My 12 year old is ADD with no hyperness (is that a word). =) She can sit still, is quite in school and all that jazz. Her focusing his her only issue.

We have been through numerous stimulants - concerta - focalin - focalin XR - adderall - you name it. The stimulants just bring her WAY down, to down where she seems like she doesn't care and kinda has an "Okay Whatever" attitude. It got to be that she would tell me "Mom I don't wanna take that, it makes me not laugh"... That broke my heart.

I want her to focus, but not at the cost of losing herself in the process. She is in the formative years of her life and I don't want her to get left behind because she couldn't laugh or smile.

New doc is suggesting Wellbutrin XL or Strattera. I need some good sound advice. I have done everything I can think of and I need some help with people who know what I am talking about.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have....

I have taken both.

Wellbutrin affected my personality and seemed to make things brighter for me. It also motivated me (when it kicked in) and made me want to move. Strattera calmed my mind down and allows me to organize. Strattera is made for ADHD and not prescribed as an antidepressant even though it may have the effects of one. Wellbutrin is prescribed as an antidepressant but also helps in cases of ADHD.

I would ask your doctor for advice on his experience with kids. Ask which medication has had the most effectivness with children? In my case, I like Strattera. It had less side effects then Wellbutrin which gave me terribly blurred vision. I had to get through some side effects of Strattera like tiredness though. I would go with Strattera and start with a really really low dosage so she does not experience any side effects at all. I think the lowest dosage is 18mg. I would go with that for about a month.

I have taken both.

Wellbutrin affected my personality and seemed to make things brighter for me. It also motivated me (when it kicked in) and made me want to move. Strattera calmed my mind down and allows me to organize. Strattera is made for ADHD and not prescribed as an antidepressant even though it may have the effects of one. Wellbutrin is prescribed as an antidepressant but also helps in cases of ADHD.

I would ask your doctor for advice on his experience with kids. Ask which medication has had the most effectivness with children? In my case, I like Strattera. It had less side effects then Wellbutrin which gave me terribly blurred vision. I had to get through some side effects of Strattera like tiredness though. I would go with Strattera and start with a really really low dosage so she does not experience any side effects at all. I think the lowest dosage is 18mg. I would go with that for about a month.

Thank you for the insight - we must have ESP because I was thinking today that the Wellbutrin isn't really helping with her focus issue and she seems to be a little hyper, which I think can't be good either. I take Wellbutrin and I LOVE the extra energy, but I am not sure that is really what she needs. Did you notice any extreme energy with the Wellb?

Thank you for your opinions - they mean the world to me!

Moderator Note:
BogWarrior's post was removed due to violation of ADDF guidelines, (insulating other members).

Bog Warrior,

I must come to the defense of every parent who has considered medication for their child. DD has been noticeably different from her peers since before she started school. As her mother, it broke my heart to see how demoralized she was by peers, teachers, girl scout leaders, recreational sports coaches, etc. with the constant barrage of, "pay attention," "sit down," "be quiet," "where's your work," "what's wrong with you," "what were you thinking," and on an on. When this goes on day after day, it has an incredibly detrimental effect on the child's sense of self. Not to mention the fact that they fall further and further behind in their school work, so they never have the opportunity to qualify to get into college or hold a high responsibility job.

I realize there is a substantial number of people, in the US and elsewhere, who are adamantly opposed to medication for children. However, because we are dealing with an imbalance of chemistry in the brain, considering medication for a child with AD/HD is no less responsible than considering it for a child with another chemical imbalance, like diabetes.

Don't give kids drugs for ADHD. Shes only 12 why the hell would her concentration problem affect her shes not going to college or doing high responsibility jobs that require a high attention span. I even hear Americans talking about giving their 9 year old kids ADHD drugs. Its ridiculous. [Moderator edited] Wait till they get older and let them decide for themselves.

OBVIOUSLY you are NOT a parent of an ADD child and lucky you. I don't think ONE post on a forum gives you the right to judge anyones parenting skills. If that is the case, maybe you can keep your narrow minded opinions to yourself. I posted my question in good faith - asking for good solid advice from other GOOD parents trying to help their children. I did not ask for advice from some European with an attitude. Tally Ho!

