Please tell me about medication for your ADHD child.... did it help?

[GerbilsForever24]

I'm fully aware of the people who have found medication not to work - side effects etc - but I'd really like some positive stories to hold onto. DS will be starting medication in the next couple of weeks and it's obviously early days and we have to go through the trial and error phase, but I just want to know if it really will help?

He has inattentive ADHD and is key issues is lack of organisation and focus. Which makes school, obviously, extremely hard for him.

DD has ADHD, primarily inattentive, and got the dx and started medication a couple of months ago.

I would really recommend getting a copy of The Parents Guide to ADHD Medication. It's so, so useful - and a really easy read.

DD started on 5mg of instant release methylphenidate twice a day for a week and then 10mg twice a day. We're starting 20mg extended release in September with an optional extra 10mg instant release as a top up for the evening.

She also takes melatonin 1mg at night to get to sleep.

The only side effects so far have been no appetite at all while she's on the meds, massive headaches on the days she doesn't take it, and for a few hours after the meds wear off she is simultaneously hyper, irritable, exhausted and starving.

So I get the brunt of the down after school each day... joy!

On the upside, she is a much easier, more focused, nicer version of herself on them! There has also been no negative effect on her hyperfocus or creativity.

Saw a teacher this week for the first time since she was diagnosed who asked me a couple of hours into the session what had happened to DD. Said she was cooperative, focused, amenable to suggestions and there were no tantrums or fights. He was shocked when I said I'd basically fed her stimulants on the bus over - said he was truly stunned by the difference and had no idea that they could have the kind of effect they did. So that for me was proof that they were doing the job.

School we really need to see what happens next term as she was only on them the last couple of weeks and end of year is never a great test! However her BFF who has the dubious honour of sitting next to her in most subjects has reported back that she's less fidgety and less distracting to be with.

I haven't noticed that she's any more organised and certainly her room still looks like a crime scene, but baby steps...

I basically feel really guilty that I procrastinated for years while knowing that she was almost certainly ADHD and wish I'd got her on the meds years ago. We left the assessment clutching a prescription and there was no talk or mild or borderline so I suspect we may need to spend quite some time getting the dosage tweaked.

DD's feelings on it all are huge relief - she proudly informed all her favourite teachers and all her friends 🙄- and she says she just wishes she could feel like she does on the meds all the time rather than them wearing off. It has massively improved our relationship as I do sometimes give her them at weekends if we are going to be doing things, and instead of constant fights, we can have reasonable, rational conversations and I'm learning not to expect instant conflict so probably initiate conversations in a calmer way.

Hope that helps a bit?

DD is 14 btw, but we've pretty much known since she was about 5.

Thank you @OhCrumbsWhereNow That's helpful.

Our doctor wants us to start with a low dosage, slow release - but I don't have the specific details as yet. So that's what we're going to try first. He did warn us we might need to play around a bit.

I imagine that will be either Concerta XL or Equasym... both are methylphenidate.

With the slow release, they have really clever mechanisms in the capsule so you get x% instantly and then the rest slowly over the next 6-8 hours. Some release much more at the beginning than others, so you need to tweak for what suits your timetable.

DD does a lot of afterschool and evening classes, but mornings are less stressful, so she needs something with a lower % in the morning and more later on.

Slow and low is definitely the way to go.

Quite honestly, DS needs more focus pretty much ALL the time - hence the decision to go with 12 hours slow release unless the side effects make it necessary to break it into chunks. The inattentiveness is an issue in pretty much all aspects of his life, at home and school, which is something the doctor did reference.

They always aim to get you on the slow release - but most start with instant just in case you react badly to the medication.

I don't think any last 12 hours (even if they are supposed to) - a lot of my extended family have kids with ADHD and 6-8 hours is about the best they seem to get. They're constantly having to tweak even after years on them.

We need cover from 9am till around 7pm so that's why were doing the slow release with an extra 10mg instant top up for late afternoon (instant seem to last about 3-4 hours).

Ideally we'd like 24/7 cover, but there isn't anything that comes close to doing that.

At the moment we're going for no meds in holidays and weekends unless DD is doing courses or something that requires additional focus, but she would much prefer to permanently take them so I'm looking into that.

There seems to be a school of thought that says if you don't take the breaks it can lead to them not working so effectively after a while. Plus potentially effects on growth (if they're not post puberty).

Our doctor was insistent that they are not cumulative so there should be no problem stopping and starting based on day etc. we shall see.

to be fair, constant adjustment at this age seems understandable as they are growing and changing all the time.

I think the biggest issue will be if your child suffers with anxiety or not.

if they don’t - great. If they do adhd meds are tricky!