Ok I just typed the entire msg and hit the back button on my browser by accident, and after the day I have had I am not sure I want to type it all back out as it was. I will give the short version,....well as short as I can muster, I tend to be wordy so forgive me.
4 yo was started on Adderall today for ADHD and ODD. I gave him half of a 5 mg tablet in the morning and noticed NO change. So, the lunch dose I gave him a full 5 mg tablet to see if that would offer some change. I noticed it did slow his activity level down to a slight degree, however the oppositional behaviors, the ventilated speech (non stop fast talking) and whinning commenced ALL DAY LONG. The talking all day is not abnormal and neither is any of the other behaviors I mentioned, however the whinning over EVERYTHING is a little abnormal. Usually he just throws a grand tantrum any and everytime he does not get his way. Also he gave me the hardest time swallowing this medication. He held it in his mouth and just as defiant as you could imagine refused to swallow it. It eventually ended up dissolving in his mouth and then I made him drink water. Of course he complained of the taste and that only made the 2nd dose all the more painful. Tomorrow I will be crushing it up in his oatmeal and I will be buying lots of applesauce for dosing purposes. I will not go through this battle twice a day with him. Please do offer any suggestions as to how you got your little ones to take the pills.
With my son it is hard to tell if the whinning from EVERYTHING today is from the medication or if he is performing. If my son gets a cold and has to take cold syrup, he will put on an emmy performance like he has got the plague. Pity seeking to the EXTREME.
I would be interested in hearing you all share your individual experiences with starting your children on Adderall so that I can attempt to weed out what is a normal adjustment period and what may be a negative reaction to the medication.
As for my little one he ended up going to bed with a spanking from Daddy because daddy does not like any amount of whinning, and after about 9 hours of it, he is lucky a spanking and being sent to bed was the end of it. Daddy was about to take all of his presents back to the store tonight. Me....well, after a certain point I just had to tune it all out or I would have started up with my yelling and that just would have made him whine more.
I am still in limbo as to whether or not to feel sorry for him at this point. He is so manipulative and I do not want to perpetuate that behavior if it is not for a legitmate reason. So, with that said....please anyone, everyone that has ever started their child on Adderall, do share your experiences with me.
Mahalo nui,
Stephanie ↓
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| Name: Stephanie | Date: Dec 27th, 2005 7:38 AM |
| Name: Steph | Date: Jan 4th, 2006 1:56 AM |
| This is very typical of starting a new stimulant for ADD/ADHD. Both of my children started with Adderall. It is the only drug the pediatricians like to give to children under 5 yrs old. They were both very whinney at first. My daughter overcame it. She stared it at 4 years old. She is now 9 and is taking Focalin. It works better for her. She's tried many others over the years. As for my son, he started Adderall at 3 1/2. He too was whinney. It never subsided. We tried all the others with him, including Strattera. None ever worked. Turns out, he was misdiagnosed. He has PDD-NOS, and is taking mood stablizers, due to aggression. These meds also help some with the hyperactivity. Hope that helps. Also, 5mg seems like a relatively low dosage. I take Adderall myself for ADD. I weight 108 lbs and take 30mg twice a day. My daughter is 49 lbs(very little) and takes 20mg time released Focalin in the morning, then a 10mg tablet to do homework after school. She has been getting the honor roll for the past three years. ↑ |
| Name: Amanda | Date: Feb 2nd, 2006 11:44 PM |
I am about to loose my mind over the whole ADHD thing!!!!!
I am going through the whining over EVERYTHING too. No matter what happens he cries about it. Going out to eat, we ask him, "What would you like to eat?". After 3 or 4 minuets of asking we say, "ok that is it, you will just have to do without. The waitress walks off and he starts crying and yelling. He will ALWAYS say "I hate this place, I did not want to eat here." I understand that the meds cause lose of appetite, but he cries at home just the same. I feel like we can not make him happy no matter what we do. He has two brothers and sometimes I feel i am so overwhelmed by him I can not focus on the other two boys. The only up side to the whole thing is he is doing alot better in school. Thats why I feel like sometimes it is just a show what he is pulling with me at home! I just needed to see if other people is going thru the same thing that I am. ↑ |
| Name: kiki | Date: Feb 6th, 2006 2:25 PM |
Adderall adderal. Countless trips to my son's school who then was 4 was about driving me up the wall. Didn't know what to do any more. The only antidote was a spnaking from either me or his dad. Dad has no sense of patience and would often resort to yelling and screaming at our son not before long a spanking would take precidence.
