New to the group and stimulants stop working

[MomofBelovedDaughter]

Hi, I have a 19 year old daughter, diagnosed with ADHD four years ago. I always thought it was just anxiety. I have to say that I'm of the belief that ADHD, anxiety, OCD, etcetera, have psychological causes, and that's primarily what needs to be addressed. But I see my daughter struggling to keep her job and her boyfriend, and she ignores us for days at a time when she's not doing well, so I know that medication is helpful to stabilize her so she can get the psychological help she needs. I'm definitely open to learning and different viewpoints: I want as full a picture as I can get. I'm here for support and to give support, for ideas and information.

Our biggest struggle right now is finding a medication regime that works. Concerta worked but soon stopped working, and she had mega-adrenaline rushes and tachycardia. Now she's on Vyvanse, propanalol (beta blocker for the tachycardia and anxiety), and she's going to start lamictil as a mood stabilizer. But the Vyvanse stopped working even sooner than the Concerta. She's in danger of not being able to do her job as a medical assistant. Even getting her on lamictil, if that helps, it'll be a while until it does, she doesn't know how she'll get through. She'll talk to her psych nurse tomorrow to ask how she can survive the next month, and keep her job.

[Rollersk8er]

My daughter is 15 and has adhd and anxiety and stimulants were terrible for her.

She has been on Wellbutrin since this past spring-- and a small dose of Lexapro --and that seems to be a good combo for the anxiety, depression and ADHD. Never perfect but definitely keeps things evened out. My understanding is that Wellbutrin helps with seratonin plus norepinephrine.

[Onthemove1971 in reply to Rollersk8er]

I have to second this opinion! Our son stopped his simulant medication once on Wellbutrin. The other very helpful thing is that it is not a controlled substance so it can be mailed to our house.

We use Guanfacine in addition to Wellburtin and it helps also.

[MomofBelovedDaughter in reply to Rollersk8er]

Thank you for your advice I'll bring this up to her psychiatrist.

[Mamamichl]

have you tried upping the doses? Also, if she had heart issues, I would be concerned of trying any of the stimulant medications. I would go non stimulant route. Those last longer too. It also generally seems better for those with anxiety.

If you’re concerned about side effects, you can also try taking a gene sight test. It takes the kids genetics and meshes it with each of the mental health medications. It will say which medications she has adverse side effects with.

[MomofBelovedDaughter in reply to Mamamichl]

Thank you for your advice. I'll bring this to her psychiatrist.

[Mamamichl in reply to MomofBelovedDaughter]

Glad I could help 😊

Zen hugs 🫂

[Aspen797]

Great ideas above. Just want to add that vocational rehabilitation can be very helpful with career planning and accommodation if you have concerns about work/secondary transition—depending on state/location of course.

[MomofBelovedDaughter in reply to Aspen797]

Wow, thank you, I didn't know about this.

[anirush]

Stimulants always made things worse for us. But Guanfacine, Straterra and an antidepressant when he got older worked wonders.