ADHD meds (when nothing seems to work)

[Anonymous]

DD (AuDHD) is currently on zero meds for the first time since she was five. She’s now 16.

I always wanted to do a “med wash” but she was in and out of crisis for a long time and finally is doing well enough to try it. It’s been a few months off of stimulants and one month off of anti-depressants.

She’s better off of the anti-depressants. She was tired and apathetic.

Stimulants made her irritable. Some worse than others. Guanfacine also made her irritable and tired.

This is what we’ve tried:

Focalin (very young), caused perseveration
Ritalin
Metadate (did nothing)
Jornay (terrible insomnia)
Vyvanse (terrible rage)
Concerta (irritable)

She’s doing well now but she’s jittery when she has to pay attention to something (I was in a speech therapy appointment with her last week and she was bouncing her leg and biting her nails the entire time). It’s hard because I’m not in school with her. Her school doesn’t have grades. They say there is some verbal impulsivity and lack of attention but nothing that’s problematic for them. I’m just not that comfortable knowing she has ADHD and just letting her go unmedicated, it’s just that nothing has worked and has caused side effects. She eats compulsively, too.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you ever find something that works?

[Anonymous]

My daughter also had terrible rage on Vyvanse. We decided none of the stimulants were worth the side effects, but cotempla (a methylphenidate class med) was the best of the dozen we tried.

[Anonymous]

sorry to hear vyvanse isn't working, what dose was it? Try a low dose, 10mg. We do that plus Strattera.

Maybe you could try Strattera or Welbutrin

[Anonymous]

Why are you uncomfortable not medicating her? Although stimulant meds are helpful for some they are far from a panacea. It’s not like blood pressure medication. You tried them all and they have too many side effects. You shouldn’t worry. Personally my life would be better if I could take an SSRI but I hate the side effects so I don’t. That’s just reality.

[Anonymous]

Straterra. It addresses impulsivity and anxiety. For our kid, inattention only a bit. The side effects were manageable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Straterra. It addresses impulsivity and anxiety. For our kid, inattention only a bit. The side effects were manageable.

Op again. Oh yeah, add that to the list of things we tried. It didn’t seem to do much. And it we think it caused irritability too but hard to tell because it was WITH a stimulant for a while.

Sigh.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is that trying a med when DD was very young and having side effects does not mean that you have tried it for DD at today's age. This is what our doctor said. We ended up trying a med that didnt work for our DC a few years prior (just a few years prior mind you) and at this age there were no side effects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is that trying a med when DD was very young and having side effects does not mean that you have tried it for DD at today's age. This is what our doctor said. We ended up trying a med that didnt work for our DC a few years prior (just a few years prior mind you) and at this age there were no side effects.

That’s interesting, thanks. She was on Metadate for the longest (with no real effect) so most of them were within the last two years, but we haven’t tried Ritalin or Focalin since she was very little.

[Anonymous]

Maybe she would be better with no meds.

[Anonymous]

My (unmedicated) son chews gum in class. He says it really helps him pay attention.

Try fidgets to minimize nail biting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe she would be better with no meds.

She’s on no meds.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried a low dose of medication? We dialed back my 15 year olds son’s 36 mg Concerta prescription to 10 mg of Ritalin with a 5 mg afternoon booster and it has been a game changer. His irritability and perseveration has decreased significantly. Yes, he is not 100% attentive but reducing the side effects has made it easier for him to not get as sidetracked in class and he can self direct himself easier into the class.

[Anonymous]

There's some literature about using coffee/tea in kids with ADHD instead of stimulant drugs. It does help. You can do things like that, and like the gum pp suggested. Maybe that will work better.

[Anonymous]

What is her exercise schedule?

[Anonymous]

Over the counter NAC is supposed to help with nail biting and other compulsive behaviors. There was a new study out (Chicago, I think?) about a year ago.