Any of you have your kid(s) on ADD/ADHD medication?

[peAk]

I am not looking to get into a debate about this.

Just looking for some general information, experience, etc. from those of you that may have had some experience.

We are considering putting my son on it. He's not really ADHD, but more ADD. He's not the hyper, jumping off the wall type but more of the unorganized, less focused, very distracted type. This year (3rd grade) was a little bit of a struggle. He's a really smart kid but I feel, and his teachers, that he's way too distracted and just doesn't follow through with a lot of his assignments. The list goes on and on.

Anyway, again, not looking for a debate about this but just some general info from people with experience with it.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I was on Ritalin for a few years in my younger times. I don't know if they prescribe that now but, I can offer some ideas on what to expect if that is the prescription they offer.

- Severe loss of appetite
- Ticks (in many forms)

These are the two most annoying side effects.

As for the focus, it will definitely help with that. I took it for a few years until I just stopped. I don't think it was so much of an attention problem as it was a BOREDOM issue. Once I took more challenging courses in school I had no problem focusing.

Have you had you son tested for intelligence/IQ. It could be that he simply finds the academics boring. He may need to be challenged a bit more.

Food for thought...

[flanagan0718]

I professionally was diagnosed with ADD / ADHD 5 or 6 years ago. I've had it since a teenager but my parents didn't "believe" in learning disabilities back then. I tried a few different medications to combat it.

Ritalin was AWFUL (for me). I barley ate and it made me feel very disconnected. keep in mind it is an anti-depressant, but with most people that have ADD / ADHD drug like Ritalin effect us differently. I also "made" me / increased my antisocial behavior. I gave it 3 weeks and decided never again.

Concerta was a little of an improvement. It didn't mess with my appetite but it gave me horrible stomach pains for the first week or so. Also it wasn't very effective but that could have been the dosage. I wasn't willing to deal with the shitty stomach feeling for another month or two to try and get the dose right.

Adderall is the most effective with me. Also it alters my mood very little (my wife says i'm less grumpy). It dose affect my appetite but I just set a phone alarm and make sure I eat something at lunch and dinner. That being said I typically have longer days than most people so I take 2 doses in 1 day. I'm up at 615 am and usually go to bed between 1 and 2 am. So most would be fine with one extended release. I would personally recommend starting with Adderall, but that's just from my personal experience.

Hope this helps.

-Mike-

[BrianS]

I have to agree with GL.  If his IQ is above average he certainly may be bored.  My wife teaches 3 grade and would definitely advocate putting him on meds if that was the last thing to help him focus.  My oldest son took it for God knows how long.  He finished high school on it and to be honest probably would have dropped out if not.  The best thing with your family is accepting there might be a problem and trying to get help.  I can't count the times over 20 yrs that my wife has come home and told me about students who were struggling horribly, tried to get the parents to get the child tested and they would more or less say there was nothing wrong.  I help my wife grade papers all the time and after a while I start asking her what's up with this boy/girl.  She tells me they won't focus in class or they can't.  It's really kind of sad.  And to be honest I am one of the biggest anti prescription drugs people in the world but in this situation it could really help.  I hope everything turns out well for your family.

[matmosphere]

Not to get all hippy, but have you tried changing his diet and/or cutting out screen time? I know from personal experience that stuff can make a huge difference.

I cut out almost all processed sugar/sweets and became vegan for about a year and it made a huge difference with my attention span and focus. Unfortunately I've slid back since going back to my old diet.

A few years back we drastically changed the rules about screen time for our children and saw a huge change in their behavior. One movie of their choice on Saturday was all they got and it changed them a lot.

I do think medication has its place and is very helpful for a lot of people but I'd try other things before drugs.

[galaxiex]

Another Hippy kind of reply.... 

For the "no drugs" option...

Diet, Meditation, and/or Yoga (might be hard for a young person to get into the last 2, but worth it)

Meditation especially can help with focus, has helped me immensely, going on 60 yrs old and I've been ADD for as long as I can remember.

[midwayfair]

I was prescribed ritalin in high school. I actually do have ADD, and probably should actually be on medication, but I had such a profoundly negative reaction to Ritalin that I don't want to take it, and the alternatives like Adderal scare me even more.

One person's experience does not in any way help know how your son might react to the medication, or even whether it would work. I am not scolding you for asking for advice because I can understand that it's a big decision and everyone wants advice when making a big decision, but the best anyone, including your doctor, will be able to tell you is that there are potential side effects, they affect a given percentage of patients, and that unless it's contraindicated for some particular aspect of your son's physiology that's all you have to go for. Presumably your doctor wouldn't recommend it if it were contraindicated because they don't hand them out like candy like they did when I was a teenager.

