Hello everyone. Does anyone have any exsperience with the following & how did you handle it?My 16yr old daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD combined & a potential mood disorder. She has tried Vyvanse & Concerta. Both have given her multiple negative side effects and extreme anxiety/panic attacks. She was in the middle of trying a non-stimulant med. (It takes 4 weeks for it to work & she took it for a week and a half). She now decided that she no longer is going to take her meds bc she doesn't like how they cause her anxiety & she said she feels "they dull her sparkel". I know shes 16 and the choice is hers. (RCMP & the doctors have informed me of this) But it does make me nervous. She hasn't taken any meds for 4 days now (today will be day 5). I'm nervous she is going to become very impulsive, reactive &, make negative decisions. Thankfully it is summer holidays. But once school starts, I'm nervous she won't get school work done, or attend classes and then get kicked out of school (she use to get distracted in the halls between classes & then be very late to class).
Refusal of meds: Hello everyone. Does... - CHADD's ADHD Pare...
Refusal of meds
I have an adult relative with ADHD who chooses not to take medication (even non-stimulants) because it worsens their anxiety disorder to the point where they cannot function. It's legit. I feel for you as a parent because you are in charge of this growing human, and you want the absolute best for them. Do you have a prescriber and/or therapist who can help you all talk through this latest medication experience before school starts?I can see how, at 16, your child has to be fully on board with their own treatment plan. I wonder if they can help troubleshoot their school problems in other ways if they've decided medication isn't for them (ie. decide on trying a wrist alarm that goes off before each class).
I love this idea. I'm going to suggest it to her.
ours tried meds and then stopped them for many of she same reasons. I had to let it go. She made it through high school, but often forgot or didn’t do assignments and impulsivity has been an issue. She has a therapist she likes and that has made a difference. It is incredibly hard to watch, but you just have to say, “it’s your choice, the right med is out there, let me know if you want to try again.” Maybe see if she would be willing to use an ADHD coach and find a therapist she loves. For you, all I have to say is it has been really hard watching my now 18 year old fumble through her teen years. We offer support and give her love, but parent-to-parent, it’s the hardest thing I have ever done. Hang in there.
Thanks for sharing your experience. An ADHD coach? I've never heard of one before... not sure if we have one in our city. I'll look into it.
My 15 year old also decided to stop taking his aderall and lexapro. I had to back down. He knows there is medication out there to help him and when he is ready, I hope we can start again. It has been really difficult and frustrating to see all the bad choices he has made in school and life, but i have left it up to him. I cannot give the medicine as when he was little…
instead of trying ADHD meds, have you just tried an anxiety medication?
She takes trazadone but only 50mg to help her sleep
I have had a similar situation with my daughter (15). Stimulants would cause panic attacks but we were lucky and found a non-stimulant that works for her (Qelbree). It didn't take very long for us to start seeing improvement with this medication. She does refuse to take any other medication but luckily she has a great therapist and we made a deal that she wouldn't have to take the additional medication (for anxiety) if she actively works on her mental health skills. This worked for her as her anxiety is mild at most and she is doing well in school . This is so hard to navigate especially as our kiddos get older and more independent. You are doing great and she is lucky to have such a supportive and understanding parent!
I would respect her wish to keep from giving her trauma. Definitely talk to a doctor and make sure she discusses it with her therapist/counselor.
I fully understand that the medications could be giving her anxiety. It is possible that they are. She could also be putting it in her head. To give peace of mind, perhaps try having her take a Genesight test. My partner got aggressive on a medication and was cautious to try another, even though he knew it was helping his attentiveness and focus. He took a gene sight test, and it showed that he had moderate adverse effects on that med, but another one shown no adverse effects. He took that one and things have never been better. My gene sight test shows what medications I will have seed effects on and how extreme they can get, but it doesnt say what the side effect is. It also tests for all mental health medications, including depression, anxiety and bipolar. I wish that doctors made it more automatic when someone is diagnosed with a mental health condition, but we have to ask for it. If insurance doesn’t cover it, it can be expensive too.
How long was she taking the meds and going to school? Take note of her grades on the medications and let her start the year off of them. Talk to her doctors to take note of her behaviors and keep you in the loop for her academic performance. Then bring it up to her if it affects her performance or not. I dont know if it would be more effective telling her you are doing this over not.
Also, check in with her if she would like to try anxiety medications. Had I gotten anxiety meds but didnt recieve ADHD meds, I would have been fine. I did well with my grades, though assignments did take a lot longer, my biggest issue was socialization and communication. It still is. I do a ton better with my anxiety meds whether or not I am taking ADHD meds. I just like how I am better able to make decisions and move on, and be in the moment with the ADHD meds.
Hope this helps, zen hugs!
Thank-you for these suggestions. I'm going to ask her psychiatrist about the genesight test. I've never heard of that being done here in Canada. I've onky heard about it from ppl in the USA.
Shes never been on medication while attending school. Last yr was the first yr of high school and the first semester went terrible (which is the first time in her life, usually she did really well & had really good grades). The second semester she decided to stay hone and do correspondence. That is when we learnt of her diagnosis & started doing meds. She made it through correspondence and now will be going back to in person school on the fall. I will track her grades and attendance. Thanks for the suggestions.
I’ve never heard of correspondence. Can you tell me more about that?
I’ve learned that kids with adhd do really well on subjects they find interesting and the lower grades are usually easy because we are so smart and can fake it.. but then we hit our limit and the subjects don’t fit us anymore.
