Hello,
Please let me start by saying I don’t want this to turn into a debate about medicating our children, believe me this is something we have and still struggle with, but we need to help our daughter. That being said..my soon to be 7 year old was diagnosed with inattentive ADD, she has trouble holding focus and staying on track. No hyperactivity or anything like that. She is a very smart, sweet, loving little girl, a little immature but she is an only child. The dr put her on a low dose iof Adderall which improved her situation greatly ( 1 of 5 mg pill every morning, we were supposed to give her one at lunch but it affected her sleep) she gets green days every day and her teacher is very pleased with her progress. I have noticed changes in her mood especially near the end of the day/dinnertime, mouthy, quick tempered, very sensitive. Last week the teacher said she seemed to be regressing a little so we upped her to 1.5 pills in the morning, since then her behavior after school has been a nightmare, clenched fists, yelling, flys off the handle, crying, meltdowns. Almost a depressed behavior, tells me she is a bad girl, its heartbreaking. We took her off the meds this weekend and my sweet girl was back, kind, agreeable, loving. I called my dr Friday and she was out of the office, they are supposed to call me back today and I would like to have her switched to something else. I’m looking for something gentler on her emotions that will continue to help her in school but will keep her “herself” I have been researching Strattera, Daytrana Patch, Focilin and Vyvanse this morning. Has anyone been in this situation and had better results with a different med? This is just ripping our hearts out, we plan on taking her off this summer we just want to get through the next 6 weeks of school. Please tell me there is a happy ending!!!
Thank you as always for your advice….
The doctor has advised we start her on Adderall XR, she said since its time released it should help her from coming off the regular Adderall so hard. We will try this week and see how she does! Thank you so much for all of your advice!
How about enrolling her in classes that will teach her how to focus and destress like kung fu or yoga?
What you are seeing is her coming down off the medication.
And this may not be a popular answer but Honestly , I have ADD, I wouldn't put someone with just ADD on medication.
ADD can be managed with out medication.
Have you tried giving her caffeine? Caffeine and sugar is how I get through my school studies.
Please watch "the Medicated Child" (it's on netflix and may be available on line). It shows the path that leads from one diagnosis with one low dose of medication to higher doses and second and third medications and a chain of dangerous side effects that follow. I have no problem with medication for children who truly need it, but many very bright children with a diagnosis of inattentive add are not truly add - the characteristics are very similar in many children identified as gifted and talented. Those characteristics are talked about extensively in a book called "The Edison Trait" by Lucy Jo Palladino http://www.amazon.com/The-Edison-Trait-Free-Thinking-Conf.... My daughter has the same diagnosis and is G/T. We have had a lot of success with diet and behavior modification. I would urge you to consider these resources before adding new medications or increasing her doses. These medications for some children are absolutely necessary, and they will give a much faster fix than a more natural approach, but there is a high price to pay for a lot of kids.
I hate to say it, but everybody is different and it's hit-or-miss with figuring out meds for this type of ADD.
My daughter always had trouble in school. Long story short, we finally got help for her in high school. Her diagnosis was ADD-inattentive type. We tried quite a few meds and dosages. Nothing helped much, and many had side effects (rage issues, weight loss, depression, etc.) that she just couldn't handle. So after a year of struggling with it, we gave up.
Now that she's 24, she "self medicates" with a huge coffee before work. She has another after lunch so she can calm down and focus in the afternoon as well. It works for her perfectly. Obviously your little girl can't do that. But I would consider trying caffeine to see if it helps her. It can't be any worse to try than the meds, right? I know someone below mentioned Mt. Dew. Might be worth a try. I know how hard this is, and don't let anyone judge you because you are trying medication. I wish we had done something earlier for my daughter. She struggled through school because we didn't have enough sense to get help for her.
I have heard that it is all trial and error. I have friends whos kids are on variations of the ones you have listed above.
My friends friend has taken her daughter off the meds and gives her a 1/2 can mt. dew before school and school has no noticed. So she is doing well with that?
We are doing accupunture ( No needles, it is magnetic) my son likes it because he is more relaxed and feels better.
Good luck, I know this is a challenge. Work with the dr. on a different med.
My 11 year old was recently diagnosed with ADD (no hyperactivity either). We put her on 25 mg of Addrell xr. The only issues we had was the lack of sleep so we gave her melatonin which worked like a champ now she needs nothing to help her sleep. And a low appetite. But the pro is her grades went from F's and D's to A's and B's.
The XR is a slow release so it stays in the system longer which might help with the melt downs. I'm not sure if the XR will work for your daughter but it's worth talking to your dr about.
I also have a friend who goes the natural route, she has her son on L-theanin and 5-Htp. I haven't researched either but she says they work for her son. Also worth looking into.
It was the hardest decision ever to put my daughter on meds so I understand how heart breaking it can be.
Best of luck to your family!!
