Panorama tonight - ADHD

[Whizzz]

BBC1 Mon 12 Nov, 20:30 - 21:00 30 mins

What Next for Craig?
Following the story of 14-year-old Craig Buxton from Stoke on Trent who suffers from ADHD and has been on medication since he was five. But are the drugs working?

Might be of interest

[dustystar]

Thanks magso

I hadn't thought of it maybe being due to him using less energy during the day. I think i'll just have to be a bit more relaxed about bedtimes. I don't think dd will be too chuffed though if ds starts going to bed a the same time or even later than her

[magso]

Dusty, Ds needed more sleep before he was on meds due to the constant high energy state.(and so did I!). On meds he is more like other DCs and needs a later bedtime we aim for 8 not 7 now. I let him play in the bath ( the chilling bath water does the trick of slowing him down lol)and he is usually asleep by 8.30 at the latest. He still wakes with the larks so I guess he is getting enough sleep! Once he is awake he is full on . One of the problems is he gets a bit hyper as the meds wear off so he's harder to 'slow down'! Good luck with tonight.

[numptysmummy]

I tried melatonin for dd. Was up to 10 with no effect. Decided they probally weren't going to work

[sparklygothkat]

I watched it and thought there was more to Craig than just ADHD. My dd1 has ADHD and it scared me that she could try out like him. I didn't agree with his grandmother threatening him with her walking stick tho. I felt sorry for him, as he clearly has huge issues.

Anyone's child on Melation? Dd1 was given it about 2 months ago, worked fab to begin with, but we had to up it to 3 tabs a night and now its not working at all.

[dustystar]

Was that before he went on the ritalin evenhope or only when he was taking it? DS has been a really good sleeper so far.

[Evenhope]

dustystar my DS just didn't need to go to sleep until much much later than his siblings. We did try melatonin (? I think) for a bit but ended up just insisting that he stay in his room, rather than try to make him sleep.

[dustystar]

finally finally there is snoring lol

Any adice still appreciated

[dustystar]

DS is still awake and not sleepy. It may be just that today has been a lot to cope with but does anyone have any tips for helping them sleep?

[dustystar]

Thanks for the reply magso

That sounds ideal. If i gave him his 8 hour tablet a bit earlier than usual it would have worn off enough to give him the short acting one after school to get him through drumming and then hopefully it would have worn off by bedtime.

I will ring the pead and ask about it.

[magso]

Well normal fast acting mythyphenidate only lasts 3 - 4 hours (as opposed to the slow release). My son was prescribed some of these (Equazyme 5mg )to cover Beavers as his concerta has worn off by then. It may be worth asking the paediatrician. You have to be careful about the timing ofcourse so its worn off by bedtime. HTH

[dustystar]

Does anyone know if you can sort of mix and match tablets with different duration of effect? I should have asked the paed but I didn't even think about it at the time.

DS has drumming lessons at 5.30 and he struggles with behaving. His teacher is great but last week I had to take him home as he simply wouldn't do anything he was asked. Obviously his current tablets wouldn't last until then but i am reluctant to go for a 12 hour form as that may disrupt his sleep.

Is there a really short acting tablet - say 2-3 hours that I could speak to the paed about to use on this sort of occasion? Or would i be able to use a 12 hour tablet on that day and an 8 hour one on other days?

Sorry - lots of questions i know but suddenly I realise there's a whole lot more to this than just deciding to give ritalin a go

[magso]

Glad things went well Dusty. Ds also on Concerta XL (extended release capsules). They are supposed to give up to 12 hours coverage. However in my Ds (on a low dose) the effect is shorter than that, perhaps 9 - 10 hours. He is still very tall for age, eats and sleeps well, although he is a bit of an early waker! I think he eats better at breakfast and tea.

[dustystar]

evenhope - how long does the concerta xl last for? Ds tablets last 8 hours which I am happy with for now but its good to know what else is out there.

