ADHD changing from Medikinet to Strattera. I'm so worried about it. Please reassure if you can!

[Blewitt]

My DS1 is 9 and was diagnosed with ADHD last May. He has had a dramatic improvement at school on Medikinet since September and we have been really pleased with this side of things. I mentioned to consultant last week that he is increasingly anxious and gets very angry - both definitley more than he used to. Consultant thinks this could be a side effect of the Medikinet and has advised that we change him onto Strattera. I am so worried about this as his school life has benefited so much from the Medikinet and he said Strattera is not so good for focus and concentration. But mainly I am struggling with the idea that he will be medicated 24 hours a day. Even though life is hard before his medicine kicks in and once it has worn off and I feel that he is at least getting to be himself for some part of the day as things are at present. It just feels strange that he will continually be under the influence of the treatment. I am totally contradicted by own feelings with this worry too as I hate the mornings in our house, there is so much shouting and upset to everyone, other unaffected siblings included that I know in theory home life will improve as a result. Can anyone reassure me on the effects of Strattera please. Thanks so much.

Not sure I can reassure you but I can tell you my own experience.

Everyone is different and some will have lots of side effects from medication (ANY medication) and some will have none at all. Most fall somewhere in between.

My son, now 16, takes both Ritalin and Strattera and we're just about to increase his dosage of Strattera. So he's medicated all day, every day. He doesn't have weekend breaks because he's home educated so it's not just for 'school'. He needs his medication to function, and that's all there is to it. Without it he is quite hyper and can't focus, so he's very disorganised with even the most routine of tasks.

Sometimes I think we need to separate ourselves from the negative publicity of ADHD medication. It's often seen as a bad thing to resort to drugs for this condition, but as a society we have no problem with medicating others, often when there are other options. If your son had an infection you wouldn't hesitate to give him antibiotics, but we wring our hands over methylphenidate and atomoxetine like they're the devil's work. They're not - they're just medicines to help our children cope.

You'll go through this same issue every time your son's medication needs to change - and it will, often, as he grows and the dosages no longer meet his needs. My son has been taking medication for five years and I've lost count of the times we've had to adjust - it's just part of the package. Ultimately though the only way you'll know if Strattera suits him is to give it a try and monitor it closely. Let school know about the change and ask them to report any differences so you can relay this back to the consultant. If Strattera doesn't suit him there will probably be other adjustments you can try.

As an aside, Medikinet didn't suit my son at all, and the only brand of methylphenidate that worked for him was Ritalin. They are meant to be all the same but they do affect people differently, so it might be worth considering a trial of different brands too.

Medikinet made DS2 angry and anxious too.
We changed him to Ritalin and so glad we did. They say it's all the same but it really isn't. Ritalin is the most expensive so you might find them reluctant to prescribe it.

Ok, thanks both. That is very true streaky, I alsways say to myself if he had asthma or another condition requiring medication I wouldnt think twice about it.
That is interesting that switching to Ritalin from Medikinet can make a difference as they are the same underlying medication, just that Medikinet is the long acting version ( I thought anyway!).
You are also right Streaky that I have got to get used to the fact his medication will change as he grows, I suppose that things had been so great since the diagnosis and introduction of treatment that I just imagined he would stick with that for years just upping the dosage. It never occured to me that his anxiety and anger were side effects so I was quite unprepared to be told we should try an alternative.
Thanks.
Blewitt.

Oh yes. I hadn't realised he was on short-release Medikinet and that too can make a big difference. Ds trialled that version of Ritalin and it was like he was completely unmedicated - most bizarre. A lot of it is trial and error - you just have to see what works for the individual.

Strattera makes a world of difference to DS1. It's not a stimulant like Methylphenidate and the main difference it makes to DS1 is that he's less locked in. He's quite hard to communicate with without it.

The main thing that you will notice is the time it takes to start working.

My DD's been on strattera 6 weeks. Be patient with it as unlike ritalin its a build up drug .Took about 2-3 weeks to see a difference but now amazing . Not zoned out or zombie looking just a much calmer less angry version of herself huge improvements at school and home.

Oh brilliant, so good to hear it is working for people. I am feeling a bit better about the change so thank you.