ADHD medication

[MVA50]

Dear friends,
I am a father of 9 years old son diagnosed with ADHD, I want to hear about your experiences about medication prescribed by doctors for these kind of kids, if you are in simillar condition like me.
Are you happy with the effects of medications for ADHD kids?

[Janjan]

Hey!

My son is 15 and was diagnosed last year. He now takes medication which is helping with his concentration and impulse control but he has had some side effects. The medication is gradual release so he takes one tablet in the morning and it lasts 8 hours. His appetite is affected, he doesn’t eat much if anything at school. He has a big breakfast and tea to make up for this! He is also extremely fatigued when the medicine starts to wear off after school making homework completion very difficult. He also had headaches and stomach ache when he first started the medicine and when the dose given was increased. This has settled down now as we have found a dosage that works for him so it’s really only the tiredness and loss of appetite. In his case the medicine is worthwhile as he really was struggling at school. If you decide the medication route your consultant will start at the lowest does age and adjust to find the right balance for your son. Hope this helps!

[MVA50]

Dear Janan
Many thanks for your comments. I really appreciate it.
Although they have prescribed some medications but still I have not yet decided to start them.
So any kind of common experiences could help us in taking right decision.

[Bre-RO]

Hi there @MVA50 

Thank you for reaching out to our online community about your sons ADHD diagnosis. It can be a lot to process when your child receives a new diagnosis. How are you and your child feeling about the news? 

I'm happy to see you've had another parent share what worked for them. When I was diagnosed with ADHD, it was helpful to chat with others who had been through it too.

One piece of advice I received was that every person reacts differently to medication and doses. That alone was helpful for me and allowed me to find what works for me with the support of my doctor.

ADHD Support Australia might be a helpful website to check out as well - they provide resources and workshops for parents. 

[Denzil]

Hello my son is 20 and has been diagnosed with adhd since he was 6 the medication has worked for him he is a chef doing really well my daughter who is 12 has adhd to but she stuggels with the medication I also have adhd and I'm really struggling so your not alone

[Walter2-RO]

Hey Denzil

Thanks for sharing how ADHD impacts yourself and your family. Im sure this will be helpful for MVA50 to hear. Sounds like the medication has mixed effects, which must be very frustrating. Good on for reaching out.

[Blake-RO]

Hi @Denzil 

I just wanted to chime in to check in with you. I know that you mentioned that your daughter has been struggling with the medication and was wondering if you could share more about what those struggles look like?

I wanted to share this article with you around how to help your teen with ADHD that I thought might be helpful for you to have a look through. It includes some information along with some strategies that could be useful. I also wanted to share another article that we have on what puberty is like for teens with ADHD.

I can imagine that this must make it challenging for your family at times. I’m curious as to what supports your family might have and whether there has been support from a psychiatrist?

I know that you also mentioned that you have been struggling and wanted to check in to see how you were and whether you had any support?

Remember that we are all here for you.

[kevin09]

Since medication gave sme side effects to my son, I decided to try omega 3 & multivitamins supplement for my ADHD suffering son. He’s having better days at school. The teachers are saying in the journals there are days like Embree had an okay day today, he did all his work, but there was a defiant moment after lunch. Besides that, he had a good day. Other days is just he had a good day. Other days are still rough. It’s not a quick fix, it takes time, but he’s doing good.

Also, Omega-3s are known to be amazing for the brain, even without having ADHD, so I feel good about giving Embree these vitamins. He is being monitored by our family physician with this meds. I recommend going through some research links and decide on whether omega 3 or fish oil supplement might benefit your kid

[Taylor-RO]

Hi @kevin09,

Thanks for sharing your insight. It sounds like you have found what works best for your son, in consultation with your local doctor. We are so happy to hear about the positive impacts this has had for you.

Unfortunately, we don't allow medical advice on our forums or links to external websites, so we had to edit your post.