School-Aged Children
Adderall ? *updated*
My son was switched from Ritalin to Adderall for his ADHD. He is 6 and a half. We switched because he was not eating, and we dont want to give him more than one dose a day. Is there anyone that has had a positive, or negative experience with this drug? Can you please tell me about it? TYIA.
Effing crazy people.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Adderall ? *updated*
Thank you bmstee03, I am going to ask his dr about the xr. I do make sure to feed him as much as I can while he is not medicated. He has a hearty breakfast, but at school he doesnt eat. I pack him lunches, and they come home uneaten. He eats the cafeteria food, but that food sucks nutritionally. I try to feed him as much as he will eat after school as well.
Thanks for all of the advice, keep it coming please. Even if this thread is days old, I will check on it.
My DS is on the XR and eats but not a lot and can "forget" to eat. We have him drink his special Chocolate Milk w/ dinner every night. It's carnation instant breakfast but at least it's protiens and vitamins. he also like s hard boiled eggs so I try to keep them around so he can have that as a quick snack.
Also it's not a med that has to build up and remain in his system so I take him off it over the weekends, breaks and summer. He eats like it's going out of style. I'm not looking forward to what it will be like when he's a little older, he's 11 now.
I have a client that went from Ritalin to Adderall 10mg. On Ritalin, he was also thin and a very picky eater. On Adderall, he gain a significant amount of weight (2 pull up sizes; he is incontinent @ age 8) and over a year's time his mom was able to triple the list of items he was willing to eat. Now, she is having to get him to exercise a little more.
Hunter is a skinny kid already, but no, he hasn't lost weight, he has gained normally and is just above the 50% for both hight and weight.I try to feed him hearty foods, and have done some research on foods that may help ease the ADHD symptoms. I also don't medicate when he isn't at school, but if he asks to take it, I let him.
Update:
Hunter is doing great so far on this new medication. I have noticed an immediate change for the better at home, and his teacher notices an improvement at school. This med lasts longer, and it doesn't seem to make him crash like the other did. He also told me that the Ritalin made him feel weird, and the Adderall doesn't.
I posted an AW post above about him, so I wont ramble on here.
I have a ds who will be 7 in a few weeks. He has been on medication since just after he turned 3 years old. It was a very hard decision to medicate him and do it so you ng but it was for his own safety as he was so impulsive that he was darting infront of cars, for example.
We had a heck of a time finding a medication that suited him. He started on Adderall and then went to the Adderall XR. It seemed to slow his body down but that was about it. He didn't eat well on either of them. Although he was a little better on it, I felt that he was still a little off and proceeded with the ped on further testing and treatment. WE went for neuropsych evals, behavior evals, psych evals, and going through our local community mental health office. Austin has a psychologist that he sees every couple of months, that regulates his meds and a therapist he sees about once a month.
Anyway, we ended up with a diagnosis of PDD (pervasive development disorder) it is on the austism spectrum. He also has ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) and ADHD.
After we got this diagnosis, we changed medication to Vyvanse. It was the absolute best thing we have done for him. He is on the small side but when he is hungry... he eats. The don't hound him at school, anymore. He does take it over the weekend but this summer I took him off and he gained 4 pounds!
I saw your AW post and that sounds a lot like Austin this year. I had his conference yesterday and he is in the highest reading level in the class (most are at 4 and he is at level 8) and he is working on multiplication, IN FIRST GRADE! His behavior this year is 1000 times better this year. Infact, he has been doing so well that he saw the doctor in October and we are not going back until mid January to follow up. It is the longest we have been without seeing the doctor in almost 4 years!
I am sorry this is long and I don't know the whole situation with you little guy...and this is my first post on this board... but I would encourage everyone to keep going with a diagnosis other than your pediatritian. We would have never had the other diagnosis if I had not pushed for more treatment. Our ped is great but I am happy I pressed him.
I think it sounds like you are a great advocate for your son... love to see that. It doesn't happen enough these days!
Hi there,
I'm a 3rd grade teacher who wasn't diagnosed with ADD until after college. I went through a bunch of different drug options and settled on Adderall XR. It worked amazingly for me for about 2 years with few side effects. I had to start taking sleep aids because I couldn't shut my mind off, and I did lose some weight...but I needed to drop some lbs.
After being on it for just over 2 years I began not being able to sleep even with the sleep aids, and was in a horrible car accident because I had not slept in 4 or 5 days and fell asleep at the wheel...all is fine now, and I'm certainly not blaming the Adderall...just saying keep an eye out for changes in habits, moods, etc...even if they've been tolerating the meds well for a long time.
HTH,
Amy