Daughter just started medication yesterday, not sure if we should continue

Shawna - posted on 02/28/2009

Quoting Suzanne:

I have an 8th grader who has been on meds since 2nd grade. The three most important things you need to know are...1) if you and your Dr disagree (more than once) and you feel uncomfortable, CHANGE! 2) children are constantly growing. I cannot tell you the list of meds we have taken over the years because we are in constant contact with the teachers and the Dr and make changes when what we have been on no longer seems to be working. 3) you know your child best of all and YOU are their advocate.

I could not have said that any better! I am quick to change a doctor the minute they refuse to listen to what I want done regarding medications for my son. In other words, I have done the research and if I think it will do more harm than good, I won't let them give him the medication. You pretty much have to stay on teachers as well. My son's teacher thought that he was just sleepy in class and did not report it until after it was found out he was overmedicated. He thought htat bugs were all over him and she said it was because they were talking about bugs. 

I agree with Suzanne as you have to be their advocate otherwise schools and the doctors will just giving basaic care and not help your child.

Suzanne - posted on 02/28/2009

I have an 8th grader who has been on meds since 2nd grade. The three most important things you need to know are...1) if you and your Dr disagree (more than once) and you feel uncomfortable, CHANGE! 2) children are constantly growing. I cannot tell you the list of meds we have taken over the years because we are in constant contact with the teachers and the Dr and make changes when what we have been on no longer seems to be working. 3) you know your child best of all and YOU are their advocate.

Sära - posted on 02/26/2009

Shawna,

We did that with the concerta for awhile. Not such large doses. We used to give 27mg morning along with the periactin for appetite, then a 2.5mg ritalin after school to focus on homework. Once the concerta had been in his sytem for a year we had to up the dose. That's when we stopped the ritalin. Now the concerta doesn't seem to work so well and his grades are slowly dropping. We have an appt on the 5th to talk about where to go from here.

Stephanie - posted on 02/26/2009

We just finished a five week trial for my daughter Sydney. She just turned 7 in January. The trial was great, we did this with her psychologist. We could see how 10 mg of ritalin made her really sad and the effects of Adderal (??). Which was awful for Sydney. Made her a train wreck. Today was first official day of 5 mg Ritalin, her performance in school was great. I would suggest the trial if your Dr. will do it. I am really new to this too, it will be a challenge finding the right medicine and dose for your daughter.

Shawna - posted on 02/26/2009

Quoting Monica:

Quoting Shawna:

Charlotte, Make sure you check her weight often. My son was on it for a few months and barely would eat and lost quite a bit of weight. We were told it was a growth spurt.
He did have mood swings as well but he got those on a few other medications we have tried him on. I would give it a couple of weeks to get it into her system. I would write down her moods swings and keep track of her activities she does not focus on to give to the doctor.

 

        Shawna,

 My son was the same way, he was on adderall. I was a nightmare, my son was a skinny zumbie. He would answer question with one word. He did not smile, he did not sleep and he lost so much wieght. Wieght he could not afford to loss. We I told him doctor  he was like he was at his right wieght for his age.  I told him know he was 10 and his little sister whom was 7 wieghted 5 lbs less then him. We had to beg him to eat, then when he ate he said it made his stomach hurt.  Then when it was time to go to bed he would sleep like 3 hrs and up the rest. Then when he played football he was in such pain he would have to bend over inorder to handle it.  He was so emotional to with it, to if you say "BOO" to him he would cry. I was so made and upset I change his doctor and they put him on Concerta and it's like so much better now. He gained 20 bls in 5 months. He can play football and he sleeps all night. I would tell any one do not let your doctor tell you that your kid is ok when it comes to these meds cause that don't know. I had my son suffer through this for 1 1/2 all because I was listening to his doctor. Never again will I do that.

