Did meds make a difference for your child?

[flyhigh]

Hi, I have an almost 5 year old who has been diagnosed with ADHD. The consultant has said he will prescribe medication in the next four weeks (when ds has turned 5). I was just wondering if there were others whose children had been medicated at this young age and what effect it has had (good and bad). I can not for the life of me remember the name of the drug that was talked about only that it is fairly new. So not Ritalin or atomoxatine. Thanks for any advice/help.

Dd 8 takes Medication for ADHD she was first prescibed it when she was 6.

For her it makes a huge difference on how she concentrates at school.

The name of the tablets dd takes is equasym xl which is slow release.

Thank you for the reply. For my ds the major concerns are also at school. Managing him at home (although tiring) is not too bad.

My ds 8 was dx with ASD aged 3, then features of ADHD aged 6.

He needed a full time 1-2-1 in school, that is until we decided to medicate. It has been pivotal in him marching forward academically (is now able to concentrate fully) and socially in school. He was also able to function without any 1-2-1 and change in his self esteem was clear.

Sadly he is under investigation for a health issue and has been off his meds since October, the school have had to reinstate his full time 1-2-1.

For my ds it was the best decision we could have made for him.

Meds made a huge difference to my child but he didn't receive the dx until age 10, so later than your DS. We also had to change the initial meds prescribed, as he was put onto methylphenidate (medikinet) which didn't work for him at all. He was then prescribed atomoxetine (strattera) which has been much much better for him, and over the past 2 years (he is now 12) has made a huge positive difference.

As I understand it Ritalin / equasym / medikinet (all brand names of methylphenidate) are stimulant, so last for a specific period of time (so the child takes them first thing in the morning, the key benefit is delivered to them during the school day and it wears off by mid/late afternoon). The other typical ADHD med is atomoxetine which is non-stimulant - i.e. it's a gradual release over a 24 hour period.

For DS, the non stimulant drug has been much better, but you need to be guided by your individual paed. It's probably also worth mentioned that DS has the 'inattentive' variety of ADHD (i.e. only attention deficit difficulties and no issues with impulsive behaviours or hyperactivity). Anecdotally, the children I know who've benefited most from methylphenidate have had straight ADHD rather than the inattentive variety, whilst those with attention deficit issues only have found it less beneficial. But that's only an anecdotal account.

We don't regret the decision to medicate DS at all and the pros definitely outweigh the cons. Be aware that there are some side effects - loss of appetite and trouble sleeping being the key ones - but again this will vary from child to child.

Dd is 6 and started meds at 5. They've made a huge difference. She has ADHD and autism and struggles to cope without meds. You can see a huge difference without them.

Unbelievable difference. Ds started assessments at 2.5 yrs but they won't diagnose until 6 , so medicated from 6 yrs, hes 8 now. He on equasym xl (form of meythlphenidate)

He's gone from bottom of the class and struggling to top of maths and literacy. His reading has leaped and his writing is so nice it makes me cry. He will sit and whizz through hw without me sitting next to him constantly pulling his attention back. Unmediated he can take 1-2 hours with hw, now he can blitz it in 30 mins.

His reception teacher is now his yr3 teacher can't believe the difference.

It's also allowed him to focus better at swimming lessons.

It was a ropey start as even with low dose start he lost weight. But after 6 months he can now eat just fine - we adapted his day so he eats massive break fast before meds at 8am. He has school dinner as loves a pudding (pack lunches were uneaten). I serve tea later about 6.30 as meds wearing off. Then it's a peanut butter sandwhich around 8pm before bed.

We dose at weekends if we are out and about as his impulsive side can leap out at times but we use lower dose for weekends.

Holiday breaks meant weaning him back on and side effects appearing again so it better for him to maintain some form of dosage at weekend and hols

My sons combined adhd.

Dietcokeandwine - that's really interesting ds2 (5) looks like he may be inattentive type adhd (opposite of manic ds1 combined type).

I've decided to investigate the
medication route too with my DS 6 who was diagnosed with ASD at 5 and has an EHCP in place since November. He has 1-2-1 at school but it's not working very well at the moment and he's in a really bad place. I've seen my GP today - she was not very sympathetic - to kick off the Paediatrician referral process.

Many thanks all for your responses. The medication my sons consultant wishes to start is dexamphetamine. He has the impulsive/reactive can't be still ADHD. Strangely he never instigates situations and has rarely took his outbursts of anger out on other children. Infact, I actually can't remember him ever doing so.
Our main problem is school which does appear to be a reaccuring concern for many in our situation