My son is 10 and his biggest struggle with ADHD is emotional dysregulation (ED). We're going to be starting therapy in about a month, so we'll work on the behavior from that front, but I'm also curious if there's a medication that works well for this symptom. He's not currently on any medication. He tried ritalin and concerta, but we didn't notice any improvement in any symptoms, and had a few undesirable side effects, so we went off. At the time, he really didn't want any medication, so we didn't continue the search. (We homeschool, so we're mostly able to work around the focus stuff.)
So, what have you found helpful for ED?
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AlltheLegos
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I think it took a couple weeks. Then it did not seem as effective for a week or so and then it evened out and remained effective. I think that for our son it helped his anxiety a bit which helped his response to frustrations.
My son was very irritable/explosive and supplements like Omega 3’s, zinc and low dose lithium have really helped him. The book Finally Focused is an excellent guide and explains how nutrient deficiencies can prevent medications from working.
Adderall and guanfacine are helping my kid. We saw changes in emotional regulation pretty quickly. Side effect of Adderall was loss of appetite, guanfacine no side effects. One thing to keep in mind is that it is really hard to get the stimulant meds right now. So it could be better at last for now to try a non stimulant? Your doctor probably has a good sense of availability in your area - just see what they think.
My son’s the same and we’ve trialed tons of medications and I think we finally found d the right combo. He’s 10 and takes 2 mg of Intuniv each morning and 75 mg of Trileptal in the morning and evening. The Intuniv helps slow down his physical impulsives and helps him focus better, while the Trileptal really helps with his emotional regulation.
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