Kid doesn't want to stay on Ritilin

[Anonymous]

22:06 again. It took my son a very long time before he could articulate his feelings on any meds. For a long time he said “I don’t like how it makes me feel.” Later that changed into “it dulls all my emotions and makes me not care about anything” or “I always feel depressed”

[Anonymous]

Interesting.

OP back. Doctor didn't change med or dose. Rather he wants DS to take it on weekends for two weeks and see if it works better.

Here's the thing, Ritilin isn't a drug that builds in the system. It's fast acting and has a fast half-life meaning it's cleared quickly. So...I'm questing this doc.

If using it 7-days-week doesn't work, doc wants to try a booster dose since DS has trouble in the PM (after lunch).

How does this sound to you all? Should we try on weekends first or try to booster at school first?

My gut says booster and lay off on the weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:His body, his choice he's old enough to decide. Deal with it. Perhaps you are the problem here telling him it's ok that he is underweight and has no appetite because of the meds YOU want HIM on. If he wants to wean off of them and you want to be a good parent you will let him.

I disagree. A 13 year old with ADHD does not have the maturity to decide he is ok refusing treatment. You certainly should bring this up with his psychiatrist. There are many options to try to optimize the benefit and minimize the side effects. His concerns should absolutely be addressed, however there are many things to try between what you are doing now and him refusing medication. Please follow the advice of your psychiatrist instead of anonymous internet responders who do not have similar experiences.

At 13, a child absolutely has to buy into mental health medications and therapies. You cannot force them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting.

OP back. Doctor didn't change med or dose. Rather he wants DS to take it on weekends for two weeks and see if it works better.

Here's the thing, Ritilin isn't a drug that builds in the system. It's fast acting and has a fast half-life meaning it's cleared quickly. So...I'm questing this doc.

If using it 7-days-week doesn't work, doc wants to try a booster dose since DS has trouble in the PM (after lunch).

How does this sound to you all? Should we try on weekends first or try to booster at school first?

My gut says booster and lay off on the weekends.

I agree with what you said, but I would just do what the doc said - at least try it for one weekend. Did the doctor outline their thinking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting.

OP back. Doctor didn't change med or dose. Rather he wants DS to take it on weekends for two weeks and see if it works better.

Here's the thing, Ritilin isn't a drug that builds in the system. It's fast acting and has a fast half-life meaning it's cleared quickly. So...I'm questing this doc.

If using it 7-days-week doesn't work, doc wants to try a booster dose since DS has trouble in the PM (after lunch).

How does this sound to you all? Should we try on weekends first or try to booster at school first?

My gut says booster and lay off on the weekends.

NP. Ritalin and other stimulant meds, by blocking transporters, will spur the brain to create new receptors. So when a child takes a med break over the weekend, during those days, the extra receptors will be empty and the child will not feel the same as if he had never taken meds. The brain and receptors will return to baseline over the course of weeks, such as during the summer break, not in a short period of time such as the weekend.

The drug itself is only in the system for a short period of time but the changes in the body last longer.

We do med breaks during the weekend and for those two days, DS is more hyper and somewhat more dysregulated than he is over the summer. We lower our expectations and just let him go, during weekends. If he were upset about being dysregulated, then we would consider taking meds 7 days a week and see how it goes.

[Anonymous]

OP, we had a psychologist explain to us that if you take the stimulant consistently, the appetite suppression often goes away.

Guanfacine and Strattera are two non stimulants if Ritalin every day doesn't work.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the helpful comments.

Thank you for the neurotransmitter explanation. That is helpful. You explained it better than the MD.

My son is ok with taking meds during the school day and knows that he needs something new or more to achieve better focus. I do not care the route but thought that keeping the dose the same and adding on non-academic days didn't make sense but sure, let's try it for a couple of weeks. (doc said to try for two full weeks).

If that doesn't work, we'll do the two weeks with a booster only during the school days and if that doesn't work, make ask for a med switch.

ALso, can't refill prescription bc of aderall shortage. so that's fun.

[Anonymous]

oP again:

In case of drug shortage, call your health plan. I'm getting the. meds mailed directly to me.

[Anonymous]

We had the same issue with our daughter. She refused to take ADHD meds and said that they didn't help and made her foggy. She wasn't willing to try an alternative. We pulled all meds. We put her on anti-anxiety meds for six months. Now it's apparent that she really needs the other meds and she is willing to try a different med. But it took her hitting a wall before she was willing to give new meds a try. Yes, her grades really suffered, but she needed to have some control over the situation. The daily fight to take her meds was too much for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we had a psychologist explain to us that if you take the stimulant consistently, the appetite suppression often goes away.

Guanfacine and Strattera are two non stimulants if Ritalin every day doesn't work.

As an adult who takes a stimulant, I can say that this is (sadly) 100% true. So much for the brownie sundaes of my youth

[Anonymous]

just looking at this. Did OP consider an extended release? Maybe it was the crash that happens after short acting that was bothering son.

[Anonymous]

My dd decided right before college she didn’t want to take her meds anymore. Nothing we could do, she was 18 and could make her own decisions. Said she felt she outgrew them. First semester was horrible academically, but completely turned it around for second semester. She said she appreciated us allowing her to stop. Felt the fog was getting to be too much.