Medication for ADHD???

[Jerbil]

My DS is undergoing a variety of assessments at the moment.The latest thing that has been mentioned by the psychologist is ADHD but that he cannot be diagnosed till he's 7 (currently 5). He struggles at school academically, struggles with instructions at sporting activities but is generally well behaved. However, he is demanding and has an extremely short attention span.

One thing that was mentioned was that medication is a possibility but I am aware there has been controversy surrounding this. Just wondering if anyone has anything to say about the pros and cons?

Hi my dd was diagnosed ADHD at 6.5 years she's now coming up to 7. Me and oh have had long discussions about medication and we have an app coming up soon to discuss. Not trying to sway your mind either way but here's what we discussed after going to an ADHD parenting course and hearing the pros and cons of medication from a pysch. We decided that we have to give her a fair chance to fit in with peers and behave in appropriate manner before she gets too old and Karen rejected for he behaviour, the medication doesn't last long in your system so can choose to give it on school days only if you like an have a break at weekends and holidays. Main effects were possible stunted height (but would eventually reach full height), lack of appetite, sleep disturbance. By taking breaks in medication it woul lessen chance of affecting their height. If they had any other illness I wouldn't without medication, and as it works fairly instantly you should know same day if it's working. We will agree to a trial an if we don't like it after a month then we will not proceed with it. I think it's all about trying what's best for your circumstances.

basically the pros are that if it works well, everything is more manageable, for the child I mean - obviously that then makes it easier for the parent, lol, but it's about improving the child's quality of life, not sedating them so that parents don't have the hassle of dealing with it (I'm mentioning that because it's an attitude that I've seen a lot of in criticisms of medicating, not because I think you want to do that)

the cons are - they have some fairly nasty potential side effects (easily found on google), it can take quite a bit of trial and error before the right balance is struck...

but you don't have to decide anything definite, you can not medicate and then decide it's worth trying, you can try medicating and decide it's not worth doing, there are different ones if one doesn't agree with him - it doesn't have to be a case of medicating or not medicating

I second what tabulahrasa has said. It took well over a year to find the right balance of medications and dosages for ds and there were some mistakes along the way. He didn't have any major side-effects but even the minor ones had the potential to make life difficult for him - in some ways it was a case of working out which was the lesser of two evils.

But in the end we got there and his medication is optimised now. We have a great consultant (had to go private in the end as the NHS ones wouldn't even prescribe for a trial ), and the change in ds's temperament, focus, concentration and everything is amazing. But he's still ds - his personality is still intact and he's not 'zombified' as the naysayers sometimes put it. He is himself but happier . It's certainly been the right path for him, but everyone is different and so is the response to medication.

The positive thing about medication is that trials are done very cautiously (or should be - if your consultant bowls in there without careful monitoring then you should back out) and start with a very low dosage to observe for potential side-effects. Only if everyone is completely satisfied do they increase. At this stage if there are any problems you can stop immediately and there's no harm done. You'd usually be prescribed short-release methylphenidate first which wears off in four hours and needs topping up regularly so if it's not effective or there are negative side-effects you can stop straight away.

I agree with the previous posters. My DS was dx with ADHD at 7 yo. At that stage the consultant said he was too anxious for ritalin and started him on ADs. He was regularly monitored and eventually went on to ritalin and then Concerta. The normal ritalin wears off (initially he had to take a dose at lunchtime which was a PITA) so at least if he doesn't get on with it it isn't one of those drugs that takes a while to clear your system.

School could always tell if he'd forgotten to take a dose- it made a huge difference and allowed him to get through school relatively unscathed.

He is now 21 and won't take the meds more often than not. So much for stunted growth- he is over 6 foot tall and towers over DH. You can tell on meeting him that he isn't NT but he's at uni, got friends and doesn't struggle to find holiday work, so I don't think we could have done any better.

We haven't gone down the med route for ds at the advise of our consultant. It is still something we would consider as he gets older to 'help' him. As his mother, I would rather he was not medicated, for obvious reasons, but if it meant he could function better in the classroom, reach his academic potential and have better peer relationships, it would be a no-brainer ... I would still be petrified of any side effects Also, I wouldn't 'google' this info (any loony can write on there) ask the consultant, they should be best placed to tell you honestly what the 'down' sides of meds are.

oh god, I didn't mean google the whole pros and cons of it, you'd get all sorts of whack jobs, lol

I just meant there's lists of the most common side effects, so you've a rough idea what they are - obviously actual medical advice is better

ADHD medication has been receiving some bad publicity in recent years, but it can be huge help once the right dosis is established. Correct medication gives children with ADHD a chance at school, and if they get it early, it means they are less likely to fall behind with basic literacy and numeracy skills. If your consultant says medication is the way forward, I would definitely give it a try.