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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Nearly 7 year diagnosed with ADHD is taking ritalin good or bad?

16 replies

mooshetto · 29/03/2006 04:26

Hi,just wanted know is anyones kids taking ritalin for adhd? Have read the good and the bad and wanted to know from anyone who is actually taking it.Is it better for the long term, I was told to try it with fish oil over a period of 12 months then take him of it and see if that helps?

OP posts:

Saker · 30/03/2006 13:24

I don't really have much experience but you could try posting on the SN board where there are parents with experience of ADHD and medication.

kipper22 · 30/03/2006 19:53

are you already trying the fish oils? if not i would try them on their own for a while first. i don't really know much but when children in my class have started taking ritalin it seems to remove a little of their personality. but then i always have had a soft apot for the 'naughty' kids! hope you and your ds (guessing on the sex) find a happy answer! :)

TheBlonde · 30/03/2006 20:29

I read something last week about increased water consumption helping

stoppinattwo · 31/03/2006 07:12

My good freind in work has two sons, both with ADHD, they were both prescribed ritalin. The change in their behavior was amazing, she was getting sleep again. (her sons were sleeping maybe 2-3 hour a night) when i first met her her sons were about 5 and 7 ish and she was at her wits end - she was on her own DH left when the 2nd son was born, I think that the change in behavior obviously made things so much easier for her and she was able to enjoy her children and was able to take them to places. They wont be on it 4eva and their dosages are reducing, doctors have told her that they require less and less as they get older. We dont talk about it so much to each other now but if you want I can ask er a bit more about it and let you know.

footiemad · 31/03/2006 20:16

TheBlonde, Funny you saying that,as i was only saying to DH last night that Ds2 behaviour definately seeme to improve when he is drinking a lot of water! Don't know if there is something in it.

Kipper22. wish you were my Ds teacher.

Original poster

mooshetto · 01/04/2006 07:29

Thanks everyone,he's been taking ritalin for about 2 weeks,started off very tired but ok now,his aggressiveness and anger seem to have gone and just whinges a fair bit, but teachers say they don't mind that.Still having a few problems, wants to do what he wants but counsellor says it takes time to break old habits.On friday,my boy told me medicine wasn't working cause he had a bad day and when I asked him why it was bad he didn't really tell me anything or couldn't?Anyway I've started giving him eye q and will keep going for a while and then take him off the ritalin and see if any changes.

OP posts:

Original poster

mooshetto · 01/04/2006 07:32

oh,I forgot thanks for the suggestion of heaps of water but my fussy child would rather die of thirst!

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tallulah · 01/04/2006 09:01

My DS is now 16 and has been taking ritalin (or similar) since 1997. We can still tell if he has skipped a day . When I remember what hard work he was when he was little, and how much he disrupted the whole family it is hard to recognise the young man he has become. Ritalin gaves us back the son we were supposed to have.

footiemad · 01/04/2006 10:28

tallulah, just out of interest,do you know how ritalin works and whats in it?

tallulah · 02/04/2006 12:33

Yes I do. Do you?

footiemad · 02/04/2006 17:11

No! that's why i was asking. Sorry did it sound like a criticism rather than a Question?

rummum · 02/04/2006 17:21

apparently it stops them being hungry so its best given after breakfast... (or after any food come to that)

red37 · 02/04/2006 17:24

Ds1 is on concerta xl, which is a slow release ritalin, son was on 10 mg x 3 daily and that wore off quickly.
Tbh their is various side effects
weight loss
loss of appetite
mood swings etc
concerta xl seems to agree with him, but he is being reviewed this week because he has lost some weight.

Original poster

mooshetto · 03/04/2006 01:58

He is taking 3/4 of ritalin 10mg once a day after breakfast only on school days.As yet I haven't seen any side affects, he still has a good appetite and sleeps the same at night(tossing and turning but still asleep).He's being reviewed in 6 months with another brain scan and testing and see what happens then.

OP posts:

tallulah · 03/04/2006 08:39

footiemad- sorry about that I get so used to the constant criticism from people who don't know what it is like to live with a child with untreated ADHD that I misunderstood your message. (I thought you were another of those zealots telling me the evil things I was doing to my son!)

Ritalin is a stimulant for "normal" people. People with ADHD lack certain neural connections and somehow ritalin can make those connections. I haven't explained that very well but my DS described it as a bit like a fog that the ritalin clears away. Instead of having all these thoughts popping into your head all the time to distract you it allows you to just think about what you are doing. HTH

footiemad · 03/04/2006 17:27

No offence taken Tallulah. I'm sure you have been through hell,there are a lot of cruel people out there!!
Thanks for replying,I was just really interested as i' ve always wondered what it does.
When did your Ds explain to you how he felt,and what was going on in his head?(sorry what age).

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