METHYLPHENIDATE

[AdhdMom1313]

Is anyones child on METHYLPHENIDATE? My child's psychiatrist prescribed 5 mg but we are hesitant because of the side effects but my childs behavior get worst everyday. Biting, hitting refusing to do all school work, breaking things, etc it's like living with a teenager and she is only 8!

[Onthemove1971]

Please try the medication. Our son has been on this medication for many many years. We see no side effects now, when he first started he was not very hungry but we just make sure he eats protein at every meal.

I assume it is short acting. Which means it lasts a few hours and then it is out of their system. It takes a while to figure out what type, dose and what time is best for your child.

He doesn't want to act this way and with the correct medications he can be much more successful.

Let us know how it goes.

[AdhdMom1313 in reply to Onthemove1971]

Thank you for the reply. How many mg is your child on? do you give it during the day or night time?

[Onthemove1971 in reply to AdhdMom1313]

Our son take 2 different doses 1-60mg am which is long acting and a second long acting at 3:30pm which is 40mg. He also takes Initiv at bed time to assist with mood and focus. This is taken at bed time and helps with sleep.

Hope this helps.

[Kyhlee in reply to Onthemove1971]

This is the best option we have tried and life is downright pleasant with it!! My grandson takes 36 mg (time release version) in the morning, along with .5 mg guanfacine, both am and pm. Only downside is his appetite, particularly at lunch. We pack things he will eat and then he’s welcome to have “second dinner” after dinner (and he always gets dessert when he is at grandma’s house. 😊)

[JJMom16]

My 5 year old takes a longer acting form of methylphenidate, equivalent to a 10mg dose. It makes a huge difference in our lives.

5mg is not a lot of this med. You may need to adjust it, and possibly add a complimentary med. It took us ~8 months to finally get our med combination right, but it has been absolutely worth it.

Good luck!

[SecretAgentIEP in reply to JJMom16]

Hi there, Can you share the dosage of the medicines that worked for your child? My son is 7 year old and takes 20 mg of Vyvanse and 1 mg of Guanfacine twice daily. We are looking for a booster or alternative that might reduce irritability.

[Notpaul]

We are also having a good experience. We've tried many different stimulant medications, but what's working best for us now is Daytrana, which is a methylphenidate patch. I don't have any problems with swallowing pills or crushing them and mixing them with sweet things. I just put the patch on him in the morning and he takes it off in the afternoon. He doesn't even notice the change in his hyperactivity, but everybody else does. The onset and taper are also very smooth, not even noticeable to him. It does suppress his appetite, but he makes up the calories in the evening. It delivers about 3.5 mg per hour, and the maximum time on is 9 hours a day. It works way better than Vyvanse 30 mg. My son is almost 13.

What I would suggest to you is that your child's sense of who they are develops in large part based on how things go for them as they move through the world. If their behaviors put others off, they may internalize a sense of being somebody who naturally is rejected by others. Feeling more in control of oneself really helps with friendships and achievement of all kinds. The other thing is that these medications are not addictive and they're short acting, which means that once you find one that doesn't have unacceptable side effects for your family, you can very quickly evaluate whether it's helping or whether the side effects outweigh any benefits, and just stop, without any long-term impact at all.

[SecretAgentIEP in reply to Notpaul]

Hi there, Can you share the dosage of the medicines that worked for your child? My son is 7 year old and takes 20 mg of Vyvanse and 1 mg of Guanfacine twice daily. We are looking for a booster or alternative that might reduce irritability and get more improvement to increase focus at school.

[Lauraz180]

Yes we are on it. Have been since 8. Cant really see any material side effects to be honest. I guess its different for everyone. It changed everything for us so personally i am a big fan of the meds.

[Lauraz180]

Also just to add we are on 30 mg long acting for a 12 year old. As a very rough guide maximum they will prescribe up to is 10% of body weight in KG. Obviously though you want as little as is needed for maximum improvement.

[Zero1024]

My teen daughter was adamant about not taking any medicines……until she had an major episode. She was encouraged to try by her therapist and she did try it. It has helped tremendously with her focus and even just getting her to do tasks that before would have been impossible. She recently switched to a slower release of this medicine that lasts 8 or more hours and there is an even bigger difference. An improved difference that both I and her teachers notice. Our kids have issues where getting some things done truly means picking your battles, but please try the medication. It will definitely help. And if it doesn’t seem to be working or makes the behavior worse, you can always try something else. The only side effect that we experienced was occasional headaches and nausea, and lack of appetite. But, when she eats consistently even when not hungry there is less nausea and headache. Hope this helps.

[MNmom99]

Hi there my son is almost 6 and has been on methylphenidate 20mg slow release in the am and 5mg around 4 it seems to work for him thankfully the only side effect for him was a bit of an appetite change just a little less hungry at times so we make sure he eats before taking it and sneak in extra calories whenever we can. I was concerned before we started for any side effects also but it really helped him focus and calm down we also had some family therapy to help him with other ways as in behavior with those Things combined it made a world of difference I hope things work out for you but please don’t be scared of the medication it’s there for a reason and can be very helpful if you get the right doses more importantly just monitor your child do research and it will all work out best wishes for you.

[CorsoMom]

Hi, my son is 8 and he is on this. He has not had any side effects and it’s been a real game changer. The challenge was the pills so we switched to liquid. He does give us a hard time with taking it at times but overall he does and it works great! Good luck and don’t feel alone. My so was the same way.

[LlamaMomma]

My 8 year old started taking this is July. It’s made a huge difference for his behavior. In the six weeks he’s been back at school, he’s had good behavior reports every single day. Last spring he had multiple poor behavior marks each week.

