ADHD meds... what symptoms do they help with?

amother

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 2:48 pm

After years and years of therapies, it's time to face the facts that 2 of my children need meds. I'm going to meet with our pediatrician next week to discuss this and get a referral, but I want to do my own research first. My main question is what areas of ADHD are helped with meds. Obviously it helps with focusing. What about impulsivity? What else does it help with? On the flip side, what doesn't it help with?

One of my children also has GAD. Is there any med that will help with both? DC is currently not on any meds.

Any tips for a mom doing this for the first time?

FYI I already know about the importance of a neuropsych eval and I'm planning to get one for at least one of my children. The other one I'm not sure needs one and I can't afford it for 2 children. It isn't covered where I live.

amother

Magenta

Mon, Nov 06 2023, 6:44 pm

There are different classes of medications, and your psychiatrist would select one vs another depending on which symptoms are most interfering with the child's ability to function in their environment. So you could target attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, irritability, etc depending on the child's needs. There are a variety of medications and dosages so that it can be customized to each child's needs.

I know you mentioned getting a referral from your pediatrician, not medication from your pediatrician. I know that some pediatricians do prescribe for ADHD and I strongly recommend not going that route. A specialist is the best person to help you with this.

Good luck!

amother

Puce

Tue, Nov 07 2023, 8:53 am

amother Periwinkle wrote:

That's kinda sad. Wanting to glue kids to their chairs is not a reason for meds.

It's not sad. What's sad is that my child could not physically sit still and was always (unwittingly) disturbing the class. He could not still long enough to focus on gemara and ended up spending a lot of time in the hallway. Medication provided the "glue" that he needed when he was younger and b"H he is thriving. He is now in 11th grade and is no longer on medication. He was able to mature and develop self control to be able to sit thru a shiur. I truly feel that if he did not get that "glue to his chair" when he was in elementary school, he would have landed in a mesivta that was lower than his level.

amother

Blonde

Tue, Nov 07 2023, 10:27 am

amother Magenta wrote:

Wondering why you recommend not getting meds through my pediatrician.
I just got my son meds thru our ped. Hes doing so much better than he was. Hes able to focus much better...
You think its worth going to a specialist even now?

amother

DarkKhaki

Tue, Nov 07 2023, 1:15 pm

I have one son who has an abnormal presentation of ADHD. He doesn't seem to have problems focusing at all, but would have random impulsive moments that he could not control. (Several times a day, but the entire rest of the day he was an angel, and he would get so upset at himself for those times and say he didn't even realize he was going it until after!)

We started him on meds, even though they said it was "subclinical" and wouldn't diagnose him. Suddenly, those "several times a day" were gone. The rest of him was unchanged. He was SO much happier. This was in fourth grade, he's in sixth now, and the great kid that he always was...without those behaviors. When we miss a dose, which is rare, he's suddenly getting in trouble in school and home again (and his sibling who is very close to him suddenly can't stand him that day, even though she has no idea she hasn't been on his meds...she just ends up being one of the targets when he's off of them). So that's a long answer to say that yes, stimulant medication definitely helped him with impulsivity.

I have one other child on meds who has a very typical textbook presentation of ADHD. The one thing that I would say it doesn't help with is SKILLS. They say that "pills don't teach skills" -- and they're halfway right. They don't teach skills, but they can enable a child who cannot learn the skills to be able to learn them.

It sounds like you've had these kids in therapy for a while. This child was in therapy and it was like talking to a wall. After medicating him, he suddenly started actually using the skills he was learning in therapy. Before meds, he was a social outcast. He felt that all the kids and teachers hated him (he was probably right, to be honest), and his siblings too (he was definitely right there, they were terrified of him). After meds, there was a marked difference. A few months later he started coming home talking about "his friends" for the first time since preschool. The following school year he made his first "best friend." He is now in high school, still on meds, and a happy, well-adjusted boy who is a leader in his class, very confident, has a ton of personality and is (other than some minor teenage stuff) a really great kid.

I hope that helps.

amother

DarkKhaki

Tue, Nov 07 2023, 1:17 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

My kids were medicated through our pediatrician. B"H the first med they got on worked at the first dose.

It was going to take months to get to a good specialist, so I was told to try at a ped (while making an appointment at a specialist, just in case) and if we hit any snags, go to a specialist instead. No snags, B"H, so no specialist.

ETA: But to the OP who said one child has GAD, I would maybe try to get him seen by the specialist from the start. Stimulants can be hard for kids with anxiety, and you want the person you see to be educated about how to avoid that. If money is an issue, maybe try to see a developmental pediatrician? The wait time is very long, but they are more knowledgeable about this stuff than a pediatrician and are usually covered by insurance.

amother

Magenta

Tue, Nov 07 2023, 1:22 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

If you got the results you wanted, BH! And no need to switch to a specialist right now. Many times it's not so straightforward, and in those cases a specialist is much more qualified to find the right medication at the right dosage.