S/O Meds: Before and After?

[pastrygirl]

For those of you that have found a good type/level of medication, what did the before symptoms look like, and what does your child look like on the meds?

We just started ADHD meds on Wednesday this week, and my 8yo has been home from school on vacation each day. I've seen NO difference at all other than he doesn't finish his lunch. The ped said to double the dosage after a week, so we plan to do that this week.

I'm starting to wonder if my expectations are off, though. I expect that on the right medication, my son will be calm and compliant, basically behaving like my younger son. I expect his atypical symptoms like hooting and beeping and inability to manage time (especially when I am telling him he has 5 minutes left to get dressed and brushed) would disappear.

Is this not the case? Will he still be unable to do anything unless someone is breathing down his neck?

Before:
-- acts as if he didn't hear instructions; from me, from the senseis at karate, from anyone. Continues to do whatever he was doing as if nothing was said.
-- completely ignores rules, including house rules that have been in effect forever.
-- unable to sit still. He gets up every few seconds while eating meals, and bounces/vibrates at all other times.
-- kisses his brothers head as a form of punishment, approximately 2,453 times a day.

(I was hoping for) After:
-- hears instructions and heeds them, doing what he's told right away or at least acknowledging with an "OK, mom" or "I know, mom." I understand that he might be defiant in a way that a neurotypical child is defiant (like my younger son). But in that case, the defiance is obvious and "normal," such as "but I don't want to!"
-- follows the rules of the house.
-- stops vibrating!! Just stops moving so much. Sits still. Eats meals without hoping up and down out of his chair.
-- stops the kissing. Enough already; this HAS TO STOP.

[hillview]

for us it was a lessening of the tantrum rage levels. meaning he still has them but they are not a 10 anymore -- maybe a 5 instead. so they are shorter. I am less concerned that he will hurt himself or me/others. He is more open/available to reasoning etc.

[StantonHyde]

No drug is a miracle cure. It just means he could hear/pay attention enough to do what he is told/asked to do. You also may not be at the right level. What did the doc tell you to expect?

[egoldber]

For younger DD, with super hyperactive and impulsive, the first hour after the first pill was a revelation. She wasn't constantly talking, she could focus, and she was happy and pleasant. It really was night and day for her. I do think we lucked out that she was a good responder to the first med we tried.

She takes 27 mg of Concerta, and we think she is now outgrowing that dose (it's been almost 2 years). The problem is the next step up is 36 mg, which the doctor is afraid will be too much. So she wants to try Quillivant when we feel we have to switch.

Older DD was much less of a magic bullet. She is inattentive with some impulsivity. She also takes Concerta, but it isn't the magic bullet that it is for her sister. However, her grades have dramatically improved this year on the meds. She was struggling in middle school before we put her on the medication, and now she says that she is able to focus in class and not forget things.

[SummerBaby]

DD1, a fifth grader, started meds in second grade. She started in metadate, which ended up not working so well. Still, I remember the first day she took it she sat down and colored in a coloring book for half and hour. Prior to that I had never seen her sustain that level of attention to anything for that length of time. Without meds she just goes from thing to thing to thing, making a mess and never finishing anything. Now she takes Vyvanse. If I don't give her the pill on weekends I notice that I have to repeat directions over and over. Or I will say " go brush your teeth" and half an hour later I will find her playing with dolls, forgetting about the tooth brushing.

What the meds don't really help with, in our experience, is organization. The psychologist said that is pretty typical.

Your son may need either a higher dose, or a different medicine. We tried three other meds before we settled on Vyvanse.

[StantonHyde]

SummerBaby--yes, the meds help with attention--but not executive functioning. Obviously, you have to be able to focus to do any executive functioning. But just because someone can pay attention doesn't mean they can organize. It is an interesting journey with my son to say the least .....