My daughter is on Ritalin LA 10mg first thing in the morning. Around 7 am. My hubby says that she is nasty and mean and doesn't listen. Is this a normal side effect or should I find out from the Doctor if I should Change it? She has only been on it for 4 days but I dont wanat her to be nasty to everyone is this normal or not.
Thanks
Robin

This sounds like my kids (and anyone else I can think of) if they don't get enough sleep or don't sleep well. You might want to call and let you doctor know, making sure he notes it on her chart. Stimulant medication has the side effect of affecting sleep patterns, but I think it goes away in most cases. It happened with me and my son, but the end result was good. Now we wake up easily and refreshed. I want to say it took around three weeks to really even out. We actually require less sleep due to getting better *quality* sleep now.

Is she nasty before and immediately after taking her medicine? Still nasty after an hour or two? Does she take multiple doses during the day? If so, how is she later on in the day? Do "the grouchies" last all day long or are there ups and downs? These are things the doc will probably want to know, so you might ask teachers or make informal tracking notes during the day. Ask her to describe how she feels at different times of the day (if your not afraid of getting your head bitten off ;) and note the words she uses as well as your own observations. This will be most helpful to the doctor.

Remember that the medical professionals who treat AD/HD are not magicians. There is no one answer or perfect formula when using medication therapy. Med adjustments are part and parcel of the approach. People who begin med therapy with the expectation of it working perfectly often feel discouraged and let down, as that es not realistic.

Bad news, after only four days, you could still have plenty of bad days in front of you....good news the adjustment doesn't last forever and you have all of us for support and information. :D

I'm not a kid by any stretch but I was foul on this medication. I went to Dexedrine and got rid of most of that foulness.

It has helped me to be observant and to keep notes to identify patterns.

Good luck. Ian.

I give her a dose at 7 am every morning so she can get some sleep at night. She is nasty in the morning and the teacher said that yesterday at school she was really grabby. I have conferences tonight so I will see how she is today. But at night she was in a fine mood laughing I sat in her room with her and did work books very loving and very very talkative LOL. So is it just an adjustment period? She has been having a hard time falling asleep at night. Bed time is 8 pm and she has been falling asleep at 9 or 9:30. So she is till getting 10 hours of sleep a night. But I just don't like how nasty she is to dad. Also, he is freaking out cuz me and his daughter are on meds. Me paxil for depression and her for her ADD.
Robin

Dad's attitude might play into it. Given that, it is probably even more important to keep good notes about her (and your) mood, behaviors, etc. Nothing like objective evidence for naysayers.

Be sure and note the grabbiness (you did mean Grabby not Crabby, right?) that the teacher mentioned. To my way of thinking, that translates to impulsivity. "I want it.>I'm taking it."

Is that the earliest you can give it to her? When my son first started, I 'd go in while he was still asleep and have him sit up in bed and take his medicine. He'd go right back to sleep and wake up on his own an hour or so later. Of course if you do it that way, breakfast takes a hit. The earlier you give it, the earlier she will fall asleep. You might want to do a search and check some of the other threads regarding helping kids fall asleep.

YUP I did mean Grabby not Crabby. So yes she is being a bit more impulsive. Before being diagnosed with the ADD we had to change her morning habit ie. no tv while getting dressed and things that would draw her attention away from what she should be doing. Her dad has always been really positive with her and handled her morning rutines better than me. Hence the meds i'm one. So for him to call me at work and complain is very surprising to me. Even her being slow and very hard to get ready in the am never bothered him. So I do know that there is a problem here. I have a call in for the DR to see what he has to say. I do know that some meds make symptoms worse. So I just want to be sure that this isn't one of them.
Robin

p.s. I do get up earlier than her so I could give it to her as early as 5:30. Do you think that would change her attitude in the morning or just her sleep pattern at bed time

It probably wouldn't hurt to try. Ask the doc when you've got him on the line.

So, I just talked to the DR. he said to give it some time and if her attitude hasnt improved by Thursday to call him and we may have to monkey around with her dosage. I will keep you informed of whats going on. Thank you for you quick responses I truly appreciate it. This is my first child on meds so I am a little scared.
Robin

You are doing great, Robin! Of course you are scared, that is your baby. Just go with your instincts.

