Drug trial

[Malika]

Hello all. You may remember my agonising over whether or not to try medications with J. Well, for reasons that I won't bore you with, I did decide to give it a trial. Started this Saturday as yesterday was a public holiday and he would have three days before school.

So here is what happened: he seemed a bit calmer, a bit less hyperactive but concentration seemed about the same. His face erupted in red spots and he kept itching his face. He didn't want to eat much at all during the day. However, the worst was that at night he could not sleep and, after becoming SUPER agitated and impulsive, he on both nights went into violent rages (whereas he always, always goes to sleep happily and calmly at about 8pm). The one on Sunday night was really frightening. He started attacking me violently and his body and mouth kept jerking in uncontrollable movements. It was as if he was having a psychotic episode.

I had determined to see out the month's trial because I know side effects can decrease or disappear after a few days but I just could not go on after this. It was awful. So I stopped yesterday and he went to bed as usual and slept soundly through the night.

Interesting also that concentration seemed barely affected??

 

[InsaneCdn]

If the medication isn't the right one... then yes, you can see all side-effects and no intended effects...
Sometimes, that's because the side-effects are severe enough to be additional distraction.
Either way... some side effects just cannot be lived with.

 

[DDD]

Ditto. DDD

 

[susiestar]

You got valuable info by trying the medication.

I urge you to NOT insist on pushing through if you see these symptoms again. The itching and red spots are a MAJOR side effect and indicate an allergic reaction. That is dangerous. It is IMPERATIVE that you not continue a medication that causes an allergic reaction. Each time you are exposed to an allergen you body reacts more violently to it. It does NOT take many exposures for anaphylactic shock to occur. That is life threatening. ANY sign of breathing problems, rash, itching is a sign to STOP the medication NOW unless it is for a life threatening condition, in which case you MUST see the doctor before you give the next dose.

The other big problem with this medication is the uncontrollable jerking. When that happens while you are taking a medication, especially a new medication, it is a sign of tardive dyskinesia. If the medication is not stopped immediately, the uncontrollable movements can become permanent. No one wants that and from what I have heard, those uncontrollable movements can be very very painful. I was not sure if stimulants could cause tardive dyskinesia, but an online search shows a LOT of information about stims causing TD.

Of course it is important to talk about any problems with your doctor, but signs of either TD or allergic reaction (esp skin rash of any kind) are giant signs that you MUST stop the medicine. This medicine should be listed as an allergy on future forms that ask for any medication allergies.

I am sorry the medication didn't work the way you wanted it to. It is disappointing.

 

[TerryJ2]

I agree. Hives are nothing to mess with. I'm sorry.
You tried. Be sure to keep a record of it, at home, at the dr office, and at the pharmacy.

 

[Malika]

Thanks for the heads up. Frankly, the experience has made me extremely wary of ever trying a stimulant again. How can they prescribe these things without giving you a real idea of what might potentially happen? Of course some of this was written in the leaflet that came with it as potential side effects but it didn't say you should stop immediately or contact the doctor if they happen.

Interestingly, I had told J's teacher that I was going to be trying the medications and didn't have a chance to see him in the morning to tell him that I had abandoned the experiment. When I saw him at lunchtime, he told me that he had thought J was on the medications as he had concentrated so well!! The power of suggestion...

 

[DDD]

Which Rx did you try? I've never heard of hives or "red spots". Just for the sake of my continuing educations I'd like to know the dosage and the medication name. I'm sorry it was a bad trial for you all. DDD

 

[Malika]

In France it is marketed as Quasym and in the UK as Equasym. Metadate CD in the States, I believe. It spoke in the leaflet about "skin eruptions" as a possible side effect.

 

[HaoZi]

There are non-stimulant medications available for ADHD, at least in the US. It is scary to have a child have an allergic reaction to any medication, even an over the counter one, and I'm sorry it happened to him. We've had some scary experiences with medications, too (as have many moms here). The non-stimulant Storm used and did well on was Straterra. I'm not sure if it's available were you are or what's it called if it is, but I refused to put her on a stimulant for ADHD when other options were available because addictions run high on both sides of her family tree.