Monica,

 

When he first started with any of his medications I believed the doctor. He did lose weight like your son and his sister weighed more than he did. The doctor kept on that everything was fine and I finally told the doctor that it was not fine for him to be that skinny and she mentioned that my family was skinny so it was genetics. She was quickly switched.  It has gotten to the point where I tell the doctor what I want him to be on and she writes the prescription especially after they had overmedicated him. I told her I would give the Adderall one more chance and if I saw him losing weight again then we were going another route. We have to do the same thing withthe school otherwise they try to suspend kids! My son got suspended last year while on Vyvanse for mood swings and someone touched him and he screamed at the kid. They said he made a terroristic threat. (He was 10 at the time). I have heard about Concerta as my husband nephew takes it but he takes a high dose in the morning along with something else then he takes it again at night. Does anyone else have this same plan? 

La Monica - posted on 02/26/2009

Quoting Shawna:

Charlotte, Make sure you check her weight often. My son was on it for a few months and barely would eat and lost quite a bit of weight. We were told it was a growth spurt.
He did have mood swings as well but he got those on a few other medications we have tried him on. I would give it a couple of weeks to get it into her system. I would write down her moods swings and keep track of her activities she does not focus on to give to the doctor.

 

        Shawna,

 My son was the same way, he was on adderall. I was a nightmare, my son was a skinny zumbie. He would answer question with one word. He did not smile, he did not sleep and he lost so much wieght. Wieght he could not afford to loss. We I told him doctor  he was like he was at his right wieght for his age.  I told him know he was 10 and his little sister whom was 7 wieghted 5 lbs less then him. We had to beg him to eat, then when he ate he said it made his stomach hurt.  Then when it was time to go to bed he would sleep like 3 hrs and up the rest. Then when he played football he was in such pain he would have to bend over inorder to handle it.  He was so emotional to with it, to if you say "BOO" to him he would cry. I was so made and upset I change his doctor and they put him on Concerta and it's like so much better now. He gained 20 bls in 5 months. He can play football and he sleeps all night. I would tell any one do not let your doctor tell you that your kid is ok when it comes to these meds cause that don't know. I had my son suffer through this for 1 1/2 all because I was listening to his doctor. Never again will I do that.

Amy - posted on 02/24/2009

My daughter has been on and off Strattera for almost 3 years.  She was only on the minimal dose of 10 mg and we never increased it until this year because it seemed to help just enough to get her through the day.  We would stop during the summer due to her visiting her dad and he would not  keep her on a schedule.  She's now in the 5th grade and the course work has increased and expectations on her are high.  School seems to be alot tougher now than when we were in school.  We did increase her dose and she has had great success so far.  I know each medication is different.  We had to change her time of day - her eating habits and moods were affected but just hang in there.  Keep track of what occurs and let your doctor know.  When we started the meds or changed anything, we would see the doctor every 2-3 weeks to be sure things were ok with her. It took 3-4 weeks to notice the changes for the better so your med may be the same.   If you have any worries, I would suggest you call the doctor. 

Robyn - posted on 02/24/2009

My daughter who is 6 recently went on focalin extended release - starting on 5 mg to 10mg and we are now at 20 mg to carry her though her day at school - she has been on it for about four weeks now.  I too noticed the overly emotional - crying at the drop of a hat the first week or so but it has balanced out and it has improved her day at school tremendously.  The weekend before Valentines she sat down and wrote out 23 valentines, writing the name of each of her classmates on individual valentines and then signing her name - took her about two hours and she sat and completed the whole thing - no questions, no complaints - she wanted to do that.  This would never have been possible before.  However- you do need to watch the appetite.  We typically give her the meds about 7am with breakfast so she eats breakfast - rarely eats lunch anymore -but is ready for snack after school and is fine at dinner - (her dose is sufficient enough to get her through her school day) but I have noticed she is getting hungry later in the evening around bed time.

Sarah - posted on 02/24/2009

My son was on Strattera before Focalin and had terrible mood swings.. full blown melt down and hysterical crying.  The Focalin has been much better.  I found it super important to have routine and daily goals with incentives.  My son also has OCD and obsessive hoarding.  Hang in there. 