I actually called the company real quick here. They said due to genetic information, they don’t do international testing. They don’t have the regulations at this time. They said if you wanted it done, you would have to find a USA clinician and travel to them in order to have it done. Without insurance though, it was About $5-6k. So, I am curious if there is a similar agency that works in Canada. Definitely check in with your doctor, they would know.
Hope this helps. Zen hugs!
Thank-you for checking that out. I most definitely will ask our doctor about it and see if there is a version available in Canada.
Correspondence schooling is kind if like home schooling. The student picks up all of the class material from the school and then they work on it at their own pace. If they have questions or need help, then she can go to the school for help but she doesn't have to attend. This works well sometimes but sometimes it doesn't. Her grades are fantastic but there will be weeks on ends when she doesn't complete school work but then hyper focus other days and complete a book in one day. It worked well for her this last semester. But she is returning to in person schooling I'm September as her & I both feel she needs the social aspect. I've noticed more depression episodes since she has been put of school.
Ok. I’ve done that with some of my sped students in the beginning of Covid. I just never had a name for it. My brother was a year behind in school, but finished 2 years in one so he graduated on time. ADHD has its strengths.
Thank-you everyone for your responses, insight and advice. I appreciate it. I have supported her decision at this pont and said i am here to help & support her through any thing. No matter what. We are thinking that there may be a mood disorder as well as the ADHD. And I feel the mood disorder is our many concern at this point but still supporting her wishes for no medication at this point. She has Alot of ups and downs and mood switches like a light switche. She has agreed to continue to take her 50mg of trazadone to help her sleep.... its been a week tomorrow w/o ADHD meds and she has had no anxiety or panic attacks. Which I am happy for her.... now to see if we can figure something out for her low moods. (The high moods we can all Handel and she is comfortable w/t)
Just to let you know, It is common to have comorbidity with ADHD for bipolar, ASD, anxiety and depression. I have a neuropsychiatric evaluation for my daughter in October. My stepkid also has DMDD. My brother is bipolar. I know the mood swings can be anxiety or bipolar. For me and my partner and stepkid, it was definitely anxiety. We needed the right medication. For my brother, it was bipolar.
Does she sleep for extended periods over a several days and stay up several days in a row as well? My brother would stay awake for 3-5 days at a time, and also sleep for that long as well until he got well medicated. He would forget the pills, so they put him on a shot once a month and things got tremendously better.
I commend your daughter to have such insight of her body at this age. I remember when I was on the wrong medication, I had suicidal ideation. Luckily I had my partner to help advocate for me and get me on a better medication. I hope your daughter is able to do what is best for her, whether thats medication or therapy, or even lifestyle changes.
Thank-you for sharing your experience. She typically doesn't stay up for days or sleep for days. She will stay up until about 4am on some nights and sleep until 1p the next day, but nothing extreme. Her mood swings happen quite often and I have been tracking her moods for the past month. She has extreme lows and highs but the lows come on suddenly for no apparent reason and typically last for a couple hours to a day. When she gets really low she has engaged in self harm such as cutting and burning. The last episode was in April and she had to go to the ER. I believe she hasn't self harmed since then. Also during her lows, she does feel/think about killing her self. She doesn't have a plan and says she wouldn't act on it but it is still heart breaking. And we are working on a safety plan and ideally I would like her to make a Hope Kit with either myself or her therapist.
She gets frustrated with her mood swings...but only the lows seem to be bother some. The highs aren't very extreme. Mostly excessive talking, extreme happiness and inflated ego lol, but those are also some of her symptoms of her ADHD. So it's really hard to tell which is which.
I am not a medical professional, but it could be bipolar (aka manic depressive), but it could also be anxiety. My daughter is the same way. The sleeping, the mood swings. If it’s ocd, the medications are still anxiety.
I know how hard not being able to help your child who self harms. When I took care of my niece in her teens, she did it. Judging just makes it worse, but trying to help gives it more power too. I do hope she’s with a good counselor.
I did appreciate taking myself to the psychiatric unit for a few days. It helped me find the right meds and focus on my mental health physical needs instead of all that was happening. I then did intensive outpatient for a while, and that helped me appreciate who I am more. Maybe talk to her doctor about those options as well.
Hey there! Yes I can TOTALLY relate. The thing about Vyvanse and concerta is that they are both long acting drugs and that can make it really hard to titrate the dose or tailor it to day to day needs. The non-stimulant medication gave me anxiety as well. I think what she’s describing as losing her sparkle is a side effect of the non-stimulant because it also works on serotonin and so shares that particular side effect with antidepressants.
ADHD can be very different from day to day, from person to person, and even from one half of the day to the next. Responses to medication can also be different and requires some tweaking and adjusting until you figure out what works best. It’s not really plug and play like advil.
What worked for me was being perscribed an instant release formula and using it as needed. Some days I’m fine on morning coffee and excited and I only need a later dose. Or I’ll skip the afternoon dose because I’m feeling alert and a dose would just cause anxiety. Most days I need both. Also each tablet can be split so there’s plenty of wiggle room.
Hope this helps!
Hi! I would recommend sauna meditation and exercise as ways to help her with her ADHD if she access to any of those things. Meditation and exercise are great places to start!
Running out of ideas
Meds on weekend?
Out of ideas of how to help my 19 yr old daughter
So Confusing
