Is Adderall first line of defense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6, 7 is too young. Sixth-grade is probably the best time for meds unless she is unsafe or is failing school, otherwise, 504 is the best option!

OP - I am a doctor and please do not listen to these folks with no expertise. Talk to your doctors about the right steps for your child. Based on medical guidelines on how best to care for kids with ADHD and looking at long term benefits and risks, medication is absolutely appropriate for symptomatic school-age kids. But don’t believe me either- I’m a stranger on an anonymous board. Talk to people who know the data and the science and the true safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say that 6 is way too early for meds, unless you exhausted all the non-medical options first, like CBT or other therapies, executive functioning support, etc. If you have all those in place and your kid is still struggling, then it's time to consider meds. And yes, stimulants are typically the first the docs prescribe, unless there are major concerns with hyperactivity or weight loss.

NP. The person above is going against what any expert on ADHD will tell you: If a child is diagnosed at 6 (mine was as well), then try the medicine the doctor recommends and see if it helps. Usually it’s Adderal or Ritalin. You can spend as much time as you want pursuing therapies, but I can tell you that a 6 year old with ADHD is a lot more likely to respond positively to stimulants than they will to executive functioning coaching or CBT. Talk about age inappropriate…

[Anonymous]

Dietary changes, behavioral interventions and home and school supports are the first line of defense before medication.

[Anonymous]

At the very least get a second opinion on the medication route and look into alternatives before making those decisions. Be informed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dietary changes, behavioral interventions and home and school supports are the first line of defense before medication.

And this is based on what medical studies? Do you have ADHD yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the very least get a second opinion on the medication route and look into alternatives before making those decisions. Be informed.

The medication route is the standard treatment and works 80% of the time.

[Anonymous]

OP here- thanks for the responses. Being in the field of working with children with ADHD and other various special needs (but not work directly with medication), I am confident in our decision to start medication at her age. I was just curious if this was the common starting point. Thanks to the helpful commenters. Her teacher and I (and my spouse) will be keeping a close eye on effects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6, 7 is too young. Sixth-grade is probably the best time for meds unless she is unsafe or is failing school, otherwise, 504 is the best option!

Based on ...what??? These kinds of answers make me insane. You want to wait until middle school before trying a possibly simple treatment that could make everything much easier? How long and how deeply does a person need to suffer before they are allowed to try a simple therapeutic option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dietary changes, behavioral interventions and home and school supports are the first line of defense before medication.

And this is based on what medical studies? Do you have ADHD yourself?

Not to mention that all of these behavioral interventions are likely to be much more successful using medication in tandem.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend you start at 5mg and titrate up once you see how she metabolizes it. Also recommend a psychiatrist not a ped. Adderall is great but can be strong and the first time they take it can be a bit of a shock to the system so building up is better

[Anonymous]

Agree with starting very low. I think we started with half the smallest pill and saw positive effects even with that. (I did a single blind study where I didn’t tell anyone that I was starting the meds.. Within a week both the teacher and bus monitor had reached out to me to tell me it was such a great week and they wanted me to know how well he had done that week.)

Mine was in OT starting at 4, CBT/talk therapy starting at 5, and we started medication just before 6. We work with an experienced psychiatrist. He says Ritalin and adderral families have the highest success rate across adhd so that is where they recommend starting. The newer non stimulants have much lower success rates but work well for some segment of people.

[Anonymous]

DCUM is NOT the place for the question. Consult your doctor and friends who have actually gone through this.

You'll only get more confused listening to anonymous internet forum quacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hell no!

Supports at school (e.g., IEP, testing in quiet room) and at home, like tutors, are 1st line of defense. And therapy.

A medication that's basically legal speed should be the LAST resort. My in law, 40 ish, has tardive dyskenesia from taking meds since age 6 for ADD. Her neck is turned sideways and she has to hold it in place to be straight.

Shut up and stop the drama! Sorry about your in law's situation but that's definitely an outlier and not a significant consideration in OP's case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP, but I would find a new pediatrician.

My son is 7 with anxiety and adhd (related to the anxiety though) and we’ve been to a ped, development ped, and even a sleep doctor and no one has Rx meds for him.

His anxiety and adhd is managed really well with diet, and he has a 504. I meet with his teacher (and principal and counselor) often. He’s doing fine!

Can you please share his diet that is helping with his anxiety and adhd? My son is 14 and we are just know starting a simulant but no doctor (and we have seen a number of them) have ever suggested that diet could help. We know that caffeine is an issue and limit that in both amount and time but would love any other suggestions that could help. DS hates that he is on medication and is willing to try just about anything with the long term goal of being med free, or minimal, as an adult.

[Anonymous]

Re diet - we have pursued a high fat fir our 8 year old son. Avocados, canned high quality tuna and salmon, olives, eggs cooked in kerry gold butter. Epileptic children are often on keto diets fwiw.