ADHD medication effects on height?

[Anonymous]

Have parents noticed any significant effects on their children’s height after they began medication for ADHD? Our middle school DS has always been very small for his age so I hate to make that worse by giving ADHD medication, but we may no longer have a choice (have tried various forms of ritalin plus Vyvanse). By family history our DS should have a growth spurt soon so I would especially want to avoid doing anything to interfere with that. I’ve heard different numbers ranging from 1/4 inch to 1 inch loss in height for kids taking the medicines. What has been your experience? Did your now-grown children who took ADHD medications end up shorter than expected in relation to previous growth curves or what would be expected based on parents’ or siblings’ heights?

[Anonymous]

Are you suggesting that it's more important that your kid be taller than manage his ADHD?

[Anonymous]

Why don't you go see an endocrinologist and get a more specific projection for your child?

At a minimum you'd have a baseline if you do decide to medicate.

[Anonymous]

Very poor lookout for us, OP. We are already short in the family (my husband is 5'7", one of his brothers is much shorter), and my son is in the 3rd percentile in height... no growth spurt whatsoever, and his appetite isn't great.
PLUS he has to take asthma medication occasionally, which I'm told also interferes with growth.

Ugh. If we could do without ADHD meds, believe me, we would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you go see an endocrinologist and get a more specific projection for your child?

At a minimum you'd have a baseline if you do decide to medicate.

I agree. Your pediatrician can order an x-ray of his wrist bone to see his growth potential. That will be helpful information for the endocrinologist to have.

DH and I are both shorter than average height. Impact on height was not a concern for us and we have seen no impact on growth. Both boys are taller than we are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you suggesting that it's more important that your kid be taller than manage his ADHD?

I would say it's a legit concern, especially if the kid is short to start with.

[Anonymous]

My son is 18 and 6 feet 3 inches. So, I don't think it affected him. He is much taller than his brother.

[Anonymous]

There can be some growth suppression with stimulants.

But stimulants are not your only option OP.

Go to the endocrinologist and then discuss with your psychiatrist.

[Anonymous]

Problem is that you can never know. Yes there is a risk and yes you can go to an endocrinologist and get height projections. But they have a margin of error. Our endocrinologist says there is a chance my son could lose up to an inch in growth but there is no way to tell if it will actually happen. Given the fact that my son isn't successful in school, we figure the risk and consequences of failing classes or getting mediocre flgrades is worse than the risk and consequences of possibly being an inch shorter than his maximum growth potential.

[Anonymous]

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).

[Anonymous]

Hi OP I did not know this was a concern so thank you for brining it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Problem is that you can never know. Yes there is a risk and yes you can go to an endocrinologist and get height projections. But they have a margin of error. Our endocrinologist says there is a chance my son could lose up to an inch in growth but there is no way to tell if it will actually happen. Given the fact that my son isn't successful in school, we figure the risk and consequences of failing classes or getting mediocre flgrades is worse than the risk and consequences of possibly being an inch shorter than his maximum growth potential.

It probably depends on your son’s general expected height. According to this study, those inches between 5’4” and 5’6” were the ones that mattered most.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/393518/

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

^That should have been, according to ONE study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^That should have been, according to ONE study.

This comment was in reference to 9:23.