Adhd?

[happygirl]

My daughter was diangosed sp? with ADHD yesterday. My Dr,said it's very rare for girls to have the hyperactive part. So we are starting a med called Methlyin this morning. Does anyone else child takes this meds? I can use all the suggestion I can get.

 

[mjkacmom]

Ds12 just started focalin, which costs us $50, but your dd's medication was mentioned from our Medco account as acting the same way. I have to ask our pediatrician about it, because it's only $10, but she said that focalin has less side effects. There is a good chance she will outgrow the hyperactivity aspect closer to puberty - ds did.

ETA - he's only been on it a month, his appetite has decreased, and his performance on the baseball field is now amazing - he's pitching today for the first time, and plays every inning!

 

[happygirl]

Ds12 just started focalin, which costs us $50, but your dd's medication was mentioned from our Medco account as acting the same way. I have to ask our pediatrician about it, because it's only $10, but she said that focalin has less side effects. There is a good chance she will outgrow the hyperactivity aspect closer to puberty - ds did.

ETA - he's only been on it a month, his appetite has decreased, and his performance on the baseball field is now amazing - he's pitching today for the first time, and plays every inning!

Did your Dr suggest trying to change his diet? Did your son get violent with his meds?

 

[wdwmom2]

Decreased appetite is very common with most ADHD meds. On rare occasion, we have had children have mood swings, but that is not seen very often.

 

[mjkacmom]

Did your Dr suggest trying to change his diet? Did your son get violent with his meds?

It was prescribed by his regular pediatrician, and I've heard about the diet, but TBH, it's a struggle feeding 5 children as it is. Dd7 tested positive for Celiac, and we have a meeting with a pediatric GI, and if it turns out she does have it, I'll revisit the ADHD diet as well (since ds7 is probably ADHD as well, is super-super skinny, and already has a temper). But no, ds12's personality has not changed, and he has never hit anyone in his life.

 

[Mommy2three]

my son has recently been taken off the methalin. he had tics while on it, as well as when he was on the focalin. and it seemed to make him speed up even more rather than slow him down. he couldnt stop talking..and when I say he couldnt stop talking im serious..it was non stop until the methalin started to wear off. he is now on concerta and he seems to be doing well on that.

 

[minkydog]

Methylin is simply Ritalin. My son did really well on Ritalin for a long time. It did make him lose his appetite until it wore off. Ritalin never made him feel angry or irritable. He was very angry on Adderall and we had to stop that. My experience with diet was that it didn't make any difference.

ETA: My daughter had a friend a few year ago who was the most hyperactive girl I have ever met. I think she was on Concerta, but man! could she drive you crazy in a short minute. This kid regularly fell out of her desk, tripped over her feet, and blurted out random statements. Whatever came to her brain came flying out of her mouth. She was one intense( but happy) little girl.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

DS8 is on Vyvanse. So far no real side effects. He's always had a light appetite but it hasn't changed much.
School has improved immensely! I didn't tell his teachers I put him on meds just to get an unbiased opinion about his changes. They noticed right away that he was doing better.
I do notice a big change if he doesn't take it every day though, drives me insane when he doesn't take it.

My goddaughter is on Concerta. It has helped her a lot but now that she's hitting puberty she needs a change. It doesn't seem to working as well.

 

[Kimmumum]

DS16 is on Strattera. He previously was on Concerta. One thing I love about Strattera is that it works with your natural body chemicals to "keep you even". It is not a controlled substance. You can get a prescription for 6 months (or more) at a time without the 30 day supply limits on most of the other meds. Also, our Dr. has samples in her office most of the time. I ask for samples every Dr. visit we have regardless of what it is for. I only end up paying for a couple months worth out of the whole year which is great seeing as how we pay $160 for a 3 month supply. Gotta love free.

 

[karibritt01]

My son took Concerta for about 6 weeks, and it was a nightmare! He lost about 15 pounds, wasn't sleeping (and I mean some nights it was 3am when he finally fell asleep!) and complaining of stomach aches. We switched him to Adderall XR and it worked well for him for several years. We switched him to Vyvanse for a while when the Adderall stopped being as effective. This year we took him off his meds because we lost our health insurance, and his meds were $160/month. He has done pretty good with school, but I am starting to see more problems lately, so may have to put him back on the meds for next school year.