[dustystar]

Thanks evenhope that gives me real hope for ds

He had a good day apparently. He started off badly and the little toad told them that i had sprinkled the ritalin on his breakfast without telling him and that was why he was angry When i asked him why he had told them this he said that he thought they would be worried about him having medicine wrapped up in plastic (they are capsules lol)

He calmed quickly though and had the best day he's had for ages. He told me that he loves the tablets becuase they help him work better and be more sensible and that makes him happy He ate all his lunch too which was another thing i was a bit worried about.

He's at a kids club now and hopefully when I get him he will be tired and will sleep as well as he always has before.

[Evenhope]

duststar DS started on ADs then went onto ritalin after a couple of years. He is now on concerta XL. He has been on meds for 10 years.

We were warned it might stunt his growth but he is huge

[magso]

I hope you put him right on that point lol!

[Whizzz]

yes I agree with your sone Evenhope. The prog did tend to suggest that nothing else much was done apart from the meds. I assume, if nad bhevaiour is left unchecked (for whatever reason), it will get worse with age - until a point (maybe?) that the child realises and understands the consequences of the beahviour??

I had a classic case the other day where a lad was refusing to do what was asked & his reply was 'it's not my fault - I've got ADHD'

[magso]

Evenhope, thanks for replying it is good to know your DS is thriving and attached to you! I can see Ds (8) has matured behaviourly in the last couple of years and know that medication in combination with loving but concise informed 'hard as nails' parenting (all the things you mention) have contributed.

[dustystar]

evenhope is your ds on meds?

Ds started ritalin today and i'm feeling a bit anxious.

[Evenhope]

Whizz, he says now the boy may have ADHD but what came across was the parents have sat back and said "he's got ADHD- we can't do anything with him" and not set any boundaries or tried to control him.

DS has had counselling and behaviour management training as part of his treatment and we have learned over the years that ADHD allows no grey areas- something is right or wrong. We have to have very strict routines with him (very hard for us as we are naturally quite freewheeling) and instructions have to be short, clear and concise with no room for misinterpretation. Punishment has to be immediate and consistent.

magso we were desperate when he was 6, fearing we'd have an out of control adult on our hands. He has his moments but he is in 6th form and doing reasonably well, has friends and a Saturday job, and is very attached to me, moreso than DS3! It's turned out to be quite a blessing

[magso]

Diagnosis even!
What I meant to say is that the situation with Craig had deteriorated with the years. The natural order of things is for behaviour control to improve with increased maturity; when it doesn't it is pathological. It seemed to me (no expertise so MHO)that Craig at 14 had problems beyond ADHD and teenage hormones. The programme left a lot of unanswered questions!

[magso]

Good point Whizzz- the girl was interesting it left you wanting to know more about how to get good outcomes. I suppose what I found so distressing (as a parent with a ds with ADHD/asd/LD) is what the future holds for my DS. Its the stuff of parents nightmares. Evenhope it is good to hear that your teenage son behaves better than at 6 it gives hope (the programme itself was bleak). I suppose the undercurrent to the program is that kids with ADHD are vunerable.
There is a report in the BBC news (health)today that Susan Greenfield is to call for an investigation into the increase in ADHD diagnisis. So perhaps there will be progress - if not in time for 'Craig' and his family.

[Whizzz]

The bit I thought was the most intersting was the girl who took herself off the meds & seemed to be coping very well with everything - althoguh it dodn't really explain what treatment she had when she booked herself into the clinic place

[Whizzz]

I've not got a huge amount of experience but I have parents try to explain kids bad behaviour by trying to get them diagnosed with ADHD. Agree, I would have thought medication would slow the child down so that boundaries & behaviours could be more effectively taught - rather than give the meds, sit back & expect a major change.

The lad on the prog did seem to have huge mood swings - his violence was scary to watch but I didn't know how much was bad behaviour or not being able to cope with his emotions / what was happening or ADHD. Thats why I wondered how your son would have viewed it & what he sees as 'real' ADHD

[Evenhope]

Whizz, as a TA what did you think? I was a TA many years ago and have seen others apart from my DS, and I felt he was just badly behaved and not managed properly.

Mine used to behave like that at 6, but no way did he still do so as a teen on meds.