There are a few other things the Dr can try if she isn't getting used to the stimulants. Lowering dosage, using a different durg or different type of delivery (sustained release) method. Sometimes adding an anti-anxiety drug - like paxil - helps and in cases where there is a lot of anger, a small dose of a mood stabilizer can be added.
There are still lot of things your Dr can try - don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a drug or combination that works.
Good luck,
Greg

OK I went to her conferenses today and her teacher (who is equally worried and interested highly in her treatment) informed me that at school she is showing signs of temperment problems. She is just plain nasty to her friends. So the doctor will definately be getting a call from me on Thursday. She is also showing NO signs of being able to concentrate. So I guess it will be higher doses or on to the next drug. I had another melt down today. Because of my inability to remember things or organize my life my daughter is suffering. She brings home monthly reading assignments she must read 7 books in a month fill out the sheets and gets a free pizza and after soo many months they get a pizza party. Well she isn't included cuz mom cant remember (sigh) I just want us both to be under control. I am soo confused and sad. And cant understand why all of this is happening to us. So here is where my depression and undiagnosed possible ADD comes in. My mom has noticed a difference in me and said that when I first got on the Paxil I was upbeat and happy well I think I need a dosage change cuz Robin in Sad and Tired again. Anyway Thanks for listening!
((((hugs))))
Robin

I agree with Gregster. Don't give up. There are many things the doctor can try to help even out her mood swings.

But in the offchance.... maybe the med isn't right for her system either. Be sure to voice all of your concerns to the doctor and mention the anger issues as well.

Robin, it takes time to find the right meds. My son started on meds when he was almost seven. First it was Adderall RX, that worked well for about three weeks and then the anger started big time. I think he was on to big of a dose, but I didn't know anything then.

Next, came a few months on Concerta, he felt bad all the time and couldn't sleep. His tiredness got him in trouble at school. Then we switched back to a lower dose of Adderall RX. This worked great but would wear off and he would need a higher dose within a month.

Finally, one year later, we are now at taking Adderall RX and Strattera. Peace at last, at least for awhile! The two drugs seem to counteract the side effects of the other. He is sleeping great, has great attitude and is doing well in school. If he would only eat a little more, I would be so satisfied for the time being.

When we started on this journey I thought we would just take one drug and that would be it, I never imagined the ups and downs this would bring. But, I want him to feel good about himself and be happy so I hope we are going in the right direction.

Vanessa

Believe it or not, the idea that stimulant meds keep ADDers awake is iffy at best. Turns out one of the general rules to check dosage is if you can take a nap on the dose you are on as an adult. They often encourage adults now to take a full day time level dose before bed to treat sleep disturbances caused by ADD that were formally often attributed to daytime stimulant use, until they realized unmedicated patients had the same problems... Fortunately sleep disturbances are less prevalent in ADD children. They tend to develop as you grow older. I think it starts out at roughly 1/3rd the population in childhood with sleep disturbances and ends up at 75% of adult ADDers suffering from some kind of sleep disturbance. There is a very nearly 100% success rate treating the sleep issues with stimulants, weird as that sounds. It's like the Doc said though ADD doesn't clock out at five, or take the weekend off. It's there whether your working, playing, awake, or asleep. It needs to be treated 24/7 365 a year for best results.

Strattera is good for kids I hear, however, and this is kind of a big however, watch the long term use on this med. There isn't much data on long term use and I am here to tell you from personal experience that while the side effects on children are relatively mild, with adults that is not necessarily the case. If you don't have adolescents in the house, no worries. Anyone making the transition from adolescents to adulthood would be the party to worry about. Particularly males. Strattera can causes prostate swelling that leads to painful side effects quite similar to what happens to aging men. OUCH is all I can say.

I just wanted you all to know that her nastyness has gone away now. She isn't so bossy and grabby at home I have to call her teacher on Monday to see if she has seen a change. She hasn't called me so I'm not too worried. But I haven't seen a big change in concentration. Today is one week. Should I see a change in her concentration and attention by now? I don't know. I guess soon enough it will be onto med #2
Robin

it has been reported that it can take anywhere from a week to 6 weeks to see any definite changes. Just keep a journal of each day so you can take it to her next doctors appointment.

