After many years of trying all kind of treatments, diets, teraphy, etc.
We have decided to try medication on our 11 years old son. He is going to take Adderall xr from this coming Friday. I have mixed felings...one side of me is excited that this may wok for his ADD; on the other side I'm very upset that my son could get addicted to it. Help!

i had a ot of anxiety when i started taking adderall, but i feel much better now...i can go off it on days that i'm not working

i would suggest keeping a close eye on what happens withe meds....a daily jornal of his behav, his thoughts (about how he feels) or anything you notice about him physicly

I can relate to your feelings. My 11 yo is currently being tested for ADHD and I know that he will need medication. We've tried therapy too, to no avail, so I'm having the same concerns as you right now.

Good luck and I hope this finally gives your family some relief.

Thanks! Keeping a journal sounds like a very good idea.

Thanks.

I second Teedrum's suggestion of keeping a journal about the changes in behavior that you observe and anything that your son reports as feeling or being different.

One of the common things that you might observe is irritability and/or anxiety as the medication wears off. I know when my medication wears off in the evening, I can be pretty cranky, especially if I'm asked to do something that requires a fair bit of concentration.

As for addiction, that's typically a word used along with abuse... and the whole process of obtaining Adderall (or any of the other stimulants prescribed for ADHD) seems to be a big reminder shouting out "This drug is abused!" and that can be a little unsettling.

But there are things you can do to prevent abuse... Talking to your son about prescription drug abuse and how you follow the doctor's directions and don't take more than you've been prescribed to, discussing that you don't share your medication with anyone else, monitoring when he takes it, possibly putting the medication in an inaccessible place.... All good things to be doing as a concerned parent.

When we're talking about normal prescribed use of the medication, usually we use the term dependence. Since Adderall is an amphetamines, and the nature of addictiveness in amphetamines is mainly psychological. most people can stop taking their medication without feeling that they MUST have their dose or else the world is absolutely positively going to end and they need to get it at any cost (which is something that's usually an earmark of abuse and addiction). Depending on how dependent you are on your medication, stopping it might not be pleasant because it might have consequences like not getting your work done on time or you might experience withdrawal symptoms like headaches and irritability.

To some degree or another, your son will likely be dependent on his medication. However, I think it's important to realize that medication isn't a cure all, at the end of the day when the medication wears off he still has ADHD, so skills need to be learned to help get you through the times when you're not able to take your medication for some reason... and in some cases, being on the medication can help you learn those skills, they become habit and things become easier even if you're having trouble focusing....

For example, I have had a hard time with organization all of my life. You put me down in front of a mess and tell me to clean and put things away, and I will sit there and panic because I don't know what to do first. Because I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD, I had trouble learning the skills needed to know what to do first. When I went on medication, I started learning skills like how to organize my things and now, even when I haven't taken my medication, organizing things is easier to do than it used to be (it takes me longer because I get distracted, but I know what to do so I'm not freaking out about it anymore).

Hi there. I think one of the most important things is to be open and honest with your son. Mine was diagnosed when he was 10 and has been off and on meds since and he is now 15. I have always been straight forward with him and frankly with the way his ADHD affects him I am more worried about him becoming addicted to drugs while OFF the medication. When he is off the meds he has serious impulse control issues but when he is on the meds consistantly he stops and thinks. He knows they aren't there to be abused, that they are there to help him.
It has taken 5 yrs to get it into my head that medication alone is not the answer and I want to stress this. Find a great therapist, one your son feels comfortable with. Let him know he can speak openly and honestly with this person knowing it won't go any further. What I see in my son is a lot of frustration. He is frustrated b/c of the lack of friends, b/c of the things he does when off meds and frustrated when he sees me upset over things that happen. For a child that is a lot to carry and when they have a therapist they trust and can open up too I think it helps more then we can imagine.
Good luck with your son, with openness and education you can help him be everything he wants to be.

So how are you doing so far? Just wondering, we may be starting Adderal soon.

I'd love to know how you're getting along too. My son got his first ritalin script today. The relief that I feel today for both him and myself is amazing - I didn't think a script could invoke such feelings! LOL I feel like today is the beginning of the rest of his life for him.

