Trying to find the right medication - try 3

hmonster

New Member
Morning all.

we're a few months into a combined type adhd diagnosis for my first grader. Started Strattera in late Jan, and after a few months of back and forth - decided no go (saw improvement on the work front, but his appetite and mood were lousy, and after losing 6lbs off a 50lb frame we decided no go).

He's been taking focalin xr for a few days - his focus is okay, but he's nonstop talk, so much so there are times I have to tell him to take a breath. From what I can tell, this seems to be a prospective side effect. Have a call into the pedia, but my gut is that we are going back to the drawing board again.

My little guy is a champ - smart, outgoing, incredibly athletic. To quote him 'it feels like there's bees in my head and I can't think' - plus a serious case of the fidgets. We've been to a pediatric psychiatric - no mood disorder, just good old fashioned ADHD, and now we are trying to do what we can to help him be as successful as possible.

So - with that long preamble, was wondering if people had gone through the same patterns we did (strattera, focalin, etc) and what the ultimate success was - a specific medication, treatment pattern, etc. We're already doing behavior modification charts (points based) and loading the kid up on protein in the am to help drive the brain power....I'm open to just about anything at this point

thank

Heather
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I have a fourteen year old daughter who was diagnosed with ADD this year. Because she is older, she can explain how she feels about medication. After trying Concerta and continuing to up the dose because she felt it did her no good, she came home one day and said she would never take a stimulant again. She said she was "flying" all day at school, couldn't shut up, couldn't sit still, couldn't focus AT ALL, started babbling to herself...we decided we'd deal with this without medication. It sounded to me like she felt as if she was on speed, which is exactly what Concerta is (and all stimulants). She has no interest in Straterra and I haven't heard anything really good about it.I'd like to add that during her entire Concerta trial, even on the smallest dose, she wasn't hungry and had trouble falling asleep. I failed to see how lack of sleep would help her in school, and was not about to give her three medications to counteract one.

Sounds like your little guy is having the same effects my daughter did. If that's how he feels on it, I don't blame him for not liking it. I personally feel they hand out stimulants way too fast. JMO :)
 
T

TeDo

Guest
My difficult child was diagnosed with combined type ADHD when he was 4. We tried a stimulant (adderall) and that DID make him "fly". We stopped it after only 1 dose! He has paradoxical reactions to a lot of medications so he needs to be on a non-stimulant. Strattera works great for us but not all medications work well for all people. If the Strattera didn't work, you might want to try a different non-stimulant. Personally, "just good old fashioned ADHD" should still be treated by a psychiatric and not a pediatrician. in my humble opinion. Good luck.
 
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