Does anyone know the long term effects of adderrall on children?

Question

I just started my son on adderall a couple of weeks ago. He was doing poorly in school - getting up in the middle of class, disrupting the class, making strange noises, fighting with kids, not completing schoolwork, etc. It got so bad that he had to sit by himself in the back of the classroom because he was such a distraction to the kids and to the teacher. Every single teacher, daycare provider, and summer camp counselour knew my name, cell phone, and email address ever since he was 3 years old because he would be so out of control that they would have to call me to come get him or to talk to him to calm him down. He isn't a bad child and is very very smart! It's just that he literally could not stop his impulses... So I took him to the behavior specialist and they had me and his teacher do an online survey about his behavior and the results were literally off the charts...and he was diagnosed with ADHD. We decided to put him on a low dose of adderall and the short time he has been on it his behavior in school has drastically improved. He is now completing his schoolwork on time, does not make strange noises, can sit in class without disrupting it, and is now able to sit with the other kids. However, when he comes down from the meds his severe mood swings are awful - heart wrenching tears, screaming, rage, and he is completely incosolable...it's awful! It only lasts about an hour or so...and the doctor said it is common and that we should weigh the mood swings vs. the benefits. I am elated he is doing better in school and can tolerate the mood swings. His father on the other hand thinks it's going to destroy his brain and wants him off the drugs immediately. Does anyone know the long term effects of the drug on children's brains??

Answer 1

Hi, in response to your question about Adderall, it really depends on the child. I have a son who has ADHD and for years he struggled in school and was separated from the class for being distracted so easily. I tried the diets and therapy sessions until I finally agreed to put him on Adderall (this was prescribed by a specialist). A day after my son took his first dose of the Adderall, he had a seizure and then had another one not to long after. I along with the Doctors took him off of the Adderall and he then began using Strattera which he did better on for awhile, until his body got use to it and his medication had to be changed again. For the last two years he has been on Concerta and I have found that he has had the best results with this medication. He does have to take medications for the seizures as well. It was never proven that the Adderall caused the seizures, but since he has stopped taking it, he has not had another one. Every child reacts differently to medications so please remember to check frequently for changes in his behavior, mood, attitude and appetite. also have his blood levels checked regularly to make sure that the medicine is not damaging his liver function. Good luck I hope everything turns out well for your family.

Answer 2

In a word yes Adderall is dangerous. It is speed that is prescribed by a doctor, and it has all the dangers of any other amphetamine. Addiction, high blood pressure, decreased appetite and so on. ADHD and ADD have both been linked to low Zinc levels. Did your doctor tell you that? Check out the links below for more info. (my stepson's mother put him on adderall has his behavior improved yes, but he barely eats now and throws up frequently. He got out of hand sometimes before but that worried me a lot less than him not eating anything unless I push him because he will go for over 10 hours with out eating unless you make him.)

Answer 3

i'll have to agree with his father. this drug is nothing more than legal speed. my husband was on it for several years and he's now having to have thousands of dollars worth dental work done due to the drug. meth mouth basicly. he also experienced the same "come down" symptoms as you described your son having. severe anger, mood swings, etc. from everyone ive heard who has taken it, it does the same thing to them.

as a teen, i used the drug recreationally. im not ADD but when on it i wanted concentrate more, be happy and get along with everyone. it's gonna do that to anyone who takes it, ADD or not. it's speed for god's sake. the side effects and what it's doing to a person's brain and body is far worse than being a regular kid. kid's are wild. there are more natural approaches to dealing with better concentrating that dont fry a child's brain. try a chiropractor or natural doctor. and please end this horrid drug.

Answer 4

I've worked in child and adolescent psych as a RN.  I've never observed the mood swings when "coming down" off Adderall.  

It sounds like the behavior specialist went through the right steps for the ADHD diagnosis and I'm glad you are seeing a specialist instead of a pediatrician.  

I do support the use of ADHD meds when the diagnosis is genuine.  It's been my experience that ADHD is thrown at any kid that ever has to stay after school.  

