Hi,

I'd like to hear other parent's experiences with their children on stimulent medication, especially Ritalin. My daughters initial response was stunning -- improved academics, maturity, etc. We're about a month in now and there are some chinks in the armour. I knew rebound might be problem on Ritalin and it is. My daughter describes feeling (and my husband and I have observed) rage feelings during rebound (IE: pushing little sister to the ground.) I experienced some of that even with Concerta when I first started but it's not a problem now. What I'm trying to figure out is if we need to do something different or if this is just an adjustment phase. She says she also feels fussier while on the meds but there isn't the rage. I don't know if anxiety issues are being kicked up or something else. Maybe she's reacting to the current stress in our home environment and it has nothing to do with the meds (although I'm sure the rebound is connected). She also reports the meds aren't helping as much with school work, although there is still a huge improvement in my opinion.

Scattered

I wish I could offer some advice Scattered but thankfully we have not experienced anything like that on the adderall, we did when she went on the clonodine for the tics and I stopped giving it to her, she was wickedly miserable and nasty and mean. We are suppose to start Tenex but I am waiting to see if there is any difference with the strattera since it is a non stimulant. Good luck and I hope it works out.

Hi Scattered -- sorry to hear that your daughter is having rebound problems.

How about if you try a smaller dose about 1 hour before the larger one wears off?

Another thought is to plan wind-down activities when the meds wear off, like a bath or exercise.

My son started by saying he didn't notice a difference, but now he calls them his smart pills... :rolleyes: Everyone else certainly sees a difference!

My husband and I were discussing it last night and we both think it went from good to bad when we added the second dose of Ritalin at noon. I wanted to try just what you suggested Uminchu, but my husband wants (understandably) to cut out the whole second dose for now, so we've agreed to try giving her some green tea about half an hour before her meds leave her system to ease let down. That's what I used to do when I first started meds and was having terrible rage problems (which was very unlike me) during rebound -- it helped me, hopefully it will help her too).

The good news is that my husband is open to trying a different med down the way -- he's seen the benefit too, but we're both worried about the emotional fallout with her heightened moodiness.

Thanks Neon. I hope the new medication works better for your son.

Scattered

It's funny that you and your daughter should have such similar reactions -- she must be a real carbon copy. :)

I think it's good that your husband is getting more willing to try different things. Maybe something like Concerta would work better for your daughter, or something else.

Our son's psychiatrist says Concerta is going to be approved in Japan sometime this year, so we're looking forward to the chance to try that one ourselves.

Personally, I think I like the plain Ritalin because I can take it as needed, and know that it will be out of my system in 4 hours or so. But if you are having rebound problems, something that lasts longer and kind of fades in and out might be better...

Perhaps switch to Focalin which is like Ritilan without the neg. side effects and/or add an antidepressent - the stimulant produced anxiety may be what is fueling the rage.
My daughter experienced this on Adderal - and now with Focalin and Zoloft has improved greatly! She is not experiencing any side effects and doing well focusing.
I know that watching your daughter go through this is terrifying. Tweaking the meds is necessary. A stimulant really can reak havock on someone's mood.

It's funny that you and your daughter should have such similar reactions -- she must be a real carbon copy. :)You have no idea!:faint: The only good thing about that is that I understand what she's going through (which can also be a bad thing in carrying out discipline) and I can go first and be the guinea pig!:p

I think it's good that your husband is getting more willing to try different things. Maybe something like Concerta would work better for your daughter, or something else. I'm sure we're going to need to try something else before sending her off to school -- Concerta is definately on my "possibles" list. My doctor feels from the research he's read that it is the safest ADD medicine out there right now.Our son's psychiatrist says Concerta is going to be approved in Japan sometime this year, so we're looking forward to the chance to try that one ourselves.

Personally, I think I like the plain Ritalin because I can take it as needed, and know that it will be out of my system in 4 hours or so. But if you are having rebound problems, something that lasts longer and kind of fades in and out might be better...Definately good for giving some longer term consistency. My daughter's doctor says it is also easier on the body that the constant kicking in and out with Ritalin and the peaks and valleys the body goes through each day. Depending on how long it works in your system, you still might be able to use it as needed for yourself. If I take a Concerta at 8:00, it's pretty much gone by 2:00 PM. So I take two "once a day" pills!;) Our pharmacist says the average useful life he's seen with Concerta is 6 - 8 hours not as he put it, "the 10 - 12 they like to think its effective".

Catrina, Focalin is another med I was wondering about -- I need to do more research on it. I'm not sure anti depressants would work well for her. I tried Prozac and was so irritable, leadened limbed, and foggy thinking by the third day on it in combination with my Concerta that I had to quit. I'm hoping she'll adjust like I did. I literally felt like smashing people against the wall if I was irritated by something when coming off meds (totally NOT me normally) at first, but that's not a problem at all anymore. Hopefully she'll adjust too. It might be harder for a kid though -- I don't know.

Scattered

First, why does your husband want to quit the second dose? Why do you only want her medicated in the morning? OTOH, you might just want to try another med since you are having issues with this one.

Secondly, isn't there an extended release form of Ritalin? My daughter tried Focalin and now that we have determined it is effective, we are usint the Focalin XR which should last throughout the day.

First, why does your husband want to quit the second dose? He thinks it's causing the emotional acting out.Actually I'd like her medicated all day and her doctor and I would love for her to try Concerta which has worked well with me, but ATM just having her father allow any medication is an improvement.

[QUOTE]Secondly, isn't there an extended release form of Ritalin? My daughter tried Focalin and now that we have determined it is effective, we are usint the Focalin XR which should last throughout the day.Focalin may be an option or Concerta (Concerta is methylphenidate the same as Ritalin -- but with an all day pump delivery system; I think Focalin is similar but a left hand molecule of methlyphenidate or some such chemistry).

Scattered

What does your daughter want? Immediately after we started trying Focalin our daughter started complaining that it wore off by lunch time. We had her ask the doctor if there was something that would last all day (knowing the answer of course), and boy was she excited when he told her about Focalin XR. When she has a lot of homework in the afternoon, we give her a short acting dose. She is happy, we're happy, the doctor says it is fine. I trust our Doctor, I trust the meds.

To me, either you trust the meds or you don't. Your daughter is learning to behave in society, and she is struggling with the issues associated with ADHD. Based on your current med routine, she has to learn how to behave on meds, and she has to learn how to behave off meds. Seems like a difficult task to me.

Yeah -- currently things are definately less than optimal. :( The case is this -- I believe in meds (I take Concerta myself). My husband is very distrustful of medication. Our daughter initially wanted to take more medication when the first dose wore off, but the doctor had her on Ritalin just once a day for the first month. Now she hasn't said and I don't have an agreement with her father for more at the moment. We're going to discuss it again in a week. My counselor today recommended something long acting like Concerta or combining a low dose of Strattera with stimulent medication for my daughter. I'd like to keep it to one medication for now if possible until we've determined that a long acting one won't work.

I'm not even sure that our disagreement about medication and the subsequent friction around home wasn't the cause of my daughter's emotional outbursts.:confused:

Scattered