ADHD medication

[adhdmeds]

Hi all - looking for some friendly advice. My 7 year old son has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and possible ASD and the clinical psychiatrist we saw has recommended that we trial him on Methylphenidate.

I'm really unsure about this - we collected the prescription in anticipation of starting and then I read the info leaflet. The magnitude of side effects and how common they are has got me really scared.

He is struggling a bit at school - with the social side not the academic side and school are finding it hard to manage his impulsive behaviours during play times.

Does anyone who has trialled this medication have any advice? Is it worth the risks?

The biggest part of me thinks it's not but my husband is concerned about our sons self esteem/social interactions/ability to make friends and thinks that if we don't do something now, he may develop mental health concerns (increased anxiety, depression etc) as he gets older and finds social situations increasingly difficult. We are also both concerned about his vulnerability as his lack of friends and unawareness of social situations has made him a target for bullying which we think will only get worse as he gets older.

Thank you for any advice you can give.

We saw results quite quickly. Zero side effects
massive change in focus in lessons, writes pages now instead of a couple of lines.
definitely helps with the impulsivity, I can tell when ds hasn’t taken it, he’s much more amenable with it!

Thank you for replying. That's great news it's working so well for your child.

Can I ask how long they have been taking the medication for? I believe they can't stay on it indefinitely- has your Dr spoken to you about how long it can be taken for?

@adhdmeds we haven't got as far as a diagnosis and prescription yet. I would recommend checking out the SN Children and the SN Chat sections on MN though. Lots of experienced MNers on those two

My DS was diagnosed in May and started on medikinet. First dose of 5mg was small and didn’t do anything. Dose upped to 10mg and it’s been a massive success. It’s helped him concentrate better at school though this is still hard for him, but socially it’s improved things massively because it’s just curbed some of the impulsive behaviours and allowed his fun, enthusiastic personality to shine through. He had a review yesterday and he’s grown in height as expected but hasn’t put enough weight on so we need make sure he’s eating more but otherwise it’s been great.