adhd medication

[happymummy2010]

Hi

After much deliberation and loads of sleepless nights wondering what best to do I finally agreed for my DS (7) to trial medication to see if it helps his ADHD.

Today was the first day of the trial and he has taken 2 5mg tablets of Equasym and I have to say I have seen no change in his behaviour at all.

Could it be that the dosage is too low or does it normally take a few days for the tablets to take effect ?

Is anyone willing to share their experiences of their DC starting on medication ?

Thanks !

Hi,

My niece just started on her medication for adhd, my step daughter tried several before settling on one that worked for her, she is 18 now and has been on meds for a few years.

My sister in law noted a change after a week but it doesnt last long and she struggles to get my niece to take pills. I must say we saw no difference on boxing day after she took the meds in a yoghurt but it was an over exciting situation.

Im new to all this but this thread could be of use to me too. :)

xxxx

Hi I am also very interested in this as my DS2 with ASD dx has also recently been diagnosed with ADHD and we have been advised by paed to think about the meds. Equasym XL mentioned specifically. Thanks for all the information and experiences related so far.

Hi-i made the decision over the summer for my 6 year old to go on meds(he's on equasym) and it took a while to have an effect purely due to the time it takes to actually get on the correct dose. we started with 1 tablet on a morning for a week,then 1 at lunch as well for a week until he reached a dose of 25mg a day.once he was on the right dose he showed improvement. its not a miracle cure but it gets him through the school day and im able to cope a bit better with his behaviours now as he is not so impulsive.The only side effect really we had was weight loss but after a couple of months(and extra calories!) that has stopped. I ried over christmas not to give him his meds as he was high anyway-we managed to get half way through christmas day until i really felt he needed them. i was relieved when thedoctor said if i want him to have a day off ican and that it wouldnt affect him in a bad way-just psyching myself up to it-when he has a bad day i always wonder how we used to cope as its very stressful-its then i cansee how benficial the meds are. hope everything goes well on them for your son

Quick update :

I managed to track down the Doctor at CAMHS yesterday and as I still haven't seen any change in my DS behaviour she has told us to double the dose of the medication.

He will now be taking 10mg in the morning and another 10mg after lunch. It was his first day on the new dose today, but it was also his first day back at school, so I will have to check with his teachers tomorrow if there was any changes in his behaviour.

Jellyhelly - Has your DS started on his medication , if yes - how's it going ??

Hi happymummy. I wouldn't put too much store on behaviour change till he's been on it a bit longer. Also, while you're having dose changes there might be some milage in giving it on weekends (if you aren't routinely doing so anyway) cos you'll notice his reactions much better than a teacher / TA could.

Hi Maria

I am planning on giving my DS the medication at weekends for a while so that I can see if I can notice any change in his behaviour.

I think I will only stop giving it a weekends once he has been on it for a while and we feel the dosage iif having some impact.

Hi happymummy2010,
Happy New Year to you and your family and everyone else on the thread.
Hope you all had a good xmas.
Have started medication and it's not good. DS1 was brilliant over christmas( calm, sweet,) so decided to put off medication until the last minute, started on Saturday with 1 x10mg tab of Ritalin in the morning , he seems "calm" for about 3 hrs but then becomes weepy, snappy, aggressive and cannot settle to sleep
Expected there to be some side effects and Paediatrician did say they tail off after about 7-10 days.
He is so unlike himself and I have to say DH and I have considered taking him off meds,but I know we have to stick with it.
Hope you see some changes with your new dosage, please let me know how you get on

Hi jellyhelly

Sorry to hear that your DS is suffering from side effects. Is he taking 2 x 10mg tabs a day now ?

My DS seemed ok today, but it is difficult for me to say as I gave him the tab just before dropping him at school, he took the second dose after lunch at school and my mum collected him. I didn't get home until after 6pm and he seemed fine. I didn't get any reports from either the school or my mum to say they noticed any change in him or any side effects.

I wish we had been able to increase the dosage when I was off with him over Xmas so I was around to observe him. Tomorrow I won't be picking him up from After School club until 6pm so the meds will have worn off by then.

It will only be by giving him the tabs at weekends that I will be able to see if they are making a difference.

Hope your DS stops suffering from the side effects soon - Keep in touch

He's still on his 1 tablet a day. Won't start 2 tablets until Saturday.
School have noticed a change in his attention and focus but also noted the rebound after meds wore off. He leaves home at 7.20am to get to school so meds seem to be wearing off at around 11am but the side effects seem to last for the rest of the day. My worry is if he's like this now just what will he be like on 2 x 10mg daily {sigh)
Any how onwards and upwards!