Anyone can give me your pros & cons on Adderall?

[Desiree]

Dev's pediatrician prescribed it for her. She's been diagnosed with ADHD since she was in Kindergarten but we've managed to stay away from meds thus far. Well, after having not a great year so far (she's in 3rd grade) and she's dangerously close to failing this year and after much decision and debate we decided to go ahead and take her in for another evaluation. It's been an emotional see saw for the last few months with her behaviour. Anyways, I just hope this is the right decision and it will help her. I would appreciate any thoughts on this if y'all have experience with this drug.

Thanks in advance!

Des

 

[bambii]

for a while he is on the all day one it work for a while and now it isnt doing that well every time we bring it up to the doctor to let him go back to the regular one where he would take it 2 twice a day. he just gives us another prescribtion for something else. We have to shrinks that works with kid here and we have been to both Im thing about going back to the other one. at least she didnt try all these other pills on him.

 

[RNMOM]

We tried Adderall many years ago when it first came out but then took him off. He has not done well with stimulants in the past. At 15, now, we tried concerta last spring. We did not use it for the summer and recently he asked to go back on it. It has seemed to help him a lot.

Please don't be afraid if you are certain your child has difficulty with concentration. I do get very concerned about schools pushing parents into meds for behavior issues ( my son's primary problem) but when it comes to school performance and being able to interract with their peers, I think medication is warrented.

I have finally found a good child psychiatrist who sees him every 3 months for his med checks. I highly recommend this.

 

[Lars624]

My son is almost 14 but wasn't diagnosed ADHD until last spring as he was turning 13. We tried Concerta but it didn't work for him. The doctor switched him to Adderal and it's been wonderful. He has completely turned himself around. He's getting straight A's and controlling his impulses so much better.

 

[wdwnutze]

Mr dd (10yo) just started on Adderall about 2 weeks ago. She was diagnosed ADD a couple of weeks ago although we have had our suspicions for a little while now. We are using the meds only during school because it is only for attention since there is no hyperactivity. It seems to be helping her but we are still in the beginning so we are keeping an eye on her. She says that it helps her concentrate a little more. I know that since she started it she has had 2 weeks of all assignments completed(before that, she had missing assignments every week). We get weekly progress reports from the teacher. My ds (19 yo) has ADHD and the only thing that worked for him was Ritalin. He still takes it at his request at college. Make sure you ask the Dr or pharmacist any questions you have.

 

[Desiree]

Thanks everyone. This has eased my mind a little. My mom is so paranoid about this. She's afraid that this will change her personality. We spent about an hour at the doctor's yesterday and she was able to answer alot of questions and concerns that I had.

Anyways, today is the first dose. I'll keep ya'll posted. Thanks for replying!

Des

 

[Blondie]

Third grade was the year my oldest was diagnosed with ADHD.

We didn't have any luck at all with Adderall...it depressed him terribly, so he was switched to another med.

Now he is on Concerta, 27 mg. given once in the morning.

 

[jipsy]

My boyfriend's 13 year old son was put on the one pill a day one last year. He changed. His concentration was a little better, but his personality changed and not for the better. By the end of the day he always sounded depressed and tired. They took him off of it after two weeks.

This year he changed schools and has seemed to do a little better. The best thing we did for him was get him a PS2, which he absolutely adores. He says he doesn't want to lose control of this PS2. So, the deal is homework comes first, and once homework is done he gets 30 minutes of PS2. His grades changed dramatically since Christmas.

He didn't do some chores last week, so he lost PS2 privileges for a few days and it nearly killed him. LOL He's right back on track.

Sorry, but we're not believers in drugs for kids. We subscribe to the theory that standardized testing makes for standardized kids. Not into that. Start here:

http://www.allkindsofminds.org/

Our society seems to understand that no two adults are alike, yet we expect 35 kids in a classroom to be the same, act the same, do the same work, get the same grades, for 12 years. That makes no sense.

OK I'll get off my soapbox now. Sorry.

 

[Blondie]

I also want to add that it is very important that your child is monitored by a Psychiatrist or Psychologist on a regular basis.

 

[G-gang]

My son was diagnosed with adhd when he was 5. We had him in a special preschool program since he was 3--he had speech delays and concerns of auditory processing issues. We put our son on meds when he was 6(after much debate). It took about 9 months to figure out the proper meds and dosage. Adderall has worked well for my son because it has not decreased his appetite and has not put him in a zombie like state. Currently my son is in 4th grade and is a A/B student and receives services in speech to work on his th and s sounds and also see's a counsler once a week--children with add/adhd sometimes have socialization issues.
Although we were not crazy about putting our son on meds we have found that it made a difference in his performance at school and at home.
If you have any questions I'd be happy to help.

 

[Desiree]

Thanks again everyone for your input.

Trust me this was in no way a minor decision in our household. She's been daignosed since she was 5 (she's almost 9 now).

