ADHD Medication

[LOUMARIE85]

Hi there everyone, I'm new on here. Just wanted some advice really. My 9 year old son has ASD/ADHD and just recently started on 10 mg of Equasym XL. Just wondered how long does it normally take to see a difference and do any parents find it effective. My son is well behaved at home, but as soon as we go outside he becomes a danger to himself. He threatens to run in the road and he screams on public transport, kicks dogs in the street and runs away from me. Can anyone relate to this?? I feel like I'm failing as a parent and I really want to be good for my son and regain control. We are on the waiting list for behaviour therapy, but its a bit of a wait. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Hope I can help on the medication side. If the dose is right then you should notice it working straight away. This type of medication is in and out of the system within a certain timeframe so doesn't need to build up to be effective.
For comparison our 8yr old DS was on that dosage of Equasym XL aged 6.5. He's very slim and average height. He's had his medication increased from 5mg to 20mg in the space of 2 years. We did find Equasym to be be effective but have found other's work better for him. It is a bit trial and error to start with and you will find the dose needs changing as they grow.
If you haven't noticed any difference then it may be that the dose isn't right, definitely worth speaking with the prescriber to see what they suggest. Good luck, when it works it makes a massive difference.

We started meds at 6. Though she can’t take anything but medikinet as she won’t swallow tablets. She’s 9 now and we notice the meds taking effect from about half an hour after she’s taken it. We notice the difference between meds and no meds.

That's reassuring to know. Many thanks for your response. All the best to you.

Hi there, just wanted some feedback really. my son has been on equasym now and has been increased to 30mg and not to sound so negative, but he has actually got worse with his behaviour! anyone else experience this?? I'm pulling my hair out x

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time. We have always found it takes a few weeks for our DS to settle when he changes/increases his dose. We can tell the medication is working but we do have some tough outbursts at times. We find it settles once he's got use to it.

I would be concerned though if you are finding this is happening most of the day or if you aren't noticing any benefits. Everyone is different and responds differently to each medication, for us one of the reasons we changed from Equasym was because it had a big impact on our DS's mood. His behaviour wasn't worse but he was very low in mood and always looked quite flat and unhappy.

If you don't see any improvement do raise your concerns, we knew something wasn't quite right very early on with this medication and wish we had mentioned it sooner. He was much happier once we changed.

Not every child responds well to stimulant medication. My 10 yr old was on 60mg of equasym though we have moved to longer acting form but hes been on it for years. If anything it makes him a bit zombies. Dont be afraid to go back to your specialist