First day of medication for adhd

[Mandylubug]

My son started on the lowest dosage of adderall today. I am SHOCKED at the improvement. All of a sudden he is HAPPY, he has finished his math, caught his mistakes and reworked them without melting in his chair with a breakdown. He hasn't yelled at his siblings just because he is frustrated. I hope the good results remains.

[Garga]

That's what happened with us, too. It allowed my bright, happy, good-natured boy to shine through. We're very happy with the results. He was very happy! He said, "My feet finally don't hurt anymore!" I guess it was his way of saying that he always felt antsy.

 

Now, for the first two weeks, he was prone to weepiness in the evening, but it quickly stabilized. Keep an eye on it, though, to be sure it stabilizes.

[Mandylubug]

That's what happened with us, too. It allowed my bright, happy, good-natured boy to shine through. We're very happy with the results. He was very happy! He said, "My feet finally don't hurt anymore!" I guess it was his way of saying that he always felt antsy.

 

Now, for the first two weeks, he was prone to weepiness in the evening, but it quickly stabilized. Keep an eye on it, though, to be sure it stabilizes.

 

thank you! We have a re-evaluation in a month to go over his progress and I was told to watch the evenings as well.

[Ottakee]

Great news. The differences here were amazing as well.

[AimeeM]

We started on Adderall but during the shortage had to switch to vyvannse (we never knew if it would available month to month, or only partial scripts, etc).

ADD medication has made a HUGE difference in Autumn's academic performance. While we haven't had any issue with weepiness in the evenings, sleep is a hurdle for us, as well as eating. No appetite and she is up until around 1 or 2 am. We counter these problems by having an "open kitchen" (she can graze as desired and we keep foods out to entice grazing), we give breakfast BEFORE her pill, and she always has the option to eat dinner later, after her pill has worn off (we require she sit at the table with us, plate in front of her, but if she doesn't eat it, she puts in on the counter for later in the evening/night). We give melatonin for sleep when it's important she wake early.

[Mandylubug]

My son gave me a hug after his math and said with a huge grin on his face "I love that little blue pill! I can think and figure stuff out now! It's AWESOME!" I have never been so torn. I have never wanted a kid happy to take any medication but at the same time.. I am glad it works and I don't want him to be ashamed that he has to take it. He did ask me if taking medication to help him think was cheating. I told him of course not, that he needs it.

[Mandylubug]

We started on Adderall but during the shortage had to switch to vyvannse (we never knew if it would available month to month, or only partial scripts, etc).

ADD medication has made a HUGE difference in Autumn's academic performance. While we haven't had any issue with weepiness in the evenings, sleep is a hurdle for us, as well as eating. No appetite and she is up until around 1 or 2 am. We counter these problems by having an "open kitchen" (she can graze as desired and we keep foods out to entice grazing), we give breakfast BEFORE her pill, and she always has the option to eat dinner later, after her pill has worn off (we require she sit at the table with us, plate in front of her, but if she doesn't eat it, she puts in on the counter for later in the evening/night). We give melatonin for sleep when it's important she wake early.

 

eek, is there still a shortage?!

[Tracy in Ky]

My son started on the lowest dosage of adderall today. I am SHOCKED at the improvement. All of a sudden he is HAPPY, he has finished his math, caught his mistakes and reworked them without melting in his chair with a breakdown. He hasn't yelled at his siblings just because he is frustrated. I hope the good results remains.

 

That is amazing. It is fascinating how medicine can help the brain so much :grouphug: My doctor has me on medication to help low serotonin levels. I went my entire life struggling, but I didn't know what it was. 2 years ago, my doctor started me on the medication, and my life completely changed. So thankful to God for medication :)

[Parrothead]

I'm happy for you both.

[TravelingChris]

Glad this it turning out so well. Don't worry about drug addictions or anything. Studies show that people who can't get the proper medications are the ones most likely to abuse-in essence, self medicating. People who grow up with medication use are a lot less likely to abuse because they view medications as not a fun thing but a useful tool.

 

My kids know that medications make them happier. Not as in giddy happy but as in satisfied that they can go on with a more normal life and that includes giving an allergy pill to a child who was sniffling and miserable and now is dry and fine. It includes not having pain from a headache or my daughter being able to actually study rather than read things over and over again and not remember them. I am okay with this. They are also very familiar with medications that gave them bad side effects so I have no worries about drug abuse just from this.

 

By the way, this also include narcotic pain medications. The great majority of people who use these, including myself, have no issues whatsoever with drug addiction. If I don't take the medicine, I will have pain but all it does is take away my pain, not make me dopey, or high, or anything like that at all. If you actually have pain and use the correct dosages and it isn't a bad drug for you, that is what happens with narcotics. They relieve pain and don't make you high.

