6th grade adhd help!

[Sweetkid]

Hello

I have not written a post in awhile and was reaching out for some advice. Since last year of March, my son was virtual learning due to the Covid-19 issues. He was doing ok and in the beginning of 6th grade we continued to have him virtual until Jan 2021. He has not been on meds since March 2020. The meds made him angry and unmotivated. It made him mean and that was worse then having him more focus. After going back to school, I heard nothing but good things from the teachers and they were all very proud of him and even said he didn’t need an iep in every subject like we had him in. I agreed and was happy with the progress. Last week he had some issues with another student and so it wouldn’t escalate into anything more, we reported it so that no violence would take place between him and other students. But since then I have gotten 4 calls from different teachers and the vice principal about his behavior and work ethics. But it seems like once I make a small complaint they start to make a paper trail of my child. I am considering putting him on meds again, but we have been through adderal and concerta and they don’t seem like a good fit. Has anyone out there have a good experience with meds or know of a good doctor in the Atlanta area that could help me. Thanks

[Onthemove1971]

Thank you for posting your concerns. I hear this a lot about kids them appear to be fine without medications then things start happening ( peer stress, school work overload, etc) and they struggle. It is my suggestion that you get an appointment with a Psychiatrist. They aer medical doctor's who specialize in children who need medication.

There are stimulants and non- stimulants some children thrive on both and some on one, medication is very person to that child's body. One of the non stimulants that our son has been on is Guanfacine, which is a non stimulant. I will say it took us at least 4-5 different combinations to get a correct balance with type, dose, and timing which are all important. Clearly if he is angry that is not a good fit, but a good Psychiatrist can really help.

For our son, he barely knows he takes the medication, but it reduces about %60 of the symptoms he has from ADHD. The rest we deal with an make adjustments for.

I would also make sure he has all of the assistance from the IEP/504 plan so that this is not a continued stress on him. IEP's a usually written for all educational environments, not by subject and do not have to be yearly, you can call an IEP any time if he is needing more support.

Hope this helps, take care.

[Sweetkid in reply to Onthemove1971]

Hello thank you for your reply. I am for meds, but it seems to make him worse. How can I go about finding a good psychiatrist. The one the doctor recommended has bad reviews. I don’t want to have a bad experience and not want to walk in one again.

[wonders2]

He may need meds again. Don’t give up on meds keep trying till you find the right one. My son is 7yrs old he was on concerta and it made him negative and it aggravated his tic disorder so I had to change it. He’s now on guanfacine 3mg and is much better. It does cause insomnia but melatonin 5mg fixes that issue. I also have him on sertraline to help with his anxiety and mood. These two meds balance him out and so his beautiful personality comes out. Best of luck

[MaudQ]

Seconding the good suggestions here. I would also look into anxiety or depression- they often appear as irritability or aggression. My 12 yo has anxiety and ADHD and most of her challenges actually come from the anxiety. As the others are saying, a good psychiatrist can help you sort through the different medications. Also, a paper trail from the school is not necessarily a bad thing. If decide you want to reapply for the IEP, now you have some backup.

[janeejo1]

We recently switched to Vyvanse. There are lots of options. Work with prescriber. Concerta and Adderall did not work for my son. We also tried a patch at one point. I can't remember the name but it made him break out. Make sure things are documented in the IEP/504! Best wishes. Both my children with ADHD are in 6th grade too.

[AberdeenArms]

my for-now unmedicated 16 year old ADHD son is at his worst when he has conflict with peers. He gets especially rude and disrespectful with the people in our house and with his friends. He also refuses to talk about his issues with me and his mother. Therapy does help. The most important thing you can do is get to the root of the issue and begin solving from there. It could be that your child is just greatly affected by conflict with his peers and needs assistance rebounding from it. That's easy to read and difficult to diagnose and then solve, but therapy is a way for your child to learn so that he's better the next time he's put in a challenging situation.

[Sweetkid]

I agree. My son has some of these attributes you mentioned about your child. He is one to follow peer pressure and get into arguments and has trouble bouncing back and getting on task. I think now that he has become comfortable with his new school and out of virtual he feels he can act how he wants. He also has times where he is disrespectful and likes to push our buttons. Did meds help with your child if so, what kind. He was on concerta 4th and 5th grade but it didn’t seem to help. He was also on adderal and it was terrible.

[Momtrying]

A good thing to remember is your son is probably starting puberty too so hormones are going to be a big factor. This could change the way he reacts to meds. What dose adderall was he on? When my son first started adderall (after trying concerta) it was really hard. He was not happy, withdrawn and when it wore off in afternoon it was not fun. But we lowered the dose and things changed quickly. We have since had to up it but now that he’s a bit older and more used to it, the higher dose works great. It’s a lot of trial and error. And remembering their bodies are changing and they don’t know how to navigate that like we would like them to! 😂

[Sweetkid in reply to Momtrying]

Thanks for your reply. He was on adderall 5mg so his dose was the lowest. But he was a mess on that dose and a lot of crying and out of his character. I know puberty has a big role in these things. I wish I could find something that would work and that he is willing to take without a fight.

[Momtrying in reply to Sweetkid]

My doctor likes vyvanse, he said it seems to be better with the erratic behavior but there’s no generic so it’s super expensive. But he did say the manufacturer wants people to be able to use it so if you work with them they will actually give you rebates on the medicine. That might be something to look into. Good luck!

[lymberkym]

My son is also 6th grade and we are still trying to figure out the best medication/dosage. I’m starting to think that adding in anti depressant might be the next step. I’m also searching for a highly recommended psychiatrist in Atlanta - I’d love to know if you come across any names. I can send any your way if I do as well. Good luck! Hang in there. This is such a tough & lonely road

[anirush]

My Grandson is on Straterra and Guanfacine. Stimulants made him crazy. Just because some meds didn't work doesn't mean you should give up on all of them. It's better than getting your son branded as the school troublemaker.