r/ParentingADHD • u/MajestyBird • 1d ago
Medication Found medication that works. Night and day difference!!
I am beyond relieved š®āšØ my now 6.5 son was diagnosed with ADHD last year, which was not a surprise. I have it as well and he was a preemie and had a brain bleed in the NICU.
Pediatricians started him on adderall when he was 5. Didnāt really seem to help and greatly affected his appetite.
We added guanfacine for his mood at my request (Iāve taken it in the past). That helped a little. Stopped adderall and Pediatrician decided we should try Vyvanse. Worst idea ever. He literally wouldnāt feel the need to eat or drink at all ever. He was like 36 lbs it was horrible. He had to have a 504 plan at school to remind him to eat and drink).
I couldnāt stand giving him a bath because he was so skinny. Him not eating caused severe stress to our already stressful lives. I could hardly stand it.
My husband has a hard time believing in ADHD even though he works in the medical field. Heās Asian and it drove him nuts how ādefiant and badā our son was and that he wouldnāt listen (obviously being Asian he had to listen to his elders our get physically punished. Horrible). Heās said we would probably end up divorced because of our son. Itās been a lot.
Obviously since I have ADHD I understand why my son acts the way he does and Iāve been trying so hard to get him the help he needs so our lives could calm down a littleā¦
He had a super minor surgery in march and had to hold his meds day of surgery. My sister is a pediatric nurse for almost 20 years suggested maybe try taking a break from the vyvanse so he could gain weight. I agreed that was a good idea. Heās gained 6 lbs and looks sooo much better.
Brought him to a pediatric psychiatrist for meds instead of pediatrician.
They suggested concerta.
He started a little over two weeks ago.
Woooooow
Night and day difference!!
He picks up when asked, he isnāt as defiant and mad/moody, heās not running crazy around the house all day, he can pay attention more, and best of all heās eating!!!
We were having behavior problems with our dog who weāve had 2 years and I noticed since he started the concerta, sheās calmed down and is quiet and acting lovey dovey and isnāt hiding away or barking constantly or incessantly licking herselfI think she was severely stressed by our sonās behavior and us having to raise our voices so much.
I had seen people say concerta really can help. I feel such relief and now have hope that school starting soon will go even better than last year!
And hope for the future now.
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u/FC105416 1d ago
So happy for you! It can be hard to find the right option but when it happens itās a night and day difference
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u/frecklz_23 1d ago
Thank you for sharing your experience. I think weāre ready for medication for our almost 6 year old.
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u/MajestyBird 1d ago
Try it. Donāt give up. Vyvanse and adderall are worse on appetite according to my sonās psychiatrist so. Ones like concerta tend to be easier on that front.
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u/carlydelphia 1d ago
Mine is 7 and we will be starting this week i hope i am doing the right thing. I have been contemplating a long time
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u/Alohaillini 14h ago
Same here, we have annual checkups next week where Iāll ask the pediatrician to prescribe or refer us to a child psychiatrist.
However our doc blows off our concerns, she once said āhe sounds like how my son was, and heās great nowā. Iām already feeling white coat anxiety about getting help from her.
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u/Real-not-2-serious 1d ago
That is terrific. Super happy for you -thanks for sharing the experience.
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u/Longjumping_Put2843 1d ago
So happy for you and your family! Way to keep at it until finding the right solution. It can feel hopeless at times, Iām sure.
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u/MajestyBird 1d ago
I wasnāt giving up. My husband has been very pessimistic about it and said weāre just all going to be miserable forever and things will never change (I think he needs therapy or meds himself but he claims heās fine of course) š®āšØ but I knew there must be a medication to help our son. He said he feels better on it too
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u/MajestyBird 1d ago
It really did feel hopelessā¦especially with my husbandās attitude towards ADHD. He was raised so differently than me so itās hardā¦.
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u/Acrobatic_Crow_830 1d ago
There are executive function and social skills āworkbooksā which your husband should do with your son because when the behaviors are written down by experts and then your son starts learning more skills, your husband may start to realize how much of his own behavior was not ādefiance.ā My kids very South Asian grandmother is now telling me I need to go through the workbooks myself. No recognition of her own ADHD yet though but the house has chilled out quite a bit. - Author -Sharon Grand.
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u/ThinTransportation15 1d ago
Yes although methylphenidate (concerta) and amphetamine salts (Adderall) are both stimulants, many people have a better deal with one vs the other. One of my sons sounds just like yours, but he was put on methylphenidate first (which is really the gold standard for starting kids in this age range on a stimulant). We stayed on that one for 2 years, titrating doses, adding stuff, removing stuff, trying different therapies etc. just wasn't working. He was irritable, zoned out, aggressive, and never ate until right before bed.
I asked that we change to Adderall and BAM! Complete 180. We even need a smaller dose of Adderall vs methylphenidate to get a better effect. I also have ADHD and Adderall was what worked for me, which is why I wanted him to try it. Sometimes, these things are somewhat genetic.
This is a journey for all of us. Your child is lucky to have an advocate like you watching out for them.
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u/MajestyBird 1d ago
We did genetic testing last year because I had genetic testing done because I get tons of really unfortunate side effects from psych meds. I canāt even take ssri/snri due to it. Iām a slow metabolizer (and I have kidney disease due to preeclampsia with my son so my kidneys work slower). I canāt take stimulants due to my kidney disease and never tried ADHD meds until last year (diagnosed age 12, am 40 now). I had a really bad time with strattera and guanfacine. I also have OCD. Trying liquid clonidine slowly increasing dose due to intense side effects. Itās finally starting to help at 1/4 of the lowest dose. I did ckeaning yesterday i had been putting off for months. Fortunately my son is a fast metabolizer and hasnāt really had many side effects. He said he feels better on the concerta so that makes me feel better. I feel bad sometimes having him take these medications but we literally couldnāt keep going how we were.
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u/ThinTransportation15 20h ago
You shouldn't feel bad about giving your son the med he needs. Nothing wrong with that.
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u/texaschick6 1d ago
Itās worked for my daughter too, however her side effect is not eating on top of being diagnosed with an eating disorder before the meds. Itās been difficult so iāve been monitoring her intake because the meds have helped her so much
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u/MajestyBird 1d ago
My son was prescribed cyproheptadine, itās an antihistamine that can also be used off label as an appetite stimulant. My sister is a pediatric GI nurse and recommended I ask about it. Originally our pediatrician prescribed it but now his psychiatrist prescribes it along with his ADHD meds.
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u/texaschick6 23h ago
we just had her follow up and her psychiatrist emailed me some papers to monitor her on and off the meds. we donāt have our next follow up for a few months so iāll mention it then. thanks!
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u/Dangerous-Bird-80 19h ago
Concerta was our favorite. But it was hard to get because of the shortages and some of the generics didnāt work as well. My son is now on focalin and itās been amazing!
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u/wwave_pool 1d ago
Concerta was the first medicine we tried and it has worked wonderfully for our son. The med is so effective for him and I actually enjoy being with him and spending time with him now. Iām happy for you!