ADHD medication thread

[Waitingforsleep]

I wondered if I could start a thread on ADHD medication?
I did post about Medikinet and it's all moved on since then I have new questions and updates that others may fine useful?
I will put the info in tomorrow but in brief-
Started Medikinet - was ok but then after 2 weeks dd seemed really explosive and angry a lot and it got worse so we had to take her off
Started on Elvanse but that was an odd one as it had an affect for 2 days (was a bit too
Much the first day as dd slept only for one hour and was so focussed she re arranged her whole bedroom the whole night) then didn't seem any difference so we have been told dd is probably one of the few who cannot tolerate stimulants so now going into strattera which we will try next week..

Anyone else share their stories as it's all so complicated!

[Pomegranatemolasses]

Dosage is increased over a number of days to counteract side effects, but results are fairly instantaneous.

[Waitingforsleep]

Thank you, I wasn’t sure if was like straterra.

[Pomegranatemolasses]

Keep faith @Waitingforsleep, at least you're getting results. I can truly empathise with the joy you feel when your precious child loses that anger and defiance: it's like a glimpse of the child they were meant to be always.

[Waitingforsleep]

Bumping the thread for those discussing Medikinet etc..
We are still on straterra- not sure if to stay as still not without a few tummy aches but these are lessening. We will make our minds up soon but please keep talking :)

[Allthewaves]

Great minds. Was just going to bump

[Waitingforsleep]

As an aside we are finding straterra quite good for anger and opposition but not for focus and boredom etc (just been shopping with dd which was mm interesting even though we are buying food for her own bday party today!!)

[Allthewaves]

Waiting - was chatting to a friend, her dc takes a stimulant in the morning and straterra in the afternoon. Might be worth doing some research on combining therapies

[FanFckingTastic]

Hi all! We have been trialing Concerta xl (not Medikinet but Methlyphenidate all the same) We found it ok to begin with and I think that DS's anxiety is slightly less but unfortunately it's the same old story for us - his little body gets used to it very quickly and we find that the effects are less and less. It seems to give him a little bit of control over his hyperactivity but he's still very impulsive, emotional and can't concentrate! I think that we are going to ask to add in some non-stims as well. Has anyone tried this with good effect? I'm loathed to give him even more medication but just want him to be able to get some respite from his symptoms!

[toomanycuddlytoys]

Has anyone had problems increasing Intuniv from 2mg to 3mg? Last time we tried DS(11) was excessively sleepy and snappy

[Pomegranatemolasses]

@toomanycuddlytoys, how long did you give it to make the adjustment?
For DS, the increase caused excessive sleepiness for a few days, but then leveled off.

[Pomegranatemolasses]

@FanFckingTastic, what dosage is your DS on now, and how long have you been using Concerta?

As stated previously in the thread, we have had a really good result combining a stimulant (Elvanse) with Intuniv (non stimulent).

[Pomegranatemolasses]

Here's the link re combining medications:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160801093232.htm

[hugglesfor4]

Just read this thread with interest. My DS11 takes Concerta XL and we have just increased his dose to 45mg. Struggles a little with his appetite but not too badly. My other DS10 has recently changed from Concerta XL to Elvanse as it is supposed to give a smoother release.

However DS10 really struggles with his temper and swearing whenever the Elvanse isn't in his system. Mornings are particularly awful. I'd asked his consultant about the 24 hour non stimulant medication but he advised in his opinion it doesn't work as well and I couldn't face 6-8 weeks waiting to see if it worked for him. I'm really interested in combining the 2 medications - I'm going to take your article with me to my next appointment to see what our consultant says.

I'd never considered combining medication so I'm so glad I found this thread. Thank you

[toomanycuddlytoys]

Pomegranate we tried a couple of weekends and he was literally falling asleep all the time. Also had a couple of incidents of severe stomach pain. The taekwondo instructor also commented he looked half asleep. Got to try again soon as been about a year since last tried. He's put weight on too

[FanFckingTastic]

@Pomegranatemolasses - he's on 36mg of Concerta but will be moving up to 54mg as it's already not working as well :-( He's been on it for about 6 weeks now. Previously we were using Elvanse which was OK but seemed to be affecting his anxiety and definitely gave us problems with sleep. He's also very skinny so the loss of appetite is a big problem. We were at the maxium dose of 70mg for Elvanse.

