Hi- this is my first time posting to this forum. My son was diagnosed with ADHD last fall and since that time over the last five months we have trying to figure out what combination of medications would help. It seems that with the stimulants my son becomes very irritable and when we tried Intuniv he didn’t feel good and often would have an exhausted dip late in the day and just crash out sleeping along with irritability.
My question is if anybody has found anything to help the irritability with any of these medications .
Thank you.
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Bcpqjones
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Hi there, I have Inattentive ADHD and had the same problem. I take a low dose 10mg dosage of a stimulant.
I am in Grad School to become an MFT Psychologist, and have learned how essential and important combining ADHD stimulant medication with helpful supplements is in order to fight the negative side effects like, elevated heart rate/blood pressure, physical symptoms, irritability etc.
After taking stimulant medication for around 6 months or more, the neurotransmitters the stimulant medication helps out with (Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine) will start to deplete, which is why negative side effects start popping up, like irritability, apathy, and feeling like the medication is no longer working. This might occur even earlier on, especially the irritability. This is why I highly recommend supplements to take with the medication, to combat negative side effects, help eliminate the irritable/emotional come down once the medication wears off as well, and help the medication work to its best potential.
These Supplements help greatly with multiple things, and have helped me and some of the clients I have seen that suffer from irritability as a side effect.
1. N-Acetyl Tyrosine: This supplement helps boost Dopamine and Norepinephrine, those are the two neurotransmitters most stimulant medications work with. The crash that happens after the medication wears off is because those two neurotransmitters are lower temporarily, which is why people experience irritability, sadness etc. I take N-Acetyl Tyrosine an hour or 30min before my medication wears off and thankfully have not experienced the crash of medication ever since.
2. I take a supplement called R-Alpha Lipoic Acid which is known to one of the most powerful antioxidants out there. It really helps the medication work to its full potential while fighting off oxidation. Stimulant medication creates a large amount of oxidation that is not good for the body, and that can cause physical discomfort as well as mood swings because of it. This supplement helps my body feel at ease, and helps me mentally to mellow out.
3. L-Tryptophan: this supplement is helpful for increasing Serotonin levels, since people with ADHD lack this neurotransmitter as well, especially the Hyperactive and Combined Type subtypes of ADHD, it is highly beneficial. This supplement brings up the mood, and helps the body relax.
4. CoQ10 to keep his heart rate and blood pressure from rising and staying at a safe level. This is common with stimulant medication.
5. A good multivitamin with antioxidants.
If any of this sounds helpful and of your interest, you can click my pic and it will take you to my profile where I have a link in my bio that includes all these supplements as well all the ones I personally take. I am not selling anything, the link will take you to a helpful google word doc I made that includes information on each supplement, what places sell it, and how much it costs. Hope this helps.
L-Theanine is good as well, it's found in green tea and boosts Serotonin, most dosages I've seen are 100mg. Lowest form of Tryptophan I've seen is 500mg. If the irritability is intense, I'd stick with Tryptophan. I've tried both and have had more success with Tryptophan, part of the reason why is because Tryptophan is a precursor to Serotonin.
Vyvanse put me in a great mood when I first started taking it and now I’m on Vyvanse in addition to Nuvigil. Adderall has always put me on edge. I’m pretty moody when I’m not medicated at all. Lol
There’s a dna test that my insurance covered to see which adhd medications would work best with my system. Maybe that could help him?
Hi. My is son 11 and takes 2 36 mg generic concerta pills in the morning, before school. The name is methylphenidate. Ask your son's pediatrician about concerta, it might help 😊
I agree with adding additional supplements to help combat the side effects. Do you have a good naturopathic doctor? They can often help! My son takes a naturopathic remedy along with Serene (a natural serotonin booster), and many different vitamin supplements. He also takes Vayarin - which is supposed to help with mood and kiddos with ADHD. It used to require a prescription, but I believe you can now get it online.
It’s all about finding the right combination!
I have also found that proper nutrition really helps with his mood as well. When he starts to get irritable, I typically give him a high-protein snack along with a lot of water.
Yes thank you. we do work with a naturopath doctor. We eat pretty clean, no dyes, low suagr, no gluten etc. I will look into your suggestions. Thank you so very much.
Hi. I know the feeling. My 10 yr old grandson was so mean and irritable when he started on Concerta. The lowest dose 18mg so they said sometimes too low of a dose is worse they upped it to 36mg and it helped but still had some irritability. Now we started him on 54mg and he is an absolute angel. I hope you find what works for your child. Good luck!
It is different for every child. My older grandson on Concerta got so angry and was breaking things. He's now on intuniv and Wellbutrin and pretty good mannered.
Is younger brother is on Strattera but we have to use risperidone to help control the anger.
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Query about medications
14 year old in Concerta 18 mg
Free from angry outbursts 
After 3 months of trying no meds, my 10 year old boy deliberately stole from a store
