Medication and 10 year old son

[kyeager]

Hi, I'm looking for advice on medication for my 10 year old son. He's been on Aderrall 15mg in the morning and 5 mg at lunch time for about a year now. He currently taking guanfacine 2mg at dinner time now. He basically has no appetite anymore and has troubles sleeping. we have difficulties getting up in morning for school. I give him a melationin gummy 5mg to help him rest. But by the time 8pm comes around he is giving me a hard time and has meltdowns about having to rest and in the internet ( games being turned off). I have asked the prescriber if this medication is too much due to these reactions. She increased the Guafacine to 2mg in the evening. I'm lost for where to go or who I could talk to about medication questions and dealing with behavioral issues. I would like to find someone who can help all around with behavioral therapy and medication therapy.

[Auggie123]

Hi- I hear and relate to your struggles. It sounds like you are working with a psychiatrist, which is good. They are there to help monitor how medication is working or not, and to adjust accordingly. In our experience, psychiatrist doesn't really help with the behavioral part of things . We work with a CBT therapist for this part. We see her weekly and get advice from her on behavior strategies/discipline... our 9 year old son is a real handful so we lean on our CBT therapist heavily for help. His behavior changes so frequently so it feels like following a moving target... Our son tried stimulants, not a good fit. So he's on Guanfacine 2mg. Its kind of helping... Also has been evaluated for high functioning autism - will get report back from that soon. There's so many moving parts it seems, it's hard to know what is causing what sometimes. The latest puzzle piece that has been coming up for us and others it seems is this notion of anxiety....and what a big part it can play for these kids... I know when my son is having a tough phase at school, evening meltdowns get worse because he is anxious about going to school the next day... I hope this helps. Its so hard when our kids are struggling so much. I wish you the best!

[kyeager in reply to Auggie123]

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I can truly relate.

[rchicago]

Hi there! I hear you. Medication is a constant struggle. No silver bullet out there that's for sure. What was the doctor's reasoning for the lunchtime 5 mg? Another option could be a higher dose in the am. That's what we do but afternoons are still a struggle for my 7 year old. We did try guanfacine but stopped it as it make my son really irritable and emotional. Gaming late can definitely effect sleep so we try to keep to a "no screens" policy after 7 pm. With reading starting at 8:00 pm. We do melatonin too at night (7pm) and that helps a ton. Maximizing outdoor play is also helpful. Sometimes their little minds are so worn out from school that just being outside and running around can help set the stage for a calmer evening. We did do CBT therapy for a while but he doesn't have the executive functioning yet to really get it so we switched it to weekly therapy for my wife and I! That has been a big help. We scheduled that through one of our local hospitals (2 month wait time). Hang in there! I don't know if this is helpful at all but you are NOT alone.

[Momtrying]

I feel like 10 years old was really hard with our son. Changes are going on with their bodies and emotions on top of having ADHD so some of it is just a waiting game. I know that’s not fun to hear, but phases do change as they get older. Shutting down electronics is always difficult. But I’ve found the less I engage in the argument, the better. It’s sooo hard but things do go smoother when it comes to meltdowns if I don’t meltdown myself when he’s going off about how stupid it is that I shut down his phone , I have to just walk away instead of trying to explain to him why he can’t be on it all night. Explaining things over and over rarely helps, mostly never helps. It might be worth trying upping the morning dose and seeing if you can cut out the lunchtime. Maybe that would help at bed? As far as appetite, would your son drink protein drinks? My son doesn’t eat very much but I feel like if he gets a couple meals and at least a banana in a day, I’m not too worried. I need to spend my energy on keeping myself calm with him instead of how many calories he’s eating. Then maybe down the road when we can lessen his meds (25 mg adderall in morning and 5 mg at 3pm) I’ll worry more about his eating habits. I also don’t fight with him too much about what he eats. Maybe they’re empty calories, oh well. At this point, I pick my battles. We can’t do it all at once so take one issue at a time.

We know how hard it is. Keep positive

[kyeager in reply to Momtrying]

Thanks so much. I appreciate your ideas.

[Ldydy24]

Finding the right balance of meds is definitely a journey. Are you working with a psychiatrist? If not, I highly recommend one as a pediatrician is generally not skilled for these types of meds. 5 mg of meds in the afternoon sounds small and probably isn’t sustaining him into the late afternoon/evening, hence the challenges. I would discuss a larger dose, If he’a taking 15 mg in the am is it worn off at lunch? Generally the short acting doses end in 4 hrs unless he’s taking an extended release. My son took Clonodine at night with a melatonin gummy and that helped him sleep. Appetite was small during the day so I loaded him up at breakfast and dinner.

[kyeager in reply to Ldydy24]

Thanks so much. I appreciate the help. This site is the best I found yet for help with ADHD.

[BVBV]

We are having issues with my son’s meds currently, but he cannot tolerate extended release formulas. He would go too long without eating, and it would interrupt his sleep most nights. Moving to an immediate release formula was a game changer- he eats sooner and no sleep issues.

[kyeager in reply to BVBV]

Thanks for sharing. when you say intermediate is that like a 5mg tab of Aderrall multiple times a day ?I just took him off the 15mg XR 2 days and noticed a change in appetite and overall mood already. He was having severe mood swings daily. I spoke to psychiatrist about it and she keeps seeming to up the aderrall dosage. I'm so sick of this Adderall and looking for alternatives. We are even in search for a new psychtirst in our area but they are hard to get appointment. thanks

[BVBV in reply to kyeager]

My son is on 10mg immediate or short release Focalin, a different stimulant. It lasts about 4-5 hours and we just give it once in the morning normally, otherwise he goes too long without eating. My son also tried Methylphenidate, Adderall, and Vyvanse before Focalin. He’s having some “tics” so we may end up stopping the medication.