Medication for ADD - dilemma - do we or don't we?

[Yetanotherbadhairday]

DD (10) has ADD and Dyspraxia. We have been offered medication to help with concentration but so far have resisted as we don't like the idea of the side effects and have also been unable to find out very much about how they may affect his long term health.

However he's struggling a lot, especially with schoolwork but also with daily routine tasks. He is acutely aware of his problems, and as a result his self-esteem is incredibly low, it's heartbraking to see him like this.

So now we're revisiting the medication option and would appreciate anyone being able to share their experiences, good and bad please, or point us in the direction of any research that's been done on the long term health effects?

I've seen it good and bad over the years - I remember one lovely, cheeky, happy little boy who had all his love of life just wiped away, but on the other hand, I can think of one lad for whom it was a life saver. I think the trouble is, it's so hard to get the dose "just so" to remove the bits that make life difficult, but keep the bits that make them who they are. Once you do get it right, pesky children tend to then go and have a growth spurt or something and upset the apple cart again .
I'm speaking as a teacher now, we decided against that route with ds, but it's so hard for anyone else to know what is right in any individual case. The lack of research of long term affect of the medication was what worried my dh in particular. The good thing is that you can try it for 6 months or a year and see what you (and he) think - it's not like you have to commit to "forever" once you give it a try.
Sorry, probably not much help, but might bump for someone else.

Ds is on vyvanse. He was dx at 10, also has aspergers traits and anxieties/ phobias.

He tried concerta but results inconclusive. School say vyvanse works.

Obviously with the newer meds there are no long term studies available, so it's all guesswork.

Generally I suggest a trial if you've exhausted all of the other routes (omegas, zinc, Epsom salts etc) just to see what the outcome is. If they work, then you can decide. If they don't, it's a no brainer.

DS1 has ASD and ADHD and takes atomoxetine (Strattera) for his ADHD and it has made a world of difference to him. Even though it's a drug that takes a while to build up to therapeutic levels, within a week his ability to communicate had bloomed and he was able to tell us if he was tired, hungry or had a headache. He could also tell us how fed up he was with various things and has become a prolific ranter, but it's worth it against the bouncy boy we had before, who couldn't even enjoy the things he likes, such as lego.

My guess is that your first offer would be some form of methylphenidate (ritalin, concerta etc) and the main issue with that, once the right dose regime has been found is loss of appetite and a possible risk of slowed growth as a result. That can be worked around, though and if you trialled it, appetite, weight, height etc would all be monitored closely.

To share an experience from a slightly longer period... my DD1 went on Ritalin at 6 (ADHD, dyslexia, and on the edge of the ASD spectrum). We were reluctant but desperate!

It made a world of difference to her.. she was able to focus and to fit in. She stayed on Ritalin in various forms until she was 15 when she decided to see if she could manage without. She made it through GCSEs and A levels, proved her self to be very able indeed and is currently finishing her second year at University where she is studying medicine!

However the ADHD is still there, still makes it very difficult for her and this year..aged 20 she requested to go back on it! There are relatively few studies on use in adulthood, but the docs agreed and she has found it once again, to be a real help.. which given how hard medicine is and how much study she has to do, is great. I have NO doubt that without medication she would never have been able to show her academic abilities (and incidentally when she was 6 and told her consultant she wanted to be a doctor, the doc said there are plenty of ADHD doctors out there.. their fast brains can be an asset!).. so we have found it nothing but beneficial.

She was a very thin child but it didn't stunt her growth..she's 5 ft 9 :)

My son went on ritalin because he was becoming violent this helped his behaviour but it gave him tics so we had to stop it. He then went on strattera but this made him feel sick all the time so he came off that. He then was put on clonidine this worked at first but then stopped working. He is currently on sertraline he has only just started this so we dont know how it will work. We choose to try and medicate him because of the violence.

Thanks everyone for your replies - good suggestions Mad Woman which I'll investigate - and again appreciate anyone being able to offer more info on that please?

We did try fish oil very briefly a few years ago, but probably not long enough to find out if it was going to have any effect because DS absolutely stank of fish all the time - and I mean really stank. DH doesn't like fish at all (to eat that is!) and can't bear the smell so you can see why we quickly abandoned it. Possibly we would get more desirable results from other brands?

Sounds like the results of using Ritalin or similar can vary a lot and we'll only find out if we give it a go - we have to do something because it's having a major impact on the whole family as things are just now - but I would definitely like to try natural products first.

Medusa at your dd.

Yet, I can't tell you the difference meds made to ds. So much so, that I now think if I tries forcing him to manage without it would be unethical.

Ds1 (16) has taken Ritalin since he was 7. The difference was apparent in the first week of taking it. He is now on Concerta XL. He had a problem with reduced appetite but there are ways round it. He wouldn't be where he is today without it and neither would we!

Not sure what brand you used, but have never noticed any fishy smell at all, and we've used several... Maybe just go and ask at the local health food store? There are about 8 different versions at ours marketed for kids in reasonably kid friendly flavours...