ADHD

[Hopender]

Hi, we’ve recently been told our son has ADHD and I was hoping to ask for some advice re medication as well as any positive stories about how this has impacted other children as things feel pretty hard right now.
My son’s main difficulties are in social situations - social cues and conversation - and focussing at school. He is six and is unable to read, dedd as lite being bright. Please can anyone share their experiences of medication for adhd in these situations and if it helped? Also my son is anxious too and I’ve heard some medication can make this worse. I will ask dyne dr when we go back but I’m so worried at the moment that I thought I’d see if others had been in a similar boat? Thank you.

Hi Hopender
Sorry you are finding it hard. Just sharing a quick insight - my son started medication when he was 7. It took a little while to get it right but It has helped him settle and focus at school significantly.
One thing we noticed was that he then started to talk more about his feelings and emotions, but I think for him it was more that he finally became able to process and verbalise his thoughts than increased anxiety if that makes sense?

Thank you for replying @DyingDeclaration. The anxiety is something that has started since he began school. Focus is a real issue in the classroom and then in public he is very impulsive/hyperactive. He will go up and chat with everyone but his brain is working a hundred miles an hour and he doesn’t really think about what he’s saying and it often is just a bit much for other children and even adults. I’m just so worried about the future and whether things will improve. Would you mind telling me when your son’s adhd became obvious? We only realised when my son was five and a half.

I think I was looking up ADHD as early as two - he was obviously "hyper" from a very young age - never still, constantly climbing, fidgeting and charging about. But we only really began to notice the attention deficit side of things when he began school.

He is seriously full on. Lockdown was horrendous and that's when we agreed to try medication as homeschooling brought it home to us just how hard it was for him to focus on anything. It helps him at school And has improved his mood generally because he is much happier at school now he isn't constantly being told off and is managing with friendships etc better. The evenings and first thing in the morning are still very full on though

Hello OP, my son is now on medication during the school day. Though we did have a few false starts and stops before finding the dosage and medication that suited him best. Initially we struggled with the medication making him very emotional and with the re-bound effect.
Later we tried another medication Elvanse on a really low dose just to see if he could tolerate it. He could so we upped it to the appropriate dosage. He is definitely better at school.
He has a short lasting dose on a Sunday morning when he plays for a football team, it also helps with this.
I think ADHD differs so much from person to person. So, my son is more hyper, inattentive, emotional, oppositional. He has up and downs (think made worse by changes to routine e.g holidays, etc. We're having a very challenging period at the moment as he adapts to the new school term).
Let me know if I can help with anything. Parenting a child with ADHD is really hard.

Xx

Oh I think I knew something was amiss from when my son was a baby, trying to get him to sleep was very difficult and he was so active and moving all the time.

I do think medication has improved things.

@MumofBoys79 your son sounds very like my older son who is being assessed now too. The change in school term is always a huge issue with him.
My middle son who we have a diagnosis for is much less focussed and hard to reach. His attention is very often elsewhere. He has struggled with friendships although wants to be social. He finds following and taking turns in conversation really challenging. As well as his anxiety, we need to take into the account that he has mild OCD when considering medication which some can make worse I think.
Would you mind me asking how old your son is and if it has changed over time?

@DyingDeclaration do you mind me asking how has the inattentive part manifests itself in your son? My son just seems in his own world. He is often really deep in focus in his imaginary play and hard to reach. He just seems to be somewhere else in his head a lot and finds it really hard to stay on task at school.

Hello OP, my son is 8. He hasn't really changed that much. He's maturing emotionally to some extent, though we still have challenges. My son has never played with toys really, gets bored very easily.

Correction, my son is actually on Medikinet now (Elvanse is one we tried earlier).

Good luck if you decide to try the meds and get feedback from the teachers. Start on the lowest possible dose and build up.

We have also recently had a dx of adhd for our ds of 8, and in process of asd assessment. He started on equasym, 10mg to start and upped to 20mg. Just wondering if anyone else’s child has started to ‘watch’ YouTube in their head? This is a new thing which coincides with the meds starting. It is like he is so super focused on his thoughts that he’s not even on the planet… it’s quite concerning, any other parents experience this and did it ease up after a while?

That is a bit like what my son is like already. He is often focussed on a very real world in his head. It feels like daydreaming/imaginary play but way, way more intense than that. It is almost like that world is as real as the real world. I’m not sure if it is anxiety and a coping mechanism or the adhd but it started when he was four. I’m hoping medication will help. When can you speak to the doctors? Hopefully they will have suggestions.

Hi. Thanks for your reply. Doctor thinks it may be a meds issue and maybe he’s due an increase, but for the time being we are going to see if it settles overs time

My 7 year old daughter suffers from adhd badly and started on medication a few months ago… doctor can’t seem to get the dosage right. Currently she is on Equasium xl 10mg… which is an extended release for 8 hours.. she was on a higher dose with a different drug before … which spaced her out and completely suppressed her appetite… with the equasium she eats after the 8 hours are over and is also back to being oppositional and disruptive… she is painfully thin and the „spacing out“ is also worrying us… has anyone got experience with amphetamine based medication???

@Korneliawerz

This is quite an old thread. You could try here for advice:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_needs/4800866-starting-adhd-medication-and-staying-on-it-ongoing-support-thread-for-newbies-and-experts-including-medikinet-equasym-concerta-strattera-and-others

Thank you soo much for that. I have already ordered the book by Peter Hill.