The onset of Adderall had my son liek a zoombie. 5mg at first, school called. Increased to 15 zombie like but much inprovement.
Now 5 it is as though the adderal does nothing. He is off the walls at school, doesn't listen to any one except me and i am just about tired. i feel like a single mom.
soon my son will have an appointment and i am thinking to have him weaned off.
i actually think he is doing worse on meds than when he wasn't introduced. As for his whinning that is a different story ↑ |
| Name: April | Date: Jul 25th, 2007 4:15 PM |
| I just gave my 4yr. old his first dose of adderall xr 10mg. And since about an hour after he started to whine and cry over every little thing. Not sharing like he usually does, and just getting very upset over everything. Even some of his words are no longer making sense. He has never been like thins before. He normally would throw one large fit and after 20 minutes he would calm down. Now he is fixing on going outside and he is repeating things over and over again, and he is screaming i can not get his mind off of this I don't know if i should even give him is second dose in the afternoon. Please someone help me I am single parent and i also have a one year old please help me i am losing patients fast ↑ |
| Name: Sandy | Date: Aug 31st, 2007 12:44 AM |
| Name: Pam Mueller | Date: Sep 16th, 2007 11:50 PM |
Guys, I can totally relate to the whining and how it affects the family life - as does the entire ADHD/ADD disorder. I have a son with ADD and another with ADHD.
My ADD son tolerates & does well on Adderall, but my younger son, can't tolerate any ADD meds well. He just won't eat and is extremely crabby. But I came across a nuetricudical that I found out accidentally that it has improved his ADHD immensely.
He suffered terrible stomache aches, constipation, and had acid reflux add the fact that he wouldn't eat. He became very ill. Last year he missed almost the entire year of school. He was treated by Childrens hospital and was on 7 different medications to treat his constipation, stomach problems and GERD. A friend told me about a supplement called VEMMA. So I thought I'd give it a try. It's all natural, vitamins, minerals, mangosteen and aloe.
In addition to all the prescription meds he was on, I had also been trying a number of supplements. SO I though what's one more. Low & behold he started having regular BMs, gaining weight (he was very, very thin), his reflux is GONE and I was able to wean him off all his meds.
We forgot his adderall on a summer vacation and I thought we were in for a bad time. But to my surpise he was fine! I haven't put him back on since. The VEMMA seems to calm him - and trust me he was super hyper. Now I give him the VEMMA twice a day. He still has some trouble concentrating in school so we are trying just 5 mgs of Focalin - prior to starting this supplement they were tweaking his doses between 30-45mgs of methylphenidate & adderall, trying to adjust. He's not tolerating the Folalin well, but it's much, much better than the high doses of the other meds.
I've researched the VEMMA & ADD and have heard testimonials and even of clinical research performed in California where given the right dose and enough time on the supplement, people have been able to go off the ADD/ADHD meds or significantly lower them as has my son.. If his progress so far after 4 months on it is any indication. This may just happen for him. I HOPE SO! ↑ |
| Name: Sue Zann | Date: Sep 19th, 2007 1:29 AM |
| I have a 10 year old son who does not like to swallow pills either, so in order to make things go smoother I take a slice of cheese and put the pill in the cheese and have him chew it up and swallow, I have found this works with most any type of food he likes to eat. It sure has stopped a lot of fights ↑ |
| Name: mar22 | Date: Sep 22nd, 2007 3:32 AM |
| april sounds as if this med is not working for your child, it may be too high of a dose, mention to your doctor about the reactions. on a second note my son too 4 but now seven started out with adderall and it made him violent, but now on concerta and is doing very well good luck ↑ |
| Name: Wow | Date: Feb 7th, 2008 7:17 AM |
I know this is a super late reply, but in case anyone else stumbles across this... how about NOT GIVING YOUR 4 YEAR OLD AMPHETAMINES ON A DAILY BASIS. I'm a 25 year old taking adderall and I would NEVER give it to my kids. Ever. Late highschool maybe, MAYBE, if vitamins, fish oil, dmae, tyrosine, and other natural helps didn't work and he was doing REALLY badly. ADD/ADHD can be turned into a strength higher than those without it... learn to control it, to phase out and let the unconcious mind do the work for you....
