Going to be starting ADHD meds, need some hand holding

[trcy]

After a horrible weekend, DH is finally seeing what I have been seeing and is open to meds for DD. I met with her psychologist yesterday and she has an appointment with her ped tomorrow. I don't why I am feeling so emotional about this.
Also, I don't know what to say to her.
Any input or even some P & PT would be appreciated. TIA!


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[kdeunc]

Starting medication for DS was the best thing we have ever done for him! DH and I were very reluctant to medicate. Once his ADHD really began to impact his school performance and therefore his self esteem we went with meds. This was at the beginning of 3rd grade. He is now a 5th grader who makes all A's, is Student Body Vice President, has had major roles in two children's theater productions. I have no doubt that without medication none of that would have been possible.

I think it is normal to feel emotional. I find some people are very often still quick to judge that if you medicate your child you must not have "tried hard enough" as a parent or assume that medication is a quick fix for the parent. Those people are not living in your house so don't listen to any "well-meaning" advice.

As far as how to talk with DD, my DS knows that the medicine he takes helps him focus. He is not generally resistant to taking it because he realized that it helps. Some people take medicine because they can't process sugar, because their hearts may not work correctly, or a variety of other reasons. We told him that his medicine helps his brain to slow down and focus.

We have had pretty good success with finding a medication that works. It is slightly complicated for us because DS cannot swallow pills. We tried the patch (Daytrana), which I loved, but unfortunately he had a pretty severe skin reaction to the adhesive. We now use a liquid (Quillivant) which has worked out well. We are still working on the swallowing pills option. Don't be discouraged it finding the right medication takes some time.

Good luck with everything. Just know that you are doing what you think is best for your DD. Please feel free to PM me.

[Mikey0709]

I could have wrote kdeunc's reply. My son is the same age, started the same time, and is also now a straight A 5th grader! My son ALSO has pill swallowing issues, so we are using vyvanse broken open and ingested with a liquid. DON"T be discouraged if the first one you try is not the one.... this process takes time and patience - and that is what a CARING parent is willing to do!

Soon enough you will be turning those emotions around, you will be emotional with us on how great your child is doing! We have ALL BEEN THERE!!! I'm emotional just reading the one reply you got already.

Hang in there. There are ALOT of parents here who have your back and always willing to listen and help.

You go MOM!

[gatorsmom]

DS3 was a nightmare before he started his medication. When he was finally diagnosed with ADHD we were relieved to hear that a medication would help him calm down. Normally I avoid resorting to medication but his behavior severaly limited his life as well as what we could do as a family. He had a very difficult time at school. There were days when the school called me to pick him up because they couldn't control him. News that there was a medication to help was such a relief!!

We were warned that we may have to try several medications to find one that is a good fit THEN we will have to try different dosages. Every person reacts to these medications differently. We started with Adderall and loved how Ds3 responded to it. But he had crippling stomachs. We were hoping his stomach would adjust but after 3 weeks I could no longer subject him to that. We tried Concerta and it seemed to be a good fit EXCEPT that he developed OCD- like tendencies (or amplified some he already mildly had) and it reduced his appetite. His teacher said the dosage wasn't quite strong enough so our doctor recommended giving him 2 of the pills he was currently taking. That dosage was too strong. With that dosage his appetite was gone and he started exhibiting clear OCD behavior. Worried about Concerta's side effects, we decided to try something else completely. We tried Vyvanse and Focallin and both seemed to cause outbursts of rage that he couldn't calm down from. We tried Tenex but even a quarter of the smallest dosage caused him to fall asleep in school. He hadn't adjusted to it after a week and he couldn't continue to sleep in school so we took him off that. We tried Straterra but it seemed to wear off around lunch time. We increased his dosage but it still wore off around lunch time. We increased it again and split his dosage- half in the morning, half in the afternoon. It didn't seem to make any difference- there was absolutely no benefit to the afternoons dosage.

So, we have come back to Concerta. We are at a dosage between the ones we tried previously. His appetite is still reduced and he does have some OCD-like behavior and thoughts. He seems to have more fear of failure (probably a result of the OCD thoughts) but we have him in Behavioral Therapy after finding one that really works well with him. And recently to help him with his fear and fear of failure, his psychiatrist prescribed Prozac. The combination of these drugs and the behavior therapy are working. He has learned that although he doesn't feel hungry he needs to eat his yogurt at snack time and AT LEAST drink his milk at lunch time. Otherwise, he gets very irritable and that embarrasses him. We have learned to have him do his homework as soon as he comes home to benefit from the medication while it is still working on m. Once the medication wears off, he can't concentrate. But once the medication wears off, his appetite comes back and then we make him dinner. The rest of the family has long finished eating by then so I reheat something for him or make him something else. But whatever. It works. This is our new normal. It's much MUCH better than what we had to deal with before. And most important of all is that DS3 is happier and doing better at school and at home.

I just just want to encourage you to keep pushing the doctor for medications if you feel that the ones you have tried aren't working or the side effects are too difficult. Our doctor told us after trying our fifth med that we should consider settling for one and accepting that there isn't a perfect medication out there. I think she was tired of seeing us every 3 weeks. But there are so many different medications on the market for ADHD why wouldn't we exhaust our options until we find the best fit? Just keep trying.

[georgiegirl]

Following. DS1 doesn't see the developmental ped until sept. But we may be headed this way.


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[egoldber]

Your stories of your DD remind me a lot of my younger DD. Her ADHD is quite severe and she started meds in K. For her, the change was immediate and life changing. Her behaviors affected the entire family as well as her relationship with her older sister.

We started with Concerta, but like a PP mentioned, it eventually exacerbated a tendency for OCD behaviors. We have switched to Metadate CD with an afternoon booster. This works very well for her.

The good thing about the stimulant meds is that if they are going to work, they work pretty much right away. And there is no need to ramp up or wean off like with some meds.

We started with our ped, but have moved to a child psychiatrist because of her OCD tendencies.

[pastrygirl]

Add me to the list of people who are glad we finally started meds! Started in 3rd grade after a couple of years of trying other options. Now in 4th and even he can tell me there's a difference and he's glad he's able to do his schoolwork now.

As for reduced appetite... We give my son (premixed/liquid) Carnation extra protein shakes with breakfast daily, and sometimes also as a snack. He more easily drinks his calories. Still, it's an ongoing problem.

[lmh2402]

following - we have our appt with our psychiatrist tomorrow and I think we might be at the point where we add something for ADHD into the mix as the teacher is reporting increased disruptions in school now

i'm very anxious about what will happen. we had a very rocky start with anxiety meds - he tried tenex and then extended release tenex and actually made his anxiety worse.

we've settled on extended release clonidine with a low dose of zoloft and that seems to be helping, but i'm very nervous about messing with things again

good luck to you and hugs - i think it's totally normal to feel emotional!

[bnme]

Good luck, I hope it goes smoothly. My 11yo has been on meds since 4th grade and it has been such a tremendous improvement for him and our entire family. We never really had a big conversation about it when he stared. Something basic like "you are going to take this pill to help you focus". He started on 10mg Focalin XR and it was recently upped to 15mg (2 yrs later). We were very lucky in that the first med we tried worked with minimal side effects. Loss of appetite is the worst, but it has improved over time. He is low on the charts to begin with, so it was a concern. We just make sure he has a good breakfast and allow "snacking" later at night then I normally would (and try to make them hearty, high protein snacks).