ADHD med question.

[ArseInTheCoOpWindow]

Dd 17 was diagnosed ASD at end of 2022. Dropped out of school with burnout last year. Much much better now.

Diagnosed with ADHD 3 weeks ago. Given Ritalin. She’s refusing to take it due to crippling stomach aches. I’ve said they might pass, but it’s ‘unbearable’

She does have form for extreme reactions to medications. Fluoxetine made her sleep all the time and melatonin was just a disaster.

Is this a normal side effect for Ritalin? She was on 10mg. But ‘they made no difference’ apparently.

DD takes methylphenidate but Equasym XR and Tranquilyn IR rather than Ritalin (different brands of same med).

Only side effects we had were a headache when she didn't have meds at weekends (stopped after a few weeks), and for first few months she was horrible for an hour or so after the meds wore off (simultaneously hyper, starving and exhausted). 6 months in, no real side effects other than not being hungry while she's got active meds in her system.

Zero stomach issues at all. I was very careful not to given her any information about possible effects or side effects as she's quite suggestible - and asked the psychiatrist not to either (she's very dyslexic so no reading online or of information leaflets was likely!)

We did see an immediate difference from the very first dose, and got better with each increase.

You could try a different brand and see if that helps?

I didn’t give her any side effect info. But she was bent double with pain.

Did she take them on an empty stomach?

From what I hear from friends and relatives, you tend to get a better response with straight ADHD and a less good response when ASD is in the mix, but none of them have had stomachache as a side effect (asked them all this afternoon for you - 8 kids in total, all teenagers)