Adhd medication

[Mum2606]

Hi there my 7 years old ds has been diagnosed combined adhd we have recently started equasym xl 10mg but didn't see any effects off it what so ever so consultant upped his dose to 20mg, we have seen a small improvement in his concentration and hyperactivity but nothing major his anger outbursts are still the same has anyone else experience this ? Did your consultant up to 30mg or would this be too high for him ? Can anyone help.

A higher dosage may work but my sons pead said they only help so much. They aren't a miracle drug.
Maybe your child has got as much help out of it as poss.

My daughter started equasym XL two years ago in the summer. She was 12 when she started it. It has changed her schooling unbelievably, for the better. Her dose has been limited by the side effects. She couldn't tolerate 30mg when tried, so went back to 20mg. She gets a 'come down' around eight hours after taking it, where she goes very hyper and makes all sorts of noises! This has calmed down somewhat with time. So my point is that it doesn't change everything, the side effects may limit the amount your child can take, and give it some time to see how they get on. My daughter is still very much 'ADHD' for want of a better expression, but the improvement to schoolwork is amazing. Her reports from all her teachers when she had been on it a year stated "it's like teaching a different child", from every one of them.

I thought it was done on weight? My 10 year old takes 30mg and it is magic. He's still very lively but works much better and gets less distracted. You can really tell when the effects wear off though! And on days he doesn't take it he is really agitated.

It took at least 6 to 8 weeks to really start working though. How long has he been taking it?

It may also be the case that he needs a different drug to help. Ds takes a combination of two medications for his ADHD which helps bring him to a point where he can focus and be happier

Hes quite a big lad for 7 year old , he is 35kg , he only started 20mg last week but consultant said we should instantly see a difference, which we never, it took about 5 days but we can definitely tell when they were off, should his anger outbursts be less apparent on his meds ?

Mine was on 30mg at 38kg. The anger bursts did reduce but again, not immediately and he can still have major emotional outbursts even on the meds, although they are not as frequent or as long.

Up to you but Id keep trying and maybe move him up to 30mg. the whole family really see the difference when DS is on his meds. He loves them and feels a difference in how he can concentrate at school

Thank you invincible, I think I may suggest trying the 30s just too see if there is a bit more difference for him if not we can always go back down or possibly try something else