Ritalin - ADD / ADHD Message Board

creekwalker · 05-03-2002, 07:50 AM

I have a 16 year old son, who, at the age of 5 was started on Ritalin. He took it for 7 months and became a walking zombie. The school forced us into him taking it. He had been diagnosed as ADHD and they said they couldn't control him. I realize that Ritalin may help some people, but it definately isn't for everyone, especially for ones that young. The Dr's kept increasing his dose because he seemed to become used to it and required more. He actually got up to 40mg a day. He went from being the hyper, happy, smiley child we had, to a zombie, with dark circles under his eyes and no emotions, except irritability. But, the school liked it. Not because he was doing much better in his academics, but because he was quiet and not disturbing the class. He didn't pay any more attention to his school work than he did before. After all those months of Ritalin and increasing the dose, I told his Dr it just wasn't working and they prescribed a total of 4 other medications(in a row) to see if any would help. None did and when the last one caused a severe headache, bad enough for an ER visit, I refused any more medications for my child. This was at the end of 1st grade. I had tried unsucessfully to get him into a BD class so that he could get some one on one, but they refused, saying that he didn't need that. It was the only type of class they had to offer then. So, after I refused to continue the medications, they suspended my son for a day, and promptly put him in the BD class for the rest of the 3 weeks remaining of school.
I put him on vitamins and herbs and he never had a behavior problem since. But, he had some side effects of the medications that lasted quite some time. He chewed on his fingers(not the nails, but the skin!) constantly, he developed wierd facial expressions, he started some odd behaviors like rubbing his hair in a strange way. Some of these behaviors he still does. Now, they think he is autistic because of this. He did not do these things as a small child, but after the medicine was given. I want to warn parents that if you do try Ritalin and others, please, please be careful. If it only calms the behaviors and not help the attention, do not continue to give it. If it seems to affect their mood, please stop giving it. I have read studies that say it is possible for Ritalin to cause pychosis, but they say it's only temporary and stops after you stop the medicine. I believe that it caused some lasting side effects in my son and don't believe them when they say it's temporary. I would give anything to be able to go back in time and never have put him on all that stuff. I wonder how he would be today if I had refused in the first place? The vitamins and herbs helped him more than anything and also we watched his diet. He was very sensitive to chocolate, caffeine, and chlorine. But, some damage has been done, and like I said before, they think he's autistic now. Please be careful!!!! Diana

help · 05-06-2002, 10:59 PM

I would never listen a word the school says.
If they say you MUST medicate him and it's not helping hiim any only making him worse, well I supposed it's time you look for another school.
ADD isn't about the way people act, it's about how their brain works. If your child becomes resistant to medication and they have to increase the dosage to get the same effect, that's not ADD treatment that's addiction. With ADD if you are on the CORRECT drug/dosage you can stay at that dose for the rest of your life without losing it's effect.
My suggestion is you should think about filing a lawsuit against your psychiatrist.
That is if you have evidence that ritalin induced or precipitated autism.

creekwalker · 05-07-2002, 06:17 AM

I wish I could now, but, like I said, he's 16, almost 17 now and it's too late. There's also no way I could prove anything at this point. I wish I knew then what I know now. I thought I'd get in trouble if I refused to do what the school and psychiatrists said.

help · 05-07-2002, 02:25 PM

It's not too late to help treat his ADD if you haven't already. If your son isn't, depending on the severity, it can cause him to go down the wrong path and "self medicate" not knowing.

creekwalker · 05-07-2002, 03:33 PM

Currently, my son is taking Zoloft with fairly good results. We just started that last year. He is going to weekly counseling. I don't know what else to do. I had to think long and hard about the Zoloft because he had been free of meds til now. It does seem to help him, but my son, even though he's very intelligent, acts more like a kid younger than what he is. He stays at home and has no friends. There are basically no programs in our area for kids like him. We got him into the regional center here to help us, but they've been no help. He can take care of himself though, but he needs life skills training, etc, that no one seems to know how to do around here. I try, but I can only do what I know how to do. I am not worried about his falling into the wrong crowd or going down the wrong path at this time, because he's just not capable of it yet. He still has to be told to take a shower or brush his teeth, but maybe that's just a teenager for you. My son did not act autistic when he was little, but now, he does or at least has some of the signs. But, I just wanted to warn parents of a potential danger in Ritalin. I do not believe my son has true autism, but I do believe the symptoms he has were at least partly caused by the Ritalin. I appreciate you trying to help. I've been fighting and searching for a solution to his problems for years now and it can get so frustrating.