Adderall?? Need advice on this drug.

[misk]

Maybe because I am new to this and just starting a lot of research (previously just though perhaps I had been an awful parent)....I am really intersted in the comments about caffine.

My little guy is undergoing weekly therapy with a psychiatric so that they she can work on his anxiety issues before they try to figure out how to deal with the ODD. I SOOOOO get that comment about my little guy turning into a monster, and then not understanding why he did it and getting quite upset..

After being suspended twice this week, we had our therapy on Friday. He had a HUGE iced tea for lunch (and choc. ice cream) which is something I don't usually let him have because I worry about him getting wired. Low and behold - he went to school and had the best afternoon he had had in months. The teachers were amazed!

Could caffine be good for an ODD 6 year old? Any more info on those thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Sara PA]

There are any number of people who give their children coffee or other caffeinated drinks rather than medication; I suspect it's pretty common, relatively speaking. I don't know how many people, if any, on this board have done it or do it.

The experience with the tea (chocolate really has very little caffeine in it) may indicate that you son is someone who respondes positively to stimulants.

Keep in mind, though, that any stimulant can cause or worsen anxiety either while it's in the body or at the point when the body has to readjust to not having it.

 

[gcvmom]

Speaking from experience, husband medicates himself with caffeine daily (he's a diet Coke addict) -- and it probably does help him with his ADHD.

I tried giving difficult child 2 Mountain Dew (LOTS of caffeine) this summer when he couldn't take his regular stimulant and it did help him. I think the main problem with choosing this route is that it's hard to know just how much they're getting from a food source of caffeine and how long it will last in their system.

With a winter break from school coming up, it might be a good time to try out your idea.

 

[misk]

Thanks for that information (and I had NO IDEA that Mountain Dew was high in caffine!).

He is away at his dad's this weekend, so I will see how it went there, but I will definately do a little experiment over the holidays.

I would love it if something so simple could make a small difference while we sort out the other stuff. He does have an anxiety problem, so I will watch carefully.

LOVING the snow up here in Canada today!!!!!

 

[svengandhi]

My son started taking Adderall in third grade after a year of Ritalin, which was horrible for him.

We did not have the side effects with Adderall that we did with Ritalin.

He was on the medications for about 6 years and then went off at his own request when he transferred to a school that specializes in Asperger's and ADD, etc.

However, he just recently asked to try medications again so we have an upcoming appointment with the neuro who has prescribed for him for 10 years.

The only dosage we ever had a problem with was 20 Mgs. longacting. It made him violent, but that stopped when we went back down to regular 10 mgs twice a day.

Good luck.

 

[svengandhi]

As for the caffeine, I have heard that it can have a positive effect on ADD kids.

Last night, my two oldest boys (17 and 13) had Red Bull for the first time. My 13-year-old, who is NOT ADHD/ADD, became like a maniac, talking a mile a minute, pacing around the room and generally babbling. This is a boy whose picture is next to "Strong and Silent, emphasis on silent" in the dictionary, the boy who did a 20 minute QUARTER-mile in gym because he just won't move, who just does not talk! We joked about giving him a teaspoonful of this stuff before school so maybe he'd participate in class.

My older boy is Aspie/ADD, inattentive, and the Red Bull got him focused. He said most of the kids at his school for Aspie, ADD, etc. kids are addicted to the stuff but he personally hates it.