Which medication works best for impulse

[Emerald]

Hi There Everyone:

IT has been ages since I posted on this site. Visit often but haven't posted. my 9 yr old difficult child has been on Concerta prescribed through our family Dr. for the past year and a half. He takes 27 mg each day. It seems that he isn't hyperactive anymore, doesn't get up and run around the room, or sharpen his pencil 5 times, chew the rubbers off, talk out in class so this is wonderful. However, he does still have impulse issues and attention issues.

I am wondering if anyone has any feed back as to which medication they found seemed to address the impulse factor and the attention issue. Obviously Concerta isn't the right choice for our difficult child or maybe the dosage isn't high enough.

We are going to have him evaluated again and see if something else is suggested. I just hate the feeling the our son is like a guinea pig. He doesn't have emotional issues so far. No aggresiveness or depressive behaviour. I am scared that we will rock the boat if we try something new.

Has anyone else felt this way? Should we just accept that this is about as good as it will get and let it be. He is doind okay in school but has to have alot of help and reminders to stay on task. He doesn't have friends becuase he doesn't listen to game instructions or acts impulsively etc.

Any suggestions as to what others fund the medications did or didn't do would be helpful.

Thanks again guys.

Emerald

 

[smallworld]

There is no one medication that is the best for attention or impulsivity. Unfortunately, finding the right medication is a trial and error process. If your difficult child has been on the same dose for 1.5 years, there's a chance he does need a higher dose. Definitely something to ask the doctor. And if a higher dose doesn't work, you may have to switch to another medication. The choices include Adderall, Strattera, Focalin and Wellbutrin.

 

[TrishaBC]

Ask the family doctor to refer you to a pediatrition, I find family docs are not specialized quite enough to determine what's best when medicating my difficult child.(Just my opinion) Chances are he's not getting enough Concerta and an increase might help. I too hate having to put my difficult child through a guinea pig trial, but sadly it's the only way to see how he'll react. And when you see the positive results of having him on the right medications, it's all worth it.

 

[Tezzie]

Emerald,
If you look at the medications after difficult child 1, you'll see he takes a "cocktail". My understanding is that Concerta is to increase his ability to focus, the Depakote & Tenex are for impulse control & anger control & I can't remember what the Seroquel is for. Without any one of them, I wouldn't want to have him around at all. As others have suggested, I would check with a psychiatrist because not even pediatricians have enough training to be as helpful as psychiatrists with medications. Good luck.

Tezzie

 

[TerryJ2]

We use Adderal and it works very well for everything. It was the first thing we tried. We are very, very lucky.
The impulse control is "helped" by the medications, but you still have to teach your child to maintain control over his impulses. The drugs, no matter how good, are not the entire answer. You've got to slow him down enough to explain which behaviors are impulsive and how to get him to think twice b4 doing things.
It's all very experimental... even when adults take medications, say, antibiotics for an infection, they may not work, and may make it worse. I know the guinea pig feeling, but it's a fact of life. Sigh.
Good luck!

 

[DDD]

Each person reacts differently to the medications. What is great for one family is a disaster for another..even when you are talking
about the same age, symptoms etc. That is the MOST frustrating
part of this Warrior Mom life. It is not simple. Sometimes 2
plus 1 does not equal three...bummer.

Concerta is the medication that works best for my family. The 36 mg.
was the minimum effective dose for one. My younger gson takes
72 mgs of concerta in addition to two other medications. in my humble opinion the most
important thing to do is find the best, highest quality, expert
MD. The family docs, and the pediatricians are often bright, kind and caring AND assessible. on the other hand finding the right balance
of medications for a child so he/she can function at the best possible
level many times requires a child psychiatrist.

In answer to your question???????? Yep, all of us have been where you are and had to force ourselves to experiment with the
help of experts. It is not what any parent wants! Hugs. DDD

 

[ME & THE BOYS]

Hello there,

medications can work for one, yet not another. They are no different from one type aspirin working for one individual.....i.e. Tylenol, yet Advil perhaps not working for that same individual.

My son initially took Ritalin for his ADHD (to help with his impulsivity,,,). It did not work, infact......he went to school and painted is teachers computer screen. But, he was not angry when he did it. Just went about it as if it was not odd. He had never done anythign like this before. He then went on Strattara. This drug had no positive/negative effect. When his Psychiatrist then suggested Concerta, I thought is she nuts? Why? Ritalin and Concerta are more or less the same, as are Tylenol/Advil. She explained that she didn't know why, but she had seen one drug work well and the other did nothing. I was apprehensive seeing how he had painted his teachers screen. She said to try it on non school days at home, this way, if he was gonna react to it in a non positive way, I would see it at home.

Well, he tried it. Nothing. Eventually, he went up another dosage level. Still nothing. We tried one last dosage level and within a half an hour, MAGIC HAPPENED. Yes........it worked and worked well. This has been a very good drug for my son. He takes one pill a day of concerta, 36 mg. He works for roughtly 10 or so hours I find.

Hope this helps.