I'm sure you would tell your kids not to smoke weed.... yet it is BY FAR less harmful than sustained amphetamines... and when they are older, I would actually recomend smoking/eating marijuana over adderall for help ↑ |
| Name: KathyK | Date: Feb 7th, 2008 4:21 PM |
Steph,
I read how you give your daughter 20mg of Focalin in the morning and 10mg after school. I wanted to know if you have noticed any side effects from that medicine. My son who is 6 and weighs 46lbs is on 20mg of Focalin in the morning and 10mg in the afternoon but in the last 2 months has had horrible side effects. He has ticks that include excessive talking, hand movements and picking at his clothes. Loss of appetite, not being able to sit still and unable to sleep, keeps him up all night. I was wondering how long you have been giving it to her. Iam trying to get my son on something else, it is ashame because the focalin works for the behaviors. ↑ |
| Name: oilybabyman | Date: Feb 8th, 2008 8:25 PM |
| that medacine KILLS..... my dog ate 10 mg of that and died ↑ |
| Name: Perserveringmom | Date: Feb 10th, 2008 2:15 PM |
| My son is 7 and we have endured ADHD AND ODD from age three. The best sum mary of it is "hell". No, it is not totally his fault and yelling at him and spanking him just make it worse. They tend to escalate. My husband and I have spend more money than i can tell you to seek out the world's best child psychologist, parent coaches, brain spects and medications and the bottom line is... it takes, medication (not alone) and the child has to have a therapist to retrain their brain about how to deal with their oppositional behavior. The oppositional behavior actually stimulates his frontal lobes which makes him feel better! Have you ever noticed that sometimes when y ou are at your wit's end he almost gleams? This is because conflict actually becomes medication for him. Dad's have the worst trouble because they can NOT yell or spank. Most therapists say that this is two fold... one, these children can make you so angry that handling it this way you could lose your temper and hurt them before you realize it. More importantly, the key for you and your husband (i save you thousands of dollars here in therapy) stay in control.... when you yell and lost your temper you give your son the control. Say quietly, you must go to your room... no tv or computer, etc if you use the things i say not to use i will remove them from your room (get the idea?) Your voice is quiet and maintained- you may walk into your room and quietly punch a wall but never let the child see that they caused you to get out of control. EARN YOUR PLACE-- i am the adult and you are the child... i love you but you do not make the rules. You have to be consistent and it is so hard. Read any book you can or check out any DVD or CD by Dr. Daniel Amen... you and your husband should seek out any advise from therapists not only for parenting these challenging (creative and beautiful) children but also, give your relationship the time it needs. Your marriage being solid will be a huge plus for your child and these situations excalate the liklihood of divorce.... Remember, you have to always be a great parent but being a parent to an ADHD ODD child takes an exceptional parent... Your standards are higher than most- dont worry with criticism from others who dont understand what you are dealing with. Just focus on your child and your family. I can see so many similarities in your experience to ours through the years. We are finally making forward moves and it has taken so much energy and care. Hang in there and continue PERSEVERING!!!! ↑ |
| Name: Hellsbells2580 | Date: Mar 11th, 2008 10:21 AM |
| atentivedad, if as, u say, it is that my child (who is nearly 7) is spoilt (he is on NO MEDS) then can u please explain how i have 3 children all with the same rules applyin to each of them, and yet only have 1 child with ADHD? I have played with all 3 of my children seperatly and together, they only ever have sweets or MCdonalds on a very rare occassion, only drink fruit juices and home made meals. all 3 children are rewarded 4 their hard work and good behaviour and recieve time outs and lose privalages when misbehaving. It seems ur daughter really was JUST SPOILT where as mine and many others have a medical condition! try thinking about other peoples situations b4 u judge and dont think we all treat our children the way u did when yours was younger! ↑ |
