ADHD Med trials?

[pumpkingirl71]

Anyone have experience stopping one ADHD drug and doing trials with other drugs. My daughter takes metadate. It has been a life saver But she still has really hard mornings and nights, so her Dr. would like to try another drug/combination.

Sounds good in theory, but I am terrified. Our life was impossible before this drug. I want to say no to the trials, but then I feel like a coward.

[columbusmomma]

I have not but am curious as to what combo her Dr. is speaking of? Another ADHD med, or something else? My DS is doing well with vyvanse but I hear you about mornings and evenings(at times)and am curious as to what the thinking behind another med was....
Good luck..

[pumpkingirl71]

We have an appointment on Friday, so I will know more then. I wish I could remember back to the last appointment, but I am pretty sure she didn't name drugs. But she did tell you that sometimes this problem can be cured by doing a morning and afternoon dose of a diferent drug instead. Was vyvance the first drug your son tried? Another worry for me is appetiete. My daughter is small, but does well eating with metadate. I fear a different drug could stop her from gaining weight.

[Guinevere]

We have only recently decided to jump on the ADHD med bandwagon and are still in the process of finding the right medication for my oldest DS.

We're currently on med #3, and after a week, I can already tell that we either need a dosage adjustment or a med #4. It's more than a bit disheartening, especially b/c my DH, who is also on meds for adult ADHD, has had such an easy time of things -- no negative side effects, correct dosage and med combo from day one -- that I naively assumed DS would react similarly. Then again, DS isn't on the same meds as DH (he's tried Adderall and is currently on Vyvance -- both worked great), and while his psych explained that DS's neurochemistry was different as an adolescent and that's why we're not going there (yet), I'm beginning to think we might be better off trying something I know works for another family member, yk?

Anyway, sorry for the sidetrack there. In both cases thus far, switching meds has not been difficult; in fact, b/c the meds weren't working as they should, it was a relief to stop/switch. We stopped the previous two meds for between 1-3 days before starting the new med and while DS clearly acted unmedicated during that time frame, he also ceased having all the horrid side effects he was experiencing, so it ended up being a positive.

With that said, I'm sure different meds have different guidelines regarding stopping and switching, so you'll want to check with a dr.

Thus far, DS has been on:
1. Concerta (stimulant) -- the dosage was too low to have any effect on behavior, but DS experienced daily stomach cramping and diahrrea with this med, plus zero appetite. DS is not in the least overweight, so he really can't afford to stop eating!

2. Dextroamphetamine (stimulant) -- this med and dosage worked beautifully to control ADHD symptoms, but despite adding a probiotic to help with the digestive issues, DS continued to have daily severe bouts of stomach pain and could barely eat anything. Major bummer.

3. Strattera (non-stimulant) -- this is the one we're currently trialling. No side effects, hooray! But unfortunately, no effect, either -- DS's behavior since starting on it has been, in a word, horrific. Impulsivity through the roof, figdeting out of control, accidentally destroying everything in sight. Sigh.

He's a great kid, and I really, really want to get this sorted out before school starts in a few weeks from now, so that his school year can be successful.

I understand your hesitation to switch, but if she's habituated to the med, then having her continue on with the status quo won't work, either.

Good luck and let us know how it works out! It really helps me to know what meds are working for different kids b/c we have yet to find the "right" fit.

Guin

[kme]

We had to try several different drugs at different doses before finding the right one. We tried Ritalin, Focalin and several different stregths of Daytrana before finding what worked best. It is your right to say no to the drug trials if you are happy with what she is on now.

At one point my son's doctor wanted to stop the Daytrana and go back to Ritalin (for some reason he likes Ritalin the best) and I said no, we were happy with the Dayrtrana.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

By trial do you mean an actualy experimental drug trial or just a "try this already widely used option" sort of thing? While I participate in actual drug trials for new asthma meds all the time, I think I would be hesitant to let my DD do something similar for ADHD med. On the other hand, it took us 4 or 5 tries to get her to the right medication and then we had to get a once-a-week booster in place for the one day that she needed to focus later into the evening, and that took some juggling as well. So if your current meds are working really well, I think continueing to try for a better solution is worth it. We didn'thave any major problems with each of those switches.

We ended up on Vyvanse, which works really well in terms of behavior/symptom control. Unfortunately, we do get the appetite suppressant side effect and she was already under-weight. I've decided I can work with it though -- I work really hard to make sure the 6 bites of snacks, lunch and dinner she actually will eat are absolutely calorie packed and healthy, make a bigger breakfast (she eats that before taking her meds) and a large before bed snack (pretty much a second dinner serving since the meds have worn off and she's suddenly starving). She's started to put weight back on, so I guess its working OK.

I think its worth it to keep trying for the best medication option/combo you can find.

[pumpkingirl71]

Originally Posted by Evan&Anna's_Mom

By trial do you mean an actualy experimental drug trial or just a "try this already widely used option" sort of thing? While I participate in actual drug trials for new asthma meds all the time, I think I would be hesitant to let my DD do something similar for ADHD med.

By trial I mean trial for her, not a new drug to the market I agree, I would try lots of esperimental things with my kids, but probably not ADHD drugs.

[buttercup784ever]

We are currently trying Strattera. Ds had been on Focalin during the school year, and it worked great! It was like a miracle. But he has some mild anxiety issues and motor tics so any stimulant will exascerbate that. We decided to try the Strattera during the summer because it takes a good month or so to get to the recommended dosage and then another month at that dosage to really see any improvement if there's going to be any.

We just got him to 40mg two weeks ago and haven't seen much improvement in behavior. He's still impulsive. He's constantly moving and hopping around. I'll give it another month or so, but the real test will be when school starts.

If something is working but there are some uncomfortable side effects, I don't have an issue with trying something else. We'll probably go back to the Focalin if the Strattera doesn't work because ds is not bothered by the tics right now. If they become an issue at school we'll try something else.

But if you're going to switch, you have to commit to it unless there are serious side effects that threaten your dc's health or well being. I wouldn't switch after a couple days unless ds there was a serious emotional disturbance (violence or depression) or health problem (think SEVERE diarrhea and vomiting or symptoms indicated by the dr. to be a severe reaction). Just the act of changing medication and getting used to it can be uncomfortable. Especially for a drug like Strattera that needs to build up in the system before it's effective.