ADHD medication effects on height?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anecdotal stuff you pick up here isn't going to tell you as much as the peer reviewed research.

Find all the studies you can, make sure they are legitimate and follow children into adulthood.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/09/01/344283889/more-evidence-that-adhd-drugs-dont-curb-ultimate-height

Thank you! Excellent article! -OP

[Anonymous]

My DS, who has been on ADHD meds since K (now in 6th grade) due to severe ADHD, is expected to be 5'11" ish. He is currently just under 5'2". He is on the tall side of average right now. During his growth spurts the amount he ate still went up even on meds. Once he hit puberty though, that exploded. On the meds he ate an absolutely huge amount of food daily (I'm honestly afraid to know what it would have been like off the meds). I would say that up until now his growth has been steady (no huge jumps in height). But that could change during puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses so far. We did already see three different endocrinologists over the years. A previous X-ray of the wrist for bone age didn’t show any constitutional growth delay. The bone age matched his chronological age. DS is only about 1 percentile in height so will be only a little more than 5 feet tall, unless he has some unexpected height added at growth spurt like some male relatives. Probably more important for him to not lose an inch in height than to get good grades in middle school, taking a long term view? Although the psychological impact of failure and others constantly frustrated with him is also a concern.

So I was hoping to hear what others have experienced in terms of medications and expected height (e.g., any drop on growth curves).

07:27 again.

OP, my sympathies. My 12 year old is at the 3rd percentile - he was at the 2nd last year. We are about to do a wrist scan.

I was thinking of trying a lower dose:he's on 27 mg on generic Concerta (extended release), which has worked beautifully, and I wanted to try 18 mg, which is the next dose. Focalin and its generic suppressed his appetite even more. I think he could just about focus in his core classes, and then the meds would wear out during PE, and he wouldn't have much bandwidth for homework or extra-curriculars, whereas now the meds taper off at 5pm. I'm leery of trying non-stimulants, because they have a higher frequency of side-effects, but I guess we should both talk to our psychiatrists!

Sending you strength - our society places such a premium on height, at least for men, that it's really hard to balance different priorities.

[Anonymous]

My 12 yr old has been on Vyvanse for 4 years. He is short to begin with (3rd percentile) so I know he will be short as an adult. I don't care if he is an inch or two shorter due to the meds. He probably would've been suspended from school by now without them. He also probably wouldn't have many friends either. Academic and social success beat an inch or two in height any day. He is predicted to be appr. 5 ft 8 inches and I would be happy if he made it to that height.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses so far. We did already see three different endocrinologists over the years. A previous X-ray of the wrist for bone age didn’t show any constitutional growth delay. The bone age matched his chronological age. DS is only about 1 percentile in height so will be only a little more than 5 feet tall, unless he has some unexpected height added at growth spurt like some male relatives. Probably more important for him to not lose an inch in height than to get good grades in middle school, taking a long term view? Although the psychological impact of failure and others constantly frustrated with him is also a concern.

So I was hoping to hear what others have experienced in terms of medications and expected height (e.g., any drop on growth curves).

07:27 again.

OP, my sympathies. My 12 year old is at the 3rd percentile - he was at the 2nd last year. We are about to do a wrist scan.

I was thinking of trying a lower dose:he's on 27 mg on generic Concerta (extended release), which has worked beautifully, and I wanted to try 18 mg, which is the next dose. Focalin and its generic suppressed his appetite even more. I think he could just about focus in his core classes, and then the meds would wear out during PE, and he wouldn't have much bandwidth for homework or extra-curriculars, whereas now the meds taper off at 5pm. I'm leery of trying non-stimulants, because they have a higher frequency of side-effects, but I guess we should both talk to our psychiatrists!

Sending you strength - our society places such a premium on height, at least for men, that it's really hard to balance different priorities.

Thank you, 07:27. My sympathies to you too, especially with asthma medication to consider as well. It does seem encouraging that your 12 year old went up from 2nd percentile to 3rd percentile. It's so true about the premium society places on height. I'm trying to balance height concerns with what the effect on confidence could be with constant negative feedback, since confidence is so important too. At least so far my DS still seems like a happy go lucky kid.

I did hear that there could be an effect on height even if the weight was maintained, which seemed concerning. We're considering using medication on only critical days such as for tests, or maybe a higher dose on alternate days, when DS has the most difficult academic schedule.

Sending you strength too!

[Anonymous]

My nephew has been on Concerta and Adderal for a long time and is over 6'2". His parents are not tall, well mom might be, both parents are around 5'6". And what do you mean you tried Ritalin but no longer have a choice? You mean you tried it for a very short time? It has been my experience with my DD, that Concerta improved her appetite in the evenings, and with that came a bit of a weight gain and that should help with height. She started at 15 so it didn't matter height wise, but I do think if she started earlier it would have helped her eat more, leading to height gain. It has been my observation, that hyper kids eat more and grow more if on ADHD meds. But, just my observation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My nephew has been on Concerta and Adderal for a long time and is over 6'2". His parents are not tall, well mom might be, both parents are around 5'6". And what do you mean you tried Ritalin but no longer have a choice? You mean you tried it for a very short time? It has been my experience with my DD, that Concerta improved her appetite in the evenings, and with that came a bit of a weight gain and that should help with height. She started at 15 so it didn't matter height wise, but I do think if she started earlier it would have helped her eat more, leading to height gain. It has been my observation, that hyper kids eat more and grow more if on ADHD meds. But, just my observation.

Yes, sorry, my wording wasn't very clear. We tried it on and off for a short time, and then we began trying Vyvanse sporadically, but our DS has side effects. And we have our concerns about height. I am interested to read on this board that some side effects may go away if we stick with the medication consistently for a week or more. But since our DS is happy and has many friends as a funny, entertaining kid, it's really just the academics that would drive us to resort to medication. A lot to consider. Everyone's input has been so helpful — thank you!

[Anonymous]

The psychiatrist told us to only give our DS Ritalin on school days (not on weekends and in the summer). She mentioned that most kids will “catch up” with a growth spurt in the summer if off stimulants. After one year on Ritalin, my DS (9 years old) remains one of the taller kids in the class. Curious if other parents heard this from their doctor as well. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I worried about this with my son when we started. He was always in the 10% for height and was very thin. On concerta he lost weight and he definitely seemed to grow more slowly over those years. After two years we took him off (neuropsychologist said he was misdiagnosed) and he gained a massive amount of weight and grew several inches in a short amount of time. He seemed to catch back up to his curve. My DD has definite ADHD and takes Concerta. I worried a little but she can't function without it so we had no choice. It didn't seem to affect her growth at all. She started at 11 (pre-puberty) and has been on for 4 years. She ended up quite tall even though my husband and I aren't. And now that my son is older, he is actually 50% for height.