[SonshineLearner]

It is incredible :) It's cute when my son says, "Is it an 18, 27 or 36mg day?" What I really want is the patch for him... we'll see.... Right now our insurance doesn't cover it...

[jujsky]

Wow! It's awesome that it's working at the lowest dose! It took about 3 months to get my DS's dosage of Concerta right. Once it's working, it's working though. I'm so happy for you! We, as parents, can feel so much doubt and guilt about medicating, but when you see the turn-around and know it's working for your kid, it's such a sense of relief.

[In the Rain]

I'm glad you saw such immediate results. It makes me a little sad that he could feel the difference himself and appreciate it. It must be sad to struggle against your body at such a young age.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Julianna

[CheerioKid]

I love that you saw results immediately. I wish we had tried Adderall first for our middle one. We started with Concerta, but, while we saw noticeable results immediately, it wasn't what we expected. We increased the dose one notch, and it made him pure evil.

 

Vyvanse worked really well for a couple of years, but it is non-formulary with our insurance here so we tried Adderall XR. Adderall XR has worked far better than anything else we've tried.

 

All the professionals tell you it takes a couple of weeks to really notice. I'm sorry...they must not have kids with ADHD. We can tell within an hour. When he got into trouble at school, it was ALWAYS on days he forgot his med. He's a total spazz without it.

[Lady Florida.]

Glad it's working out for you. We noticed a difference right away with ds. We went to an annual festival a few days after he started and saw that he was able to actually enjoy some of the displays rather than jump from one thing to another. It doesn't just help with school, but in all aspects of life.

 

As for sleep, ds has never been a good sleeper, even long before he started medication. The doctor who diagnosed him said people with add/adhd often don't need as much sleep as people without it. Although the medicine might make it worse, it was actually the condition causing his sleep issues.

 

 

Don't worry about drug addictions or anything. Studies show that people who can't get the proper medications are the ones most likely to abuse-in essence, self medicating.

 

By the way, this also include narcotic pain medications.

 

Studies also show that people who abuse those types of medications and use them recreationally are not the people who actually need them. People without adhd or without chronic pain conditions are the ones who tend to abuse them.

[ondreeuh]

My son gave me a hug after his math and said with a huge grin on his face "I love that little blue pill! I can think and figure stuff out now! It's AWESOME!" I have never been so torn. I have never wanted a kid happy to take any medication but at the same time.. I am glad it works and I don't want him to be ashamed that he has to take it. He did ask me if taking medication to help him think was cheating. I told him of course not, that he needs it.

 

And THIS is what I love about my son's ADHD meds. The academics are part of it (without meds, he is unable to learn) but the self esteem part is HUGE. For the past few years, it made the difference between him feeling like he was always doing things wrong against his will, and being able to do things right.

 

We are now at an impasse because my son's focus is waning (he has been on the same dose since he was 6, so for the past 5 years, and he has doubled in size) and he has a lot more anxiety. I'm not sure if it's related to his meds (Concerta) or a separate anxiety disorder, which definitely runs in the family. We have an appt. today and I am going to ask about switching to Adderall because it has less of a tie to anxiety than Concerta does.

 

My 4 year old is struggling mightily too. He says he has a bad brain that makes him do bad things - he's talking about acting impulsively. This is not what I want for him. I don't want him to always be in trouble. I don't want him to be hated by other children and their parents. I want him to have a chance at a functional social life. If meds make that possible, bring them on!

[Juniper]

I love that you saw results immediately. I wish we had tried Adderall first for our middle one. We started with Concerta, but, while we saw noticeable results immediately, it wasn't what we expected. We increased the dose one notch, and it made him pure evil.

 

Vyvanse worked really well for a couple of years, but it is non-formulary with our insurance here so we tried Adderall XR. Adderall XR has worked far better than anything else we've tried.

 

All the professionals tell you it takes a couple of weeks to really notice. I'm sorry...they must not have kids with ADHD. We can tell within an hour. When he got into trouble at school, it was ALWAYS on days he forgot his med. He's a total spazz without it.

 

Interesting! My ds Dr said exactly the opposite. He made it a point to say that I would see change immediately, 2nd day max. That if we didn't see improvement rapidly there was not a point in sticking with that med. (This was for stimulant med, I realize the other types can function differently)

 

Spazz is a great word for it! We call it the "rapid squirrel" mode. :D

[Juniper]

My son gave me a hug after his math and said with a huge grin on his face "I love that little blue pill! I can think and figure stuff out now! It's AWESOME!" I have never been so torn. I have never wanted a kid happy to take any medication but at the same time.. I am glad it works and I don't want him to be ashamed that he has to take it. He did ask me if taking medication to help him think was cheating. I told him of course not, that he needs it.

