OK my daughter is 7 and has been diagnosed since April 2004. We had her on Ritalin from April through June one morining she woke up and said she didn't want to take her meds because she wanted to be "nice". We true enough to that comment she was a total different little girl. My old daughter pre meds. Sweet funny talkative and just her self. Now she is on Adderal and the same thing happened! She is mean nasty and unsocial. I am giving her a "vacation" from her meds. When she was on Ritalin the doctor gave her a "vacation" he said that it can trick the brain and forget about the side effects. This came straight from the "maker of the drug" :confused: So anyway it seemed to work for a week or two and then we switched. Well now she is mean and nasty again. I took her off of the meds on Tuesday and now it is Thursday and she is sweet and talkative and my old baby girl. God how I missed that!!! So now what to I do? Do I put her back on the meds and see what happens or do I call the doctor and have him up, lower or switch the meds. Also, she has only been on the Adderall for about mmmm 2 or 3 weeks!!

Any help would be much appreciated.
Robin

Hi we had the same thing!! The child psych added in Effexor Xr and she did well. The psych explained it to me as there are 3 basic things we are working with in the brain. Serotonin, noreinephrine, and dopamine. He said the ritalin(stims) act on the dopamine mainly and raise it. Well then you have norepi, and serotonin out of sink with the dopamine. So then the effexor is suppose to work on the other 2. If these are out of balance you can get depression, anxiety, moodiness, ect.. So our hopes are to balance all three of these. Thr trick is getting the meds in the right doses to balance things out!!

Have you done any research on Effexor XR? I am on it and was thinking of not being on it because of the withdrawl. Just something to think about. But I have found now that if my daughter has any problem with her attitude it is usually due to not eating and as soon as she eats she is in a MUCH better mood! :D I finally figured it out WOOHOO
Robin

What type of professional was she disgnosed by? Does he/she specialize in AD/HD?

She was DX. by a child psychiatrist with certification in neurology. He has been treating children for many years. He is the first doc, psych, neuro, we have found help from. WE found him after many providers and many meds!!! I will refer to my daughter as B. B is dx with adhd, odd, anxiety, mood disorder, nos(trying to stir clear of bipolar).
B also has problems with not wanting to eat. We talk about how sometimes her medicine will trick her into thinking she is not hungry. I have managed to keep her weight up. She likes things like fruit smoothies, drinkable yogurt, milk shakes, things she can drink. I provide these b/t meals. I also try to plan meals around her meds. We eat supper later, after her ritalin has pretty much worn off. I also try to get protein in her. Keeps her blood sugar up, and even.