ok all!!! my child has been ADHD for ever hes only 8 and today finally he has been subscibed Ritolin,, im ok with this as i just want him to be happy and not so anxious all the time, the problem is he starts it in the morning and im of the thought i want to keep him home tommorow so i know what effects it may have on him am i wrong in this as my husbands thinking we should send him to school to keep his normal routine which is important i know to my child, but in my opinion nobody knows or i dont know what the drug will do to him when he first takes it tommorow so i want him here so i can moniter him,,, what does anyone else think and i would be intrested in knowing how it all went the first day your child took ritolin..was there any changes that first day,,etc...many thanks in adbance loopsxx

Can you arrange with his teachers to have them monitor him? You could have a mid-day telephone call to check up with them and gather their impressions of his behavior and any changes.

When my son first started Adderall, I did start him on a weekend so that I could watch for any issues. He did have a bit of a slight tummy ache, and was a bit sleepy, but all that adjusted in a few days. If you feel more comfortable watching him, then yes, let him take a personal day, or wait for the weekend. Any side effect should show up right a way. By the way, I had experienced a very wonderful moment when he took his first pill. The child of 9 or so, after 20 minutes of us working in the yard together, looke over at me and said, "mom, I think the med just kicked in, I can see you." That was cool, I will never forget that day, it was also the first day we actually conversed with each other instead of at each other. You don't want to miss those moments! Good luck with it all.

I sent mine to school however this is a personal choice and if you feel more comfortable being with him the first day then there is no law saying you can't keep him home or wait until the week-end.

I am sorry - this is late - and I don't know if you child has already left for school - or it is the middle of the night in England... Anyhow, I would send my child to school, but call or go with him and talk to the teacher and the school nurse (teacher would be most important, because she can observe him for any changes, and she is the one most likely to notice a difference in him if he has been in the classroom for a while.)

I started my son on medication over the break from school - and the very first day noticed a difference (he is on Concerta - long acting form of Ritalin). He also had some of the typical side effects (fell asleep the very first day on it, and lost his appetite after taking it for most of the day, but that has changed, and his appetite is okay now).

I wish you luck. I guess my thoughts are that by taking him out of school, you are disrupting his routine, and making a big deal out of the medication. As long as the school is aware of his starting a new med today, then they are perfectly capable of monitoring him, and this will allow him to feel confident that there is nothing to worry about, and not a big deal. Again, I wish you luck.

At Heart

hiya!! thankyou for your advice... i did keep him home in the end which isnt too disruptive for us personally as he dosent spend his days in with his class anyhow he has to be outside in another room with his one to one support and he gets sent home for me to teach him at home regulary also when hes not coping.
well the first day went ok on the ritoiln as far as i could tell but today he has been awful, hes not managed to do any work atall at school and had to be restrained twice..hes been no better this evening either hes smashed up his room been very aggressive and just really hard to cope with..anyidea if when they start ritolin that there behaviour can get worse atall id be glad of any suggestions as the other 2 kids are all upset in bed as we speak whilst there brother is still on one massively.. im just taking some time away a mo on here whilst me hubby tries!xx

It wouldn't be unusual for you to have to experiment with dosages to find one that works.

well hes been started off on half a tablet twice a day then next week we can increase it to 1 tablet twice a day, then after that if all is ok he then goes on to concerta apparently.

I know this is kinda off your topic and not helpful to you, but you said he was now on Ridalin to help with his anxiety. Can you please tell me what his anxieties are? My daughter has been described this way by two different teachers but I've never really understood it. Do you have any examples of his anxiety? Thanks!

My youngest also has anxiety. Her anxiety seems related to school, not "getting" the teacher's instructions and poor peer social interactions. She would withdraw and not participate in class and throw tantrums and rage at home. She got so bad that she started running away and refusing to go to school and wanted to die. Treatment with concerta (then later focalin) turned her from a D/F student into an A/B student who zipped through homework and started participating in class. We added guanfacine which covers times that the stimulant is not in her system and improved her social interaction outside of school (she now makes and keeps friends much better).

The underlying anxiety showed up again at the end of the last school year so we had to add risperdal. I do not know if it was the risperdal or school ending for the summer, but she has had the best summer in a long time. She is happy, has lots of sleep overs and a pretty full schedule.

One thing to watch for...anxiety can be due to dealing with ADHD symptoms and can ease with treatment, but it can be increased with stimulants so sorting this all out can be difficult.