You can always get a second opinion from a board certified child/adolescent psychiatrist.  One of the other medications in the same class as Adderall may be better suited.  Any kind of psych medications, from antidepressants on down, need to be adjusted to the individual.  It's much tricker than say, giving an antibiotic for an infection because there is no blood test to say exactly what med and at what dose will do the trick.

But if you are seeing the improvements, that's encouraging.  

Good luck!

Answer 5

Concerned mom:

First, let me reassure you that ADHD is a REAL medical condition.  While it may be over-diagnosed in the United States, that doesnt mean that it isnt real.  The consequences of untreated ADHD can be very detrimental.  Long-term studies have shown that children who have ADHD that dont get treated have a statistically significant HIGHER chance of not going to college, getting in a car accident, getting pregnant, being unemployed, and doing drugs.  So do NOT feel bad about treating your son.

That being said, here is a brief rundown of the ADHD meds.  There are only 2 basic medicines out there, methyphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin, Focalin, Metadate) and amphetamine (Adderall, AdderallXR, Vyvanse).  Most people will respond better to one than the other.  It sounds like your son responds well to amphetamine (it works during the school hours).

Generally speaking, amphetamine works better than methylphenidate.  However, the tolerability is not quite as good.  Most of this is caused by the rapidly changes levels of medication in the blood of amphetamine.  The late day meltdown is VERY common with Adderall and AdderallXR.  There is a new form of amphetamine on the market now (it just came out 9 months ago) called VYVANSE.  It has the same active ingrediant as Adderall, but it has a much smoother delivery system designed to eliminate rapidly changing blood levels.  Bottom line - this will reduce the late day meltdown and also not effect your son's appetite as much.  This may be a good option for your son.

Finally, there is just as much long term data on the safetly of stimulants (when used properly) as there is on the dangers of untreated ADHD.  Amphetamines have been around for more than 50 years.  There are long term studies showing the children who have taken amphetamines for several years end up fine.  While your son wont ever outgrow ADHD, that doesnt mean that he will have to be on medicine for the rest of his life.  As you get older, you learn how to cope with ADHD better (again, you dont outgrow it).

I dont know what dose of adderall your son is on (I assume he is on AdderallXR?).  If you dont want to try the Vyvanse, then you could give your son a very lose dose of short acting Adderall (immediate release) right before the meltdown (somewhere around 2.5mg to 5mg).  This would have somewhat of the same effect, being that it would smooth out the blood levels of amphetamine (keeping it from falling off the table at the end of the day).  There will still be a slight meltdown when the immediate release adderall wears off, but it should be much less than when the AdderallXR wears off.

If you son truly does have ADHD, the worst thing you could do for him is not to treat him.  The social and intellectual consequences of letting this go untreated can be devastating.

Good luck!

Answer 6

My 10 year old daughter has adhd and has tried adderrall.  It did not work for her.  She takes concerta now and ritalin.  it helps.  My daughter also disrupted class she could not sit in her seat.  The teacher counted how many times one day and it was 27 times.  i dont know the long tearm effects.  But alot of them can cause some problems.  Without the medication my daughter would be failing school.  So do not take advice from people knocking you for trying to help your child succeed.  They dont know what it is like to raise a child with adhd. We would not take these chances if it were not to benefit our children.  Most kids do grow out of this when they become teens or so I am told.  i would figure out which med will benefit your child the most because adhd is serious. give your child the best chance at life you can.  I think that you will do what is best for child.  The pharmacy often has info on the effects of meds too.  Good luck!  I truly mean that.  ADHD can be very stressfull!

Answer 7

I took adderrall concerta and ritalin for a combined 8 years (or so). I absolutely hated it and resent my mom for not giving me an option.  There are ways to control ADD and ADHD, through diet, excersize and other measures.  For me long term side affects seem to be weight gain, overly tolerant to caffene( it serioudly does nothing to me) and a strong resentment against my mom and possibly but not 100% sure GERD (acid reflux).  I still have ADD but I have it under control yeah I may have a short atention span but atleast I'm not drugged up.  Honestly pills are not the answer to everything.

As for side effect while i was on it weight gain/loss, headaches, mood swings, stomach pain, depression, loss of apetite, and insomnia.