By the way, I subscribe to the theory that the American and Australian gene pools are pre-loaded for AD/HD - our ancestors were the explorers, the dreamers, the rebels, and yes, the convicts. That may help explain the greater acceptance for the diagnosis and medication-based treatments in the US - we see more of it. It isn't a unicorn to us. :D

By the way, I subscribe to the theory that the American and Australian gene pools are pre-loaded for AD/HD - our ancestors were the explorers, the dreamers, the rebels, and yes, the convicts. That may help explain the greater acceptance for the diagnosis and medication-based treatments in the US - we see more of it. It isn't a unicorn to us. :D

Interesting ideas.

We Texans are going to run everyone else off! We may have the biggest pool of potential ADDers here, based on my theory.

Oh by the way, in addition to a daughter with AD/HD, I also have a dog with epilepsy. He doesn't attend college or hold a job. But we give him anti-seizure meds because he has a better quality of life on them. ;)

Shejay, I hope we get back to your original question now.

Just wondering, what was the dosage of your DD's most recent stimulant? DD eventually ended up with a very "flat affect" from methylphenidates; the classic Ritalin zombie, with a big heap of irritability when they wore off. At her worst, she was on a 30 mg Daytrana patch (which after 6 weeks provides about 86 mg of methylyphenidate). This was before the FDA figured this out. Her ped Rxed Strattera as well, thinking it would help her mood and irritability. I didn't see any effect, since the real problem was the Daytrana.

I've read that inattentives do better on very very low doses of stimulants.

We Texans are going to run everyone else off! We may have the biggest pool of potential ADDers here, based on my theory.

Oh by the way, in addition to a daughter with AD/HD, I also have a dog with epilepsy. He doesn't attend college or hold a job. But we give him anti-seizure meds because he has a better quality of life on them. ;)


LOL! That is too funny! I have 5 dogs and one of them is an 80lb DEAF boxer! =) Ofcourse he is the smartest one I have! =) Hmmm, God must know we like "the special" ones! :p Oh yeah, and there's a reason they say "Don't Mess With Texas"!!! :)

Shejay, I hope we get back to your original question now.

Just wondering, what was the dosage of your DD's most recent stimulant? DD eventually ended up with a very "flat affect" from methylphenidates; the classic Ritalin zombie, with a big heap of irritability when they wore off. At her worst, she was on a 30 mg Daytrana patch (which after 6 weeks provides about 86 mg of methylyphenidate). This was before the FDA figured this out. Her ped Rxed Strattera as well, thinking it would help her mood and irritability. I didn't see any effect, since the real problem was the Daytrana.

I've read that inattentives do better on very very low doses of stimulants.

Mannnn, it has been crazy! We have pretty much tried every stimulant and ZOMBIE is right. I would try to explain to the DR's that she is not hyper, she can sit in her seat, she doesn't get in trouble in school, she just has a hard time keeping her little mind from racing... It seems they wanna treat ADD and ADHD with the same drugs and I just don't get it. If it "calms" a hyper child, it totally "numbs" a non-focusing child. She would tell me, "Mom, that medicine makes me not laugh". That was it, I said no more stimulants, done. Well, found NEW Dr. and she is actually listening to me and she suggested Welbutrin. She said it does have focusing power as well as anxiety control, which sometimes causes kids not to focus. We are only about a month in and I can see a little difference. Thats the ONLY bad thing about non-stims is they have to build up in your system 1 or 2 months to take affect. Soooo, waiting game. School starts in a few weeks and I should be able to see more by then. It's really hard to tell in the Summer because they don't really have to "focus" much. I have decided to give this three months, what will it hurt. If it does not work we will start the process over again trying Strattera. She tried that years ago when it first came out and we really didnt give it a good chance, so we will see. At this point I just know that stimulants are not for us. I know they have worked wonders for other people and I WISH they worked that easy for us, but no such luck.