Hi Everyone! I am new to this forum but wanted to reach out to see if any one has had some recommendations or tips.My daughter is 15 and has been diagnosed with ADHD recently. She was taking 30mg of Vyvanse which seemed to help but she was still unable to focus. After about a month it was increased to 50mg. She taken 50mg of Vyvanse for about 2 weeks but started to get alot of side effects from it. (Not eating, not sleeping, mood swings, irritable, panic attacks/anxiety & excessive skin picking). She was then switched to 27mg of Concerta. She took 1 dose and did not like how she felt on it. She said she couldn't feel, had no emotion, felt like a zombie, had a stomache ache and head ache. She said it was scary and she will not be taking the med again.
I called her pediatric psychiatrist and we are going to try a different med. I was given 2 options, 1 med treats anxiety & impulstivirt and the other treats hyperactivity and focus. We chose the 1st med as our main concern is impulstivity.
Trying to navigate medication and know which is the right ones to try is very difficult and frustrating. And stressful as I'm concerned about all of the side effects.
Any one have any advice, tips, ect about what meds worked and didn't work for their kiddos? (I know everyone is different and what works for 1 might not work for the next, ect. But just being knowledgeable about potential side effects is helpful)
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PinkMamabear1990
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I also have a 15 year old daughter with severe ADHD and we have so far tried 3 medications-stimulants--and she's had bad side effects from all. I don't have any answers but just wanted to say I can sympathize! This is hard! And it feels like we'll never find the right med. I hope you can find something that helps her. Best wishes.
I had the same issue with my daughter when she was that age, but I didn't see the symptoms as symptoms until she was older. I think that your doctor shouldn't give you or your daughter a choice between treating these two medical conditions. In fact ADHD causes anxiety, and is one of the most common coexisting issues. Stimulant medication can put a fine point on existing anxiety, so it isn't uncommon to need to treat both.
A LOT OF kids with ADHD, are prescribed multiple medications to balance the symptoms. Doctors are sometimes hesitant to treat with what they call "polypharmacy" because it requires an additional level of medical management. In my opinion, all children on medications such as these, should indeed be "micromanaged". They are a class of medication that requires a doctor to be very careful and to make sure that they frequently touch base, so the relationship with the clinician has to be a good one.
Girls present with ADHD differently than boys, and in some cases their ADHD can look a lot milder in severity compared to boys. This is primarily because girls are socialized differently than boys and will appear to have "seemingly less" impairments and or externalizing behaviors from their ADHD.
My daughter was very physically active in middle and high school and undiagnosed for many years. I believe this was her way of unknowingly, keeping the blood flowing. It worked for her to be in constant motion. This was participating in X-C, swimming, and several part time jobs including her school work.
After a while, it became overwhelming for her to keep that pace and have the energy for the all things she wants to accomplish. This profound sense of under achievement becomes anxiety. When she left home to go to college, is when we started getting the sense that something is going on, but we decided that it was just because she was away from home and it was a tough transition. She wasn't diagnosed until age 20.
It isn't just with girls/boys who have ADHD either. Today, anxiety for not being able to produce what you intend to accomplish, is a common condition in our young people. ADHD makes every emotion attached to this excessive and over expressed. Anxiety generated by ADHD, needs to be evaluated and treated as well as the other symptoms...period.
If there is a support meeting through CHADD for you, consider attending. There is a lot of solace to be had from other parents. Parents are the best advocates for each other. I hope that you get the medication thing sorted out. Check out their listings of chapters or meetings on Zoom or other virtual platforms.
This is a lot for her and for your family to have to navigate, but you are doing treatment that is recommended and earlier than a lot of women diagnosed in adulthood.(like me lol)
And most of all, don't forget that you aren't alone. 😊
I'm still navigating this all, too, but it makes sense to me that medication is so personal because the reason for ADHD differs from person to person. We are all bio unique. I'm educating myself on genetics right now, and it's so fascinating the different pathways for brain chemicals. It could be a brain chemical production problem, transport problem, receptor problem, reuptake problem... Too much dopamine, too little dopamine etc. I think different meds address different issues(?). Is your doc open to genetic testing? I've heard some people have success with using this information to choose the right medication. Good luck!
Hi WirootsI'm going to ask the psychiatrist about the genetic testing as I am unsure if they will do it. I find some things that they do in other countries, they will not do in Canada. 🤷♀️
I am sorry for the frustration you and your daughter are experiencing. You may not know that the ADHD medications work for about 80% - 85% of the people who try them. There is some trial and error, to be sure, but it is a very high percentage that find relief.
Hopefully knowing that such a high percentage find success with the medications will alleviate at least some of the feelings of frustration. Once you find the right balance it can truly be life changing and well worth all the effort.
May I suggest that you track the medications she has tried, doses, side effects, dates, etc. so you have all the information within reach. Relying on the doctors to keep it all in mind or fully understand the nuance of her situation is giving up a lot of control over the matter. It will feel overwhelming at first but once the information is organized you may see a pattern the doctors do not. You and your daughter know her best, the information will have different meaning to you than to the doctor.
It may be that the doctor who jumped from 30mg to 50mg is going too fast. Maybe 40mg is the sweet spot and 50mg really put your daughter over the edge. Everyone's chemistry is different and fine tuning is part of the process.
Often ADHDers have co-medications, one for ADHD specifically and depression or anxiety or other coexisting condition. So a combo is not uncommon.
