Refuses to take ADHD meds

[Anonymous]

My daughter, 7, is refusing to take her medication. She was on Ritalin and is now switching to Stratera. It was already a struggle to get her to take Ritalin sprinkled on applesauce. Now she has to learn to swallow pills (or eat something with the meds sprinkled on it). Prizes, money not working.

Drs don’t have many helpful ideas other than incentives.

Without it, she struggles at school. Ritalin helped her focus but gave her anxiety and she didn’t eat. Now, she’s happier and has an appetite but isn’t making progress at school.

Have no clue what to do - any tips welcome!

[Anonymous]

Can you have her talk to the doctor to explain exactly how the medication helps?

I would listen very carefully to her thoughts and reasons, but you are the adult and she needs to comply. Can you put it in pudding so it slides down easily?

If she is completely non compliant, then you will have to make things very boring at home until she cooperates. No screens, no activities other than playing in the yard or reading books.

[Anonymous]

Does she give you a reason for her refusal? I am guessing that it is related to how bad Ritalin made her feel. And if that’s the case, how long did you keep her on Ritalin after she communicated how bad it was for her? This sounds like it could be a trust repair problem - meaning if you didn’t pay attention to how she was feeling before, does she believe you’ll ignore or discount her feelings about Straterra? Not saying this is it, but throwing it out for consideration.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, both! Good suggestions! Regarding the Ritalin, she told us it made her feel better, but she might have just been telling us what we wanted her to hear. She seemed to have hated the taste and consistency. It was hard to know! But definitely something to consider.

[Anonymous]

As a mom of two kids with severe ADHD, honestly, at that age, I would just hold off. My kids couldn't tolerate it and both waited until high school. I would swap the drugs for a ton of executive function coaching and tutoring, and make sure they're in an environment that tolerates the inattention. Those drugs make you feel horrible and starting at 7, staring down 20 years or more of it would make me cranky and not want to take it either. And I know I'll get criticized for this opinion, but I do have experience and stand by it. It's just too young to start these drugs.

[Anonymous]

If she is happier without the meds and has friends and can behave in school, I would probably hold off as well. Work with her at home on reading and math using a lot of multi sensory tools. Nothing they are doing in science or social studies really matters. It will be repeated about 3-4 times before high school.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the main problem is that she isn’t swallowing it as a capsule. I would work hard on that because that will give you all the options if you do need to switch, but if she doesn’t need to worry about the taste or consistency, the Ritalin she’s on might be fine. There are lots of videos about how to teach kids this and various cups on Amazon to help make it easier. I have a DC who had to take pills at a very young age and we use this to start: https://www.ocelco.com/store/pc/Pill-Takers-Cup-p15168.htm?network=g&device=m&keyword=&campaign=9353747959&adgroup=pla-293946777986&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6cKiBhD5ARIsAKXUdyap3CfbcKDiyJAw-6UoUMxbrY9BVbVJQ0oAvjYmMRC9s4Sy2CHGAWwaAhMbEALw_wcB

[Anonymous]

Maybe just listen to her. It "gave her anxiety and she didn’t eat."

That's your answer.

[Anonymous]

Can you get a pill crusher and just put it in something that she typically eats like yogurt or apple sauce?. You can kind of stir it in so the odds are. She won't even know it's in there....
I'm a firm believer that children should always know what medication they are taking so this is in a gray area for me... But if you feel she needs it and is non-compliant and need to get her to take it, it is a possibility....
I also would have consequences being no extracurricular activities or screens of any sort until she has med compliant if that is what her doctor has determined she needs

[Anonymous]

Swallowing pills is a great skill to learn. Fizzy beverages make it easiest. We use Izze's (fizzy juice). You can even start out pouring some into a cup, then putting the pill on the liquid against the side of the cup. Have her start drinking and take 2 big gulps.

[Anonymous]

You could try Quillivant. It's a liquid that works well for my 7yo. If you do try it, make sure you get the manufacturer's coupon (will make the co-pay $25) otherwise the price even with insurance is egregious.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks so much, everyone. I will try these suggestions right away. Fizzy drinks. Looking into Quillivant. Totally on fence about meds in general. Have sadly concluded, however, (at least for now) she needs it to have a chance of overcome learning challenges.

[Anonymous]

Op, I practiced with my young kids (started meds at age 6) using mini-M&Ms.

We practiced swallowing them, and made it much less stressful for a few reasons - 1) if they don’t swallow, they are happy to eat it; 2) it looks small so my kids weren’t afraid it would get “stuck”; 3) if it works, you can do it again and again to build confidence before moving to the meds.

Wishing you luck!! My kids are really proud they can swallow medication now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, I practiced with my young kids (started meds at age 6) using mini-M&Ms.

We practiced swallowing them, and made it much less stressful for a few reasons - 1) if they don’t swallow, they are happy to eat it; 2) it looks small so my kids weren’t afraid it would get “stuck”; 3) if it works, you can do it again and again to build confidence before moving to the meds.

Wishing you luck!! My kids are really proud they can swallow medication now!

The swallowing of the meds was really fun for my son - we called it a magic trick and he would make the pill disappear. He thought that was great.

I would also just involve her in the decision. I know she’s young but she can still be involved and will resist less if she is. Sit down and chat it out. Tell her you are not going to force her to do anything and you want to talk through the pros and cons. Calmly walk through the pros and cons. Problem solve her concerns. See what she says.

Also to one of the posters above, it may have been too young for your kids but you can’t make blanket statements that it is too young for these meds. My son is way happier on his medication. It doesn’t feel good to him to feel out of control. His teacher literally just told us this week that he is a happier kid on the medication. And I agree. Different things works for different kids and some kids really do benefit. Many actually.

[Anonymous]

I will add my son likes to swallow the pill with something other than water - milk, water with lemon, something like that. Because he does say he doesn’t like the taste the pill leaves on his tongue.