looks like my youngest son is going to have to be medicated. can someone come and talk to me about methylphenidate and other options

[HecateAdonaea]

please.

do you have a child on it? What is it like? Does it change them? Are they still 'them' - people give you all the scary 'zombie' shit, don't they? - have there been any side effects?

I feel really guilty that I have started a row, please understand that that was not my intention. I just wanted information from a source I trust (rather than the internet at large which I feel has a great deal of potential to give you a load of horse shit), which I have (the info, not the horse shit!) and I thank you, but I feel it came at a price and I am sorry.

oh, and I am sorry about my OP. On reflection the scary zombie shit showed a bias that I didn't intend, I had just come from lots of googling and it was quite scary.

Guys, I am sorry for asking about this, please don't fall out over this.

Hecate, in places I've worked we've been instructed to say Methylphenidate never Ritalin in case the person then refuses to take it due to negative press or hides it and tries to flog it so it's not surprising you're terrified!

There are down sides. There are up sides. If the positive effect on behaviour and education outweighs the physical risk, then it's worth trying. A PP mentioned anti-depressants - same decision making process imo.

As a long term behaviour modification technique, i would say it's a bad idea. As a medium term way to get a person's brain calm enough to learn how to manage their own behaviour, i have seen many excellent results.

Some people i have worked with were at risk of serious injury or imprisonment due to the level of their aggression - a much greater risk than from taking the meds...

My friends son who is 9 and who has been dx with DAMP is on Ritalin.
Took them a long time to go down that route and it has been great for them and him.
She regrets leaving it so long, tbh.
What she did do was take him for a heart ECG to check there was no underlying issue prior to starting the mess.
He is now in MN school and doing well.
X

mS school!!

Well...as a rule when we are off school for holidays etc...I lower the dose and some days don't give my DS the concerta for a few days....apart from him being hyper and difficult to engage, manage it all and it's a bit crazy for us, re the adhd...he doesn't crumple in a heap of withdrawal and scarey hooked on heavy duty drugs ill or suffering terribly....

Can I just say that you seem a bit hysterical and a bit OTT scarey...I'm not saying these meds don't have issues and risks...I just don't think they are as scarey as you are making them sound

My DS psychiatrist who does the prescriptions assured me that his concerta does not impact in an addictive way and should he have time out from taking them or that he needs to come off them and use another type, that it would be absolutely fine and he would not suffer any significant withdrawal from not taking them.....as has been my experience and observations with my DS...

Is my professional lying to me?

My biggest worry is that there have been no long term studies done that can tell anybody what the long term use of these meds might be....nobody knows yet....what impact they could be responsible for on someone 40/50yrs from now after taking them for years when younger, etc.....

I'm commenting on my own experience of using these meds for my DS....you can scare yourself mental reading too much you know...
if we read up too much on most of the meds available ppl wouldn't be taking any meds at all!!

and herbal supplements...OMG...have you looked into those!!!...just as scarey...and lots of people using homeopathy stuff don't have a clue what they might be taking!!!
In some cases this is even scarier I think as ppl don't realise this fact and think it's all lovely and natural and think it's all harmless....it couldn't be further from the actual truth!!

Methylphenidate is highly, highly addictive and anyone foolish enough to think it isnt needs to go out and read up about what they're putting into their children!!

A bit out of order and personal leonie? :(

I assume you are saying this to me leoniDelt

I am absolutely positive that I aknowledged all the risks and side effects and did not once say that these meds were 'harmless' or 'safe' !!!!!???

As the OP asked for info and thoughts about the meds...I described my experience and opinion on them following nearly 5yrs of their use....as you have done with your (I assume) experience of them ?...Though you give no description of this at all..?

'a parent who is intelligent enough to post on MN' .... how does that equate at all and how have you measured this one?...how derogatory and judgemental you are...with no evidence I fear

go chew...and think... and don't insult me further...or twist my words...

OP I apologise that your thread started here today has been twisted and interrupted by this interference....it was never my intention to give your thread any more than my own personal experience and opinion...which is what you were asking for from us all.
Please accept my apologies for this having happened

Leonie - your statement "my personal feelings on medicating children into behaving", shows that you are once again projecting.

Why else did you feel the need to insinuate that parents who gave their child medication couldn't control their child's behaviour, so they chose medication to do so!

Until you have a child with erratic, violent and aggressive behaviour, you couldn't possible understand the turmoil a parent will go through to even reach a place where they are considering medicating their child. They will have already reached crisis point and beat themselves up enough without you adding to their stress. I know this from personal experience, and I repeat my child is NOT medicated, but I do respect another parents choice to do so.

I feel your views were posted with quite an aggressive manner and perhaps that hasn't done you any favours with getting your point across.

