Taking child off meds - ADHD

[BallyGoBackwards]

My DS (11) has been on Concerta since April 2012 to help with his ADD. He doesnt really present with the hyperactivity end of ADHD so it was really to help with his attention levels in school.

We were concerned about some of the "cons" of this medication and felt that maybe there were more negatives than positives for him using it.

We feel it supressed his personality. He has become very very quite ( my DH likes to say "Zombie like") He doesnt eat at all during the day, so once breakfast is over he doesnt eat/drink again until around 4 oclock each day. The school were constantly ringing me about this and it was making DS feeling under pressure to eat.

I have phoned CAHMs 4 times over the last 4 weeks and no one has returned any of my calls. So we made the decision to take him off his meds which we did last Friday.

His teacher noticed a difference with him on day one. She said he was totally different but not in a bad way. She never knew him before he was on medication. Previously he never caused any trouble in school either way, just had no attention when it came to regular lessons and just zoned out.

Dont know if we did right or wrong and feel very let down with the lack of support from CAMH's. I suppose I just want someone to tell me it will be ok......

My DS has been on concerta for years and would say the reduced appetite is normal. BUT you could never describe mine as zombie like. The medication turns him down a notch so he isn't leaping off the walls.

If you are getting zombie then either the dose is wrong, or he doesn't have ADD at all or it's the wrong drug. It is a stimulant.

Do you have a number for your actual consultant or is that who you are trying?

Thanks Tallulah. Yes it is the consultant in our local hospital so I am leaving messages directly for her.

See our problem is that he was never "leaping off the walls". He was never unmanageable for us. Yes impulsive sometimes and can get excited but not o.t.t. The term two consultants have used is ADHD (inattentive type)

I dont agree with my DH's choice of words as I wouldnt see him as "zombie" like but he was extremely quiet. Never really chatted anymore.

I think the question we are asking ourselves is if it is worth having him on medication just to help him academically. For the 10 months that he has been on it his school work/level doesnt seem to have improved too much.

Tallulah Can I ask if your DS eats or drinks anything throughout the day or would he go with out. Also what is his dosage? And finally does he take it 7 days a week?

I am hoping that our consultant is going to phone tomorrow and I was wondering if a lower dosage is the way forward. I had read elsewhere on mumsnet of someones child who only took it on school days, maybe this would be something to consider.

Thanks in advance for any help

How much? DS was weird on 27mg.

If you chat to GP they'll likely say just follow your own judgement but will document it, and maybe write to Camhs too. ours is quite good with doses, friend's is good with the different drugs.

He didn't eat much at school. I can't remember what his dosage was - it's been a while . I do know it went up and up and up as he got bigger and they had to keep swapping meds as he got to the max safe dosage of each one. They did say it could affect his growth but he is over 6 ft and built like a brick shithouse so I don't think it has. He was on it permanently. We had 3 other DCs and he was violent without it.

FWIW if you don't need the meds for his behaviour, and it is making no difference to his schoolwork then the side effects outweigh the benefits and I think you are right to have stopped. For us we all noticed the difference because without it he is very loud, very in your face, doesn't concentrate and is horribly impulsive.

Ds1 (17) is on 54mg Concerta and has been on that does for at least 5 years. I have always has misgivings about it and the plan is to start cutting it down once he has finished his exams. I think it has changed his personality but he was completely unable to concentrate in school and his work improved 10 fold when he started on it.

He does not eat during the day and although he was quite small and thin when younger he is tall and fairly well built now.

I think you have to go with your instincts. I felt we were doing the right thing for ds1 at the time (or I wouldn't have done it) but I suspect ds3 has ADD and already feel I probably wouldn't consider medication. Disclaimer he is nowhere near as bad as ds1 was at that age.

Thanks for all the replies.

christmas how soon did you see the improvement in his school work. I appreciate it was 5 years ago. I am wondering if 10 months was long enough to find out. I am sure the school think we are taking him off at the wrong time as he will do his SATS in may.

My DS was on 36mg daily.

Think I will have to push for an appointment with camhs again. The GP where we are now living has never seen DS with regards to his ADD so dont know if they would adjust the dosage.

Where would I be without mumsnet

Almost immediately. When I told his teacher we were going to trial it She said "I've been teaching for 25 years and it's a waste to time. I've never seen it work yet" she called me in the next week to say he was the exception. He went up 4 reading levels in less than 2 weeks.

This is why I felt we had to go with it. If it hadn't made any difference I would have stopped.

That is brilliant christmas . There defo has been no such improvement with my DS.

I bumped into his teacher this evening and she says he was emotional today over a sporting decision that he didnt agree with but other than that he has been great. She said she "prefers" seeing him like this.

I suppose I will keep my eye on it and see how it goes.

I think you are doing the right thing. If you have more problems later on you can review it but I have found that ds has become more in control of himself as he has got older. The teenaged years bring their own problems but, I can honestly say, if I had known what he would be like now I would have worried so much less years ago.

Ds3's (6) teacher has been giving me grief re unfinished work. He is either chatting or daydreaming (where have I heard this before). I have asked her to send the work home but she would like him to complete it in school (dream on). She also taught ds1 but refuses to see any similarities. I told her I'm only going to worry about life threatening illnesses and accidents, everything else will sort itself out. She thinks I'm mad - and she's probably right!

I feel better after reading that christmas. I was going to start a thread about older children or young adults with ADD/ADHD but I suppose I am getting ahead of myself. I'll take it week by week.......

Cheers