Stopping meds

[Jc101]

I am looking for advice from people who tried meds but decided to stop . I know doing meds is a trial and error . My son had one day on meds and I got a call from school . He was falling asleep , very weepy, severe stomach pains , severe. This was also the lowest dose . I can’t even describe how that feels giving him something that I told him would make life easier for him made him horribly sick and worried . Dr prescribed quillichew and I have yet to fill the prescription. I have this gut feeling to not give it to him and to look into behavior therapy instead . I know I should try different medicines , but at what cost? I e never seen my son like that and I’m terrified of doing it again

[Watermelon5]

Sorry to hear this! How old is your son? What medication did he try?

My son tried Adderrall at the end of 5th grade and did not like how it made him feel. It didn't make him sick though. He started using it again at the beginning of 9th grade and it's really helping him. He takes the 20 mg of the XR (extended release) and only on school days.

If you try another Rx with your son, you might want to try on the weekend for the first time?

[Hidden]

The first few days and weeks can be hard for the kid. Our doc prefers we start on weekends with new meds and increases so we can monitor issues. We have also held major changes to school breaks to give longer at home time for adjustments. I have had to push through sleepiness and weepy kid but it has not usually last for more than a week. On one med the sleepiness hung around for about a month and school just opted to let kid sleep if they fell asleep at school.

We have been through a number of meds with the kids so have seen a wide range of reactions. It is always hard but once you find right fit, it is worth it. Doesn't make it easy, but at least for us, not medicating would be worse.

[Jc101]

Thankyou . I decided to try the same medicine but half the dose since he stayed home today . I haven’t heard any complaining of stomach pains today and I also think the dose is so low there isn’t much change in him . I think I will try another half dose tomorrow and go up to regular dose from there per drs orders . It’s so hard watching our kids go through this but I know he will benefit in the future if we can find the right fit for medicine

[MaudQ]

Do you feel like you have a good relationship with your doctor? The Dr should be able to answer questions about dosage or whether to try a different medication.You don’t have to stick with this one medication if there’s a better option - but that’s a question for the doctor. It’s not just on you as a parent to figure it out - let the dr help you and if they can’t , it’s also ok to look at other doctors ...

[Jc101 in reply to MaudQ]

I do have a good relationship with him . That medicine definitely was not the one for him. Even with the half dose his stomach hurt really bad and he was tired yet unable to go to sleep . I know this is the reality of trying medicine but very unsure if I want to put him through the trial and error of side effects so young . He’s 7 years old . We will see what the dr says next week

[MaudQ]

I’m so glad to hear that. Good luck with your journey ...

[Nla1]

Take him off medication.... it’s a harder road but you can support and teach him to learn himself and manage himself.

Look into diet, excercise, mind focus games, loads of communication about feelings and temper etc., love and nurture his amazing qualities more, spend more time doing the things he loves, stay firm, give supplements for brain support, and essential oils for calm and relaxation. Get an IEP for school and an aid for behavior suppport Only, as kids with adhd have statistically high IQs. Look into Neurofeedback therapy.

Try all of this if medicating your child doesn’t feel right. For some families it works, but it doesn’t work for all families. ♥️

Unfortunately we still don’t know the long term affects of medication.

[Jc101 in reply to Nla1]

Thankyou . Medicating with stimulants does not not feel right for me . We tried one more time and I can’t bear to see how he behaves on them . He doesn’t like the way they make him feel and it’s so sad when he tells us that . Just from a couple days of trying meds he had so much anxiety about going to school today . Afraid he was going to feel sick like last weeks when I picked him up at school . It’s so heartbreaking . My dr doesn’t like to push medication so I am waiting for a call back from him to see about a possible non stimulant or at least getting him into therapy .

[Nla1 in reply to Jc101]

Sounds good to me! Occupational therapy it’s a good option, and so is any kind of therapy that helps with impulse control and self management. Our children don’t have psychological-emotional problems. They simply ARE their emotions and they ARE their thoughts – completely impulsive and living in the moment. I used to think that maybe my son had emotional problems because of his behavior, and then I realized through researching brain maps and Neurofeedback that he was just simply responding according to what his brain says is normal. The neurons aren’t firing in the ‘slow down and think’ parts of the brain, and the neurons are over firing in the area of the brain where stimulation happens. He has no emotional problems because of trauma, what he is, is entirely honest and living in the moment of every single feeling. Look at your child as an extraordinary person. ADHD & ADD people learn all four ways simultaneously! It is every successful entrepreneurs superpower.

I make my son take deep breaths when he is getting worked up and now he just does it on his own mid sentence lol... he is learning himself. When he is hyper and unfocused I literally stop everything and take him for a run. He needs to burn off energy and frustration immediately. Then we come back to homework or whatever it is and he is calm. When he tells me he ‘Knows everything’, I say ‘great, then raise your hand in class and wait to be picked. If you can’t wait to be picked out your hand down and just know that you Know everything.’ There are so many tricks.

Best of luck to you ♥️