He complained of a headache the first day, on medication but no complaints since. He takes it in the mornings before school. He’s on 18mg of the Concerta brand, which is a slow release form so he does not need a second dose in the afternoon.

It did decrease his appetite and he lost 5 pounds over the first 2 months on it, so the doctor recommended he not take it on weekends, school holidays etc. to help with his appetite.

We had concerns when it was first suggested to us by his doctor. The doctor told us it does not stay in a persons system more than a day and is not addictive when taken as prescribed. We could stop at any time for any reason with no problems. We are glad we decided to give it a try.

[LlamaMomma]

Also, a tip our doctor gave us for children who are not used to swallowing pills, have them practice by swallowing tic tacs and then mini M&Ms. It worked for us!

[sfadhdmom]

This medication changed our lives. Please be open minded. Sometimes it takes a while to get to do is just right and find the right medication. But a kid with ADHD without medication it’s like not having glasses when you need them or being diabetic without insulin. Check out Jessica Mccabe on you tube. I cried when I heard her Ted talk. And tom brown MD. Hang in there things are gonna get better!

[Jjbb16]

My child (age 11) started with 10 mg of methylphenidate and now takes 20 mg. He had some mild side effects at first (a little trouble falling asleep, a bit less appetite) but they have gone away. The medication has been extremely helpful for him in terms of behavior, mood, and focus at school.

[Thoud]

First find time for her passions. Learn to use it as the stimulant / reward for behavioral education. I have mixed emotions about medications and know behavioral education is an asset for everyone, but time is in short supply so maybe the medication can be used till the behavioral education (CBT) can replace it.

[MrsKathiB]

My 4yo son is on that and at 5mg. We did find that we had to add a prescription allergy medicine that increases appetite and melatonin to help him sleep. But he is so much happier on the medicine. He's able to calm his mind and take time to make decisions instead of just going off impulse.

5mg is the lowest dose. My pediatrician said it's basically the equivalent of putting a dash of salt on food.

[AdhdMom1313]

Thanks to everyone's reply. We started it today. Finger 🤞 that she has no rare side effects. She already doesn't sleep because of a pineal cyst she has so we always give her melatonin. She is also a petite girl and barely eats I will buy some vitamins. Does this medication start working right away or take weeks to build up and work fully?

[Onthemove1971 in reply to AdhdMom1313]

Right away.. also you will know when it wears off. But give her body a few weeks to adjust before making any decisions. Let us know how it goes.

[katcald]

My son (14) takes Methylphenidate and it has made all the difference in the world. I wake him up and give him a 10mg dose one hour before he has to get up, and then I give him his main pail (36 mg extended release) before he leaves for school. (He’s supposed to get another 10 mg after lunch but he never remembers to go by the nurse and take it at school.) the only side effect he’s had is lack of appetite and he’s skinny so we push high protein foods on him and try to limit junk food. When the medicine wears off (right before bedtime) he’s ravenous so I let him have a big snack. It took a while but he is doing well on the growth charts now.

[AdhdMom1313]

Today is the second day on the pill. Yesterday was great and did all school work. Today she has refused to do work ( she's virtual) and has been angry and crying for no reason for an hour... 😩 Not sure if it's related to the med or what. I'm feeling beyond frustrated..

[mrl12 in reply to AdhdMom1313]

Hang in there! We went through some stuff at first my daughter (6, almost 7 at the time) started taking it. She told us later that she had expected it to "fix" her so part of her behavioral responses afterward was out of frustration that it didn't work the way she hoped it would. She was started on 5mg slow release pill, but I don't think she was even getting much of it in her system. She has some sensory issues and one of those are textures, so we had some problems getting her to take all of her meds even though she wanted to and tried.

We switched to the Daytranna patch at 10mg and saw a big difference, but it wasn't like a day/night shift. She's still a kid with ADHD, emotional dysregulation, and sensory processing difficulties. The meds just make it a little easier. I think right now the combination of meds, a detailed IEP, and a welcoming and supportive inclusive classroom (a far cry from her classroom last year) have been working together to help her feel calmer, more focused, and more confident.

She also has a very limited appetite and trouble sleeping. We just try to stuff her whenever she does have an appetite, which is at weird times, but you do what you can.

Keep us updated! Hope things get better.

[BVBV]

My son was prescribed methylphenidate as the first stimulant he tried. It was terrible- my happy boy became extremely angry and agitated and had multiple new issues with his friends and at school during the week he was on it. If the drug is making your child angry or there is a big personality change stop taking it! We had to go through a myriad of other drugs but landed on the short acting Focalin (the sun pharmaceuticals brand) in the morning. He also gets Zahler’s ChildCalm, Zahler’s KidsActive, Barlean’s Dha-EPA swirl which tastes awesome, and finally recently added Bacopa Monnieri. Although I know my son’s brain is wired differently, these “natural supplements” have also helped immensely with the combination of Focalin. Since starting Bacopa Monnieri my son has only had 1 bad day at school all month- that’s totally unheard of so I will be reporting continued progress as well.

[ThoughtsofAMom]

My son was prescribed it this Summer, around July and we slowly were advised to increase the dosage over time. I think overall, my son has adjusted quite well, after his body got used to the medication. There definitely is a difference from when he takes the medicine versus when he wasn’t taking it, in a positive way. I would say, give it a try just to see how it works out for your child.

[AdhdMom1313]

So we stopped the medication today. My child was extremely angry, agitated and moody all the time. You could not even look at her or speak to her because she would snap! The medication didn't really do anything besides add more symptoms. Now we still have the issues of her refusing to do any school work at all!