Medication side effects

[Mrsbh]

Hi. I’m new here. My son is 8, almost 9, and was diagnosed with ADD last year. He has been struggling at school with focus and not completing his work. We have been going back and forth for the last year about medication as we would prefer not to. We finally decided it might be best and his dr prescribed straterra. We picked up from the pharmacy and after reading the side effects we are scared to give it now. Does anyone have any experience with this? It’s so hard to know what the right thing to do is. Thanks!

[sylah]

I’m so sorry... I understand what you are going through and I’m sorry I can not offer any advice for you. However I can share my experience with you.

We have resisted medication for a couple of years and this September we have finally caved in and our son started taking Ritalin. I cried a lot because in my core that is just not what I believed in. These children have so much light in them but society wants to stamp their individuality down. I grieved. We went through a more detailed diagnostic process in October and we tried natural supplements but they didn’t work so now he is on a non-stimulant. It still is a challenge for me to have him on medication but I’m feeling a little more positive.

I’m not familiar with Straterra so I can’t shine a light on that. But I think it may be good to make a pro and con list. Does the pro outweighs the con? Is it worth it? And it may be important to do this from the view of your child.

Hopefully someone else that have experience with Straterra will chime in.

Hugs for you.

[Arauch]

I am sorry to hear what you are going through. I would contact your local parent to parent group near you, and see if anyone else has a similar circumstance.

I would also find a local pediatric bevioral development facility or specialist. They will work with you and your child and find the best course of action for everyone. They will even run blood tests to find out if there is anything else going on. It will also help them, if you chose, to find the most appropriate medication for him. They will help educate you, and give you access to websites and reading material.

CHADD.ORG has been extremely helpful

The book, Taking Charge of ADHD the 3rd edition I have found to be the best in helping myself and the school to have a solid foundation in how to help her.

[Snaizy]

I understand your hesitation but I would keep in mind that drug companies are required to list every conceivable side effect even if only a minuscule percent of people actually experience them and that list by no means means any kid or your kid will actually have them. I would trust the advice of your doctor in terms of outlining possible side effects rather than getting cold feet from that “parade of horribles” disclaimer list. Most kids who take these meds have few if any side effects the most common being simple loss of appetite. And there is downside on the “not medicating” route too- like increased incidence of other substance abuse in the teen years and poor self image, achievement, and more. Good luck with your decision. Most parents have a very hard time with this but so many people see such a remarkable improvement with medication that I personally feel it’s well worth the theoretical risk. My son, and therefore our whole family, is finally able to function (most days) after years of chaos and we are so glad we took the leap.

[anirush]

My grandson has been on Strattera for years. He got in so much trouble in school before that had to have been terrible for his self esteem. He was usually flunking most of his classes. I can't imagine how that made him feel. Now he gets mostly A's and B's. It's not a perfect fix but at least he's succeeding in school

[floydwhite]

be willing to try ANYTHING that may offer a better life for your child. remember that everyone does not have the same side effects or every possible one listed. you always have the option of discontinuing the meds if you dont see an improvement.

[annett26]

Hello,

My 10 year old son has been taking Strattera for about a month now. I totally understand your concerns regarding the side effects. What scared me the most about this medication was increased risk for suicidal thoughts and actions. We watch him very closely for any side effects. So far I noticed he is more irritable but no major side effects. As far as his performance at school, teacher said she noticed a little improvement. Yesterday we had another appointment and doctor increased the dose of Strattera so I’m just curious how this medication will help him.

Wish you and your child good luck

[Cmalicious]

My son was diagnosed when he was 6. He’s nine now and I finally started him on focalin 5 months before summer started. It worked during the day for school. Wasn’t getting into trouble anymore and finally doing better academically. Then he started having really bad come downs and got very depressed and emotional. I decided to take him off for summer and he’s been ok. We have our moments but at home and school are two totally different things. I’m looking into CBD for him. I’ve taljed to a few nurses and now have a phone app tomorrow with a doctor who has been using CBD for kids and some with adhd. Even healthy people should take CBD it’s so good for you! All natural and Regulates your body. Helps with pain, appetite, sleep, depression, focus, stress, depletes tumor growth, rejuvenates your cells, gets rid of seizures and so much more. It helps the body function correctly. So no bad side effects at all. Also it’s non psychoactive so you don’t have to worry about that. Takes longer so see results tho and every one is different. I’m going to start it for my son ASAP and it may take up to 4 weeks to see results. But I’d rather do this than medication with all the side effects and no long term studies. Obviously we don’t like that as parents but we also have to find something that will work! BecAuse we don’t want them being insecure and have social issues. It’s so HARD to find the right thing. Yes the medication works but I’d rather do something natural and if it happens to not work for my kid I’ll go to plan B. But I recently read add/adhd meds are being linked to a rise in child leukemia. That was it for me! And I’m no scientist so I don’t know what’s real or not but that’s scary to read regardless. But we do know heart disease/failure is a side effect because it says so on the bottle! And if you give it to a child with a unknown heart issue it can cause sudden death. I had my son get a eeg before starting his meds. If you decide to do the meds you should do the same thing to rule out any heart issues first. It’s a struggle we just want our kids to have the best lives and be successful. I think we will all be ok. We obviously care so that will go far. Good luck!