aDHD 18 Year old with a job he hates

[DeenaR]

My 18 year old hates his job and says his ADHD medicine does not last long enough to get through his shift. He told me the only way he would go to work is if I agreed to give him extra ADHD meds. What do you do?

[EJsMom]

Can his Doctor increase his dose?

May be a simple solution. If you call and get permission to up the dose, then you could give him extra right away out of his bottle, even before you fill the new script.

[DeenaR in reply to EJsMom]

He is at the top dose. He has been on this dose for awhile and they won’t prescribe more. Any other suggestions?

[EJsMom in reply to DeenaR]

Personally I don’t know which supplements work but I’ve seen multiple people on this site who use them. It sounds like they have been successful with that type of thing.

[DeenaR in reply to EJsMom]

Thank you. I’ll search for those.

[Frustratedmom]

Is he taking extended release medication?

[DeenaR in reply to Frustratedmom]

Yes, Vyvance 70

[seller]

The extended-release meds work differently on everyone - we finally realized my son's dose only lasted about 6 hours, which meant it was out of his system before the evening. Increasing the dose would not work anyway - this is a metabolizing issue. I would check into getting a script for a short-acting stimulant - like 5-10mg methylphenidate. That will "cover" him for the remainder of his shift, yet not cause a huge problem with sleep.

You should be glad he realizes he needs his meds! Although there is always the slight possibility that he could be selling or giving them away??

[DeenaR in reply to seller]

Thank you so much for the advice. It is working well.

[DeenaR]

I still keep the meds with me and only give him the day pill. I will check for the other med though. Thank you for the suggestion.

[seller in reply to DeenaR]

The methylfenidate is very cheap and I'm sure this will work, if he remembers to take it! If he takes his Vyvanse around 7am, it will be gone by 2 or so; maybe earlier. The methylfenidate will kick in quickly and will work for about 3-4 hours.

And I am extremely doubtful that anything besides stimulant medication helps our ADHD boys. There are lots of alternatives out there and they may have some benefit to younger kids, but teen-age boys need a lot more than expensive supplements.

[DeenaR in reply to seller]

Thank you so much for the advice. This is very helpful.

[RedSoxGirl in reply to DeenaR]

Good for you for controlling his meds!

[Barb1025]

Hi, I just wanted to let you know there are other ways of medication. There's the natural way (pill form like Clinical Cognition and 5 HTP are wonderful for focus and can be taken more than once a day.) and also essential oils you might want to look into. Vetiver is calming and Intune is for focus. No side affects and they are amazing. Also he might want to look into another job. Kids with ADHD need to find their niche. Something they are really good at or they will go from job to job. Plus once he finds what he likes he might not need as much medication. Good luck!!

[Hidden in reply to Barb1025]

What essential oils have you used that have been helpful

[Barb1025 in reply to Hidden]

Intune is excellent for focus. I put it on the back of the neck and on the wrist. It can easily be reapplied when needed. Here's a video on Intune youtube.com/watch?v=QAJWGCO...(Not working as expected?)

Also Vetiver is wonderful for calming. I use it before bed and in the morning. Put it on the feet with a little fractionated coconut oil. Rub it around the big toe especially. I even put it in the diffuser at night. It helps with a good night's rest so in the morning you wake up really alert and ready for the day. If you ever want to talk about oils, I'm an advocate for DoTERRA. I put them on us all the time and teach classes too. These are the two we use the most. There are many others though as well.

[Onthemove1971]

DeenaR-

I totally agree with giving him a second dose. Imagine the only time you can stay calm an focus is when you take the medication and you are in the middle of your work shift, trying to do good and bam ( please assume he is being honest and doing well) all of a sudden you can't focus, you are impulsive again how do you think that impacts his work? Now you have to wait to take the medication and it kicks in( make sure he times this right so it's not all the way out of his system), until he can function correctly again, then get back to work.

Please support him with a second dose, not some other medication that makes him feel different.

I am proud of him for speaking up and staying in the job and trying to do his best.

Kids with ADHD are not trying to be difficult they have to deal with a lot, please support him.

[Nla1]

Look into Neurofeedback.

I am starting this with my son next month... painless, no side effects- physical therapy for the brain and trains the mind to build the ability to focus and concentrate. Amazing testimonials (across the board for brain development). It also helps to reduce the medication dosage for ADHD and often eliminates it altogether.

It is expensive $160-175/per session but amazing if you can help them to neurologically develop the areas of the brain controlling their impulses, behaviors and lack of focus.

Look into it.

Drake Institute

EEGinfo.com

Childteenfamilytherapy.com

Xo

[Onthemove1971]

I will have to say, I tried Neurofeedback for my migraines and I did not get much help. It taught me that I work to hard and I am over stressed.. thanks I knew that.

I just know that for kids and teens it's a branch of therapy, I am not sure would work.. because it more self driven and I am not sure they can do that...

But best of luck for trying anything....