How I manage it: I honestly don't really and that's why I was so bad at my last job where they tried to turn me into an administrative assistant. I have a raging case of hyperfocus and if you ask me to do three things at once I will do them all very badly. If you ask me to do one thing at a time, I will do it until it's done, and probably won't eat or sleep along the way. That part isn't fun, but I've made a decision to live with it because the times that I am accomplishing things I'm happy. The closest I come to actually managing it are running, routines, and intentionally avoiding multitasking.

My coworker at the same job I just left also has ADD, she's on time-release Aderall, and she doesn't have to deal with those same problems in her own life.

[somnif]

I was the same way for most of school. Still am, honestly.

As a kid I just found homework, the concept in general, boring and not worth doing. So I rarely did. Hooray graduating high school with a 2.3 GPA!
(Had the highest SAT score of my graduating class though, so I got into college just fine)

It honestly got a LOT better when I got into college and started taking classes that I actually was interested in. Went from "praying for a D" GPA's to 4.0s in the span of a year.

As for your case, talk to doctors. Several of them. Describe the kids situation, and see what they suggests. If you hear the same thing from more than 1 doc, its probably decent advice. If they suggest drugs, give them 3-4 weeks and talk to the kid. How are they feeling? Summer is a bit tricky for gauging scholastic performance, admittedly.
If they suggest other options (hobbies, diet changes, exercise, etc) talk to the kid and see how they feel about it. Ease into things, don't just dump em in the deep end with a "god be with ye".

Brains are complicated, and no two are the same. Meds can be weird sometimes, but if a profession says its worth a shot, try it.

Source: (former) certified pharmacy technician. Legally obligated to inform you I cannot give medical advice beyond "Talk to the person with the 'Dr.' in front of their name".

[Aleph Null]

I was on something briefly in grade school (probably Ritalin) and it didn't make a damn bit of difference. My problem was boredom.

Having worked with youth as a tutor, camp counselor, etc. I will say, some kids do benefit from medication. Others, especially boys, just don't want to sit still. Kids with higher intelligence can easily get bored with lesson plans designed for the middle of the bell curve. This can look a lot like ADD/ADHD in a classroom setting.

Of the truly ADD/ADHD kids I've known, the most successful usually find a combination of medication, new coping mechanism or study habits, and new/different/harder course material.

You might try administering the medication without telling him what it's for (call it a vitamin?) to avoid the placebo effect. You could also avoid saddling him with the ADD/ADHD label if your afraid he might be sensitive to that.

Whatever you decide, if it doesn't work, you can always change your mind.

[flanagan0718]

I agree with what most have said here. I know I already gave my 2 cents on the medication part but I think that in some cases it is needed. ADHD / ADD is very different for everyone. As is the medication. Some do fine with meditation and other natural management, others do not. Just like some recommend Ritalin to Adderall or what ever. One of the things that Jon mentioned that is managing with routines. This does help, well it helps me anyways. Everyone is different tho.

When I was diagnosed as an adult I wanted to know as much as possible. There is a TON of info out there. One documentary that stuck out for me was "ADD and loving it". It was based on adults with ADD but the same group might have info for kids stuff too. I might be rambling at this point but, see if your doctor has some reading / watching material they recommend as well.


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[mathbrook]

I just graduated high school and started taking adderall when i was in 8th grade.
At first it improved my performance a lot, and for the most part it did, but one problem that arose was when i started playing guitar and making pedals  When i take adderall it makes me focus, but i wont magically do my homework. instead i'd spend entire nights soldering or playing
Also i do have problems eating, it was very bad at first but it gets better quickly, the trouble (for me at least) was eating stuff like chicken breast, rice, which aren't very tasty.
It makes you behave differently in my experience, you get irritated more easily and there are ticks, for instance ill have a very tense jaw and clench my teeth.
I took 20mg extended release, went down to 15 because i thought it was hurting my social life, then went back up to 20 because i was failing in school
Tl;DR: I think medication is worth it

[wgc]

I don't have any advice but hope things work out for your family soon

[impycat1]

Please stop this now and post on a medical forum. This forum is about guitar pedals.

[m-Kresol]

Please stop this now and post on a medical forum. This forum is about guitar pedals.

I agree, actually. Some of us might have somethings to offer, but these reports are very specific. Consult a doctor, a specialst. They should have the bigger picture and be able to prescribe the correct medication.

hope everything turns out good for your son 

[peAk]

Wow.

There are lots of folks here in this community with kids (or with ADHD themselves) and I didn't see any harm in posting a question about general experiences that some may have had. While we are all pedal DIY guys, we are normal guys with normal lives, many with families.. There have been plenty of threads created that weren't about pedals here....

I wasn't looking for medical advice. I was wanting to hear people's opinion and experiences.

Thanks for the people that did share.

Brian, feel free to delete this thread.