Adhd anger

[SENmum88]

Hello
My son has been on Ritalin for 9 days now. I feel the side effects has made him more aggressive and more angry!
This was yesterday after refusing to get him £1.99 on his game. He trashed the house. Took 40 mins to calm down. He isn't eating as much and was good as gold when in shops, however it is now effect my mental state having bioplar. I'm hoping and praying as time goes on it will calm him down 🙏 has anyone else has there child on Ritalin had the same side effects?

Have a read around the side effects. In particular, 'come-down' effects. If it is an immediate release formula, then slower-release stimulants are available. Have you fed back to whoever is responsible for titration?

My son's on these ones.*

The label reads: '30 Medikinet XL 10mg capsules. Take one with breakfast. Do not chew or crush.'

*[Pic removed by MNHQ as the label contained identifying details]

You need to get in touch with whoever prescribed these and let them know.

Ok thank you.

Yes we had this. Stopped Ritalin after a week, no way could we live with those side effects.

We had previously tried Equasym and initially also had come down similar, though that subsided after a week or two. But Ritalin was like something else, the anger was terrifying.

We ended up stabilising on a non-stimulant as the side effects of the stimulants were too much.

Absolutely! It's been so stressful and constant.
What medication is your child on now?
I'm finding it hard to get him to swallow so I had no choice but to give it to him on a spoon.

@SENmum88 after a year of trying different stimulants off and on my son ended up on non stimulants. We did guanfacine and he's now been on atomoxetine for about a year which is OK. In my experience every child is different so just because this worked for us it may not for your child. That said, our psychiatrist did say that extreme rages like this would not be considered in the normal range of acceptable side effects and if your child has such an acute reaction to discontinue the medication. Worth checking with your doc if they would agree with this view (I am not giving medical advice just saying what our doc told us in a similar situation) ;-)

Iv fully stopped his meds now. Have gone back to doctors for help on different meds. I suppose it is trail and error. I just couldn't cope on my own with his aggression and being so violent. Especially with the 6 weeks holiday now here

@SENmum88 good luck.

I'm with you - there were certain points I stood back and thought, what is worse, the meds effects or the ADHD effects. If the meds are worse than the ADHD... stop the meds*

*with medical approval etc etc etc before I get a million mumsnetters jumping on me

I was thinking the same. Did the medicine your child is now on, make a difference?

Yeah i think so. It doesn’t help his hyperactivity as much. He’s still super hyper and crazy. But it did help make him a bit less impulsive, a bit less aggressive. He can pay attention a little bit more. Also his anxiety is reduced a lot so he is much happier which is the main thing. It’s not perfect but better than no-meds and better than the other meds we tried.

It is a shame as on stimulants he was often really calm and focussed but the side effects were just too awful

Paediatrician got in touch today. He hasn't named the new drug. However he now wants my son to take twice a day 😳 I just hope there isn't bad side effects especially the aggression.
I'll keep my fingers crossed 🤞🏻