Can I sprinkle ADHD meds in milkshake for son?

[Ricecakesaremyjam]

About to start 5mg dosage of Methylphenidate for my ASD/ADHD diagnosed little boy tomorrow - planning on hiding this is yoghurt as he is too young to swallow the capsule. If he refuses the yoghurt (PDA profile) can I sprinkle it into a milkshake??? Will this work? Thanks in advance. He so desperately needs to start taking this, I just need to work out how to get it into him if the yoghurt idea fails.

Have you tried just getting him to take the tablet? Might be worth a go as it will make life much easier. Maybe a little bribe or some reverse psychology if he is likely to give an automatic no without trying. I was very concerned about my son refusing/not being able to take his but it turns out he had no issues at all. Even does it without water.

@Ricecakesaremyjam absolutely feel your pain. DS is 8 now and his peers are mostly able to swallow tablets, albeit only in the last year or so. I got DS some Calpol tablets that melt on your tongue in case it helped him get used to the idea of swallowing medicine. He screamed bloody blue murder and they went in the bin as well. Another FML moment!

Sorry I don’t have better advice, but you’re definitely not on your own. I will post on here after our appointment - fingers crossed for the liquid formulation - but feel free to PM me in the meantime.

Hang in there 💐

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/methylphenidate-hydrochloride/medicinal-forms/#oral-solution

Liquid meds are available on the NHS.

I guess neither of them have PDA….

I had the same issues, with a child that is a very fussy eater and doesn’t eat a single thing that was suggested I could use to hide it in. The only one possibility was chocolate mousse but he tasted it straight away. Although we had been having conversations about medication and potentially mixing with food so he was alert to it anyway.

I was told it was fine to open it but had to put it on something thicker and sticky as opposed to a liquid. So mouse, spread etc.

Anyway, we had the medication for months without getting wny into him. Eventually after many many conversations, he just decided one day to try it and has been fine ever since. Chooses not to take it at weekends or in holidays though.

Does anyone find medication helps PDA symptoms?

Day 2 of trying meds, this time his them in a chocolate mousse. Instead of asking him if he’d like one, I set his sister up with one and hoped he would see her eating something chocolatey and ask for one (what would usually happen). Instead he shouted UGH GROSS THAT LOOKS LIKE POOH and screamed until it had gone. That was just his sisters one, not even the one I had mixed his meds into.
How the fuck am I going to get him to take these meds? Meanwhile my life of hell continues

My consultant rang Flynn Pharma and they said opening capsules was fine. (meflynate XL)

Sorry to hear your updates, how distressing. Does he like nutella? I find a spoonful of nutella in the am works as its so thick he cant see the meds (we practise with tic tacs but it's hard to guarantee you can relax your throat enough - even i struggle to swallow anything larger than paracetamol).

He just refuses everything and makes a screaming fuss about everything. I struggle to find any joy in this journey, not a popular thing to say but I’m absolutely on my knees with his behaviour

@Ricecakesaremyjam ask for a prescription of liquid meds. I linked to bnf earlier, liquid ADHD meds are absolutely available on the NHS. Liquid medicine far easier to put in yoghurt.

Just checked my son's meds (Equasym XL) as I saw someone said you can't open the capsule with those, but I've been doing this since he started taking them and pouring the beads onto a spoonful or yoghurt or sometimes if I run out of yoghurt, onto a spoonful of whatever drink he has. He's 13 now so I make sure he gets every little bead.

However, it does say in the leaflet that you can open the capsule and sprinkle onto a spoonful of soft food.

My PDA DS has a sixth sense if he thinks I’ve messed about with his food, and always refuses too. His sensory issues mean that he can spot the tiniest change in texture or taste. It is relentless.