Sära - posted on 02/23/2009

Quoting Shawna:

Quoting Sära:

You should wait. We have only used concerta, but we had to adjust doses, times given, and add a low dose med to increase appetite. If you can be patient and try adjusting as much as you can to fit her. The adjustments will never end as it is not a quick fix. We still meet with his doctor every 3 months to check if our methods are still effective. Be patient :)

Sara,

 

I am interested in knowing what medication they gave you to increase your child's appetite as my son goes through periods of losing weight and being taken off meds then starts all over again. If they can give him something to increase his appetite then they would not have to changehis meds. 

Thanks

Shawna,

The medicine we use is Periactin (generic name: Cyprohapetadine)  It can come in pill or flavored liquid.  The medicine is normally prescribed for anorexics.  Benjamin uses 8mg/day (he's 8 and weighs 40 lbs)  We started using it for Benjamin beause he lost 5 lbs in 2 months on his Concerta.  It is very important for a child on concerta to have it in their system everyday.  We didn't want to have to take him off of it because it was working wonders with behavior and grades.  When we got the Periactin his doctor said it would take a few days to notice an increase in appetite.  The first day we gave him 1/2 dose.  He woke me up @ 2am that night asking for food!!!  I was thrilled and his growth has improved extremely.  It also seems to have no side effects & we have been using it for over a year.  I would reccomend this medicine to anyone who's child has a poor appetite.  Talk to your childs doctor and please let me know what he says.  Hope I have been helpful!

Sära

Mandy - posted on 02/22/2009

My son is 11 years old and not on meds at all. We have made the choice to give him what he needs externally instead of using medication. He is living proof that it is possible to help our children with ADHD without having to use medication. If you would like to know more about how we do this, you can email me at wildmandy@hotmail.com.

Mandi - posted on 02/22/2009

my daughter is on meds too. it will take her a week or so to adjust to this. my daughter is wanting to come off hers.

Shawna - posted on 02/22/2009

Quoting Sära:

You should wait. We have only used concerta, but we had to adjust doses, times given, and add a low dose med to increase appetite. If you can be patient and try adjusting as much as you can to fit her. The adjustments will never end as it is not a quick fix. We still meet with his doctor every 3 months to check if our methods are still effective. Be patient :)

Sara,

I am interested in knowing what medication they gave you to increase your child's appetite as my son goes through periods of losing weight and being taken off meds then starts all over again. If they can give him something to increase his appetite then they would not have to changehis meds. 

Thanks

Sära - posted on 02/22/2009

You should wait. We have only used concerta, but we had to adjust doses, times given, and add a low dose med to increase appetite. If you can be patient and try adjusting as much as you can to fit her. The adjustments will never end as it is not a quick fix. We still meet with his doctor every 3 months to check if our methods are still effective. Be patient :)

Shelley - posted on 02/22/2009

My doctor told us that that focalin can be stopped suddenly. the medication is out of the system shortly. Her mood could me just that the medication could not be at the right dose. If you are serious about helping your daughter call first thing monday and odds are he may adjust or change her medication. Both my son and daughter were on foclin and the both reacted differently to the medication. Now a year and a half later we have found the correct medication for them. if you would like to talk more please drop me a note stuter06@yahoo.com

Jamie - posted on 02/21/2009

I have a 10 year old son who has been on many different meds..it takes a few days to adjust in thier system. Mood swings are something that come with ADD/ADHD and medications. Be patient...you will find what works for her and you may discover that Focalin is not it.

Shawna - posted on 02/21/2009

Charlotte, Make sure you check her weight often. My son was on it for a few months and barely would eat and lost quite a bit of weight. We were told it was a growth spurt.

He did have mood swings as well but he got those on a few other medications we have tried him on. I would give it a couple of weeks to get it into her system. I would write down her moods swings and keep track of her activities she does not focus on to give to the doctor.