 

[IT1967]

I went and looked that drug up because honestly, I've never heard of it. It seems that it is a stimulant, but certainly not one that I've seen given to a lot of kids that I know of in the U.S. unless it's a generic name for something else. The typically prescribed stims here are Vyvanse, Focalin, Concerta, Strattera, Ritalin, but I've just never heard of Metadate. *shrugs* I will say that I tried my son on several different stims before we found one he could tolerate. I wouldn't abandon the whole medication route from one bad result. I've been there. It's scary and frustrating. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[BusynMember]

I'm with you, Malika. I don't think all ADHD kids, or those with ADHD symptoms, need medication and I have witnessed first hand that often medications can make one even worse. There are other ways you can help J. I know a lot of ADHD parents who don't like stimulants and many whose kids didn't do well on them. Every child is different. You know your son and are doing a good job. But good for you for trying!

 

[InsaneCdn]

Looks like it is part of the methylphenidate family - related to Ritalin, Concerta, etc. That's "usually" a fairly safe trial, but... stats don't mean a thing at the individual level. It does mean that you probably need to avoid that whole family of medications, though. Dexidrine is the only other "major" class of stims I'm aware of - the other ADHD medications are non-stimulant.
(not that you're going to be giving anything else a trial anytime soon!)

 

[Malika]

Strattera is not available here, though it is in the UK. I did look Metadate up on the forum search and saw there had been a couple of posts about bad experiences with it - as you say, IC, not that that means anything in itself. It's all so personal, it seems. He was on the lowest possible dose, 10 mg.

Was it definitely an allergic reaction? I don't think what he had was hives - it was like three or four red acne-type spots that appeared on his face, and he was itching his face a lot. Like I say, they listed that as a possible side effect.

He's so young and these medications are so strong... I can see myself in future possibly trying another one to help with school concentration - I can also see us battling ahead with alternative treatments and therapies only.

 

[HaoZi]

It was a bad reaction and ergo not the medication for him. Have it listed as an allergic reaction.

 

[busywend]

I think it is a slow release form of Ritalin....RX is once daily, right?

For sure list this reaction so it is never tried again! Yikes!

 

[Malika]

Yes, slow release and once a day, before breakfast.
J occasionally has meltdowns at night - he had one last night, as it goes, because I wouldn't let him out to play in the village as it was cold and rainy (and he was tired and hungry) but the difference with the ones he had while on the medications was that he is not usually violent or nasty and they don't happen late in the evening. Another of the listed side effects is that it can cause aggression. Isn't that crazy?

 

[SuZir]

Malika, it of course does sound crazy, but it tends to be the same with about any medication. If it has some potential to do something, it usually has also potential to side effects. And sometimes it is almost amusing. One of my closest friend suffers from migraines. She says that about every migraine medication she has ever tried have headache and nausea their two first (most common) side effects listed. Still they do help her.

What J had sounds more like an allergic reaction though than your regular side effects. And allergic reaction is of course always a possibility when you try some new medication or food or whatever.

 

[BusynMember]

Yes, slow release and once a day, before breakfast.
J occasionally has meltdowns at night - he had one last night, as it goes, because I wouldn't let him out to play in the village as it was cold and rainy (and he was tired and hungry) but the difference with the ones he had while on the medications was that he is not usually violent or nasty and they don't happen late in the evening. Another of the listed side effects is that it can cause aggression. Isn't that crazy?

Every stimulant Sonic ever tried made him mean and aggressive and he's not like that. It certainly did not improve his concentration and all of his doctors feel he has ADHD along with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). He WAS at one time extremely hyperactive and it didn't slow him down at all. Interventions helped him, not medication. Of course, all kids are different.
Straterra is an antidepressant, which is actually in longer than stimulants and also has a lot of side effects. After all we've been through with medication for kids, my attitude is, if your child is violent or non-functional, yes, try them. If not, try other things and make medications the last resort. There is no guarantee they will help and it can take years to find one that will, even if a medication is out there that WILL work.
I think your son had a combo of an allergic reaction plus the normal behaviors that kids who do poorly on stimulants have. Maybe another stimulant will be better in J's case. In ours, they all were horrible with Adderrall being the worst.
I admit I'm prejudice too because my older daughter badly abused ADHD drugs and a lot of teens do and they bring in a lot of money. For me, if a child must take drugs, I feel it is best to stick to those that are not controlled substances. My daughter would make $10 pill when she was on the street using drugs, including her brothers ADHD drugs.