Medication for inattention

[ollysunshine]

We are having a meeting with CAMHS on 11th April re possibly starting 7 year old daughter on medication (haven't specified which as yet) ?Ritalin....for her inattention / behaviour which is causing her problems at school and with relationships with peers...we have been under them since she was 3 so we have tried all the behavioural techniques and been on the parenting courses so this is not a decision I am taking lightly.

Has anyone tried these medications? If so, how did you find them?

At first I was totally anti- trying it as feel she is still so young but my sister was telling me she watched a documentary on an adult who tried it later in life (and had all sorts of problems growing up) and said she felt like "a light had been switched on for the first time" which made me think maybe I would be doing my daughter a dis-service by NOT even trying them??

Any feedback would be very welcome...

Just bumping this up for you.

DS1 has ASD and ADHD - inattentive, hyperactive and oppositional and he takes strattera (atomoxetine) for the ADHD, which has made a world of difference to him in so many ways. The first difference we spotted was the improvement in communication (though he can rant for England, now!)

Hopefully someone will be along with their experiences of methylphenidate (ritalin, concerta, equasym etc), which works in a different way, soon.

My thoughts are that you can try them and if it's not helping, you can stop. If it is helping, you can tweak it to make it work better.

Ds takes vyvanse. It might be a different name there - copying it from the pot, it's lisdexamfetamine dimesylate.

He tried concerts before, but no real difference.

I'm not sure about this one either, but school love it and claim it is a marvel.

Agree re communication though - the paed said she was hoping it might enable him to communicate a bit better - previously he had so much going on in his head he couldn't get it out. The first couple of days were hilarious from a verbal diarrhoea perspective...

Concerta. I freaking hate autocorrect.

ds take concerta xl and it is wonderful, has has also taken equasim xl in the past but had to change as he needed a higher dose as he grew. XL just means long lasting, the concerta lasts for up to 12 hours. ds is now 12 and has taken them since he was 7, he says that it makes him into the him he wants to be that says it all to me!

Ds says the vyvanse makes him easier to control . I asked him if he meant for other people to control him, or for him to control himself, and he said 'both'. He's 10.

That makes me feel a whole lot better - my thoughts now are that if it doesn't seem to work or the side affects are worse than the benefits we will stop....so thank you for responding x