Medication NOT Working

[SweetADHDboy]

My 10 year old son has ADHD and anxiety, borderline OCD. He has been on various medications over the last 3 years all with very minimal success. He has been on Concerta, Risperidone, Fluoxitine, Ritalin. The school feels that he has significant anxiety/ocd symptoms at school. He is currently taking 96mg of Concerta with minimal effect. Any success with meds for others not mentioned here?

[Canadianmum]

Hi, I don’t have personal experience but in my reading it seems that methylphenidate (I.e. Ritalin, Concerta) might not be best for kids comorbid anxiety. Have you spoken with the doctor about a non stimulant option like Strattera or Intuniv? I hope you find something that works for your son.

[SweetADHDboy in reply to Canadianmum]

He stopped the fluoxitine today to flush out of his system. The goal is to start him on a different anti anxiety in a couple of weeks. This is a torturous process! I will ask about those two meds. We have an appointment next week.

[Canadianmum in reply to SweetADHDboy]

Hang in there and hugs to you.

[Onthemove1971]

Are you guys working with a Psychiatrist?

So times it takes a combination of medications because they each treat something different. Like Ritilin ( we needed a high dose) to decrease impulses and Initiv to help with focus.

We did not benefit from any single dose of medication.

We started with our Pediatrician and are now with a Psychiatrist.

I would ask recommend a school psychologist help you with the issues at school.

[SweetADHDboy in reply to Onthemove1971]

Yes, he has a psychiatrist that he has been seeing for almost 2 years. It's been a constant battle to try different combinations. Some have worked but not for long before we have to decided best next steps with different meds. He wants me to increase his risperidone but I'm not comfortable with that because it makes him tired at school and very early in the afternoon.

[Cjkchamp]

No long term success with medications for our son; however, the psychiatrist recommended broad spectrum micronutrients. My son has now been off all medications since May 2019. He is back in a general education classroom. He is able to control his emotions and verbalize his feelings. He isn't talking about hurting himself or others anymore. His aggression has ceased. I highly recommend you research them. There are two companies, Hardy Nutritionals and True Hope. She did not recommend one brand over the other.

[anirush]

I have a grandson who takes respect for atone for anger but it sure doesn't do anything for his ADHD. It take so long for a medication to work I'm surprised your doctor is making you take long breaks between trying something else.

Both of my grandsons are also on Intuniv with good results.

[Mmagusin]

Our son has severe ADHD with ODD rooted from anxiety. We found that much of our son’s anxiety was caused by situations & environment. He was treated poorly at school (a common outcome of having ADHD) which was part of it. Further, my wife & I were arguing in front of him, often times around his behaviors. There was daily conflict in our family. We’ve worked hard to change things in our life to reduce anxiety & maintain a calm home. We even went to family therapy to help us all communicate better. This helped immensely to give him the tools & confidence to overcome anxiety. I don’t know if changing things in his life would help, but it did for us.

[DougieHowser]

Have you looked at therapy. My son has tried play therapy and horse therapy. Both really helped and also music.

[zamom77]

Hi! This is my first time posting, but your questions are relatable. My 8 year old has been on some form of Ritalin for a little over 2 years for his ADHD. He does take Zoloft for anxiety as well. At our last visit to his doctor, she determine that the 54mg of Concerta should be helping his symptoms and it clearly was not. She switched families of medications and started him on Vyvanse (in the Adderall family). I know this medication has different effects on different people, but it's been working well with my son. I've learned through this process that genetic makeup determines how a medication will react in someone's system. Ritalin was just not working for him. Best of luck to you and hugs, it's a learning process everyday. Hang in there!

[Blooming2]

We just started our son on the lowest, pediatric dose of Abilify, for anxiety/OCD symptoms after trying a couple of others with no noticeable improvement. I know everyone is different, but I hope you’ll find something that works better. I know it’s frustrating and takes time to go through the trials.

[Blooming2]

I should have shared: amazingly positive results so far with Abilify. And, we’ve been surprised at how much better he can focus now that he isn’t so irritable.

[Vickie109]

We've had good success adding a magnesium supplement for my son's anxiety. It's not uncommon for kids with ADHD to be low in magnesium and medication can further deplete it. Magnesium lotion works the best, but my son also takes a small amount of magnesium citrate gummies for constipation. Good luck to you in finding what works!

[Dsmith05 in reply to Vickie109]

What magnesium lotion do you use?

[Vickie109 in reply to Dsmith05]

Hi there, we have been using the lotion from magnesiumlotionshop.com. I actually just ordered some more. Directions are to rub into legs on your back. My son is 11 and reminds me every night to rub some on his back before bed.

[Janice_H]

Hi, there are many medications available. Sometimes it takes several trials before you find the right one. Don't give up hope. Let the doctor know that his current med is not giving the desired results and ask for a new trial. My son has been on 6 different medications. He is currently on Ritalin, 1 extended release dose before school. It has worked well with focus, organization, following directions and impulse control.

[Pennywink]

Sorry to hear that! Could it be other factors at play - like amount of sleep, parenting strategies, supports at home & school? I know if my son has not been sleeping well, it sometimes doesn't feel like the medication is working.

Also, sometimes children whom medication doesn't seem to be working for could be the ones better served by supplements or seeing if a nutrient deficiency is a factor.

Though as previously mentioned, there are so many medications, hopefully something will work. Finding the right one can be a trial though.

best of luck!

[Myrtty in reply to Pennywink]

My son was on 4 medications at one point for ADHD. He was also diagnosed with anxiety and later depression. He responded with focus in one way but was off the charts in other ways. In 1 year we pulled him off all meds, and decided to treat his anxiety. It's helped.

We went through a ton of professionals before we found someone that looked beyond his behavior. The professionals overwhelming response was the medication and side effects indicated there was more going on than just ADHD. DS definite has mild development delays especially with vision and has slower processing.

If you can find a way, get a neurological psychological exam will help direct you in the best way of helping him. Also, school's can create exacerbate behavior if expectations exceeds a child ability to cope and process the environment and learning exceptions. We had had to hire an advocate get my son the additional support he needed. He's improved so much since we got them. Sometimes, changing the environment changes the kids.

[Happle]

96 mg of Concerta seems like a very, very high dose. I would get a second opinion.

[RhondaLN]

My son has been on Strattera, he was late diagnosed at 18 and it changed his life. Not to mention 4 years of counselling to help with his feelings that stemmed from school and from home life. Also when he studies/tests he has dexedrine that he takes to help him concentrate. He also listens to music when studying that has beta waves that helps him focus. (look up ADHD /ADD Beta wave music or just Music for ADHD...) He plugs into it with head phones and its amazing how it helps him concentrate. Wishing you and your boy well