I asked her earlier how she felt. She said flat out without us discussing anything that she felt she can concentrate and sit still better. I had no trouble at all getting her to do her homework tonight (which is usually cause for many arguments here). She seemed glad that she was able to actually sit down and do it and do it right.

I didnt expect to see a difference so soon! So far, I'm a believer. We will continue to moderate her progress very carefully. So far so good!!!

 

[G-gang]

That's great! Good Luck!

 

[momof2OH]

My DS has been dx ADHD among many other things since the age of 4, he's now 12. He has been on Adderall XR for about 3-4 years now. Throughout those 3-4 years we have tried several times to ween him off his meds and to no avail, he got worse. The Adderall XR is wonderful for him.
Now my DD is ADD and she was on Adderll XR for awhile also, but at the begining of Jan. our pdoc took her off of that and put her on a brand new med called Strattera. It has been really good for her. The Adderall XR did work also for her, but he thought the Strattera would work better.
Like others have said, a good pdoc is the key and keep in contact with him/her. Ask all the questions you have to to get the answers you need.
Good Luck and I hope everything works out for you.

 

[momof2OH]

Through The Eyes of A Child With A.D.H.D.

~ Please tell me you love me, for I need to be accepted in your eyes.
~ Please let me know when I have done well, for I need to know that sometimes I am like other children.
~ Please share some of your thoughts with me, for my intelligence is not impaired.
~ Please learn all you can about my problem, I need understanding as well as discipline.
~ Please bother to correct me and keep me in line as much as necessary. I cannot steer myself.
~ Give me your patience, because, although it takes me longer, I need to succeed just like all the other children.
~ Please make time in your day for me. I need to feel that attention and affection are things you want to give me. I will not go away if you pretend I am not there.
~ Remember that I am a complex person with many traits that are right and fine. Please help me to see those things in myself. You are my mirror.
~ Please do not abuse me; for, although I need a firmer hand than most, I feel lost and alone when I see rejection in your eyes. I have no motive and all I can do is say, "I am sorry" over and over again.
~ Please remember that I love you, for you stand beside me day after day in this confusing and frightening world. You are the reason I am not alone.

~ Author Unknown

I hope everyone who knows an ADHD child enjoys this and for those of you who don't, I hope this sheds some light on just how they see the world and feel. Enjoy!

 

[elgerber]

My son has just started using Adderall XR. Would you guys mind sharing the size of your child and the milligram dosage? I am not sure it's doing much for him, and I am curious what dosage others are on.

Thanks!

Erika

 

[momof2OH]

My son will be 12 this Sun. He weighs about 80-85lb. His dosage of Adderall XR is 60mg (2-30mg capsules) in the morning. He has been on this dosage for several years. The dosage can vary from person to person with many factors involved.
My daughter who will be 14 and weighs about 120 was on 40mg of Adderall XR.

 

[G-gang]

My son is 10 years old and weighs 80 pounds--he's currently on 15MG of Adderall.

 

[wdwnutze]

My daughter is 10 and weighs about 90lbs. She is on 15mg of Adderall. Dr. said this is a low dose and she could go up to 20mg if I wasn't noticing a difference.

 

[Mishetta]

My 7 y/o DS suffers from ADHD & was on Ritalin, then developed a nervous tic (excessive eye blinking), then the Doc switched DS to Aderall & his tics got worst. He then had excessive eye blinking & constant clearing of the throat. Both meds took his appetite away. So the pediatrician (who prescribed the meds, via the psyc doc) referred us to a Neurologist. That doctor changed DS's meds to Concerta (36mg in morning) & also Clonidine to control his tics. It worked.

DS's school work has greatly improved (he has no learning disabilities) & he now has a bit more friends (since he's able to control his social skills). The only drawback I see to this combo of meds, is that he still has no appetite & since he started on the ADHD meds, over a year ago, he's lost 10 lbs. He now weighs 55 lbs. (I need to start taking them! )

We struggled also to put him on the meds. We tried behavior modification, we tried Begindergarten, versus throwing him straight in Kindergarten, we tried whatever suggestion we got from professionals but the bottom line is that the meds help him. The concerta is also time released so it does seem to last through homework. I can also tell when it's worn off!

Good luck. I know it's not an easy decision to make. Personally, I think we would have hurt our son more by NOT putting him on the meds. It must be so awful to sit in a classroom with kids that all understand what's going on but you can't concentrate because there is so much going on in your mind & so many noises to distract you & just so much confusion.

Please let us know how your DD does. I wish you all the best!

Mishetta

 

[Desiree]

Devyn is 77 lbs and is on 10 mg for now. Hopefully we wont have to increase it or anything.

We did do behavior modification over the years, and up until now that has been successful. But I do agree with the poster that stated that they felt they were doing more harm to their child by not getting them the meds than by doing so. Devyn is such a sweet child but doesnt make friends easily. I pray that this will help her in those areas of social interaction.

Des