08/2021 17:42

It may well settle, are you checking it through the day to see if it’s just an initial spike? We all wear watches that show our daily rhythm which gives a better overview

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 12/08/2021 17:17

thanks. I wonder if it's something that will settle down, it's getting higher than I would like (though BP fine). Typical now it's actually starting to do something!

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Tomnooktoldmeto · 12/08/2021 12:13

Hi Pantoufle, no our main side effect was reduced appetite followed by late night munchies when the meds wear off

DD hasn’t really had much in the way of side effects only when changing dose for about a week, DS sadly is more affected but maintains the benefits outweigh the side effects

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 12/08/2021 11:39

Tomnooktoldmeto, did you have any issues with increasing heart rate on meds ?

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Tomnooktoldmeto · 11/08/2021 22:00

Sometimes I think we all forget that they’re still just kids, teens and have all the challenges of that as well as adhd/ASD etc Manchester

Mine aren’t particularly rude but I know others who are, it may be nothing to do with adhd or it might

I do think though it can affect their self esteem and this can affect attitudes

Either way, always here to support, we’re heading into a busy year as both of ours are taking their A levels and looking at university which will come with major hurdles particularly for DD who has severe Misophonia too

Manchestertimes · 11/08/2021 21:40

All the medication names seem so confusing. When we start on medication I will need lots of help from you guys! I think Can I ask if ADHD causes children to have rude behaviour. My daughter was also assessed for ASD and although there were traits not enough for a diagnosis. I'm just wondering if attitude will improve with the medication or is that just her personality? Thanks

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 11/08/2021 21:12

Thanks. By XL you mean concerta equiv that is meant to last 10-12 hours? I am trying to get my head round this. It is meant to be at peak concentration at 6-8hrs which is why I worried about the evening.

This is assuming of course that the next dose increase actually works!

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Tomnooktoldmeto · 11/08/2021 21:05

It might be worth contacting your practice pharmacist, they can advise you what drugs they are currently authorising under the shared care protocol to help guide your choice of regimen

If it helps to reassure you both DC manage to do school and homework on XL and both are currently doing A levels

Original poster

Pantoufle23 · 11/08/2021 20:48

Sorry to hear about your ds’ problems. I had heard about the cheaper version of concerta.
I have no idea if it’s the same with medikinet. We do need to move over to shared care with gp once stable yes.

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