ADHD and Puberty

[katcald]

My son is 12 1/2 and has been on Concerta (generic) for 6 years. It was the first medicine he tried and we were so fortunate that it was the right one. We’ve tweaked the dose over the years but it was working fine until just recently. He has started having problems keeping it together at school and someone mentioned in passing that once kids start puberty and their body chemistry changes they may have to switch medicine because the old ones don’t work anymore. Has anyone experienced this?

[klb19]

Hi, my son turned 13 in November and has been on 54mg of Concerta throughout middle school and doing fine so far. At his last visit, his psychiatrist indicated that over the next 2 years, he likely will have to go to the last and highest dosage of concerta due to growth. There has never been in any mention of changing the medication as a result of puberty. I understand your concern because we have also been lucky that the first medication he tried has been helpful.

[katcald in reply to klb19]

Hey, what does your son weigh? My son has been on 36 mg but has recently had a growth spurt and gained a lot of weight He’s probably about 90 pounds now.

[klb19 in reply to katcald]

He’s about 110 lbs now

[LabLover2]

We had to make a switch from Vyvanse back to concerts but nothing was mentioned about puberty being the result. We were just told ADHD and puberty were going to be a challenge : )

[katcald in reply to LabLover2]

Yep. Combo of testosterone and ADHD not a good one.

[ASMomma00]

I have noticed my daughter has been more anxious and unfocused lately and I think her period is coming any day. She’s 12 1/2 too. Her dr. said we may need to monitor her dosage but didn’t mention switching meds. He would like to start weaning her off of meds after puberty.

[sonosista01]

My son is almost 13, he is on 36mg of Concerta. He has started to have issues with focusing during classes. He has also had a huge growth spurt over the past year (close to 100 lbs now). We might need to up his dose.

[anirush]

In middle school my grandson went from 5' 4 to 5' 10. The focalin XR which had worked so wonderfully all through grade school with some adjustments suddenly quit working. He became the class clown, couldn't concentrate in class.

Over the next 2 years it took time to find a new combination of meds since he also started having trouble with depression and severe anxiety at the same time.

He is somewhat stable in high school but never as good as he was back in grade school.

His psychiatrist says hormonal changes play havoc with meds.

[nurse_nelly]

yes my son went through this. He was on concerta from 2nd grade - 5th grade then everything changed. He was on 54 mg and it was not working. the school was always complaining and it seemed as if they were just trying to label my son or trying to cause problems for him. He never had any behaviors in school just a hard time focusing. He then started taking 10mg of regular Ritalin which works great. He also grew so much after he was taken off the concerta. Extended release just wasn't for him anymore.

5th grade while on concerta weight 78 pound 4'11" Now in 8th grade 5'10" 128 pounds doing great and still taking 1 Ritalin a day plus CBD oil . Never seen him so happy and he has so many friends now.

[Janice_H]

Yes, this is accurate. Hormonal changes add additional stress and mood swings.

[Shontell]

My grandson isn't close to puberty-he's7 and has been on concerta for 3 years and doing really well, but he has had some significant growth spurts in the last year and the concerta hads just not been working. We are now on jornay PM and the difference is amazing- we were having to wake him up early to give him the concerta or mornings were horrible. His doctor has also said towards puberty there may have to be significant med changes due to hormones and metabolism and it could begin as early as 10.

[katcald in reply to Shontell]

Yeah, I wake him at 5:30 and give him a10mg pill and then he goes back to sleep until about 6:45. He gets his 35 mg extended release pill at breakfast

[Jennyfufu]

My son just turned 12 in January. He weighs 110 lbs. He has been in 54 mg since he weighed about 100 lbs because the 36 didn’t cut it anymore. So far it works great. I recommend if you haven’t already talked about puberty and changes that you do soon. Sometimes when they don’t know what to expect they act out of fear which can bring out the worst in them just like it does us. Another thing that really affects my son is sugar and artificial colors. His psychologist said that those things for an ADHD kid can bring out the worst in them. Getting them to have self control with that is difficult. Different colors have different symptoms. Some make him angry, some make him bounce off the walls and some make him sad. There are so many great videos for kids and parents on YouTube about ADHD.

[chucky_00]

Our specialist has stated on many occasions that puberty will bring many changes to our sons ADHD and anxiety. It will require monitoring, changes in med dosage and we may have to change his meds as the current may become ineffective.