ADHD meds. Safest and most effective

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following Log in

Join Now

| | | | |

Forum -> Children's Health

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:16 pm

My child who is 12 was on Adderall for a year. I was unsure the whole time if it was helping him. It seemed to have only helped the first few days and then we just upped it and then upped it again. I never could get straight answers from his teacher or him about it's effectiveness and he seemed to have become actually more difficult at home even when he was on it and for sure when he was off it. Although he did insist that he could focus better adjustments had been made in the classroom and he had gotten a tutor all at the same time.

This year I added some vitamins to help with side effects (lack of appetite mostly) he got calmer and ate better and gained weight.

Now with the Adderall shortage I ended up slowly taking him off it. He's been off completely now for 2 weeks and right away I could see that he wasn't himself. He was very hyper, tired, moody and getting into trouble at school. Although lowering the dose seemed to have no effect at all, going completely off it did.

It just hit me that it might be withdrawal.

I just read online that meds like straterra, Wellbutrin and Intuniv are really safer and better but they just take longer.

Would like to hear ppls opinions.

(Did try concerta and he got an aweful migraine)

frummiebackhome

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:26 pm

Vyvanse worked best for me

amother

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:37 pm

frummiebackhome wrote:

Vyvanse worked best for me

What about it worked

amother

Papaya

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:40 pm

All meds have side effects. Period. That’s what meds do. They mess with your natural body.
Perhaps keep him on the current one while implementing natural changes such as diet and emotional regulation as well as more nature and less force.

frummiebackhome

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:43 pm

amother OP wrote:

What about it worked

I cannot compare because I never took Adderall. I can compare with Ritalin and concerta though. I get more focused but it's not like I'm "high", the effect is steady through the day, I don't really crash hard after it wears off like Ritalin.
There was lack of appetite but after a few weeks went back to normal, but being more focused also helps with eating well/the right times and the right amounts.
Also I feel that I get less anxious with Vyvanse than other drugs.
Having said that, I would try the non stimulant drugs in a heartbeat if they were available where I live.

frummiebackhome

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:47 pm

I want to add that I think you could bring this situation to your child's doctor because you've been trying the same medication for a while now (more than a year?). I would definitely ask for other options, combination of different medication, dosage etc.
Regarding side effects: I agree with comment above. For me personally it is really worth it to deal with minor side effects to have a tremendous benefit.

amother

Oleander

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 9:18 pm

Different people respond to medications differently. Adderall made my family member withdrawn and depressed. Ritalin had awful rebound. Bh vyvanse works. It's trial and error, each person will have their own story

amother

Yolk

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 9:27 pm

Dd’s development ped said that meds like adderall work nearly 90% of the time and meds like strattera work something like 50%. So he tries the stimulants first. Dd does reasonably well on strattera so it’s kind of the luck of the draw. It definitely takes a few weeks to kick in, or to see changes if you change the dose.

amother

Hibiscus

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 9:29 pm

Low dose focalin is working for my dd.

amother

Tanzanite

Wed, Dec 28 2022, 9:42 pm

We are using a combination of Astarys (a new sister drug to vyvanse) and intuiniv. It is helping in school but I don’t see much at home.

He tried straterra for a long time and two doctors were pushing it and I finally switched away from both of them because they just didn’t listen. It wasn’t doing anything.

I find it completely person dependent. One person will have Ritalin be the magic pill and another it won’t do much. Or in my son’s case none of them work enough or well enough. Sigh

amother

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 9:21 am

Thanks for all the replies. I also found my son's psychiatrist wasn't listening to my concerns. So frustrating.

theoneandonly

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 10:13 am

frummiebackhome wrote:

Vyvanse worked best for me

Lol and I came in here to warn op away from Vyvanse. It made dh extremely, irrationally angry.

amother

Lemon

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 10:36 am

amother OP wrote:

I think you're on to something with the withdrawal effect. That's why he was ok with a low dose but not stopping altogether. I would suggest continuing to taper down but very slowly. Maybe you can give him half of the lowest dose pill every day or even every other day. (Of course speak to your doctor first! Dont base it off what I say.)

amother

Violet

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 11:53 am

It could be withdrawal - it can be dangerous to try to taper him off yourself without medical guidance.

When I was little, we tried this with Ritalin, which had been amazing (we tried to stop for the summer), and I ended up suicidal because we didn't realize we weren't tapering properly.

If he already has withdrawal, I don't know that suddenly putting him back on will make thigns better or worse, please speak to a psychiatrist ASAP.

amother

Lily

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 11:57 am

Azstarys is working for us

amother

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 12:32 pm

Lemon and violet, I actually did not know that there's is such a thing as withdrawal, otherwise would not have done it without doc. As it is I was having a really hard time getting Adderall and the doc did not say anything about that.

I'm going to try putting him to bed early for the next whole week and letting him sleep in. I didn't realize it can make you tired and of course he didn't tell me he was tired so I think that probably is making it worse.

amother

Green

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 1:11 pm

My son is on vyvance and has been doing amazing! (Has a small amount of tics that are almost not noticeable)
He was great with ritalin but then started ticking terribly.
He was on Attent (possibly called something else in the US) and he got so angry,had terrible outbursts. He looked like he was a madman.
B"h we are so happy with the vyvance.

theoneandonly

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 1:41 pm

amother Green wrote:

Attent is Adderall, which is what her son is on.

I'm surprised so many ppl are happy with Vyvanse. It was really so terrible for dh. Just goes to show that everyone is different and medication needs to be so personalized.

amother

Green

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 1:49 pm

[quote="theoneandonly"]Attent is Adderall, which is what her son is on.

Thanks for clarifying.

amother

Freesia

Thu, Dec 29 2022, 1:51 pm

We love vyvanse. My kids did horribly on ritalin. Son was on strattera for a year and it did nothing. Vyvanse has been a lifesaver for us.

Page 1 of 1