Inattentive ADHD teen - meds experiences

[Pantoufle23]

Hi, I have a recently diagnosed 15yr old dd. Academically able and school were completely unaware whilst she has been falling apart at home with homework and revision, massively propped up by us. Appt with psych in a few days to discuss meds as we’ve tried pretty much everything else, though it hasn’t been an easy decision. Keen to hear experiences of those of you with dc diagnosed in teens, esp girls. How much have meds helped and any problems with them? Big thanks x
(Also posted in child mental health)

Hi, I could have written exactly what you have said myself. My daughter is 15 also and has done fantastic in her exams but it is due to us supporting and revising everything with her. It has been a nightmare as she was so reluctant. I organise everything as she has no time management skills. Today we had a private diagnosis of inattentive ADHD and will start meds in a few weeks. My daughter doesn't want school to know about it. Will post again once started on the meds, fingers crossed they work.

I have not one but two who are mixed but predominantly inattentive both diagnosed at 15

Meds were a game changer, DD particularly was dead in the water, meds allowed her to achieve multiple 8’s she’s now on track for top A level results

DS is still increasing his dose and again achieved fantastic results and is also on track for excellent A level results next year

If only poor DH had been picked up as a child, having the children diagnosed has at least helped him come to terms with his own educational trials and tribulations but his confidence will never recover

Sorry to hijack the thread but my daughter was diagnosed as inattentive but in many respects she is quite hyper but there wasn't enough evidence to diagnose as combined ADHD. Can I ask if the medication for the inattentive would help with the hyper side (fidgeting etc) sorry if I am not using the correct terminology but I am new to this.

@Manchestertimes with DS you can tell when he’s had his meds because his feet are still, not going in circles

Thanks so much for all the replies. Seems to be so many of us with teen girls, diagnosed either just before or just after GCSE’s . We are one week into meds trial ...

Upping here for some advise. Dd now on 10mg methylphenidate/Ritalin 2x a day. No significant side effects but no clear sign it’s working either. Dr seemed to think we’d se something at this dose and as I understand it we will prob need to do a couple more dose increases before being able to try something else (Elvanse?). Is there still hope we will have a sudden change at a higher dose? Dd feeling very despondent. Thanks

I have no experience of Ritalin as both of mine started on Concerta XL, DD has always needed a higher dose than DS lower doses worked but only moderately as she really was dead in the water

We went with Concerta XL to cover the school day and time for homework, I think the short acting ones in our case would only be useful for boosting as they need the prolonged release

In your position I think I’d be asking to try a different formulation as we see an instant response within an hour that’s literally like a light being switched on

Thanks alot Tomnooktoldmeto, we chatted before. Just wondering if for some methylphenidate (Ritalin/Concerta) just doesn't do anything til a higher dose is reached? We see Dr again tomorrow so will have to try to gauge the options but I guess she will make us to another one or 2 increases before discussing alternatives. I know these things take time, it's just you always hope you will be one of the lucky ones to get a fairly obvious response.

Could you DD and DS clearly tell when it was working for them ie no trying to convince yourself you can tell a difference?

Hi Pantoufle, yes we can literally sit there and see it take effect, quite interesting to observe and very obvious even with just a dose increase

thanks - appreciate hearing about your experience. Can I ask what you see/feel happen that makes it clear? We have good days and bad days of course but the reality is we can't see anything obvious and DD still finds school work that she doesn't feel overwhelmed by easier to deal with and still has a problem with anything challenging/overwhelming.

Has your DD had full screening done for all conditions? It could be just because she’s not up to her correct dose yet but you could also be identifying some demand avoidance which could be a sign of a comorbidity like ASD or anxiety which both go hand in hand with adhd

With DD on meds she’s bright buzzing and works productively unless she’s anxious about the work when the demand avoidance and procrastination kicks in but this is down to ASD

With DS he becames much more focused in behaviour, I need to give a lot less prompts and he stops fidgeting, you can see his focus drop and the twiddling starts as his meds wear off

Thanks for the clarification- we aren’t seeing anything obvious like this. She was screened for anxiety/depression but not asd I think the procrastination has arisen out of adhd as it is in subjects where she has trouble getting her thoughts to line up - and this and her perfectionism does make her anxious at times. She did QB test and had a v high adhd score on top of the clinical diagnosis.

Fingers crossed it’s just a dosage issue...

Fingers crossed for you, we’re currently day 5 of a new dose for DS, focus is much better but his appetite and nausea are making it a rough ride but hopefully he will settle in the next week

Hope the side effects wear off for him. We have another dose increase with another review in 5 days.

He normally settles eventually but his weight bumps along the bottom of the centiles so it’s a constant battle as he’s a coeliac too

Fortunately when the meds wear off he gets the mega munchies so I pack calorie dense food in at that point

Hi, reading your replies with interest as we start meds in a few weeks. Hope it works out well for your daughter.

Thanks Manchestertimes, wish lots of luck with it. How old is your dd/ds? It’s a frustrating process but have to hope things will click soon!

Tomnooktoldmetoo - fingers crossed for you too

The joy of it all is that I have 3 of them, DH,DD and DS. DH isn’t medicated and I spend a large amount of time keeping them all on track and organised daily

Luckily for them although I am now disabled I am an Uber organised forward planning horizon scanner so we complement each other generally

My daughter is 15. I have micromanaged everything regarding school. I have to sit and revise every test with her and supervise homework or it would never be done. As a result she does really well in tests at school so they don't see the problems we face. It has been a nightmare as she fights against us so much. I have had a private diagnosis and still feel a bit in shock that ADHD was confirmed. I worry that maybe they have got it wrong and maybe it's just her personality. Sorry for rambling but I worry how the medication will affect her. She doesn't want school to be informed of the diagnosis.

Manchestertimes, sounds v similar. Does she have GCSE’s next year? We are still dealing with the shock of diagnosis despite expecting it - denial and then grief have been part of it. I hope it will be easier when meds eventually have some effect (hopefully!). We informed school just before end of term and we still expect some individual teachers to voice their disbelief.

Yes she has GCSEs next year but I think I will wait and see how things go with the medication before telling school. I don't know if they would accept a private diagnosis. She doesn't want anyone to know about it.

Ours have accepted a private diagnosis without being consulted as part of the evaluation. Do you have a QB test which might help back it up? I understand though, Dd is worried about being singled out but she has timing issues in exams so .....

Manchester she really needs to change her mind set, as I explained earlier you need to present your diagnosis in September to ensure she gets extra time awarded by the exam boards to level the playing field otherwise she is disadvantaged

Hi Pantoufle23, I was wondering how your daughter is getting on with the medication? Any better x

Hi Manchestertimes, it's a bit of a rollercoaster here. We are on our 4th dose increase (having seen nothing) of methylphenidate (fast acting Ritalin rather than Concerta, as the dr prefers to trial with this and then move across if it works). This can however mean more peaks and troughs ..which is what is happening). 20mg twice a day is having some effect finally on concentration for an hour or 2 (she has loads of homework so it is v easy for us to trial). However she is having really severe rebound/crash after it wears off ( a couple of hours) and becomes very tired and moody/depressed, or irritable/overwhelmed if she makes the mistake of trying to finish any work at this point. So it's positive that finally we can see something but the side effect is not great. I also wonder if she is actually a bit worse than pre meds when she isn't on them - we tried homework yesterday morning just to see and her fidgeting and lack of focus was really bad and she just couldn't do anything really. Frankly I have no idea how she would cope with titration during term time but I am aware that for many things go much more smoothly and that a lower dose works much more quickly. Also many drs start with Concerta from the outset which would be a much smoother process I think.