Adderall...has your child taken this?

[tiggerlover]

After two long years of trying to treat DS's behavior without medication we have gotten to a point where the doctor (and his dad and I) think we need to start him on a low dosage of medicine. The doctor has prescribed a low dose of Adderall to see how he tolerates it, he will start tomorrow. DS's diagnosis is borderline ADHDi and the doctor thinks this may help him control his impulsivity. Does anyone have any experience with Adderall that you can share with me.

Thanks.

 

[Lars624]

I just sent you a PM

 

[LMC]

My niece took it and had nightmares so came off of it pretty quickly. My son just tried a round of it and it made him physically sick each day. It is a time released drug so it's not really a low dose but they have different increments they will dispense it in. The time released capsules give a "treatment" period of about 8-10 hours.

We are about to try another RX that is not time-released (so it will be a low dosing med) since I homeschool and only need about 4 hours out of him per day.

 

[Mermaid02]

Another PM coming at ya!

 

[Hootiss]

Within 45 min. of her first pill our dd was a new kid. I was more upset with myself for not doing something sooner. Good luck.

ps. Tomorrow we are going to an honor roll reception for dd, only five kids out of twenty five in her class made honor roll!!!

 

[Disney01]

Adderrall took the hyperactivity away, but made my son extremely antisocial. We finally settled on Tenex...for hyper/impulsiveness and Risperdal for anger management.

 

[tiggerlover]

Thanks for your replies and your PM's. Now my stomach is in knots and I am stressing giving him the meds. I don't want to lose my sweet little boy to meds, but we really need to get a handle on the impulsiveness.

I wasn't able to go to the appointment today, my DH went so I have some questions and I am not sure if anyone can answer them. But is this something that kids grow out of? Can they eventually learn to control their impulses without medicine. My DS is very borderline, he is smart, top of his class and only bounces off the walls some of the time or in certain situations, so I am wondering if this may be something he eventually outgrows.

 

[gr8tpanther]

Adderall set my DD off, as do all ADHD meds. My DD can't have ANY type of sedative! She is on Stratera, which works somewhat, but at least she isn't mean and nasty as she was on Adderall. There isn't much we haven't tried.

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

I work with a woman (she's 25) who has been on this for years. She swears by it. In all honesty I can tell her if she hasn't had her medication - there is a big difference. I hope it has the same benefit for your DS. Good luck, pixie dust and prayers coming your way.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by gr8tpanther
My DD can't have ANY type of sedative!

These meds aren't sedatives, they're actually stimulants I believe.....kind of like prescription speed but somehow it works differently in ADHD kids bodies.

DS is on Concerta and it's made a world of difference. His problem was more of a fidgety, off task thing, not impulsivity though.

 

[Cruise04]

DD is on Concerta also. She has ADHD. This has worked great with her. We started with taking Methylphenidate several times a day and decided that the Adderall wouldn't have worked for her as well (they are apparently two different drugs or two different substances in them and thus work differently) so we went with Concerta. Made a WORLD of difference.

If Adderall isn't tolerated, ask to go on a low dose of Concerta (which they can give).

And this is "speed" as they refer to it on the streets. However because of the chemical that is missing or is elevated in the brain that normally responds to speed in a quick action type, the medication works in the opposite effect bringing the body back in line. That's how it was described to me by the pediatrician when it was suggested she go on it. I was worried about the "speed" effect as well. For normal people, it does "speed" them up. Then when they come off of it it's a "sedative" type reaction where when ADD/ADHD individuals come of it they go back to their "speed" type reaction.

 

[Mishetta]

My DS is on Concerta now & Clonidine to control his hyperactivity but he had been on Adderall once & he suffered from too many tics. He suffered tics on Ritalin too but Concerta, altho he still has little tics, it's far less than when he was on the other meds. A world of difference for my son too when he's on the meds. He goes to a private highly academic school & gets A's & B's.

As for your question....the psychiatrist & neurologist my son went too (goes too) both said that although people don't "outgrow" ADHD, as they mature, they learn to channel their energy into more positive ways. During puberty, it is possible that their ADHD symptoms may decrease but it never goes away.

I feel hopeful knowing that the owner of Jet Blue Airlines is ADHD.

Good luck. I do relate to the struggle you've been going thru. I had no choice but to put my son on meds since he was failing in school & honestly, I couldn't stand to be around him. I was so sick & tired of him never listening & bouncing off the walls at very inappropriate times, etc....now life is better.

 

[gr8tpanther]

Originally posted by cruisnfamily
These meds aren't sedatives, they're actually stimulants I believe.....kind of like prescription speed but somehow it works differently in ADHD kids bodies.

