Advice for starting meds for the first time?

[BlueStripedMama]

Hi all! My gal is 10 and we have a new official ADHD diagnosis, though of course have suspected the diagnosis for a long time. We have an appointment next week with our pediatrician to talk about medication for the first time. For those of you who have gone down the meds road, I'd love to learn from your wisdom.

1. What did you wish you knew when you tried meds for the first time?

2. What questions did you wish you asked (or are glad you asked) when considering which med to try first or when making a final decision?

3. How did you prepare your kiddo for the journey associated with trial and error and dose adjustments?

[Onthemove1971]

Welcome! These are such great questions.

What did you wish you knew when you tried meds for the first time?

I wish I knew that I really needed a Child Psychiatrist to manage what my child needed when he was younger. we tried with our Pediatrician but it was not enough( they would be a long story).

I also wished I knew that 60% of behaviors connected to the symptoms of ADHD will go away when medication is the correct type, correct dose and correct time. I know believing that there was better for our son and continuing to get it right was so important.

I also wished I knew that our son needed a number of changes to the medications as he grew and change.

I also wish someone would have told me try to look at the current and now, I would imagine our son in prison, on drugs and stealing things with no education. I had only one child so no other child to compare to. One year at a time.. with tools success happens.

2. What questions did you wish you asked (or are glad you asked) when considering which med to try first or when making a final decision?

Again, having something to stand strong that helped us so much. I know 60% of the behaviors should be gone once everything was dialed in. Things were not, so we need to change things (maybe have him take the medication at a different time or add a 2nd dose or increase the amount).

What I also learned was at any point I could stop or change things if they were not working. But for us life could not go on without medication ( I had the school plan set up, I had therapy set up) was the missing link that helped him be able to attend school without major issues and be a home without having major meltdowns.

3. How did you prepare your kiddo for the journey associated with trial and error and dose adjustments?

I tell this story a lot. Our son is 17 years old now. When he was about 15/16 years old I asked him casually one day "do you remember taking other medications in the past", he said "did I?".

I tell people this because I was so torn up about trying medication and having bad side effects, that was my trauma not my child's. He has zero memory of what happened when he was young. We did the trial and error because we had not gotten to the 60% of symptoms being gone.

As far as adjustments... when grades started slipping ( he would study and work hard but get bad grades for a while not just one), I knew focus was an issue and I would reach out to the Child Psychiatrist and we would make adjustments. Then we would be back on track and have more success.

There are stimulants and non-stimulants and learning about both is important, but trusting what the doctor recommends was also important.

I hope this helps and you find success for your child. We are always here, if you can try to read some of the old message they are so helpful and understand many of us have been in your shoes.

Big hug for all your troubles...

[BlueStripedMama in reply to Onthemove1971]

Thank you so much -- all of these are great pearls of wisdom for me as we go through this. I've been soaking in all the wisdom from earlier posts too because there is so much about trying meds. But what you said about a child psych. is really helpful - that hadn't occurred to me, but makes a ton of sense. I was laughing when I read about how your son didn't remember all the trial and error because I can absolutely imagine that happening for us, too. I invest all kinds of thought and intentionality into these changes and my kids are like, "Wait, what? That was hard? Huh. Didn't know that."

[Onthemove1971 in reply to BlueStripedMama]

Ha ha. Exactly!!! While we are in therapy for years.We are so happy to have you as part of the group.

We will support you in anyway we can, so the road ahead for you guys is not as painful as ours was.

Have a great day

Take care.

[Momto2adhders]

The biggest thing was realizing that it is trial and error and so are doctors. Doctors are not all created equal whether pysch or pediatrician. We moved several times with the military when my kids were young and saw some good peds and some that had no idea what they were doing. We saw some up-to-date pysch providers who had more cutting- edge info and we saw some who were old school, stuck in there ways and treated everyone the same. You have to do your research here or wherever you can find some good folks to talk to and advocate for your child. Also start teaching the child to advocate so that when they are older, they know how to ask for what they need.

It is somewhat trial and error so don't give up. Explain to child that you will be right there with them and they should let you know how they feel. You will watch for side effects, even ones not listed. You know your child best. Start a journal and write things down. My son has taken so many different meds with lots of side effects but in high school settled on name brand Concerta and Intuniv. He still takes both at 27 and can now navigate his medical needs himself. He had some bad experience with psych professionals both as a child and more so as a new adult. If you don't like what you are hearing from a doctor or how they treat your child, find another. We had a great NP psych professional for years, then she decided to stay home with kids. We went through several providors then at 18 he was considered an adult by new providers and they treated him as if he had adult adhd. He just needed to continue the care he had received as a child. But he now has a great provider who sees children-older adults. Its like night and day when you find the right provider and right meds. It can be done. Hopefully, your first doctor will be great and things will go well, but if they don't, don't give-up. There are numerous meds and different ways to take them and different times to take them. Just keep going until you find the right balance. You can do it! Good luck to you and your child. My son says ADHD is his superpower. I hope your child will one day feel this way.