 

Just a forwarn...the evening drop off can be hard. You get so used to this child who CAN focus, control himself and is happy!

 

Then come 6pm Mr Grouch and frustration returns. It is hard on the kiddo and the parent, and I find I have to be careful to adapt my parenting in the evenings. We still have standards, but I don't freak out so much when he misbehaves. I know he will be back to himself in the morning.

 

This is why we talk during the day, about ways to control ourselves in the evenings. What to do with INTENSE emotions. Things like that. It isn't perfect, but I just wanted you to be aware. :grouphug:

[SonshineLearner]

 

 

All the professionals tell you it takes a couple of weeks to really notice. I'm sorry...they must not have kids with ADHD. We can tell within an hour. When he got into trouble at school, it was ALWAYS on days he forgot his med. He's a total spazz without it.

 

The Drs said it takes a while for that particular med to work? With concerta, it took about 1/2 hr for us to tell, and one Kempo special event to see the true beauty :) My sweet active child payed attention for over 2 hrs!! He sat a decent amount of that.... like a stone figure. (But attentive and not zombie like... at all!!)

[justLisa]

That's great!

[TXMomof4]

I'm so glad you're seeing immediate results. DD was the same when we started her on Zoloft for anxiety. It was a huge difference, literally in 24 hours. We did have to up her dosage after about a month, but she's been stable since then.

 

I felt a little vindicated - so many people tried to tell me it was parenting that caused the problems and I *knew* I had done everything possible to help her, but self-doubt certainly can eat you up. Watching the immediate effects of the medication proved to me that it wasn't something I could have corrected with any type of parenting.

[Mandylubug]

I heard non-stim meds take a wee bit to build up in the system but stim meds like adderall work immediately. I have been advised to allow him weekends and vacation breaks from his studies with no meds.

 

I have noticed him "crashing" this hour he is super sleepy right now, he put his head on the table while eating his lunch and said he needs a nap but can't close his eyes.. So I am sure it has to do with his meds. This isn't his typical lunch time routine. Anyone notice this?

[Mandylubug]

I'm so glad you're seeing immediate results. DD was the same when we started her on Zoloft for anxiety. It was a huge difference, literally in 24 hours. We did have to up her dosage after about a month, but she's been stable since then.

 

I felt a little vindicated - so many people tried to tell me it was parenting that caused the problems and I *knew* I had done everything possible to help her, but self-doubt certainly can eat you up. Watching the immediate effects of the medication proved to me that it wasn't something I could have corrected with any type of parenting.

 

I understand how you felt. I have fought it for years not wanting to medicate. My parents are pro homeschooling for the most part but have always voiced their concerns and opinions against medicating children and I honestly think they don't believe ADHD is a true issue. My aunt that is a retired math teacher is anti-homeschooling but pro adhd medicating ha ha. She has worked with him before and has urged me to medicate because of his struggles. I can't win for losing on the support spectrum with my family but I do know I have my friends on The Hive that understand it all :)

[LittleIzumi]

I heard non-stim meds take a wee bit to build up in the system but stim meds like adderall work immediately. I have been advised to allow him weekends and vacation breaks from his studies with no meds.

 

I have noticed him "crashing" this hour he is super sleepy right now, he put his head on the table while eating his lunch and said he needs a nap but can't close his eyes.. So I am sure it has to do with his meds. This isn't his typical lunch time routine. Anyone notice this?

 

We were given the lowest dose as well, with a script for two, one in the morning and one at noon to re-up. It leaves the system very quickly at that dose. I don't usually use the second dose but when we have something we need to do in the afternoon she gets it.

[Desert Rat]

I'm so glad the medicine is working for him! It's amazing to see such sudden results. Hurray!

[AimeeM]

We were given the lowest dose as well, with a script for two, one in the morning and one at noon to re-up. It leaves the system very quickly at that dose. I don't usually use the second dose but when we have something we need to do in the afternoon she gets it.

OP - when Autumn was on Adderall (NOT the xr; just the regular pill), we eventually had to have one for the morning and one for the afternoon; she was crashing around noon and unable to focus or even stay awake for her evening activities.

As for your question as to whether there's still a shortage - I'm not sure. Ask you doc. I think it was geographic; some places were much shorter on it than others. With that said, we would go back to Adderall in a heartbeat, but our state is so strict about controlled substances and children that it was a PAIN to switch the first time and we can't take that chance again. The vyvannse works fine for us (and Adderall, while better overall, did have to be upped frequently because her body became too "used to" the medication and it would stop working until the doctor upped it).