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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

ADHD medication for DS10 - has it made a drastic difference with school?

63 replies

Sunmoonstarr · 09/02/2023 16:32

DS10 has dyslexia, ASD and ADHD (inattentive type). He has a very lovely personality (often complimented on this) but can't seem to form friendships with his peers and struggles with emotions (though only at home where he can release any pent up emotion from the school day).

He feels everything in a magnified way. If he's upset or frustrated, or sees some type of perceived injustice he'll shout, cry, get really oppositional.

At school he has always struggled to just remember things. I would say he's a good 3 years behind in terms of emotional maturity and academic achievement. He's pretty good at sport a few different sports.

Up until about a year ago, he was still behaving in a silly way to try and get the attention of his peers - poking, annoying, that sort of thing. He has grown up a lot this last year and we've involved him in a couple more sports more seriously which has helped his self esteem.

Our psychiatrist has suggested medication as a possibility and we are wondering what kind of changes others have seen. Trying to weigh up whether to trial. We would have to explain to DS and have him in agreement - at 10 he's too old not to be on board with this.

We would also need to inform school I think. Are there risks to taking the medication that school need to be aware of?

Interested to hear experiences of medication having an impact on school - concentration and ultimately has it changed their attainment levels at school?

OP posts:

parent1709 · 10/02/2023 20:12

Feel free to PM me. But in short significant improvement and only downside is the occasional lack of appetite during typical mealtimes of the day (and then feeling hungry in between meals)

wonderstuff · 10/02/2023 20:15

I have adhd and took medication for a while, it calmed my brain, I could focus on a dull task without becoming distracted by the noise in my brain. If something is interesting it doesn’t really make a difference, it doesn’t stop me becoming engrossed in pointless stuff that wastes time, it doesn’t stop me losing stuff or losing track of time, adhd doesn’t disappear, it’s more manageable though.

Major side effect is loss of appetite, my own ds I suspect g he as adhd and I’m not looking to medicate yet, because he’s small and he doesn’t eat enough as it is, but at some point I think it will be useful for him.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 10/02/2023 20:33

Blort · 10/02/2023 14:19

Unless they affect weight which impacts height.

ADHD meds can reduce appetite and affect weight gain. Our psychiatrist monitored this but it's still had an impact on our son's growth - we have since switched meds.

Show quote history

It's certainly worth monitoring, but also good to be aware that some kids with ADHD don't eat much because they're NOT medicated and cannot sit still long enough to eat proper meals.

TheBestUsernamesAreGone · 10/02/2023 20:33

Rabes · 09/02/2023 17:29

My DS is 9 and started ADHD medication last summer. He also has ASD. His teacher has said the medication really makes a difference to his ability to focus in class and with friendships. When he's not on medication she says he's constantly "giddy", can't concentrate, and irritates others the class by getting in their personal space, jumping on them and being physical, so he loses friendships.

We did notice some side effects. Initially the medication made him more anxious, he was getting anxious and upset in situations that didn't bother him previously. This side effect lasted about 3 or 4 months. The Dr told me that this is to be expected as children start to perceive the world in a different way once they can actually focus on it, and it can be a bit strange for them. But eventually they get used to it.

It also suppresses his appetite, especially at lunch time when he doesn't eat much.

I think school see the most benefits as I think by the time he gets home the meds have mostly worn off, certainly in the evening he's back to his usual levels of bonkerness! And we often give him a meds break on the weekend or school holidays unless he's at an activity where concentration and sensible behaviour is required.

Hi, my DS has similar behaviors and ASD. Do you mind me asking what medication your son is on?

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 10/02/2023 20:37

Sunmoonstarr · 09/02/2023 22:08

Seems that medication is overwhelmingly positive (admittedly in this very small sample).

If he does respond well I think I'll feel enormous guilt for not having known more and looked into things more when he was younger.

His school have never flagged a problem and though I knew he was behind his cohort, his school reports have always been at the 'expected' level. He gets distracted easily but doesn't disrupt other children.

