Experience with Metadate CD?

[bunniesandkittens]

Our almost 7 yr old ADHD son was just prescribed it - and we are nervous about starting meds. Anyone have experience with this particular med? Please advise!!

[MNmom99]

Hi there it’s completely normal to feel nervous about any medication given to someone so small, I felt the same way with my son who had it prescribed to him about a year ago he’s six now and has been taking it since he was about 5 the only side effect he had or has currently is a little loss of appetite, we just make sure he gets his calories because sometimes at meal times he’s just not that hungry, for him it’s worked great helping him slow down and being able to process and focus I wish I would have started it earlier for him it’s really worked well. We started at a lower dose and worked our way up he is currently 30 mg slow release throughout the day then has a 10 mg at about 4 o’clock after the other stuff wears down that’s all he is currently taking for medication but it seemed to work wonders for him we also are very careful not to give him foods and candies that have red dye in it because that seems to increase his hyper active activity just as an FYI. Good luck

[MNmom99]

Oh yeah and one thing I forgot to mention about that medication which I really liked is after the dose wears off it’s completely out of their system so it’s not like it will take a long time for the medication to get out of their body if there are some side effects that you don’t like unlike some other medication‘s that you need to wean off of.

[JustMeandMyADHD]

My first thought is thank goodness you are feeling nervous about giving your child a medication because that leads me to infer this will translate into close observations regarding any changes in your child’s behavior/habits. I cannot imagine what it must be like having to make this decision without prior experience.

Dr. Russel Barkley has studied ADHD intensively including a study that has followed the same cohort of children to adulthood. Barkley’s research extensively documents positive impacts from medication as part of the equation, so to speak, with helping individuals manage the impacts of ADHD.

I completely agree with the insights shared in the other two posts from the same individual.

I feel it’s important to remember the variants of severity of challenges that each individual with ADHD has to maneuver. Different individuals respond differently to different meds. The point I’m trying to emphasize is all ADHD brains still have their own unique wiring.

ADHD tends to not be a “stand alone” diagnosis. There’s most often a secondary medical condition, such as one or more of the types of dyslexia ( disgraphia, dismorhpia, discalculi, etc. -sorry I don’t think I spelled them very well), or possibly a type of petite-mal seizures (can’t spell that either) with a rather common one being the one that’s often referred to as “absent seizures” -miniscule lost moments in time, often portrayed as a blank stare for a few seconds, or a pause in speech and then the individual begins to speak again and seems a bit lost in terms of where they were at in their thought.

Sorry, ADHD, just hijacked my brain. To respond to your question regarding med. experience, here’s my first hand experience. Not my experience of having to administer to my child. by my own experience filled with regret due to not beginning meds. until the age of 39.

Had I began meds. as a child, had there been an awareness of ADHD, I strongly feel life would have been more productive and a lot less stressful, with a lot less punitive punishments that neither matched the behavior nor assisted with reshaping the behavior (If I had a nickel for every time I wrote the sentence stating, “I will not tip back in my chair in Mr. —- Science class,” I would have never had to enter the work force.

And, I wouldn’t be nearly as impacted with two of the major mile high cinder block walls holding back my full potential. GUILT and SHAME! Guilt and shame from so many daily failures with what seems to be simple, effortless tasks for others, such as getting to work on time, or even having an internal clock sensing/regulating the passing of rime, or having an understanding of the physical space in which my body is taking up, -what a wonderful week it would be to go without cracking my head on a kitchen cabinet door, or a vehicle door, or... I think you get the point.

Here are a few thoughts to consider regarding ADHD behaviors and a school setting (examples also transfer to home situations/struggles for child/frustrations for adults that may be positively impacted with the support of meds.)

If anyone in a school setting thinks that a child with ADHD:

Intentionally is off task,

Intentionally works at a snails pace to complete simple routine/tasks whether it may be putting on a shoe or getting a pencil,

Is intentional when not writing their name on a paper,

Is pretending to forget daily routines that are as simple to remember as blinking an eye for most,

Purposely blurts out when repeatedly told to wait their turn,

Doesn’t even try to regulate emotions (especially in the early years -ADHD emotions do NOT work on a dimmer switch like an electrical light. ADHD emotions ignite like a candle. Either bursting into flame, or not ignited. Some say it’s the from zero to 100 factor...),

Is always the last one in line on purpose,

Chooses to never finish a given task,

Can’t stop talking, or moving around the room, or falling out of their seat,

Is refusing to be flexible in situations, especially when playing with others because they alway want things their way,

Is too focused on fairness,

then that school person really would benefit from learning about the characteristics of ADHD.

Unfortunately, in many school settings adults take the above described situations as intentionally “misbehaving.”

I hope bringing to light the above example situations provide insight into areas of daily school life (even if home-schooled) where your child may very well begin experiencing greater success if any of them have been a challenge. (As previously mentioned, many examples are applicable to home routines/expectations whether it’s brushing teeth, picking up materials used, completing a chore, etc.

If the meds. are the right ones for your child, by the end of the second week, it will feel like a veil has been lifted up off the world and your child will be functioning with a clarity never witnessed before.

One tip regarding appetite (as mentioned can be a concern in the other person’s post), is to be sure your child eats breakfast before, or no more than 20 min. after taking meds. Appetite tends to whither around then.

Sorry for the rambling, it’s “just me and my ADHD!”

I hope something amongst all the babble assists with a feeling of comfort to give this medication a chance. Keep close eyes on behavior changes and I wish for you and your little one it’s the perfect recipe!

[JustMeandMyADHD]

P.S. Those implied routines are obviously insanely simple because one blinks involuntary...

That part wasn’t very clear... that’s just “me typing with my ADHD!”

(Also, typo of “rime” for time...)

I’m sure there’s more errors too, please ignore them... (I didn’t reread to edit...) ...and here comes the gushing embarrassment followed by the one and only “front stage performers’” GUILT and SHAME!

Do I know what I should to do and how to do the necessary steps when writing a response? Can I follow through with properly completing the task as one would expect? Not yet! (Maybe would have had better chance with success if it wasn’t the end of the day and my meds. are worn out of my system...