Stimulant Based Medications

Kelly - posted on 07/23/2009

My daughter is ADHD. I do not want to give her medication...prescription things anyway. So, I do a few things to help her and I cope. 1) I give her black or green tea every morning. The moderated cafeine is natural and healthy and unlike most kids, caffiene helps my daughter to calm rather than hype her up. 2) I don't give her any wheat, dairy, and as few proccessed foods as possible. Proccessed foods, especially things with red or blue dye set off her hyperactivity big time. 3) I give her a mostly structured routine and we stick to it as much as possible. Routine helps her ADD end of the ADHD a lot. She still has her ticks and I'm not saying she's perfect with all these treatments, but she copes much, much better. My experience has been that ADD and ADHD children, even on medication, do better with a routine. Good luck.

Amy - posted on 07/23/2009

My son tried Adderal, Concerta, Ritalin and had nasty side effects. He was extremely anxious and had severe headaches. We have him on Daytrana which is Ritalin in a patch. In patch form the dosage is more evenly distributed so less side effects. It was a bit tricky to get used to but the only real side effect is a bright red spot where the patch was that day. The rash goes away after 10-12 hours and we alternate the thigh he wears it on. Has ability to focus and manage his behavior is HUGELY improved. He doesn't like how it makes him feel but he knows he can't do school without it. He is 14 and we've used the patch for two years just on school days

Justine - posted on 07/23/2009

My son's preschool asked us to have him tested so we could start some of the occupation and speech therapy while he was there. The school actually had staff that came out and tested him to rule out learning disabilites, etc. I am seeing a therapist that works with all ages and has expierence working with all ages of kids. Through him we got the "official" diagnosis. We then worked with a med doc there to find the meds that would work for him. Had my therapist not worked with children I would have probably contacted my peditrician about therapists that specialize in treating and testing kids for ADHD or other mental health issues.

He is old enough they may suggest some one on one therapy with him to talk about things and have some sessions with the family.

Christina - posted on 07/23/2009

We've tried Focalin XR which worked pretty good. But, then tried Daytrana when it first came out. It was a miracle medication in my opinion. Except for the hour before it starts working! My son started having a problem with getting too irritated from the adhesive on the patch. We knew that it would naturally cause some irritation, as that's how the medication enters the body. But, his body started looking like a patch-work quilt and wouldn't heal. So, we had to move on to something else. We also tried the non-stimulant which didn't do a thing. We're now using Concerta and have been for a few years. We started out low and bumped up right away to 27 mg. We're now using 36 mg and it's been great.

Tonia - posted on 07/21/2009

I also wanted to add that with my son we have ruled out learning disabilities. This past school year we had a group of tests done through the school for these. It comes down to impulsiveness and hyperactivity for my son. With not very much success, we have tried a lot of other options to deal with these issues both in school and at home.

Tonia - posted on 07/21/2009

My son hasn't been officially diagnosed with ADD yet, but the symptoms he has are very very close. It has been suggested to us by his school to have him tested and to try medication. I'm trying to get some feedback from other people about their experiences. I understand each experience is different, but at the same time the information is helpful.

Justine - posted on 07/21/2009

My son who is five first tried Focalin which worked great, just too expensive. He's now doing Metadate which is a long acting form of Ritalin. He still has his good days and bad days but I have noticed that he is more attentive and able to play quietly by himself. SInce he's so young he is on a pretty low dose. The only drawback we have seen is getting him to go to bed at night...he's a night owl anyway but we are trying klonopin to help that.

It will depend on your son's particular reaction. Ritalin is one of the cheaper ones and I've heard more good things about that then some of the high priced ones,



Hope that helps.

Gwen - posted on 07/21/2009

Has he been diagnosed ADD or just has some similar symptoms? If he is ADD the medication makes a huge difference, my son has so much more confidence in himself now - he went from needing a TA to assist the teacher in keeping his behaviour in check, to not needing one at all. Also, other issues can look like ADD - dislexia, anxiety, etc. I had my son diagnosed through a psychologist who ran test on him for 6 weeks. Another issue is that if a child is over or under medicated, then symptoms will stil lbe there - it is a fine line with a proper routine and therapy. My little also has encopresis and scoliosis, so he had a few other complications, but in all there has been a huge change in him since he has been treated.

Tonia - posted on 07/21/2009

I am trying to avoid trying medication after medication on my son to find out what works and what doesn't. I am still against the idea of medicating him. At this point, I'm feeling it's in his best interest to look into it again and possibly try it again.

Gwen - posted on 07/21/2009

My son is on ritalin, which I know has gotten a bad wrap in the past, but it has made a huge difference with him. He gets it at breakfast, lunch and half a dose just before supper...his concentration and self-control are noticeably different then when not medicated. His personality does not change, he is still a happy, bright, and just a sweet, smart and imaginative (huge imagination) boy - but with a lot more confidence and control!

We had tried him on concerta before - but it lasted too long in the evening and made things worse - the medication you try is truly dependant on your child:D

Tonia - posted on 07/20/2009

Joanne:

Thank you for the reply. How much success have you seen with the Daytrana? How long did the side effects last for?

Tonia

Joanne - posted on 07/20/2009

My son is on Daytrana. We love it ! It's a patch we place on his back when he gets up in the morning. I love having control over the amount of time he is medicated. We take the patch off a few hours before bed. I can leave it on longer if we have something going on in the evening. Some side effects we have seen and worked through are: iritability, loss of appatite. Daytrana has really helped my son. Good Luck : )

Joanne - posted on 07/20/2009

My son is on Daytrana. We love it ! It's a patch we place on his back when he gets up in the morning. I love having control over the amount of time he is medicated. We take the patch off a few hours before bed. I can leave it on longer if we have something going on in the evening. Some side effects we have seen and worked through are: iritability, loss of appatite. Daytrana has really helped my son. Good Luck : )