ADHD meds

[Panic71]

How long until you know a Medication isn’t right?
Son is 15, been on Meflynate XL for 5 weeks and now on 30mg.
Down, emotional in the evenings, lost his spark, less funny, headaches, off his food. But he is studying which is new. I’m so sad that this has happened.

We have been told to try Affenid XL 36 mg prolonged release tablets. They deliver the dose over a longer time and in a different schedule but I’m not sure this will help as ultimately it’s the same drug. We have a review after a week.

WWYD?

It’s just side effect of the meds. The XL would just be the same thing but would last about twice as long. You’ll have to decide if the side effects are worth the benefits of him studying.

You are right that these are both methylphenidate but sometimes people react differently to the different delivery mechanism. So he could try that to see how he is, or you could push to try a completely different medication - there are other stimulants and also non-stimulants….

https://bedslutonchildrenshealth.nhs.uk/neurodiversity-support/adhd-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/medication-for-adhd-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/#types

If you are prepared to try something a bit unconventional for ADHD, take a look at this discussion on YouTube "Oxford’s Keto for ADHD & Depression Randomized Controlled Trial - with Ally Houston".
Obviously this is still in the research phase so no guarantees, but it might be worth trying.

It’s worth trying other drugs to see if they work without the side effects. That’s what titration is for. It’s such a long term drug it’s worth experimenting rather than settling.

we had to try several for 3-4 months before we found ‘the one’. It’s Lisdexamfetamine commonly known as Elvanse. The main side effect is reduced appetite, but otherwise all positive (so far!). Been on it for nearly a year and it works well.

Thank you! What were the side effects that made you switch to Lisdexamfetamine?

The other drugs didn’t do much in terms of increasing focus. We tried higher doses but not much difference. We even wondered if the adhd diagnosis was wrong! There we neither positive nor negative effects.

Elvanse was the last one we tried and it clicked immediately. Both positive and negative effects were immediate.

its possible you’ve found the right drug for you but you are unhappy with the negative effects. If you try others you might find ones that are less effective but you are happy with the ‘amount’ of effectiveness. Or maybe you conclude that the current one is the best balance you can get. You can’t tell without trial and error..