DS is on Concerta and it's made a world of difference. His problem was more of a fidgety, off task thing, not impulsivity though.

Stimulants is what I meant... DAH... sedatives would be bad, lol, she would sleep all the time, or would that be good?

 

[heart4pooh]

My son has ADD. He's not hyperactive. He has a lazy streak a mile wide. He is very impulsive, though. He wasn't diagnosed until 6th grade! (Because he's not hyper, the teachers he had said he didn't have ADD. He actually has 24 out of 25 ADD symptoms!) Ritalin had no effect on him, but he is a new kid on Adderall. The first week he was on it I came home and found him laying on the couch reading without being forced to for the first time! I thought, who are you and what did you do with my son! He is 17 now and without the adderall he still has a lot of symptoms. In fact, the other day he showed me some notes he had to take when he forgot his medicine and compared them to another day on the meds. He definitely feels a difference. He hasn't had a single bad side effect in 6 yrs. He's no longer on the time release since I don't have insurance for him now. But it's worth every penny for the regular kind. (If he needed the time release, I'd get it. His counselor and I make sure his non elective classes are first thing in the morning.)Good luck to you and your son. BTW, it kind of irritates me when people make comments about over medicating kids instead of just making behavior modifications and changing his diet. My feeling is it would be almost like denying a child with diabetes their insulin. Just MHO.

 

[tar heel]

Correction to an earlier post: Adderall is available in both a timed release version and a regular version.

We used a low dose of the regular drug for a couple years. Switched to time release last year b/c the effects were wearing off too early. We use the drug only on school days. It works well. Biggest side effect we've had is loss of appetite -- deal with that by offering a huge breakfast (today -- bacon, eggs, toast, doughnut).

 

[Lars624]

Originally posted by heart4pooh
BTW, it kind of irritates me when people make comments about over medicating kids instead of just making behavior modifications and changing his diet. My feeling is it would be almost like denying a child with diabetes their insulin. Just MHO.

I agree with you 100%

 

[tiggerlover]

I want to thank you all for your support and information, I greatly appreciate it as this was a difficult choice for us. We have spent the last two years working on the diet and behavior modifications and since doing so we did see a difference, however, there are still issues that we haven't been able to straighten out. When his teacher tells me he is such a wonderful, bright little boy, BUT.....I knew we couldn't deny his issues any longer. We have watched DS and I truly believe now that he can not control his impulses and I so want to help him so I pray that a low dose of meds is the answer.

 

[missypie]

DS13 was on Adderal when he was first diagnosed in 4th grade. At some point we switched to Concerta (I think that was before the "all day" version of Adderal came out.)

Let me tell you a little story. DS has always done well in school, even though he has mild Asperger's and is WAY ADD. He's made A's and B's in pre-AP and G/T classes. This year he has sort of crashed and burned, esp. in Algebra and Science. I started thinking about it and noted that (1) Algebra is his 1st hour class and Science is his last period class, and (2) he has gained about 30 lbs since his last doctor's appointment 9 months ago.

We took him to the Dr. While there, DS said (for the first time, of course) that most of the time, his Concerta hasn't kicked in when Algebra class starts. He said he can't take his eyes off the posters on the wall and creates stories about them, that have moving pictures and sound. How would you like to learn Algebra with a movie playing in your head??

So, we've upped the dose of Concerta so it lasts all day and he takes it 30 minutes earlier. His grades have really improved!!!

 

[PigletsPal]

Oh been there done that and I know what you mean about NOT wanting your child on meds. but NEEDING to put your child on meds. I've gotten alot of flack from friends and co-workers, but they don't walk in my shoes so talk is cheap!!!

You have to DO what you have to, to help your child and as long as the Dr. (and not his ped) who dx. him feels it what he needs then so be it.

Now off my soap box....LOL 2 of my son's have ADHA my oldest also have mild tourretts and Juv. Diabetic. He is on Concerta, he (could not take Adderall because of the tic's from the tourretts) and it works wonderfull. Report card was all B's with 1 C. My youngest is on Adderal XR and a new drug called Reminyl. What a world of difference in the past few months. He does his homework with out a fight. He report card was 1 A, 1 C and the rest B's.

Good Luck and come back an let us know how he is doing

 

[gr8tpanther]

On that catching flack thing, my mom was TOTALLY against the meds, so ya know what I did? I moved my DD in with her!!! I told her that if SHE thinks that DD doesn't need meds, then SHE can raise her. Well, my mother moved her back in with me within a week and said "do what you have to do"! My DD has since been on meds, been committed, and put on MORE meds, been to many MANY professionals, and my mom says nothing more about what I think is right or wrong for DD.