Any experiences of ADHD medication for teen DS? Absolutely torn

[Theswisspudding]

I wonder if anyone has had direct experience of trialling ADHD medication for a teenage boy and how this went? I am absolutely torn about it. DS has a diagnosis of Dyslexia (very clear cut from a young age, lots of intervention, can now read ok but will always have big issues with spelling, processing speed etc). He is also quite Dyspraxic and uses a laptop in school, huge issues with writing. It's also been clear over the years that he has problems with attention, just very short focus and has to work incredibly hard to stay on task at all. I have always put a lot of this down to his other issues. He has never had the "H" in ADHD in the sense of being overactive or impulsive and no behavioural issues ever, it is more about attention and focus so more ADD. Over time I am starting to wonder about trying to address it as an issue in its own right. He can't independently study at all, is exhausted after school mentally. He is in GCSE year and starting to think about options afterwards. His overall learning ability on assessment is average so some attainment in education should be possible for him somehow.

Last summer I went as far as booking a private Psychiatry appointment for ADHD assessment, after discussion with his learning support teacher but I postponed it for a few reasons. Firstly he has never been a great sleeper, can struggle to fall asleep and tends to wake up early no matter what. ADHD medication can worsen sleep issues and that really concerns me. Secondly he has had some tics over the years, never very bad but at times quite obvious and I worry about this also being made worse by medication. He's also just generally young and I have some fears about what medication is actually going to do in terms of the overall impact of taking stimulants.

On the other hand he is really struggling and maybe medication would actually make a difference? The cost of assessment is very high so it is an expensive medication trial that may not end up being helpful (years wait for public assessment near us so no point even going there).

Sorry this has been so long. Has anyone had their teen begin medication at this age and really seen benefits or had other experiences that you could share? Thank you.

What about addiction to these pills?

“Amphetamines are drugs. They can be legal or illegal. They are legal when they are prescribed by a health care provider and used to treat health problems such as obesity, narcolepsy, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using amphetamines can lead to addiction.”
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000792.htm

People used to get addicted to them in the ‘70s.

I have a child with adhd - the medication has been a life changer. They are a totally different child on it. Side effects for us are: weight loss and also sleep issues (they take 3g of melatonin to help - prescribed)

People who were addicted were people who didn’t need them. Having ADHD means you have a neurological condition and are disabled and taking these medications will not have the same effect on the brain as it would have to someone who doesn’t have ADHD. They allow you to function like neurotypical people do, they don’t make you completely high off your face doing insane things the whole time? Also, the majority of people addicted to ‘ these meds’ were addicted to speed bought illegally- ridiculous strength levels and laced with god knows what, not being monitored or properly controlled , not from a pharmacy where they are safe and at a dose that works for you. As a side note, I’d also take that risk ( even though it’s not one ) over living unmedicated and self prescribing with alcohol or illegal substances, living life recklessly because I’m struggling to the point I don’t want to live anymore. The life expectancy of a person living with ADHD unmedicated is significantly lower than that of a person diagnosed and medicated safely. Stop scaremongering.

People with adhd react differently to these medications than a non adhd person. If you read the nhs website they state there are multiple studies showing that they are not addictive for people with adhd. And frankly you would understand if you had seen how being undiagnosed and unmedicated until 50 screws up a person.

Highly unlikely for an ADHDer to become addicted to the medicine.

it is an amphetamine yes but it does not have those affects on people who take it for ADHD.

ADHD medications do not cause addiction or increase the risk that a child will later develop addiction. But having ADHD itself puts a child at a higher risk for developing substance abuse issues.

please don’t scaremonger

Sorry, have I understood this correctly? Doctors can no longer prescribe adhd meds on the nhs? We are awaiting our son’s private appointment but I was hoping we’d be able to go nhs eventually.

op- also reading with interest!

They aren’t obliged to no. BMA advise against it, and there is a growing feeling that more and more don’t want to do it.

Mine don’t.

@Zippidydoodahmy daughter got diagnosed privately last month and CAMHS accepted the diagnosis within 2 weeks and we had our medication appointment 10 days ago. I had also enquired about shared care (as I had no idea CAMHS would be that quick) and my gp said they will do shared care once you are stable on a medication.

You also , conveniently, forgot to post this little bit from the article you shared

‘You usually do not get addicted to prescription amphetamines when you take them at the right dosage to treat your health condition.
Addiction happens when you use amphetamines to get high or improve performance. Addiction means your body and mind are dependent on the drug. You are not able to control your use of it and you need it to get through daily life.’

So, if you use it in the right context - for example , exactly how the OP intends to use it , then it won’t lead to addiction. If you are a neurotypical who doesn’t need amphetamines and you decide to buy some illegally and take them recreationally, then yes, addiction can happen. Context is key.

I find it concerning none the less.

I did not “conveniently omit” anything hence the link to the whole article so anyone who wanted to could read beyond the first paragraph I quoted.

I have inattentive ADHD and also settled on short acting methylphenidate. I can still 'be creative' on short acting, no issues with sleep as long as I don't take it after 4pm.

