Experience of starting ADHD medication?

[Anoana]

Hi, wondering if anyone can share their experiences?

My 12 year old DD has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and ASD (privately - CAHMS were dreadful plus a three year waiting list for assessment...).

The clinic were unsure whether to try ADHD meds first or anxiety meds, but went with ADHD which we started on Saturday.

So far it's not great: DD has had a couple of really low mood days, and has felt queasy, hasn't eaten anything at all today. I know the feeling sick part is normal, but her low mood is worrying me. We had a terrible time a few months ago and I'm desperate not to see her that low again.

In your experience will this pass or should we talk to the clinic? We have a follow up appointment but not until June 1st; they said we could have an earlier appointment if we needed it though.

I have a 12 year old about 6 months ahead of yours with private diagnosis.
What is yours taking?

Mine doesn't really notice any positive impact from ADHD meds though. He started with Medikinet and now has Elvanse. Still no noticeable difference to him on all the doses we've tried and all i can say i really notices is that sometimes he stays up much later when he's had the meds.
he wasn't keen on taking them at first so i tried one to show him it was fine. They made a huge difference to me - even the child size starter dose. I've since got myself an ADHD diagnosis and my own prescription. Life changing for me!

Psych also considering anxiety meds for our DS but it seems kind of odd for a 12 year old to have anxiety meds. I'd rather treat the cause which he puts squarely on his secondary school. Not sure its that simple, but still..

And sorry can't say we saw any low moods we attributed to the meds. But DS has a lot of low moods anyway.
So devastating to see someone so young like this right? 💐

FWIW you could always skip a day or two and see if mood lifts?

Thanks for replying, I appreciate it.

Thinking I won't give her it tomorrow; we talked about it a little bit and decided we'd call the clinic tomorrow. It's a very obvious dip since Saturday; she's currently hiding in her bathroom so we won't talk to her ☹️

It's methylphenidate.

High school is where it all went wrong for us too. It's so sad.

We're still waiting for DD's diagnosis but I'm wondering if your DD has trouble getting to sleep and if she's tried Melatonin? It seems to have helped my DD.

Hope you're able to speak to the clinic tomorrow

Sort of, although she is usually asleep by midnight.

First day of the medication she was awake until 5am!

What dose is she on?
We started v low at same age.
Immediate positive change.
We switched to a slow release version after a couple of months,
Only side effect is lack of appetite.
Stopping & starting gives her headaches & stomach ache