Do you have a child with ADHD? Maybe you can help?

Question

I have an 8 year old little girl with ADHD. She currently takes Concerta 36 ml once a day but she is so moody and mean all the time. She is really such a sweet and enjoyable child when I don't give her the medicince but she has to take it to go to school. I have tried other methods with out medication but have come to the sad conclusion that she really needs it.

My question is what does your child take. What are my other options. I am taking her back to the doctor and want to know what my options are. She has all ready taken aderall and ritalin and I don't want her back on them. Is there another kind?

Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

My son was on Concerta it worked for him but his doctor just switched him to Vyvanse. So far I don't like it but his dose just maybe wrong.

Answer 2

What do you mean she has to take it to go to school?

Did the school tell you this?

If so, this is ILLEGAL.  Look here--

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c1...

There's also strattera, focalinXR, Vyvanase (spelling?)  and the new patch (dont know name of it)

Answer 3

I grew up with ADHD, the medicine always made me not myself, sometimes even violent.

Around the age of 15 I just started refusing to take the stuff. Hopefully your child can learn to cope on her own, that is really the only good way.

A private tutor would be the best way, the tutor will be focusing on your child alone instead of the whole class, this way when she loses attencion the tutor can reteach. Also you can have it set up so your daughter can take as many breaks as possible and release all that pent up energy.

Answer 4

I took the same thing, to help me tame my ADHD my mom took me off it for the summer and the weekends. She also limited my sugar from me and my sisters and that caused me also to be able to skip days without the pills. They are really bad for you as you can see I stoped yousing it at 11. A long time ago. It might take her a while to get used to and she wont be happy about the sugar I know I wasn't.

Answer 5

When my son was diagnosed we went through the concerta, adderal and stratera before deciding there had to be a better way.  Out of all of the meds Concerta gave us the most problems as it made him almost violent and he would go into a tantrum for no reason.  If I had to go with one of the meds I would check into the straterra.  They take it at night and its effects are longer lasting but it is also one of the few that doesnt becaome addictive like ritalin etc.

Another thing to try is at night give her melatonin ( over the counter in herbs) it will help her to get a better nights sleep and kids with adhd need this.

Some kids really can not function in school without the meds while others can and it is not wrong to give your child something that they need.  Keeping her on a routine and involved in sports and other activities is also a plus in dealing with it.  Karate is great for kids with adhd it not only teaches defense but restraint and control and discipline as well.

Answer 6

No offence really.. but medication really does not work..

i'm totally against medication after a bad experience with Paxil..

maybe have a talk with her.. get her involved in some activites that she's interested in

Answer 7

If the medicine is making her moody and mean then it is the wrong medicine.  

We went through a medicine trail for our daughter and it was amazing to see what the different meds do.  Scary too.

I was a little taken by one of your statements - "She has to take it to go to school".   What do you mean she HAS to take it?     Do you just feel she'll do better or is the school making a fuss?   Legally the school can't tell you that.

My daughter isn't taking any meds.   They all did weird things to her.    However, we homeschool so I don't have to deal with the system.

Answer 8

My daughter takes Concerta and Strattera. Together they make it possible to get through the day. There are many other medications and you just need to find the one that suits her best.

Answer 9

Watch what you feed her too!  Some kids react to certain foods as well.

Cut out sugary stuff and high carb stuff. That'll help also!

Answer 10

My 15year old son has ADHD and so does my 7 year old daughter. For a long time the doctor had my son on Stratera. It is a non-stimulate medication for ADHD. It is based on weight. It really helped him for about 3 years. He quit taking it because he wanted to be a normal kid. So now he is on Adderall and only takes it if he really needs to concentrate (like for finals and things).

My daughter currently takes Ritalin LA, but I don't like it. I am going to talk to the doctor about changing when she goes back next week.

Answer 11

Concerta is a fast-acting medication....not a maintenance med.  Your child doesn't have to take it on weekends or holidays or through the summer.  Strattera is a very good medicine.  My son took it for a while and he did great.  After about a year, he started to have some mood issues (really down a lot of times), so we switched off of it.  He doesn't take anything now (4th grade), but if he would need something, Concerta is what he would be put back on.  Just talk to your doc about the side effects your daughter is experiencing.  It really varies from one child to the next.  Good luck.

Answer 12

i have an 8 yr old son who is ADHD and he is taking 36mg of concerta.  i have had no problems with it.  have you tried a lower dose?  it may be too much medicine.  it comes in an 18mg dose also

Answer 13

I would say to try another med.  It sounds like she's reacting to the Concerta in a negative way even though its helping too. But there might be something that works and doesn't leave her moody and mean.

