Daughter rocks and moves a lot but only after being put on medication

[dadwithquestions456]

Hello. My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD a little after puberty. Previous to the diagnosis I would not have guessed ADHD, but she started having these crazy rage fits. Her medication has taken those away, but now she looks like she has ADHD since being put on medication. Is that normal? Like if she's just sitting, she will rock back and forth in her chair unless she's busy doing something. This started a bit after starting her meds and continues now. Thank you for any responses. She is 13 now...

[1233fire]

My daughter has the same problem. She is now 26. I'm also interested in answers.

[Hidden]

What medication is she on? My son was rocking a lot when he was on Methylphenidate. Since he stopped Methylphenidate and changed to Atomoxetine he nearly stopped rocking. He still rocks a bit when he’s sitting and eating slowly (he takes ages to eat and it seems it’s like a boredom thing- he then starts rocking) but if he’s allowed to read a book and eat then he doesn’t rock (but then he forgets to eat😂).

[dadwithquestions456 in reply to Hidden]

That is what she is on, methylphenidate. Did the rocking seem to come from the medication for him then also? She only rocks when not doing anything other than waiting. So waiting in line or sitting in a chair waiting for something. If she is busy doing something she generally doesn't. And it's even late into the evening so if we are watching a movie she might rock.

[Hidden in reply to dadwithquestions456]

For my son it’s not only ‘rocking’ that came from Methylphenidate, he also developed a range of other debilitating side effects whist on Methylphenidate. Psychiatrist was dismissing it but eventually he listened to us and changed medication. I read about the side effects on other ADHD medications and it seems every medication can have some similar and some different side effects and some sound very scary (let’s say liver damage on Atomoxetine- but it’s statistically so insignificant). I think for this reason we stuck with Methylphenidate for 8 long and unhappy months…I was scared to change because I worried that it would be even worse and then we would be left with nothing. Also psychiatrist are so ‘know it all’ and I felt ‘oh, he will think I am faffing and trying to change something that ‘works’. I am so glad that we did change!

And eventually when psychiatrist agreed to change medication - for my son rocking is practically gone, he stopped pulling skin from his fingers (he used to bite nails but on Methylphenidate it went further - he started pulling skin and making his fingers bleed), he stopped having ‘urinary urgency’ (sensitive bladder where he felt like he desperately needs to urinate even when the bladder was not full), he started sleeping better and enjoys his food again.

Non stimulant ADHD meds take weeks or even months to properly start working- it’s slowly better and better (not immediate over a day) but I think if your daughter doesn’t like the fact that on this medication she is rocking then maybe worth thinking all pros and all cons.

Everywhere I read it says that stimulants make people focus much better than non stimulant ADHD meds but there are 3 non stimulant ADHD meds available in US so it means there is a chance that one of these 3 will work and won’t cause ‘rocking’ or other side effects. My son is so much happier on ‘non stimulant’ medication and he still can focus well enough to carry on all day at school and then sports and clubs pretty much every day until 6pm.

Just maybe worth starting a little diary and start writing down all the ‘side effects’, adverse behaviours etc so you have evidence what’s good and what’s bad whilst on Methylphenidate.

[dadwithquestions456 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your replies. I'm going to bring up the medication with her doctor. She seemed very open to different medications when we started. I am sort of scared of any changes just because it has stopped her from getting into trouble. Hopefully the doctor will have suggestions.

[Hidden in reply to dadwithquestions456]

Yes, it’s a hard one- keep changing until finding ‘the best’ it staying with something that you think is ‘good enough’. I am quite cynical about the private doctors here in the UK. I feel they want to prescribe ‘stimulants’ not only because it’s a ‘first line of treatment’ but because these are ‘controlled’ drugs and they require more frequent medication reviews (hence more paid consultation time), whereas ‘non stimulant meds’ once titrated and on the right therapeutic dose require reviews only once every 12 months.I suppose no one is stopping you from trying another medication and if then you realise it actually is worse than the previous- to go back to the previous one. She might be equally ‘out of trouble’ on a non stimulant. Or it might not agree with her. You just don’t know until you try.