I am an adult and I have taken Adderall IR, Adderall XR, Vyvanse. I don’t take my meds begrudgingly. I take them joyfully because they help me be a better version of myself - more patient with my kids, less forgetful, less frazzled and more present. They don’t make me less creative, less spontaneous, or dull. I think some parents are so used to their kids being “high energy” or “quirky” that they worry the meds will somehow make their kids different people.

It will make them different, but maybe their behaviors to cope with symptoms is not who your kid really is. Maybe having their symptoms muted can show you who your kid really is. Imagine the world is always blurry and you get glasses. Imagine you are always itching from psoriasis and it’s reduced to a minimal and manageable condition. Imagine you are in chronic pain and a med can dial down the pain to something you think about a few times a day instead of every waking moment. That’s how ADHD meds feel when you find the right med / dose / timing.

Anonymous wrote:I am so confused. DD’s therapist is so gung-ho on meds. So is DD’s neuropsych and my psychologist friend. ,

Everyone I know who is use it in real life either takes it begrudgingly because it does help somewhat ( but with lots of side effects) OR quit because it didn’t offer enough benefits.

The difference in enthusiasm between the psychologist and real life People is extremely confusing for me!

Do you really think that people who take other meds are super excited about it? Like people love their statins or insulin or antibiotics? Lots of people aren’t compliant with those medications, either, or don’t think the benefits outweigh the side effects.

My DC takes medication and it’s has been beneficial. For DC, the benefits outweigh the side effects. I am thankful I get to make the choice and that there are so many options.

I started medication as an adult. I haven't found it life changing. It makes me more awake and alert but it doesn't actually make me more productive.

I use it sporadically when I have a report to write or something that requires intense focus but I am not sure how much of the effect is placebo. I actually find that high caffeine energy drinks help me more than the stimulants.

My DS is 11 and we started him on ADHD meds last summer. School never had been an issue because he was always well behaved and did fine academically. Anything unstructured, though, and he would go off the rails. A lot of life is unstructured.

It's been interesting. Sometimes I don't think it does much because we'd give him the pill before he went to school (side effect: his test scores shot up, not that they had been a previous concern).

We have been giving him a med break this summer. We just started him back on it yesterday to prep for something. I took him with me to the store. The shop keeper came out to talk to us and spent some time going over something with him. I was shocked to realize that he was capable to standing still and listening. If I hadn't given it to him, he would have been bouncing, interrupting, and most likely whining.

So, there's that.

The nice thing is, it’s not a forever decision. You can try them for a few weeks and see how DD reacts.

Talk to the prescribing clinician about how you would like to approach them. DC’s psychiatrist starts medication at an extremely low dose to make sure there is no bad reaction and relatively slowly ramps up to what would be an optimal dose. But DC is also on anxiety medication, which can complicate things.

I think other clinicians might start with what might be an optimal dose, so that there is not a long time when your DD is taking the medication but you’re not sure if it’s helpful. Decide what works for you.