My 13 year old son started taking concerta end of last school year. I should of started meds earlier in his school career but I was against stimulants. The last several years were difficult for all of us and I finally caved. I noticed moderate improvment with him. So, I figured "What the Heck"...I know I have ADHD so why shouldn't I take care of myself also!?

So here's the deal...(After ADHD analysis) I told my Dr. that conerta helped my child... so lets try it on me. I suggested Concerta and it was OK. I swithed to Adderall 3 months ago and it has made a world of difference(Althought I may be switching Dr's to get a script to last longer..(16 hours)).

Neither my son nor his mother (Not living togethter) know I'm on adderal because that's a private issue with me. I was thinking of talking to his Dr. in private and let her know that because adderall has worked much better for me than than concerta that he should be on adderall because we propbably have a same type of "chemistry"?

Any thoughts?

If he is not getting great benefit from the current med, a trial of adderall is worthwhile. That is true whether or not it works for you. :D I would tell the doc what specific issues are not being addressed with the concerta and any side effects so that the doc can make the best adjustment for the situation.

Similar Drugs that work in a person, will tend to work in family members also. It's probably genetic.

I learned this about antidepressants (e.g. ssris), while on a psych rotation, anyway.

Don't let that dictate what you take, however. If one works better for you, go for it.

Follow up:

We met w/ Dr. on Monday and she rx'd adderall 10 mg xr. for my kid (In junior high). All I can say is wow!.. He went from not turning in his homework (which by the way was usually done under my supervision "nagging" and was also placed in his binder in such a way that you would think it would be impossible to forget to turn it in!) to actually taking notes in class and actually caring about his school career including being truthful to me about homework that is due.

I know it's only been 4 days but I suspect my suspicion about his reaction to concerta was the same as mine...it didn't work for us. He has told me that he doesn't feel tired in class anymore and feels as if he wants to learn and also seems more content. This was my entire life prior to adderall.

I know that a few of his friends are on concerta and have had great results.

It's bizzare how different meds work on others. I did tell my son that I was also on adderall so he could know that I know what he has been going through. I think this helped!

From this point forward I hope this continues to work for him. I cannot begin to tell you how much stress we have been through over the years.

Cheers!

That's great news. I'm glad things are working for you. :)

re: 4
'went from not caring about his school career'

Kids who don't do well LEARN not to care. It's too painful to care.

They get excited when they can succeed.

Same as the misconception that "kids are poor readers b/c they avoid reading".

Not necessarily true.

Rather, they Avoid reading (or, "hate school") b/c they are poor readers.

If a kid can master something (poss with the help of Meds), they can begin to enjoy it.