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Ritalin, sleep and anxiety

2 replies

AngryArthur · 25/10/2019 22:18

Hi,

Quick background, DS (11) was diagnosed with inattentive ADD, dyspraxia and Tourette’s a year ago. We didn’t go down the meds route then because we wanted to try other things first.

Since then DS has done weekly OT to help with his dyspraxia and hand writing. His hand writing is still very laboured and slow but it’s legible. He has real problems producing school work because of his lack of focus and problems with working memory etc mean he can’t do the cognitive juggling to plan and produce complex bits of work. But more recently he’s become quite anxious and sad, the OT and psychologist recommended we give meds a trial as he might feel better if he was able to focus and feel more confident.

He was prescribed slow release Ritalin 10mg and had his first dose yesterday. He said he felt no different during the day, but when he come home from school he seemed wired and speedy, that’s not normal for him. It took him ages to get to sleep and then he woke up loads which is unusual for him (he thought he felt a spider on him, he thought his little brother was talking to him etc etc during the night).

Did anyone else experience this? Will it get better? I haven’t given him a dose today because I’ve just read in the leaflet Ritalin should not be given to kids with anxiety! I can’t speak to the paed until Monday now.

OP posts:
GloriaMumsnet · 28/10/2019 11:36

We've just moved this over to here and giving it a little bump.

BudgieHammockBananaSmuggler · 05/11/2019 22:39

It’s a bit of a nightmare trying to navigate the meds. Our 8yo son is on Concerta, so essentially a slow release 12hr Ritalin type medication. Sleep was terrible initially but it has got better after a few weeks. However sometimes it still is problematic and we have to wake him up most days to make it to school. I also think his anxiety is worse. We also tried medikinet which has 8hr duration to help with sleep. However the ‘come down’ with rebound hyperactivity and being totally wired at about 4pm was impossible. I think the effects of the meds wearing off is worse than the ADHD symptoms tbh.

Sorry I have no real answers, but I understand.

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