Adhd meds make you hyper?

[Bruisername]

my dd13 has been taking the fast release tablets and at the start she finds she can focus really well and get work done but then after a couple of hours she goes hyper and silly

is this the meds? It seems a bit odd!!

Be very clear with school that ADHD meds are a trial & error process at the start. Ask them to feedback but explain that punishment isn't really fair unless she's literally breaking rules.
They are controlled drugs. At our school they'd have to be stored securely..but DD would never have remembered to go take them

thanks. I’ll see how she goes over the fortnight

We have concertaXL and after a few days side effects nothing else. I do feed her at every opportunity tho too and lots of full fat milk

If she is required to be in school until 4pm then you could do 9-1pm then 1-4pm

It means that she won’t be covered first thing in the morning by her medication but that is far preferable to having them wear off for an hour and having that dip in the middle of the day.

If she isn’t having lunch at 1pm then school will need to let her come out of her lesson at 1pm so she can have something to eat at that time, as she should be at her hungriest at that point as one dose is coming to an end

The problem is that it is wearing off so fast its not going to cover the full day regardless.

Well, quite. But clearly the OP’s DD is currently in the experimentation/titration period to find out which drug and dose works for her. Sadly, ‘medicating properly’ for ADHD is not the same sort of process as, say, choosing the right size t-shirt.

More likely them wearing off

Id take one about half 9 then one about half one/two

The problem is that if they only last 45mins-1hr and then she goes hyper it doesn’t really matter what time she takes it

They take about 40 minutes to kick in @Bruisername so it sounds like it could be the effect of the actual meds then rather than the after effects

I was told the meds are immediate release.

Mine gets silly when hers wear off. It's hard going op.

@Bruisername I'm now confused,
Can you clarify
What time she's taking them
That they are 4 hour ones
What time the issue is
They are 'immediate' but like paracemol etc don't kick in exactly instantly

If it’s methylphenidate @Bruisername, then I take them & I definitely feel the first one kick in around the 40 minute mark & that was much more noticeable when I first started them.

My DD is on the same medication and I notice the same in her, although I’ve just googled and the NHS info says between 30-60 minutes.

I'd recommend the book 'Parents guide to ADHD medicines'

I was told they kick in immediately! She is on the 4hr ones. She says it only lasts 45min -1hr and then she gets silly

That’s not possible though, even immediate release need time to actually work. Are you filling in a weekly diary and questionnaire as part of the titration process? Who is your contact if she has any issues? ( if she were to have severe side effects and you needed advice for example)

It doesn’t sound like they’re working at all then. Everything takes some time to get into the bloodstream. Sounds more like a placebo effect tbh if it’s as soon as 40 minutes.

Tbf she takes it at 8 and first lesson is 8.30 when she notices it so I guess there is kicking in time.

Can you call the doctors office and ask if she can be switched since she is noticing a positive effect but the duration is so short and she wants to try the extended release? They might be willing to send through a weeks prescription of the ER meds to try before she has her next in person review

I won’t be able to arrange anything before the next review in 10 days but will try

she’s only been on this higher dose a week and before that we had a pause because of the prescribing freeze. So I’ll keep it going another week to record a fortnight

luckily she doesn’t seem to be having bad effects (other than the silliness!)

now she knows what it’s like when it works she’s happier to have the longer release

There must be. It has to hit your stomach at least and break down a little. It’s not like getting an injection or breathing in a gas.

Everyone’s different but I take methylphenidate in the morning and it takes maybe 40 minutes or so to kick in on an empty stomach. I have inattentive type though and the start and end times are not always immediately obvious to me.

It’s also enormously affected by food/tiredness etc too, in many people’s experience.

They need to be much more understanding tbh.

Do they understand what ADHD actually is and just how much dopamine regulates just about everything we do? Perhaps some simple info might help. Do they understand that it’s not a choice she’s making to ‘misbehave’?

Is there any possibility for her to do something else that doesn’t disrupt the class at those times? The threat of punishment is ineffective for ADHD. With any luck this period of adjustment isn’t going to be forever, it would be nice if there was some appreciation of just how serious ADHD can be.

I went back and asked if they could maybe send her to the nurse or the office if they see she’s hyper

some Teachers are amazing with her but there are a few who just see her as badly behaved

Agree with others re slow release. But also, our doctor told us that if the dose isn't high enough it works, but then starts to wear off. He also said this effect can take a few days or even weeks to kick in. So.ds started in elvanse at a low.dose and it really seemed to.help. then we has similar to you.

There's no elvanse available currently so he'd on concerta. We have just started trialling the higher dose. Ds says good do far but its only been 2 days!