No, no, I'm sorry for having asked it. I feel awful.

Would anyone object to my asking for the thread to be deleted?

no please don't feel you did anything wrong here at all...
you asked a great question and people in giving all their differing opinion's, it became apparent that it was not appreciated by some...it happens...it's a pity...don't bother about it though.
I hope the replies have helped in some degree though.

You shouldn't have to be sorry for asking a simple question. This is not the first time on SN in the last few months since I have been posting here, that certain posters have tried to force their views to the detrement of the thread. All that will happen is that new posters won't ask questions that they need answering for fear of getting jumped on. We are all in the same boat here and therfore should be supporting each other, not judging.

It will be obvious to readersof this thread that most replies here are personal, honest accounts from parents of children who are actually on medication, which afterall is what your original post asked for.

good luck in reaching a desicion.

Why on earth should you feel bad OP?

It was perfectly valid and reasonable to ask for people's personal experiences of medication.

All I can say is that know of cases where medication has been quite literally life saving. Not many people take the decision to medicate lightly.

And yes, I have heard of people trying alternative therapies that have left their children with epilepsy and other permanent effects

Dont be sorry and dont feel awful. A couple years down the line or perhaps sooner I may well be asking the same question and hoping for advice. It all depends on where ds anxieties take him.

To medicate your child or not is a very personal choice and not taken lightly without looking at every other possibility first.

It is a hard decision and you asked relevant questions for help. I hope it all goes ok whichever avenue you take :)

it's a very hard decision to make and there is always a part of me that is saying "OMG, I am feeding my child serious controlled drugs"

BUT....where would my DS be if I hadn't taken this decision?...and let me just say...I know he wouldn't be in mainstream school, would have major problems to learn much, I know he wouldn't have anyone to call a friend...I know he would be a lost soul, living in a chaotic state and hating every minute of his life and I know I would be watching that and be able to do very little to alleviate his nightmare and my ability to face that and cope with that would not have any hope of lasting and we would both be lost.

When he has a rampage, breaking things, hurting himself, the enormous frustration and lack of what to do about anything he feels....what must that feel like for anybody...let alone a child with limitations on how he can really respond. The desperate need to not be like that, the wishing he'd never been born, to be suicidal at 6yrs old and hear that tortured soul is your little boy.....

That's where my heart lies....I'll take the risks on his behalf and be thankful that there is something to help him not feel like that so much and that gives him a chance of a bearable life .... and yes for me too.

Don't be sorry, Hecate. You posted asking for help and experiences, which was a perfectly acceptable thing to do regarding such a difficult decision. I sincerely hope our collective experiences help you to take whatever decisions you need to take to help your DS.

The main thing that let us take the step of allowing a medication trial was considering what might happen to our child if we did not try it and he missed out on the potential benefits. Did we have the right to deprive our child of a medication that might help him to achieve a Safer happier life.

I missed the discussion later yesterday, and I debated not posting this, but I know that our Dr made us very aware of side effects before prescribing. And we had been having some success with having changed how we were dealing with DD to keep her behaviour under control, but the meds have helped enormously in allowing HER to take control.

I am looking at other things we can do to help her, as we are still very much in the early weeks following Dx. That may include dietary changes (I am not sure about the full blown GFCF diet, but I am increasing the fresh and organic content of our diets - and we are not that bad but I didn't realise that we were taking a fair bit of aspartamame in squash, so I found 1 single type of purple squash that doesn't have it to change to). I am looking at supplements. I am looking at homeopathy and other therapies. But we haven't made any decisions yet.

My life is totally full-on, even without SN to contend with. So for us, modern meds have a place in helping us generally, and they are helping now with DD. It also is giving me a breathing space to deal with DD, and everything else going on, and start to learn more about the reality of what she has and how we can best help her. But as time goes on, we may come off them again as we try other things and get to grips with everything.

We did absolutely weigh up that decision before we took it, and yes, the Doc was VERY clear with the possible side-effects - both positive and negative, before she gave us the script. And she was very careful monitoring it as we started, and with follow up visits scheduled.

We would only do something like this if we thought it was in the best interests of our DD. In general as a family, we try to avoid meds unless they are needed. But if they are and the medical professionals we see think that this is our best course of action, we will take that advice.

I've just asked my 22 yo who has been on ritalin/ concerta since he was 8 whether he thinks we made the right decision putting him on it, and he said an unequivocal yes. He has just explained to me the side effects he has experienced, and says yes it is highly addictive (physically not mentally) BUT that it enabled him to learn. Without it he was violent, aggressive and not capable of being in the right frame of mind to concentrate and learn. He is convinced he'd have gone seriously off the rails without it.