Did you medicate for adhd? Any regrets?

amother

Jade

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 6:12 pm

amother Yolk wrote:

My 12th grade son is taking it since he was in 4th grade. He is significantly shorter than his 3 brothers. He is 5'6

I have heard that adhd meds stunt growth. I am wondering if it the meds or the lack of appetite causes less food intake and therefore the kids don't grow as much.
Do you know what what caused your son to be shorter?

amother

Yolk

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 6:42 pm

I don't think it was because he ate less. He was always a little overweight even with the loss of appetite. I was told by my son's pediatrician and endocrinologist that it stunts growth and they were correct. I did not have any other choice because the concerta allowed him to be in yeshiva.

amother

Steelblue

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 6:50 pm

My son is only 5 so it’s been a tricky road with medications. We tried many dif meds with really negative side effects. I preferred my kid the way he naturally was so I took him off them all. Problem is he’s not functioning. I’d much rather give my kid medication (even if there are minimal side effects) and have him lead a functional productive life, than all the impulsivity, frustration, and anger he is dealing with now. He’s getting a ton of negative attention and I think the side effects of all the resentment he feels both at school and at home will harm him much more in the long run. His body seems to be very sensitive to the meds- very strong reactions and terrible rebounds. Looking into the patch now. I saw one posted above mention it. If anyone else has a positive experience with it, I’d love to hear.

dragoneye126

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 7:06 pm

DD (8) has been on meds for around 2 years. BH it’s made a huge difference for her. I am posting specifically to address the appetite thing: she has adhd inattentive and anxiety (also gifted), and before she started medication she was completely unable to eat a meal properly. She got distracted, anxious, angry, bored, etc and barely ate a few bites before throwing a huge tantrum. By the time she calmed down she was past eating altogether. The meds help her slow down her processing and recognize her hunger cues. She now eats a normal amount for a kid, though still not a lot. She’s grown a ton. Her psychiatrist said that this is actually something he’s seen a lot for kids with anxiety and adhd- that the meds help them regulate their emotions around eating. B’hatzlacha on your journey!

amother

Stonewash

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 10:01 pm

Pros out way the cons by far. Anyone I know that has done it wonders why they didn’t earlier. You will probably see a difference at home as well. Of course you have to teach the child skills and not just medicate them. It’s that when they are properly medicated by a qualified professional- (only a psychiatrist in my opinion), they are finally available to learn the skills you have been wanting to teach!

amother

Mulberry

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 10:12 pm

Best decision we ever made! BUT get a really good psych bc there is a lot of trial and error with medication..bh we found a good combo but it isn't perfect. It is a huge improvement. My son is in a regular class with no extra academic help and therapy 2x a week.

amother

NeonYellow

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 10:17 pm

Those with medications that are working well please share. I know each kid is different but maybe it will help us. We are still trying to find the medication that will work for DS 8. He is a genius but may need special ed, because he struggles with behavior at school. He has been on Focalin, Adderal, and Vyvance, and now Ritalin.

amother

Mulberry

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 10:26 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

Have you looked into an ASD eval? A couple of things
1. They are learning more and more that adhd and asd are strongly connected
2. Very high functioning asd can look a lot like severe adhd
3. Many asd kids struggle with finding the right meds
4. Generally VERY high intelligence and struggle with behavior.

Feel free to pm. ASD isn't always so obvious but can answer a lot of questions!

amother

Navy

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 10:39 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

My genius son was kicked out of school at one point. Now he is medicated (currently abilify and prozac) and doing very well. He is still very bright but no longer a genius likely due to some heavy meds he was on in the past, which is a normal side affect per our psychiatrist. But the trade off was worth it since he wasn't functioning at home or at school and was a danger to others. Now he has friends, is in a regular class, and gets along with his siblings.

amother

NeonYellow

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:24 pm

amother Mulberry wrote:

We went the developmental pediatrician route and the only diagnosis he found was ADHD. It has crossed my mind, but lmaaseh what does it change?

amother

Mulberry

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:31 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

We went the developmental pediatrician route and the only diagnosis he found was ADHD. It has crossed my mind, but lmaaseh what does it change?

It changes the way you approach his needs and the help you can get/what he can qualify for/what insurance covers. Imo developmental ped is not the end all be all. I strongly feel that children psychiatrists are much more able to pinpoint that diagnosis and see the full picture. This is coming from someone who had three developmental peds swear up and down my son was not on the spectrum. I had teachers and therapists look at me like I was crazy when I asked. Finally went the psych route, I didn't even mention it and he suggested it be on our radar. Got the eval done with an expert and she said it was very clear he has it. Now I feel I can better understand him, his needs and where he is coming from. I felt with just the adhd label it was not helping me enough to get him the help he needed. He's in a regular classroom on 2 meds and he gets no extra academic help and therapy 2x a week. He isn't perfect but wow!!! What an improvement! We are moving so he will be in a new school next year and bc of the ASD label they are able to get him extra help and have it set up before school even starts iyh.

amother

Eggplant

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

Has anyone dealt with longer term negative side effects?

Not a kid but myself. Life changing. I didn't expect it to help my anxiety but it did. I have long term negative effects from not having been medicated for years after having received a diagnosis. That said, I get your hesitation. I just see it as the far lesser of two evils.

Keep in mind that medication is an easy fix for about 80% or so of the population. About 20% (give or take) don't necessarily get helped (or maybe were misdiagnosed, idk). But if it's not working for your kid, then it doesn't necessarily mean you're doing anything wrong.

amother

NeonYellow

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:37 pm

amother Mulberry wrote:

That's great! Which medications is he on? And what kind of therapy?

amother

Eggplant

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:40 pm

amother Offwhite wrote:

The other way (not medicating) can also lead to a similar outcome. I didn't take meds as a child and I ended up with tremendous self-esteem issues likely caused by the fact that I was extremely impulsive. At a certain point, I decided that I had to squelch myself and put on a facade or I wouldn't make friends. I did that and succeeded, but it took me so long and lots of damaged was done.

And I wasn't myself in any case and I didn't even know what myself was.

(I don't respond well to medication. My parents did try a little bit. And I tried again in recent times and couldn't find a single one that got along with me.)

I wasn't going to do that to my DD. I do give her breaks whenever possible. Shabbos, YT, vacation etc. even if it's hard on me at home.

The first part of your post was my experience as well. I feel so much more like myself on my relatively low dose of medication. "Myself" was not the person saying dumb, impulsive things and making people upset because I wasn't thinking before acting. My meds help me to actually be my true self and not simply a slave to impulses.

I noticed that someone else who mentioned it not working has been open about having another diagnosis anyway. It still doesn't work for about 20 percent of people, but I think if someone has other diagnoses, then it's possible that there's a related reason why ADHD meds might impact them differently. So it's something for op to consider.

amother

Eggplant

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:44 pm

amother Yolk wrote:

My 12th grade son is taking it since he was in 4th grade. He is significantly shorter than his 3 brothers. He is 5'6

I have one brother who is significantly shorter than my other 3 brothers who are over 6 feet. All three brothers who are over 6 feet have been medicated for ADHD or related. The short one doesn't have ADHD so he was never medicated. And I don't think these medications make people taller either. It's genes.

amother

Mulberry

Sun, Mar 17 2024, 11:51 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

That's great! Which medications is he on? And what kind of therapy?

He's on Ritalin la 10 and takes a fast acting 5g at 12. Takes clonedine before bed to help with anxiety and regulation. Bh he is doing well. Again not perfect but much better. He goes to a play therapist once a week (he is 7) and gets OT at school.