We spent over €1000 getting our teen daughter diagnosed and now spend €80 a month on meds...it's worth every penny.

She has such a better quality of life now - anxiety almost gone, so much better able to cope and enjoy life now.

My only regret is not doing it sooner.

We're a couple of years ahead of you. The Ritalin has literally been life changing for him. The only regret is that we didn't explore that option sooner. It really only effects sleep if you take it too late in the day, which can be an issue if they like a long lie in at weekends. Ds doesn't take it on a day where he wakes up late.

https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/gp-practices/managing-workload/general-practice-responsibility-in-responding-to-private-healthcare

The BMA advise that GPs do not enter shared care agreements with private providers because it is seen as subsidising private care with NHS funds. Also, the GP takes on the responsibility for the medication.

In our case, the GP refused to do:

• Shared care with a private psychiatrist who is also a CAMHS psychiatrist.
• Shared care following confirmation that CAMHS accepted and validated the private ADHD assessment and had added DD3 to their medication waiting list
• Shared care when CAMHS specifically wrote to them to ask them to prescribe while DD3 was on the waiting list, confirming that they would be taking over her care and that we had review dates booked with the psychiatrist.

Now, they have had confirmation from CAMHS that they have taken DD3 on and have taken over prescribing, so we're hoping the GP accepts the shared care agreement from CAMHS as her care holder.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindowsorry to hear that. It’s prohibitively expensive and long term to do it without prescription. We had spent £1000s before it moved under shared care but the Pvt psychiatrist would not do it sooner until he had done full titration (6 months) and then held her steady (6 months). Couldn’t wait for it to become prescribed.
She is at Uni but we are not changing GP; don’t want to upset this hard won delicate balance.

could you change GP for this?

ADHD meds can be transformative and you've left it really late if he's in year 11. Get an assessment now so he's settled on them for exams.

It's very tightly controlled. DD3 had monthly appointments when she first started taking medication. I have to provide weight, height, blood pressure and heart rate every single time. We have to talk about her sleep, her mood, her symptoms, her appetite. If she loses even a couple of hundred grams, she's asked about what she's eating and given advice on how to boost her intake.

The difference in DD3 is quite stark wihen medicated vs unmedicated. When she's medicated, she's alert, she can hold a sensible, focused conversation, she's productive. When she's unmedicated she is like a box of frogs. She'll randomly laugh part way through a conversation because something funny has caught her eye, or she'll just start talking about something else because a thought popped into her head. She'll start to do something and then get distracted part way through and do something different.

She still has to go to bed at 8.00-8.30pm, so I don't know that she's fully optimised, but it's an improvement.

£100 or £120 a month for Elvanse for me, depending on the dose (higher dose, higher cost).

My DD was NHS diagnosed and is on Elvanse. I never appreciated not having to pay for her medication until my DS was privately diagnosed. He’s on Medikinet and it’s £80 a month (plus the £25 a month for a private prescription) .

Plus 80 a month for being under the private clinic. So all in all it’s around £180 a month. That said - it’s had such an impact on him I wouldn’t change it even if we can’t move to shared care. I can’t afford it in reality. I’m a single parent with no support from their other parent. But I can’t imagine going back to him not having access to the medication now so I’ll have to find a way!

Our GP did shared care on the condition that the private provider we chose also held an NHS contract (so presumably a RTC provider) my private provider also provided the meds under RTC.

we didn’t for my daughters though, roughly around £70 a month for medikinet and melatonin. She’s recently been accepted by our local community paeds for her prescription.

I had to send the report off and they have to meet NICE guidelines and departmental standards to ensure they’d take over prescribing here.

I haven’t read all the replies but just wanted to share our experience with my eldest DS.

He started on medication for his adhd this year and the difference it has made has been life changing for him and for us as a family. Not even an exaggeration.

My husband was very skeptical about it and I was just desperate for him to try anything that might help.

Before medication he was suicidal to the point of actually attempting to end things. Has been sectioned. Was a complete mess, extremely emotional and physically destructive around the house. He couldn’t even manage the smallest of things. Answering the phone, opening a letter, attending school without ending up in isolation, any small change to his routine. He literally could not function at all, was completely dependent upon me for everything.

Things are so so different now. He was put on medication and they kept increasing the dosage until it was right for him. Again the difference is night and day. He’s turned into a charismatic young man, full of banter and has been able to work, engage with the family and people again. He’s happy and not either smashing things up or crying anymore and can deal with problems as they arise.

There’s no harm in giving it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. X

Sorry that was quite long!

There is an overlap between trauma induced symptoms and adhd symptoms. Are you all having your children assessed for other difficulties in their lives before starting them straight off on powerful drugs?

And these other conditions can lead to symptoms like adhd:
www.google.com/search?q=musdiagnosis+of+adhd+i+stead+of+other+problems+affecting+children&rlz=1CDGOYI_enES868ES869&hl=en-GB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

So he's undiagnosed and untreated for ADHD?

You need to stop long fingering this and get him a diagnosis and medication asap.