Thanks for the link - I'll check it out! xx

[hugglesfor4]

Our consultant suggested putting cheese in food or on top to help with the kids loss of appetite. I've also put full fat milk instead of cold water when making a jelly. It's so hard when you're trying to keep their weight up x

[Marshmallow09er]

Oh thanks morningtea good to find this

[Allthewaves]

Ds is moving to Concerta xl as can't do bloody thing with him when equasym xl wears off at 3pm. Anyone experienced the change and how long it really lasts.

Equasym xl only gives him about 6 hours max.

I'm also worried that to get good steady release with concerta xl that ds needs to be drinking lots and regularly which may be an issue too

[Marshmallow09er]

Joining you over here!

DS (9) on Medikinet XL - so far no change so waiting to see if we can increase

[LifeOnAMerryGoRound]

Very informative thread. Watching it keenly..
DS 10 (ASD and ADHD) has been on Concerta for 3 years now. It appears to have no effect anymore, the school thinks his medication needs tweaking, we agree. He is very anxious when is on meds and compulsive when he is not. . Last year the paed offered - increase the dosage or switch to Vyvanse (in her opinion it has a smoother profile, works better for children with asd and adhd) and Strattera. Loss of appetite and sleep is massive concern for us, he is petite and skinny.
We have to wait 6weeks+ now to see his paed. Combining meds seems to be encouraging, will definitely ask paed about it. Not sure what do to meanwhile.. few critical weeks ahead of him.

Just throwing it out there to see if anyone has positive/negative experiences with Vyvanse.

[FanFckingTastic]

Hi all, hope you and you r little ones are doing ok! We saw our specialist this week and as we suspected she would like us to trial a non-stimulant now as we've not had a great deal of success with Medikinet, Elvanse and Concerta. Weight, sleep and increased anxiety have all been issues, along with not really a huge improvement in focus or hyperactivity. We are going to try Strattera. Any feedback on this would be brilliant!

@LifeOnAMerryGoRound - we tried Elvanse / Yyvanse and although it worked in the short term it wore off very quickly and we had to keep increasing the dose. We effectively maxed out at the top dose very quickly and my little boy's anxiety was through the roof on it which was why we changed. Good luck and fingers crossed it's good for your little one.

[Shybutnotretiring]

Early days for my DD with medikinet XL 5 mg. The first day she was able to concentrate on something for 15 minutes which she usually would've flounced away from after about a minute. I know it's only a tiny dose but 5 days later no effect except she's falling asleep later (a bit hard to tell in half term when routine goes to pot a bit).

[Gentlygently]

Hi everyone I have been reading this thread with interest. DS (10) has ADHD but so far we have not found CAMHS to be much use - they talked to me to determine the dosage, but all they have done for DS is talk to him for about 10 minutes per appointment when he is being as good as gold. We have been offered parenting classes, but we both work nearly full time and the class is 5 days 10-2 when they only give us 2 weeks notice, which just isn't possible, plus we have done a 10 week (non ADHD) private parenting class already.

I want to talk to them about medication, because the more I see other children his age the more I realise DS is 'hyper'. I really can't see how he will manage secondary school without medication.

I have a few questions:

Does all medication have to be taken continuously? We already use melatonin but with that it has a specific function for that night iyswim, and whether or not you took it the night before wouldn't make much difference.

If your children take the medication, were you reluctant to put them on it? Are you trying to 'wean' them off? Or do you wish you had used it sooner?
DS has issues with concentration, impulsivity, and general non-stop talking loudly and demanding attention. However I have to admit that I don't think his issues make him unhappy, they just make him achieve less than his full potential at home, and make the rest of the household unhappy and stressed. Is it fair to medicate him if the main beneficiaries are parents and siblings?