I would also start writting down the different drugs she has taken with dates and doseages and the negative affects its had on her. Since you've already tried Adderall and Ritalin and currently with Concerta, how about trying Strattera? Its a different type of drug then the other three.

We just started my ADD son (inattentive, non hyper) on a low dose short acting Ritalin. Its only 5mg, wears off in four hours. He takes three pills (one before school, one at school and one in the afternoon as needed at home) so its a bit of a hassel, but we like the option of drugfree weekends and holidays.

I also know some parents who have had sucess with a product called "Focus" that's an all natrual herbal mix. Something you could try over the summer.

Answer 14

There is Strattera which is  a drug that has to build up in the system so it needs to be taken every day.  There is also a new one out call Vyvanse.  Look it up on line.  My doc said it has gotten good feedback.  We may be switching to it soon.  My son is on Concerta too.  Lower does though.  We have good and bad days at school, but all is well at home.  Nothing I wouldn't get from any 8 year old sometimes.  Good luck and keep trying.  Maturity and time help too, and lots of love.

Answer 15

My son was diagnosed in 2nd grade with ADHD and ODD. He was on Adderall and Concerta and neither worked for him. He had some heart palpitations while he was on them, so I decided not to use them anymore. My only choice was to give the school his test results and get IEP meetings going for special help. It took me until this year to get the help (he's in 6th grade now). If you don't want to do medication, it is going to take time and patience with both you and the school.

Answer 16

I can't judge you because I am not in your shoes.  

I don't have any experience with this so I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time by replying but is she in other activities as well?

My cousins son is ADHD and she has him in 3 sports & wares him out!

In school he does take medication & is in a special needs class (not special ed but similar).

She doesn't have him on any meds currently but he was last year when he was 7.

This year she said that he hasn't needed it!!  

He's still very hyper & active but he gets it all out in sports.

Good luck mom.. I hope that you can find a better solution.

Kuddos!

Answer 17

Mines 10 she`s also on concerta,I don`t give her any on the weekend or holidays, You may be expriencing "the rebound effect" on school days.We pretty much leave our daughter alone.We give her an hour,after school, which is usally the sensitive time 'where we basically ignore any bad.behaviors She can`t help it.This period happen right after school. It has gotten alot better, over time.How is she  doing at school?If the moods are not carrying over  t o school, then I`d wait it out, it will get better.I remember it being bad when she first started taking it,and 2 yrs later when they upped the dosage.Tell her you realize she has this period, when she is not quite her herself, because of the medicine, when she gets home from school, let her do what she wants for 1 hr.Do not talk to her, unless it`s nessacary (she talks first)lol.It should help, You are doing good with the activities.Good Luck

Answer 18

I think you are certainly on the right path, having her involved in physical classes like horseback riding, etc. Great job!

I've read that physical education (ones that bring the heart rate up) really help with ADHD.

Also, it seems like a lot of kids are super sensitive to food dyes, sugar and too much carbs. Watching the diet and possibly having some allergy tests done, might really help. Look into that angle..it might also be some food issues, they can get really "mean" when they ingest something that does not agree well with their body. I have one that we took completely off food dyes, and it was like someone had given us a new child.

Answer 19

My little sister has ADD not ADHD but she is in a program called DORE. It is extremely helpful although on the expensive side, I'm not sure of the amount but the timing of the payments can be negotiated to suit your budget. DORE is very effective and we have seen great results. Most people are in the program for a year and it is simply 10 minutes in the morning and night on the exercises they plan out for you. No medication and they supply the materials you need. I'm not sure if you have DORE where you live but it is definately worth checking out!

I hope this helps you and good luck!

Answer 20

Sounds like my daughters reactions to sugar and food color red  40. (she started showing extreme anger and mood swings and inability to focus about the end of 1st grade beginning of 2nd grade so age 7 or 8)

We eliminated all foods including the children's vitamins, OTC cold/allergy, etc. with any Red 40 in the ingredients. We also severely restricted the processed sugar and carbs.....within 2 weeks there was a world of difference...she was able to focus mentally and no more mood swings.

This is not an allergy just a chemical reaction to the food coloring and a sensitivity to sugars...and can not hurt to eliminate the junk foods, but not very effective with out extreme diligence in reading ALL food labels carefully...it's amazing what and how many foods contain red 40 (even found in some white vanilla frostings).

Be careful and stay safe.

Answer 21

A lot of times children with ADHD get better with age. Set boundaries with her and have consequences for negative behaviors. The dosage on her concerta may need decreasing, or the doctor can recommend a different medication. Why didn't the ritalin and aderall work? or were you afraid of the side effects? Are you seeing a psychiatrist or her family doctor? With any type of mental or behavior problems, you should see a psychiatrist that specializes in this are. They are well experienced in this area.