(After I posted this I checked my DD's meds and she's on 15mg xr. We're taking her off for summer but it worked wonders for her)
Adderall has the nickname Madderall. The side effects you're seeing are very common with this medication. Our son also had them and we pulled him off of Adderall. Also know that Vyvanse is closely related and if you don't like Adderall, you'll hate Vyvanse. It was like the worst of Adderall x10 for our son.
There can be a happy ending. You're just on try #1. It can take a lot of trial and error to get it right. For our son, Concerta is the winner. He has no side effects and to boot, has made honor roll all year long. It's in the Ritalin group of medications. Far less likely to see the anger issues with the Ritalin family.
I'm sure the psychiatrist will have a good recommendation for something else to try. You'll most likely end up in the Ritalin group next, as opposed to a non-stimulant like Strattera, which tends to be used as a last resort.
Hang in there! When you get it right, it's a "Wow!" moment.
My son has ADD, testing him for food allergies and avoiding milk, eggs, gluten helped a lot with concentration. It is not concentration, it the choice! They focus on what is interesting to them, they zero in on what they deem important.
Medications have side-effects! My child is not sick and not disabled, he is just different, he has his path in life, his own timing, I learned to accept that! We all have our own purpose in this world, we cannot be all measured by the same ruler.
I tried taking his meds myself, just to experience what he experiences, after two days - I threw all the meds away and never looked back! Diet, exercise, patience, perspective, trust, and love can help with this issue.
God bless!
The anger in the afternoons is the meds wearing off. My DD had it as well in the beginning. It wasn't so bad that we switched her from Adderall though. Have you tried XR? The instant releases it in one dose, whereas the XR does it over several hours.Unfortunately, ADHD meds are trial and error- what works for ! Kid may not work for another. I agree with you taking her off for the summer. With stimulants, they don't need to be taken every day, unlike nonstimulants such as Strattera. Also, the regression- it may not actually BE regression. When you first start taking Adderall, you apperantly get big rushes. Then after a few weeks it "smooths out". So she may not be performing as well as when she first started taking it, but in my opinion, as long as its a big improvement from before medication, you're doing well. My DD was on 5 Mg adderall XR for a year and a half before supping the dose. Not taking it on weekends/holidays/school breaks helps with this.
we started with Focilin with our daughter, what a nightmare...we changed to Concerta. It has worked wonders, she does so much better in school and at home.
I also didn't want to medicate her if we didn't have too, but she was just falling further and further behind in school because she just couldn't concentrate. She is catching up wonderfully now.
We have a son that has both the ADD and HDHD . there is much trial and error with medications. DS had bad reaction with vyvanse moods, wt, among others, he was on ritalin for a a few year maybe 2 at most on on it twice a day . it lost is effectiveness afterwards so we are on currently trial run with combination of stertertta and foclain XR in the morning and low dose foclin not the XR in the afternoon so he has something on board to curb him so to speak of the behavoirs. i think its normal to go through different medcations and to see what will work for her. our son is bright and very well off if hes on something . we also stuggled with this for years and still do. we however see a phycotsit sorry typos .. for his medications and see a behaviral therapist for his behavoris and it works wonders. also the things you are seeing moods and such are her comming off the mecation maybe she needs something longer acting and maybe something low dose in the afternoon to help curb her so she can have that sudden drop of no medcation.?
hope everything is going better its hard
Is she getting counseling along with the meds. If not she probably should be. ,y son was Lon meds and we all agreed counseling was necessary so that he understood why he was taking them. I would do 2.5 mg in am and then 2.5 again around lunch time. I would stick to same drug, not start changing.
It is very important that she understands why she is taking meds. Without counseling it sends a wrong message. Can't cope, take a pill. Talk to your physician before
Is homeschooling an option?
I know it's not easy to hear, but medications are trial-and-error for a while until you find something that will work for your child. You'll go through this every few years b/c as she grows and changes different meds will stop working.
From a purely clinical standpoint, the non-stimulant medications tend to be less effective but gentler on the system. I'm sort of surprised that they didn't "start" there- most doctors start with a low-dose non-stimulant and then go "up" if needed.
Keep in mind too that a pediatrician is not a "specialist" (unless yours is), so don't hesitate to enlist a psychiatrist if you are having a hard time finding an effective treatment. Lots of parents take their children off meds in the summer, just remember to start them again a week or two BEFORE school starts!
Good luck to you and know that if this works for your child and family then you are doing the right thing.
My third had anger issues with Adderall and is on Vyvance and is doing great. The rest of us are on Adderall and do great. About the only one my kids personally hated was Ritalin, they said it took away their personality.
I'd stay away from straterra and honestly if your going to put her on medication it needs to be every day of the week even school breaks this way you can see if its going to work. N how it affects her moods in the long run( I was on medication and it does no good to start n stop) you may need to give her a dose in the morning n then one mid afternoon or she will crash hard n her attitude will b horrible
