Adding non-stimulant med

[Anonymous]

A couple of posters - not sure if it is the same one - have mentioned a genetic test in connection with medication efficacy if I understood right. What is this? My son’s pediatrician prescribes his adhd medication and has never mentioned this test.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Child is not on anxiety meds. Not sure he really is anxious or not off stimulants; on stimulants, we have a bunch of new fears, worries, etc.

To PP re: genetic test, we did a GeneSight test to determine if there were any genetic issues that might interfere with how DS metabolized ADHD meds. I thought it would be more helpful than it was, but some good info nonetheless, I guess.

FYI—test is not easy to obtain unless your doctor/practice already works with GeneSight (which apparently just amounts to a 20-minute training with the GeneSight rep on how to order kits online). We got ours through the Genetics department at Children's—we had been seen there a few years back and they have just started working with GeneSight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Child is not on anxiety meds. Not sure he really is anxious or not off stimulants; on stimulants, we have a bunch of new fears, worries, etc.

To PP re: genetic test, we did a GeneSight test to determine if there were any genetic issues that might interfere with how DS metabolized ADHD meds. I thought it would be more helpful than it was, but some good info nonetheless, I guess.

FYI—test is not easy to obtain unless your doctor/practice already works with GeneSight (which apparently just amounts to a 20-minute training with the GeneSight rep on how to order kits online). We got ours through the Genetics department at Children's—we had been seen there a few years back and they have just started working with GeneSight.

A lot of times ADHD kids have anxiety too, and/or the stimulants cause anxiety. In those cases, doctors often prescribe an SSRI in addition to the stimulants. That combination usually works well. The tics are another matter. An SSRI won't make them go away. Using a different stimulant or using one of the second-line ADHD medication may stop the tics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is our fourth or fifth stimulant. They have all had those side effects—the extended release versions were total disasters. Metadate seems to be the best so far—appetite suppressed, but comes back at night; no weight loss. But sleep, tics, anxiety, crankiness—UGH.

Strattera, clonidine and Intuniv are the three second line medications for ADHD. You should try them. Less kikely to cause all the side effects you mentioned.

My young adult takes Adderall and clinidine. The addition of the clonidine created a bit of a calm, less agitation.

[Anonymous]

Another poster here who used Genesight. We found it useful but it's not the end all be all. It was offered by the psych we were working with for med management. The report breaks things down into green / yellow / red based on any genes related to how the drug is metabolized, how long it stays present, and any genes known to be related to side effects. For us it was reassuring to know DS didn't have the genes related to the major side effect of a drug we were considering.