We put so much down to his Summer birthday and immaturity. If we'd pursued a diagnosis earlier, his primary school life would have been so different. He could have formed proper friendships, not had his self esteem battered from realising he isn't as academic as his class mates. Had the concentration to learn a new sport or music.

My three kids all have summer birthdays, so it was interesting to see how they all still had different issues. The oldest was top of their class. Middle one struggled socially and was average academically. Youngest struggled academically.

Two of them have ADHD... can you guess which from that description?

This stuff can be hard to diagnose. Please don't feel bad or blame yourself.

Rivermarsh · 10/02/2023 20:49

I cannot tell - which one was it? Mine struggles socially and academically. It's tough for them.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 10/02/2023 23:26

Rivermarsh · 10/02/2023 20:49

I cannot tell - which one was it? Mine struggles socially and academically. It's tough for them.

My oldest and youngest - one who was excelling academically and one who was failing academically.

ADHD is IMO harder to spot in people who excel academically but once I had one kid with diagnosed ADHD it suddenly became quite obvious that the oldest one had it too. They had just masked it successfully for much longer.

Rivermarsh · 10/02/2023 23:45

What differences did it make to your older one, the one that was excelling academically?

Rememberal · 10/02/2023 23:56

Adult here who was diagnosed in childhood. Didn't take meds until I was well into adulthood and (going against the grain completely, sorry!) I'm extremely grateful my mum didn't put me on them as a child.

The times I've taken them as an adult it's been out of complete necessity - I'm talking house a bombsite, finances a mess, relationships in tatters etc. Rock bottom basically. They're helpful, there is no denying it, but I'm not me when I'm on them. I can't have dreams, can't feel emotions like I used to, can't stomach the thought of food, can't sleep. I can fold laundry like a pro and spend hours fiddling with a spreadsheet which is fab, but I can't even date anyone because I can't feel a fucking thing.

My DD(12) has all the same signs I did as a child but I wouldn't put her on them unless she was really suffering to the point of "ruining her life" as it's just not worth it in my experience. Would she do better in school if she was medicated? Yes, absolutely. But there is so much more to life, to childhood, than doing well in school. I want her to have an imagination for one. I want her to have feelings. I want her to enjoy food and get obsessed with things only to move on to the next two weeks later. I want her to connect dots rather than think in straight lines (a part of adhd which meant my career took off in my early twenties to the point I'm further ahead than any of my peers).

Just the flip side of the coin for consideration, and I'm not saying I'd never do it, but things would have to be pretty bad before I did.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 11/02/2023 13:15

I can’t take ADHD meds - they do bad things to my BP. But I’d never just assume the same thing would happen to my children and in the process deny them a potentially life changing treatment. We all respond to medications in different ways.

Original poster

Sunmoonstarr · 10/03/2023 16:06

Hi all. We have been trialling medication for a couple of weeks now and not seen very much of a difference (10mg Equasym XL).

No real change in appetite or sleep though he does seem a little more bouncy in the evenings (because it's wearing off?).

School have said behaviour and focus is slightly worse if anything.

We see the doctor again in a week. I think he has slightly more stamina when focusing on homework but he still rushes through things and doesn't seem to be concentrating hard though I think he gets up less. It's really hard to say and I wonder if I'm looking for something that isn't there!

OP posts:

Blort · 11/03/2023 22:02

10mg is very little and we were advised it was an unnoticeable amount. It can go up to 60 I think?

We noticed a change at 20, and a vast improvement at 30. But came off due to side effects. Ask psychiatrist to explain.

SeaToSki · 11/03/2023 22:17

There are many different varieties of meds for ADD and sometimes you have to go through a few before you find the one that works best for your child, they also might do better with different dosages. Its all down to their genetics and the amount of certain liver enzymes they have which change the speed at which the medicines are broken down at. In the US you can get a genetic test for it called GeneSight. If at first you dont see an impact, keep trying

I have said this before on other threads, my DS aged 12, 1 week into taking meds for the first time

Mum its amazing, now I can see the type of person I could be.

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