I’ve checked the BNF and liquid Methylphenidate is definitely available. I just can’t understand why it’s never been offered to DS. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I honestly don’t know what to do to make him take this. He’s in school a few hours a day with a 1:1, bounces off the walls constantly, screams if something isn’t to his liking, I just need it to stop and I thought finally him being diagnosed and receiving meds would help even just take the edge off
its soul destroying that he won’t even touch them
I honestly can’t describe it as anything else
I have been waiting for this prescription for years and he won’t even touch it

Would it make a difference if school staff gave him medication?

Please ask for liquid version as it may be easier to administer.

It was the same for us @Ricecakesaremyjam - it took years to get a prescription. The first consultant didn’t believe in PDA (helpful!) and we had to formally complain about DS’ lack of treatment and get a new pediatrician. But since the new doc prescribed Methylphenidate (and 2 things for sleep) I’ve managed to get about 10mg in total into DS and the rest was wasted. We made the prescription last so long that the GP is now refusing to prescribe any more, and we’ve just had to wait over a year to get a follow-up appt with the pediatrician. I’m going in with a shopping list next time… 🙄

Ime though it doesn’t really help with the PDA side. It just helps DS to sit down and focus for more than 20 seconds at a time!!

Put them in the milkshake it’s something he takes regularly and you know he’ll take see how you get on. I think anything ‘new’ any perception you’re trying to get them to do something different will be met with refusal. They just know you want them to take it and the more you want it the more they push back. My son is 13 Autistic (pda) and adhd I feel for you op, it’s a blinking minefield. Mine was medicated but he took them (took tablets due to his asthma) then said they made him feel funny, changed them b then started to refuse his asthma meds and melatonin lost weight then put on weight and then refused to take them.

i totally understand how you feel and i would just stick to the norm and out it in something he already takes then see how it affects him you might find that it’s easier to negotiate or he’s more willing to do things he wasn’t before, it’s hard to tell sometimes until they are on meds for a while. Would letting him pick a treat you could put it in work? Dial the pressure on yourself back it’s tough though I get it x

Does the liquid form of methalpynidate taste of anything do you know? Thanks for your replies xx

We didn't use liquid but had Equasym XL and emptied the capsule onto hot chocolate powder on a teaspoon, washed down with milk. Also PDA here. It is very hard and grinds you down x

This sounds so tough. Does he have ARFID or other forms of restricted eating? If so, there's the added jeopardy of him deciding to refuse a "safe" food going forward as you have tampered with it by adding the meds to it.

dont know if I’d go as far as to say ARFID but he definitely has a very restricted diet. He loves milkshakes so I might have to add it to that and hope to God it doesn’t all just sink to the bottom? Will it do that?

I’ve heard anecdotally ADHD and the PDA side of ASD lessens as kids get older….is this true? (Please)

Sorry if these are obvious questions, genuinely trying to help
-does he know he is having the medication and what is it for. what does he think of this?
-is it that's he's unsure of taste/smell?
-is there someone else school/relative who can help with the first few doses, so it might seem less of a demand coming from someone who usually 'asks less' from them.
-there could be a way of making it a competition?
-everyone in the house gets one to take at the same (obviously a tic tac!) to reduce the pressure on just him.

The hyperactive type of ADHD absolutely improves with age, the inattentive type less so.

Although there is no medication for PDA as such once you may find that once he is taking medication regularly and his condition is stabilised that he finds the demands placed on him to be easier to cope with and his behaviour may improve.

Also if his needs are well met at school his PDA behaviour may correspondingly decrease as his life is generally less stressful. It is not easy - living the dream here too x

Put it in a milkshake which he drank but all the little granules were stuck to the sides, so he basically hasn’t had it again.
losing the will to live.

He will have had some of the dose but if he's still on a low dose due to titration it is difficult. Remember this is progress though.

Can you try hot chocolate powder? Half a teaspoon of powder with granules placed onto a small dent then more chocolate powder on top.

Maybe just give him the powder as a treat for the first few tries. Wash down with milk.

Or sprinkle on small bowl of Coco pops?

Nutella on toast has texture so less likely to be detected.