Quiver0f10 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 My DS goes to the Dr Tuesday to meet about ADHD meds which the psych who elavuated him is recommending. I am wondering what the best meds for ADHD are. My DS also has seizures and is on lamictal, if that matters. I want to be prepared and armed with info. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 My DS goes to the Dr Tuesday to meet about ADHD meds which the psych who elavuated him is recommending. I am wondering what the best meds for ADHD are. My DS also has seizures and is on lamictal, if that matters. I want to be prepared and armed with info. Thanks. Not sure that there is a best one. It's different for each kid. At least that's been in my limited experience. DD is currently taking Vyvance with great success right now. But it did take a couple tries with different meds to get to one that did work. It's hard to know how the chemistry of your child's brain is going to be affected by the different meds. From what I've learned and seen it's really trial and error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 It is definitely going to depend on your child and any other diagnoses that he has, like the seizures. My 6yo ds has ADHD (mixed type), anxiety, and pervasive emotional developmental delays. We have tried him on all three classes of medications and have finally found what works best for him. We went with the nonstimulant class first (Strattera, though there is supposed to be another, long-acting nonstimulant coming out in March or April), then moved to the stimulant class (Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin, Daytrana patch), and now we're using a med from the amphetamine class (Adderall, Vyvanse). All of them worked but in different ways, and the doctor was very surprised with what has worked best for him since it typically will exacerbate anxiety but has done just the opposite for my son. The doctor may prescribe something other than a 'typical' ADHD medication since your son is already on Lamictal. They might want to try an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication, depending on the severity and type of symptoms. Wellbutrin is a common choice. No matter what the doctor says about medications, keep a rough log of how it seems to affect him. Weight loss, appetite suppression, quick mood changes especially around the time the medication wears off, sleep disturbance - any of those can be side effects of ADHD meds. If it's not working, change it. Ask to try a different class before adding on other medications for sleep or appetite. Our doctor told me that if the med we're on didn't work (since it was the last class to try), that we would have to use a combination of medications. As it is, I have some clonidine on hand for the times when he has several nights in a row where he is unable to sleep, but I have only used it once since we've swapped to our current medication. Sorry for the novel... hope everything goes well! It can be frustrating, but it's great to find one that works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thank you both for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 although Strattera has turned out to be less effective than hoped. Well, I should qualify that. Strattera is very effective for those kids or adults who respond to it, but according to our neurologist, only about 15% of ADHD'ers respond to it. My DS is currently on Ritalin LA, and has previously been on Strattera and Concerta. Strattera did nothing for him. Concerta was so long ago, I forget why we switched. The Ritalin LA makes a huge difference in his ability to focus, but it does wear off by late afternoon. By then, we are done with school, so I don't care so much. DS only takes Ritalin Monday through Thursday, school days only, because it does really suppress his appetite. He eats like crazy on the weekends, though! Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsquared Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 As a teacher the most dramatic change I have ever seen in a severally ADHD student was with the use of Adderol. Again, medicines are very child specific and need to be constantly monitored and adjusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Chiming in here---meds are very individual so you might end up trying a few different ones to figure out the best one for him. That said, Dexedrine spansules are working very well for my girls and they are both on Lamictal for seizures. It is a much older med and cheap but not used as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks again everyone. I appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaofredheads Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 but I just finished reading Dr. Bob's Guide to Stop ADHD in 18 Days (subtitled No More Ritalin) by Dr. Robert DeMaria. This books recommends dietary changes, supplements, and chiropractic care. He outlines exactly what to do. It's an excellent book and very easy to follow. We have already been doing some of the things he recommends & intend to make the other changes he suggests. Just wanted to mention it incase anyone is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Not sure that there is a best one. It's different for each kid. Exactly. I strongly second that statement. Both my kids are on stimulant meds and both are on different ones, reacting very very differently to individual meds. DD is currently taking Vyvance with great success right now. And Vyvanse was awful for my kids. But many love it. It's just so individual. One of mine uses Daytrana (the patch)....one uses adderall XR or regular adderall depending on a variety of issues and even though they're both 'adderall', they're both different in the *same* child. From what I've learned and seen it's really trial and error. Yup. Trial and error. I take adderall....regular, short acting, generic adderall. Interestingly, when I started it, I would get seriously depressed after taking it three days in a row. And it would last and last even after stopping it. So I just kept taking it two days at a time.....and after a few months, I could take it more and more. Now I can take it daily and truly get only benefit. It doesn't flatten my mood anylonger......veddy veddy interesting:p Adderall used to really flatten out my older one, but it really doesn't now.....and it no longer triggers insane levels of irritability (and it did used to). Now it's just the rebound effect when it's wearing off. We've used vyvance, focalin, concerta (long acting form of ritalin), daytrana (concerta in a patch), adderall (amphetamine) and adderall xr. I think the only thing we haven't tried is straight dexadrine (Ritalin). All the best, Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 but I just finished reading Dr. Bob's Guide to Stop ADHD in 18 Days (subtitled No More Ritalin) by Dr. Robert DeMaria. This books recommends dietary changes, supplements, and chiropractic care. He outlines exactly what to do. It's an excellent book and very easy to follow. We have already been doing some of the things he recommends & intend to make the other changes he suggests. Just wanted to mention it incase anyone is interested. I agree that changes in diet, chiropactic care and supplements also hugely important to the success treating ADHD. We do the natural stuff too and without it . Again it's important to see what worls for your kid. We need both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kate Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Hy DS has AS and is almost 8. He also has ADHD. We've been going through the whole medicine routine for 3 years (almost 4) now trying to find which combo at what amount is right for him. We will try something new (to relieve 1 or 2 symptoms at a time) about every 3 or 4 months. The first few weeks it's "great" he's calming down, but by the 3rd month we are right back to where we were before we increased meds. My son son is currently taking zoloft and concerta in the morning and then ritalin at night. He also takes melatonin to sleep. If he gets his meds at the "wrong time" or we are off by even a half an hour we are dealing with him "crashing" and he struggles to sleep. Good luck on the medication roller coaster. I am wondering if you are feel guilty about medicating your child? I really struggle with this still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hy DS has AS and is almost 8. He also has ADHD. We've been going through the whole medicine routine for 3 years (almost 4) now trying to find which combo at what amount is right for him. We will try something new (to relieve 1 or 2 symptoms at a time) about every 3 or 4 months. The first few weeks it's "great" he's calming down, but by the 3rd month we are right back to where we were before we increased meds. My son son is currently taking zoloft and concerta in the morning and then ritalin at night. He also takes melatonin to sleep. If he gets his meds at the "wrong time" or we are off by even a half an hour we are dealing with him "crashing" and he struggles to sleep. Good luck on the medication roller coaster. I am wondering if you are feel guilty about medicating your child? I really struggle with this still. have you considered adding some dietary restrictions to see how much they're influencing the effectiveness of medications? We eliminate artificial colors, HFCS and CS, limit white sugar, and avoid preservatives like BHT. These HUGELY affect the consistency of the medications effectiveness in my dd specifically in the area of impulsiveness and the meanesss factor. When we relax the diet even a little bit there are drastic changes in her behaviour and it takes approx. a week of being rigid again to get her sweetness back. We too had to play around with the medications for a year. It's rough. Hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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