Dealing With the Side Effects of ADHD Medications
Learn how parents of ADHD children can ease and alleviate many side effects of common stimulant medications.
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Dr. Larry Silver and other medical professionals who specialize in attention deficit disorder (ADHD) agree that no one -- especially children -- should tolerate adverse side effects from stimulant medications. Weight loss or lack of appetite can be especially troubling and dangerous in children, and anyone noticing side effects should contact their doctor immediately for a medication adjustment.
That being said, here are six common side effects of ADHD medications, along with some strategies for getting help to alleviate them. As always, the best plan of action is to seek professional medical help...
1. Loss of appetite, weight loss
- Give stimulant medications at mealtimes, and offer high-calorie snacks, like ice cream, in-between meals.
2. Growth problems
 4 Comments:
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Posted by
Kristina
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Nov 4 2009 @ 1:30 PM
Concerta
My 7 year old son was on concerta and it changed his whole personality. He started doing mean things and say mean things on purpose to hurt peoples feelings and make people upset. He would tease and torment his brothers to the point that they would not play with him, but as soon as we took him off concerta he was back to himself.
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Posted by
momofpjm
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Apr 11 2009 @ 4:52 PM
Concerns With Concerta
I have two sons with ADHD and learning disabilites. Stimulants have not worked well with my 15 year old, but have worked great for my 11 year-old.
I have tried a number of medications for 15 year old son for the last 5 years. Currently, he is on Strattera because we have had no luck with any of the stimulants because of variety of side effects. Strattera helps with his processing. However, it is not so great with impulsivity and organization. Nevertheless, we are about to try Vyvanse which is a derivitive of Adderall ( We had no luck with Adderall because it made him very moody). However a number of people rave about this drug because it is long lasting and the side effects are less because the medication is released slowly into the system .
My 11 year old son on the other hand, is on Focalin XR. It works great. I just wish it lasted through homework.I usually have to give him a shorter acting pill right when he gets home from school.
Here's my advice about Meds and kids:
1. Find a good child psychiatrist. These folks know meds., they know kids, and they know kids on meds. This is all they do. They should be the ones tracking growth, weight etc. While I appreciate all of the advice from other mothers with kids on meds, what works for one kid may not work for another. We see our psychiatrist 4x per year.
2. After you get the good psychiatrist, work with them and keep trying different meds. I would start with the stimulants. The beauty of stimulants they go in and out of kids system. You will know in very little time if the med is working and if there are side effects.
3. As far as school goes, I would get a neuropsych. evalution done immediately and get a good IEP written. In the younger grades an advocate or child psycholgist worked fine for us. For high school I started to work with a psychologist and a special education attorney because the high schools play hard ball with accomodations etc. On or off meds, my son has always done well in school because of his hard work, great teachers, a well written IEP, and a pain in the a*s mom that made sure the IEP was being implemented.
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Posted by
kpereida
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Apr 8 2009 @ 8:25 PM
Concerta Effects
My daughter was taking Concerta 36 mg and became jaundice, the doctor said that he never heard of liver damage from it, she has been off since the beginin of Dec and is heading back to the normal range now they want to try her on Welburton which is for major depression, has anyone had any luck with this medication. She went from D's and F's to straight F's so I dont think anything is working.
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Posted by
Doreen
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Apr 1 2009 @ 9:54 AM
ADHD Medication
My son was taken off Concerta due to an irregular heart rhythm, I didn't see any article about this side affect. Has anyone else had this issue diagnosed and if so, is there any other drug out there that does not produce this side affect? My son is really struggling without meds and school is suffering. He is in the 5th grade.
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