adhd medications

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My son who is 6 has been diagnosed with aspergers as well as adhd seems to be more anxious lately.. Mom and I would like to see how much his symptoms are caused by adhd and are considering medication. We have been extremely opposed to this but our Caleb seems so tense and uncomfortable lately. I would like to hear from other parents who have children with this dual diagnosis and how they handled it. Thanx, Paul

Anxiety is a common side effect caused by stimulant medications used to treat ADHD.

My son dx ASD, ADHD,OCD he takes strattera for ADHD & Prozac for OCD/anxiety. He is 13yrs old.

He is very difficult to manage and this is because of the stress at school. His anxieties are heighten daily at school and of course other situations. Without medication I don't think he would be able to cope with school he is in post primary and the transition has been traumatic for him and all of us as a family. Each child is different.

whilst the medication does help you also need other interventions speech & language, CBT and OT etc. I hope he can get the support to cease medication in the future.

In primary school he was unable to express or communicate the difficulties he was experiencing he would just meltdown terrible ones when I would pick him up everyday. The strattera does help with him completing homework, concentration and focus and also helps with hyper activity. If you son can manage school etc then I would hold off medication and educate yourself with all the interventions and supports available. Get your school on board this is really important. Your son is young supports from the school now is important this could prevent you having to use medication.

There is another thread recently with lots of posts about ADHD Meds.

My daughter with AS did a trial of Ritalin. It was a complete disaster. She became violent in the evenings. She is very sensitive to meds and the changes they create in her body though.

As someone said, anxiety is common with AS. Better to treat the anxiety than and ADHD symptoms in my opinion. There are a lot of newer anxiety meds used with kids now and they are not benzos or habit forming so they are very safe.

My daughter is 7 and we have our first neurologist appointment on December 21st. Some days I don't even know if I'll make it that long! She has been receiving different therapies since she was 4 years old. This year in school (and home) have been such a challenge. I hate the idea of medication, but I honestly can't see another way.

I also think I'm feeling strongly about therapy. I do plan to ask the neurologist for recommendations. The one we're seeing is at the main children's hospital, so I should be able to find whatever specialty (child psychologist, family psychologist, psychiatrist) they feel we might need.

It's a struggle, no doubt...the behavior and figuring out the "right" way to treat our children. And there is no ONE magic fix for all children, so finding the solution for any child is a struggle. And the solution I find for my daughter, I already know, won't be the same one I'll need for my son. Even more of a chance for me to get things wrong!

Anyway, i don't want to hijack your thread...just giving you support.

If he has anxiety problems, you should really do a trial run with Desoxyn. There's an absurd amount of unwarranted stigma over it because it's methamphetamine, but when you cut through the BS and politics, it's probably the best stimulant med out there for ADD+AS. It has no significant PNS-related side effects. It doesn't make anxiety worse. It does exactly what it's supposed to do (improve focus), and nothing else.

Check out Tambourine-Man's journal about his own experiences with it: http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113344

Hello!

My son is 6 and also diagnosed AS/ADHD recently, we started on Focalin and the results have been amazing per his teachers. I notice a little difference but not a huge jump at all. He is still the same kid but able to concentrate much easier.

I would recommend it to anyone who has a child with ADHD and is ready to try meds.

Please, do your son a huge favor, and give him Concerta instead. As somebody who's taken all the above at one point or another since kindergarten, I can unequivocably say that Concerta is better than Focalin (IR and XR) in every meaningful way. When you're talking about a drug whose half-life is as short as methylphenidate's, the delivery mechanism is almost more important than the drug itself.

When IR methylphenidate crashes, it's terrible. You see it as your son crying, getting weepy/irritable, or just freaking out. He experiences it as crushing headaches, overwhelming nausea, and tiredness that literally comes crashing down out of the blue like clockwork 3.5-4 hours after taking his first dose of the day. You still "fade" and get kind of weepy or tired when Concerta is wearing off, but it's nothing like the crash you get from IR methylphenidate or conventional SR formulations.

Remember, Focalin XR is just the equivalent of two IR tablets, one of which happens to metabolize 4 or 5 hours after the first. Concerta actually contains a nifty passive hydraulic pump mechanism that absorbs liquids from the digestive tract at a fixed rate, and slowly squeezes out a steady stream of methylphenidate gel as the sponge expands that causes the amount in the blood to slowly INCREASE all day (counteracting the tolerance that builds up daily, and resets nightly while sleeping).

IR methylphenidate (or better yet, Focalin IR) is still good to have around to extend Concerta after it drops below therapeutic levels later in the day. Because it's still releasing methylphenidate at that point, you don't need a lot of IR to bump him back up to therapeutic levels -- 2.5mg late in the afternoon, maybe a second one 4 or 5 hours later, should do the job nicely. Focalin IR is totally 100% compatible with Concerta.

My son was on focalin xr for 4 years, I HATED it. He was jumpy and it gave him anxieties that he didn't have when he was off him Medication. We recently switched him to Vyvanse. The difference is amazing. We have our little boy back! He talks so much more, plays again and can go outside again without being afraid of the bugs! His grades have come up and he is doing so much better. We have had zero melts down and now just have to deal with preteen attitude which is going to happen no matter what. So I am very happen with his new meds:)