So how are you doing so far? Just wondering, we may be starting Adderal soon.
Well, It has been 3 weeks. The first two days he was a little dizzy and with stomach pain.
I can see a little difference in terms of homework, It seems he is focusing a little to do it.
He is taking a 10 mg. By now I can guess his doctor will try to raise it. At school, nobody knows yet he is on med. So, we'll get a very objective feedback at the end of the month.

I second Teedrum's suggestion of keeping a journal about the changes in behavior that you observe and anything that your son reports as feeling or being different.

One of the common things that you might observe is irritability and/or anxiety as the medication wears off. I know when my medication wears off in the evening, I can be pretty cranky, especially if I'm asked to do something that requires a fair bit of concentration.

As for addiction, that's typically a word used along with abuse... and the whole process of obtaining Adderall (or any of the other stimulants prescribed for ADHD) seems to be a big reminder shouting out "This drug is abused!" and that can be a little unsettling.

But there are things you can do to prevent abuse... Talking to your son about prescription drug abuse and how you follow the doctor's directions and don't take more than you've been prescribed to, discussing that you don't share your medication with anyone else, monitoring when he takes it, possibly putting the medication in an inaccessible place.... All good things to be doing as a concerned parent.

When we're talking about normal prescribed use of the medication, usually we use the term dependence. Since Adderall is an amphetamines, and the nature of addictiveness in amphetamines is mainly psychological. most people can stop taking their medication without feeling that they MUST have their dose or else the world is absolutely positively going to end and they need to get it at any cost (which is something that's usually an earmark of abuse and addiction). Depending on how dependent you are on your medication, stopping it might not be pleasant because it might have consequences like not getting your work done on time or you might experience withdrawal symptoms like headaches and irritability.

To some degree or another, your son will likely be dependent on his medication. However, I think it's important to realize that medication isn't a cure all, at the end of the day when the medication wears off he still has ADHD, so skills need to be learned to help get you through the times when you're not able to take your medication for some reason... and in some cases, being on the medication can help you learn those skills, they become habit and things become easier even if you're having trouble focusing....

For example, I have had a hard time with organization all of my life. You put me down in front of a mess and tell me to clean and put things away, and I will sit there and panic because I don't know what to do first. Because I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD, I had trouble learning the skills needed to know what to do first. When I went on medication, I started learning skills like how to organize my things and now, even when I haven't taken my medication, organizing things is easier to do than it used to be (it takes me longer because I get distracted, but I know what to do so I'm not freaking out about it anymore).
thanks for your response. I asked my son if he feels when the med wears off. he says he doesn't. In general I see him a little more calm, but in the evenings sometimes he gets very irritable for short periods; but at the same time it seems that he can manage them better.

We have two sons who both have Adhd- Our 9 yr old was on adderall and seemed moody. We took him to a well known psychologist in the area and he told us to try concerta because he thought it would help with the moodiness. The concerta seems to be working- The dr. also suggested giving him 1000mg of omega fish oil 2x a day. He's been taking that for 2 months and I really think it is helping. I am also trying to get him to eat more protein in his diet also. He is only on 18mgs and I think he may need to up that to 27mg because he still has a very difficult time turming his work in at school. He does it but forgets to turn it in.

My 7yr old hasn't been to the phychologist but we took the home school survey and it seems like he has adhd also- He is very impulsive but will sit and do work. He likes to do his work. Sound weird I know. He is very different than his older brother. He is on 20mg metadate CD and his teacher said he is doing much better at school. He couldn't sit still without his meds and got in trouble the cafeteria-bus etc.

I think it is very rare for a child to become addicted to their ADHD medication. Because the stimulants work the opposite way for an ADHD person, it calms them - doesnt "speed" them up, they dont get addicted to them. I think a non-medicated ADHD'er may get addicted to other drugs, because they are not medicating thier ADHD symptoms. But, when they are on thier medication, they are less likely to take any type of drugs, or drink! Because they already feel good, so why do they need it?!

I did a lot of research on giving medications to help with ADHD, and one thing that really struck out for me was that it is said that ADHD children have smaller brain mass than non ADHD children of the same age. But, when on medication, thier brains can build themselves and actually grow to the right size!

And, as a parent, I want to give my son the best life that I can .. and if that means taking a pill once a day, you bet I'll give it to him!!! He deserves it!