Update on my son

[VioletRose89]

I wanted to give an update on my son who I wrote about last month I think it was. He is the one who had been diagnosed with ADD (with minor hyperactivity and ODD - which I disagree with 100%, I only agree with the ADD).

His doctor put him on Strattera and he had a bad reaction by getting angry and passing out. I had an appt today to take him to the psychiatrist. Which I did and it was a huge waste of time!

Apparently this woman, who seemed to me was more a patient than the clinical psychiatrist, did not feel that she could help us. My son does not need the sessions, basically only some guidance with meds. The county does not prescribe meds without weekly sessions. She told me to go back to my son's doctor and let them figure it out!

I am torn between being angry and upset and being relieved. I have made another appointment for my son at the doctor tomorrow and I am probably going to have a meltdown at some point.

My son has been really trying to mature and show me that he is grown, but it just isn't so easy for him, sadly.

Anyway, I think I mentioned before that I am concerned about them putting him on Ritalin - only because I have only heard horrible things about this medication. And this is the exact medication that his doctor said she felt was the next step.

I really don't know what I am asking - I think I just wanted to vent a little about how it seems like I am getting no where as usual. But I would like any information or suggestions you all can provide about meds and their side effects. The information I found on Strattera had no warning about what happened to my son... so I would prefer personal experiences if possible.

Thanks again - I am really glad you are all here.

[niknak77]

My son has ADHD and a few months ago he started taking Vyvanse. So far I have not seen any negative side effects and it is the most effective med he has taken-unfortunately he has tried a lot of others, this is the best of the one we have tried. I understand your frustration it seems like most of the time you are just spinning in circles and no one is really helping. Keep trying, if you can switch doctors until you find the right one(s). Good luck.

[addprogrammer]

VioletRose,

I'll try my best to give you a balance view of the ADHD med Ritalin.

There is approximately 1 serious complication for every 20000 prescriptions written and about 1 death for every 100,000 prescriptions written. You can find both higher rates from those opposed and lower rates from those in favor. The numbers can be legitimately skewed up or down because of other factors such as existing medical conditions.

I take neither those average bad reaction to Ritalin rates or the devastating consequences of ADHD lightly.

I have been on Ritalin for over 3 years, have experienced no serious side effects, have experienced a dramatic increase in my ability to function and have never been happier. I choose to continue to accept Ritalin risks to continue to experience its benefits.

That's the truth.

Bob

[janewhite1]

As Addprogrammer pointed out, the risk of serious physical harm exists, but is pretty small. If his heart is as healthy as a child's heart should be, and if you are alert to physical side effects that are worse than acceptable, that drives the risk down further.

(Typically, physical side effects include headache, upset stomach, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping. They usually get better as the body adjusts to the drug)

As far as mental side effects, some people have them. However, Ritalin is a very short-acting drug. If you and he don't like the way he acts when on it, you can always just stop the drug, and it should be completely out of his system in about a day after his last dose.

For the simple reason that it is a psychiatric drug given to large numbers of children, there is a fair amount of unjustified hysteria about Ritalin, along with the reasonable fears.

And, yes, this psychiatrist sounds beyond useless.

[MSmomof2]

VioletRose -- I know I've responded to one of your previous posts and several other posts on here so I don't remember where I've put this info before ... so if you've already seen this, please forgive ...

My son has tried the following meds (diagnosed ADD inattentive type 5 yrs ago - he is now 13):

Concerta - began at 18 mg and has now just upped to 54 mg
A few years ago we tried Straterra with the Concerta (as a pick-me-up in the afternoons) and it did NOT WORK WELL.

Recently, it seemed to me the Concerta (36 mg) was not cutting it anymore - would get notes from teachers that he was playing with objects in his desk instead of paying attention in class or that he would refuse to do his work (I've made one post on another page about how my son hates to write and that's the problem with not doing classwork) and I didn't want to increase the dose because my son is a small boy for his age and I knew the increased dose would just decrease his appetite more and make the insomnia worse (only two side effects we've seen with Concerta).

So we tried Vyvance (he would not eat at all and complained of headache & nausea); then tried Focalin XR. The Focalin XR did not affect his appetite as much but even at 30 mg it did not last a full school day.

So, I've made the plunge and increased the Concerta to 54 mg. We can handle the insomina part of it because his doc says he can take OTC sleeping pill when needed and I will just have to try and make him eat as much as I can.

Hope this helps as far as the side effects / benefits of the meds that are out there.

MSmomof2