Robin, how old is your daughter? What were here problems at school? Is she hyper or just has problems focusing? I wonder why the teacher never took the time to call you back this week? It amazes me that some schools are gang busters for you to get help for your kids but then the teacher doesn't take time to help you monitor what's going on.

I am on my soapbox because I feel that's what my son's teacher has not done for him this year despite my repeated talks with her about him and his medication. She would just as soon throw a punishment his way then try and go another route.

My son takes his meds at 7:30 usually after breakfast, I know that he is going to be "jumpy" until they kick-in. He usually goes out the door very energetically (sp?).

Keep us updated. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this wonderful boards like this to come to.

Vanessa

Well my daughter will be 7 on April 18th. I talk to her teacher 2-3 times a week to get updates and there has not been a big improvement on her attention. She isn't hyper she has inattentive type. I have an appointment with her Psychiatrist on Wed to discuss the results of her testing and to talk with him about everything. I will be calling her teacher monday after school to see how Allie did on Monday and then take it from there. The poor thing just stares at the ceiling at night!!! So all in all it will be a stressful couple days until I can figure out what to do. She is in a very good mood today. This morning was a little bit of a challenge but then she smoothed out after breakfast so we will just have to waite and see.
Talk to ya soon
Robin

I noticed that my son's attention span got much better when he was put on the Strattera along with the Adderall RX. In addition to poor attention he is also very hyper which the Adderall seems to work wonders.

Is the Ritalin keeping her up at night?

Good luck with the doctor and I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
Vanessa

Fighting with educators can be one of the toughest challenges. Especially when you get one of the, "I'm a degreed educator and I have seen these sorts of children before. You coddle him/her too much and medicate them when all the really need is a firm hand." Then they start dropping veiled hints about the kind of household you must have, blah, blah, blah... and drop a few more upturned nose comments about how they know of what they speak, blah, blah, blah...

When you encounter someone like that. Take a deep breathe and think of something pleasant. Responding will be useless. They will not hear you. They don't want to. That's okay though, because they are mistaken in one key point. You are not beholden to them. They are beholden to you. Hear them out. Record them if you like. It's not a court case so admissability isn't an issue. If they get upset just say that you wanted to be sure you fully understood what was said at the conference which is a matter for your records. You are allowed to take notes in whatever form you like. Take that recording with the nasty downtalking attitude to your care provider and get a similar recording from that person identifying who they are, their professional opinion, what the current standard of care is, and what their opinion of the qualifications of an educator to make any informed diagnostic decisions is. Then you might consider making one more recording of a consultation with a disability lawyer... Take all three recordings, or transcripts, or written letters from the second two parties to the school superintendent and ask if he intends to allow this teacher to continue to sabotage your child's education and belittle both you and your child in the process, or do something to fix it. Suggest that if he can't fix it that you now know of several routes available that will fix it.

Is this a pain in the butt? Yep. Is it playing a wee little bit dirty? Not really. If the recording bothers you place the recorder right out on the desk and inform the teacher you record meetings for your records because you are somewhat forgetful too. If they then choose to clam up force the issue. Ask the WHY's and HOW's and don't accept non-answers. If they refuse to allow a meeting to be recorded, make a stink about it. It's your information, after all.

Over the top, not really. Most likely you will not encounter many teachers or administrators that are this megolomaniacal. Taking agressive steps in a clear direction that they can see might lead someplace bad for them is generally enough to get them to back off and do the job they are paid to do. Not paid enough to do, unfortunately.

Sounds weird to finish a rant like that, but the sad truth is teachers are one of the few professions paid less than military folks like me. Society has it bass ackwards. Garbage men get paid more than police, firemen, military members and teachers. Teachers come dead last in many places, and of all of them teachers often require the most education. Police officers now require quite a bit too, but this is a fairly recent phenomena.

Fortunately for me none of my children has shown any signs of ADD. Of course the only one who could have inherited it from me is the youngest, but he seems to have escaped that fate. We have still had some bad teachers to deal with though. For every one of them though there have been at least two or three really good ones, and every year at least one truly spectacular and special one.

I had to finish this on an up note. I like teachers. I just get frustrated with certain ones that don't even seem to like children and I wonder what they are doing teaching if they are such unhappy bitter people.