How do you talk to teens on daily meds about alcohol? (besides normal no underage drinking talk)

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if this belongs here or on special needs forum. I have a child with ADHD. They take Concerta (Ritalin) daily. She's getting older and I'm very concerned about underage drinking. As a teen growing up there was alcohol at parties and kids drank before age 21. So it would be foolish of me to pretend my child is somehow immune. However, I was on a stimulant. DD is only 13 and just starting 8th so I'm not too late but now seems like a great time to start talking about why she especially cannot drink alcohol and not just because she's underage.

For those in similar situations please share advice. I'm terrified she will experiment like any curious teen but the consequences for her will be much more severe. Also, if you had ADHD as a teen and were on meds and were faced with drinking, please share your experience.

Also, what will she do when she is 21? Can she never have alcohol? Does she just wait until it's late enough in the day that it has left her system? She can tell when her meds wear off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure if this belongs here or on special needs forum. I have a child with ADHD. They take Concerta (Ritalin) daily. She's getting older and I'm very concerned about underage drinking. As a teen growing up there was alcohol at parties and kids drank before age 21. So it would be foolish of me to pretend my child is somehow immune. However, I was on a stimulant. DD is only 13 and just starting 8th so I'm not too late but now seems like a great time to start talking about why she especially cannot drink alcohol and not just because she's underage.

For those in similar situations please share advice. I'm terrified she will experiment like any curious teen but the consequences for her will be much more severe. Also, if you had ADHD as a teen and were on meds and were faced with drinking, please share your experience.

Also, what will she do when she is 21? Can she never have alcohol? Does she just wait until it's late enough in the day that it has left her system? She can tell when her meds wear off.

I would ask her psych to talk to her about the side effects of mixing alcohol. The. Talk to her afterward to reinforce. Ultimately the meds should help her not seek out alcohol. We were told that kids with undiagnosed ADD are at very high risk for substance abuse.

[Anonymous]

You also need to talk about not giving friends the drug to take recreationally. Her friends will ask for it if it’s a bad crew.

[Anonymous]

1. We've talked about the dangers of alcohol poisoning, drunk driving (my 16 year old has had his fill of crash videos from driver's ed), and that he's not allowed to consume either caffeine or alcohol while he's on Adderall, as he can become seriously ill.

2. Which for the moment is moot, since he hates the taste of alcohol. I can't blame him - I don't like it either, nor does DH. We think we might be one of these people who lack sufficient alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol. We're Asian and it's pretty frequent in Asian populations.

3. We come from a culture where children taste alcohol in the home. A sip will not impact your child even if she's on ADHD meds, unless she completely lacks alcohol dehydrogenase, which is a separate problem, in which case she needs to be very careful. A colleague of my father's is like this - the smallest drop, and he feels very unwell (more than a drop, and he has to go to hospital). But such extreme cases are quite rare.

[Anonymous]

My teen takes Guanfacine. I’ve approached it as general medication awareness talk. We’ve talked many times about how it impacts your BP, and you can’t quit cold Turkey for that reason especially.

I’ve also told her numerous times that you can’t take it and drink alcohol because there are really bad side effects. I dropped her off at a nighttime pool party recently and reminded her right before. “Hey, I know this is a ‘teen party’ and all that, and I want to remind you that Guanfacine, which you take every night, and alcohol are not friends. Ok? It’s a really bad mix.” She responded well to that. I tried to make it a medical issue, not a moral one.

[Anonymous]

You can do all of those things and your kid will still drink and/or take drugs.

[Anonymous]

Like a PP, I discuss it like a medical issue. Methylphenidate is a stimulant and alcohol is a depressant. Mixing the two can be problematic, particularly since the methylphenidate lead one to overconsume alcohol in dangerous amounts. But, I stress what's more important is that their ADHD brains are much more susceptible to addiction than non-ADHD brains whether it's alcohol, drugs or something else. I can't make their choices for them but can only provide them information so they can make better choices. I also encourage them to do their own research on ADHD and substance abuse.

[Anonymous]

I would call the doctor ahead of the next visit so that the doctor can be prepared to discuss it from a medical standpoint, including information about brain chemistry, etc. Give the doctor fair warning to be prepared. And keep talking about it as the tests pass, and how being fully present in the moment is the best way to feel good.

[Anonymous]

My older DC used meds as a convenient 'out' not to drink alcohol (and yes I think this is accurate bc they are now 21+ and have fessed up to loads of other things and they still say this was the case in HS and sometimes). In college they regulated their meds I think around occasional drinking, but used it as a reason to themselves and others not to go overboard.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can do all of those things and your kid will still drink and/or take drugs.

+1 don’t overplay the danger or she’ll know you are exaggerating (even if unintentionally.) I don’t think teens should be drinking either but it’s not like she’s on Antabuse.