Tracking the information yourself is a life skill to teach your daughter. It shows it is important to understand processes, like finding the right medication, and the best way to fully understand is to have the information available to you not relying on someone else's interpretation alone.
In the mean time as you continue to see what works and what doesn't may I suggest incorporating some sort of meditation. Meditation and mindfulness have been found to have profound positive impacts on mental health in general and ADHD focus and anxiety in particular.
You can do as little as 5 minutes per day and see results. It is not a quick fix like the medications can be but, over time it definitely helps rewire and calm the mind.
The beauty of meditation is that you win no matter what. Every time you bring your focus back to what you chose as your focal point - breath, flame, sound, etc - it's like your focus muscle is lifting weights and getting stronger. So even if you sit there for 5 minutes and it feels like you are just constantly bring your attention back to the focal point you are getting stronger. And when you are able to focus for longer you are strengthening your focus muscle. One is like doing curls the other is more endurance training. You can't lose!
There are a ton of apps out there and this too can be trial and error - sorry to add to your plate.
The second suggestion, while sorting the medications, is to incorporate moderate to high cardio on a regular basis, if possible. It helps create and balance dopamine levels and can have positive impacts on focus and anxiety. Exercise can be quick like medications in that directly after some cardio your focus is generally better for a good chunk of time. It is recommended to wiggle, dance, sing loudly or shake between activities in order to maximize your focus for the upcoming activity. Even just shaking out your hands vigorously can improve focus.
I hope some of that helps. Hang in there. I believe you will find a combo that works for her. Wishing to you it is sooner than later.
BLC89
Full disclosure: I am an Adult & Parent ADHD coach. I have been married to ADHD for nearly 30 years and have raised two children with ADHD (20 & 22) I am also CCSP certified. Find out more at bluelakecoaching.com
Hi PinkMamabear!My son is 15 and was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 8 years old. We tried different medications and settled on methylphenidate. He moved from taking only 10mg immediate release to 30mg ER as he grew up (in size) and needed a longer effect so he would do his middle school homework (there was no h/w in elementaryschool) . The only side effect was suppressed appetite, so I gave him high protein breakfast, a full meal when he got home from school, and then dinner around 7pm or after sports.
Once he got to high school, the effect didn't last long enough, so I asked his phyciatrist for a different medicatiion. 27mg and even 36 mg of concerta ER didn't seem to help with focus at school or after school. (ER Concerta, supposedly, lasts longer than ER methylphenidate.) He is now taking 30mg dextroamphetamine-amphetamine ER (generic Adderall) (he weights 155lb) and is focused enough to complete most h/w while at school. Which eliminated h/w related power struggles and conflict (and my misery
He ALWAYS had difficulty falling asleep, but now that he has to get up around 6am to go to school, I asked for sleeping pills. 0.2mg Clonidine didn't help; we are trying trazodone now.
Your daughter's doc can give you a medication evaluation scales to send to school teachers to evaluate the effect of medication. Our school counselor suggested that, and pshyciatrist provided one, called SNAP-IV 26-item Teacher and Parent Rating Scales. While your daughter reports how she feels, her teachers observe her in class ("fidgets, talks out of turn, completes assignments", etc). Both are helpful. After viewing teachers scales, my son's psychiatrist knew Concerta wasn't working.
Another mom wrote about tracking all medications and symptoms. It's such an important advice! I don't remember all the trials and errors, because I didn't track those!
I am surprised your daughter's psychiatrist jumped from 30 mg to 50mg. They are supposed to wait for a couple of weeks to see the effects before slowly adjusting the dose.
You are lucky your daughter reports to you the effect of medication. My son says medication makes no difference, but , hello, it does! I see it, teachers see it, and his grades (and no missing h/w) show it!
I never heard doctors using phrases like mild/severe adhd. My son has combined hyperactive/inattentive type.
Wishing you and your daughter best of luck. It's fantastic that she is self-aware!
Thank-you so much for sharing your story and advice. Unfortunately, my daughter is not attending in person schooling rn. She completes correspondence on her own time. And she has gotten into the wrong crowd of kiddos so there is alot of behaviors and other factors involved. Which also makes it hard to determine what is due to medications, what is other mental health issues and could possibly other substances.
I was afraid of bad influences on my son in high school. Where other kids would make the "right" decision, with his impulsivity and love for social interaction, he could easily get into the "wrong" crowd. So I had to bite the bullet and he applied and was accepted to a private school. There are bad influences EVERYWHERE, but the difference in our private school is that they enforce their disciplinary rules and kids are afraid of consequences (up to expulsion), so there is less of bad influence/bad behaviors that my son is seeing.
Talking about other substances. Because ADHD medication is "controlled substance", my son is required to take urine tests every 6 months, so provider and I can see that there are no other substances being taken. It's not a bullet proof methods, of course, it's only every 6 months, but my son knows his urine will show if he has anything else in his system and he doesn't know how long things stay there.
Also about the 504 and IEP plans. I noticed in all three schools, elementary, middle, and high school, that the school administration would try to give you the minimum. So I always read up (including on this site) what accommodations are appropriate for my son's age and advocated to have them included in his 504. I always felt that I had to advocate (read fight) to include what I though would be helpful, and then would check with him that every teacher was providing that. You'd be surprised how little teachers did of what was in the plan without being nudged.
It's ups and downs with teenagers... I am wishing you to enter the up period!
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