| Name: Jenni | Date: Oct 24th, 2008 3:48 PM |
| I also have a 4 yo with ADHD and he takes 2.5 mg 2xs daily as well. I put his pill in chocolate pudding and he doesnt even know it's there. ↑ |
| Name: ANNA | Date: Sep 12th, 2009 2:38 PM |
| my daoughter is taking aderall for 2 months , she is normally wayyy too hyper, but since she is been taking this med, she went from hyper, to wayy to calm, like she will lay down on the floor and just look at the roof or walls for a long period of time, but she still being agreesive, the only difference now is the she cries and cries, ans she is like azombie. ↑ |
| Name: aqw | Date: Sep 10th, 2010 1:59 PM |
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| Name: shannon | Date: Sep 29th, 2011 8:01 PM |
| My son is 6 yrs old and we just started him at 10mg adderall. He has only been on it for about 3 wks. I haven't noticed a difference but we only give him one dose in the morning before school. In the afternoons he seems to be whining excessive when i ask him to do something as little as putting a book up. What do you do about this whining fit that they seem to gain? ↑ |
| Name: jamie | Date: Nov 25th, 2011 12:37 PM |
| do the tablets acshaly work ↑ |
| Name: Karsten | Date: Jan 21st, 2012 9:27 PM |
| To have all your questions answered please go to www.adhdrelief.weebly.com and fill in the contact form at the bottom of the page. ;) ↑ |
| Name: mike | Date: Mar 2nd, 2012 4:11 PM |
| My son is 4yrs old today he started taking adderall 15 mg. Im really nervous wnout him taking it. Is anyone else in this situation, and what should i expect ↑ |
| Name: Catt | Date: Nov 13th, 2012 2:20 AM |
| OMG.....my 4 year old son was on Adderall and all he did was cry and whine as the his medicine wore off. His doctor changed him to a new one today, I got my fingers crossed. ↑ |
| Name: Megan | Date: Nov 24th, 2012 5:29 AM |
| My son is 6 and has been diagnosed with ADHD. I suspect he has ODD as well. We tried everything (except Adderall actually) and found that the Daytrana patch works very well. he's been on it for months now. Started with 20 mg and it was way way too muchl. He had horrible anxiety when on it. We are down to 8 mg and it's the magic number. His teachers say he is doing much better in school now and we notice a huge difference in his behavior at home. He is much quieter (he is normally excessively loud all the time....screaming all the time, barking orders, yelling, even his speaking voice is abnorally loud...and yes his hearing has been tested and is fine) and more polite and well behaved. The best part about the patch is that it seems to stay consistent all day. I think it is the way it's absorbed. Because it's a patch, it is absorbed differently than a pill. We tried Focalin, Concerta, Ritalin LA, and more that I can't even remember at this point and they all had very inconsistent results. He was up and down all day. With the patch, he is more even keeled all day. We keep it on 8-10 hrs. The downside is that it's itchy for him sometimes and he scratches it right off which is a pain. But I would not switch at this point, we finally found something that helps. He is SO much more pleasant to be around now. It's like night and day when he is off the medication. We can tell immediately when it has worn off. The yelling starts up again, the arguing, the defiance, the destruction, the carelessness, the impulsiveness, the constant challenges with simple tasks like getting dressed or eating dinner. So if it's at all possible for you to switch him, you might ask about the patch. I highly recommend it. My poor son wants to badly to be good and so I want to do everything I can to make his childhood a good experience. Good luck! ↑ |
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