Hi everyone...I am a new member and joined this forum for help with advice and to vent on bad days...

I have two children who have been diagnosed with ADHD and am looking to find a more effective medicine...

I have one child who was on adderall and now he is on stattera and I am thinking that the stattera is not as effective as the adderall was. I am looking for a medicine that does not require me to see their doctor once a month to get refills. I think that is the only thing that I liked about stattera is that we have three month check ups and not monthly.

Both of my boys see a therapist regularly and the doctor there is constantly booked so I am seeing their family doctor for meds. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to inquire about? I have been looking into concerta but am unsure about the material that I have been reading about. What kind of stimulant is this? Is this considered a controlled substance where refills have to be written every month?

Any type of information would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Michelle

Concerta is a controlled substance. It's a time-release version of Ritalin. All of the stimulants (Adderall, Concerta, the various forms of Ritalin) have to have a new prescription written for each refill. Your family doctor may be willing to write prescriptions without having an appointment every month, once your children are on a med that works for them and the doc is satisfied that the dosage is correct.

I'm no doctor, but from what I've read, the stimulants are usually more helpful than Strattera is.

My son has been on Concerta and Adderall and so far I've seen the best results with Adderall. We do have to get a refill prescription every month but it's not required that we have a check up any more then once a year (as required by law they say) unless his dosage needs changed or unless I request it. I would voice my concerns with the Dr. and see if this is an option for you. If they require a once a month check-up, ask why? I'd think if you find the right dose and all is going ok, there shouldnt be any reason to be seen monthly.

I never found meds to be as effective as therapy, behavioural modification and coaching. Yes, you need the meds to help them concentrate at first on the program but once we got my son's concentration and behaviour's manageable for him we were able to stop meds all together.

Meds aren't a cure don't let your doctor fool you into believing they are. Our doctor filled our heads with so much bologne that we were shocked and mystified when our son just didn't seem to be improving. We then started doing our own research and changed a lot about our parenting styles, eating habits, even how our house was decorated, implemented aroma therapy, yoga, talk therapy, coaches for the kids. My theory mind you I said MY THEORY is that meds are like band aides while they help for awhile they are not actually giving my child the skills to turn ADD into an asset instead of a disability.

I liked your response futs and found it interesting to say the least. You would enjoy reading both George DuPaul and John F. Taylor. They have good material on behavior mod (Du Paul) and diet (Taylor). As you know,I'm a believer in meds as one part of an overall treatment plan. I also believe that you finally arrive at what works via trial and error. Ultimately, it comes down to "whatever works."

I wish you luck chelle and hope you find the right combination of treatments for your children.:)

I'm not saying meds are not an important part of tx. but, it shouldn't be the only method employed to succeed with ADD. Just today Dakota will be going in for a med eval he has hit the wonderful age of puberty *screams in horror* and every single behavioural modification is out the window *shrugs* back to the drawing board I guess. But, we will need the meds to help him focus while we are implementing new methods.

I'm not against meds just personally like to use them as little as possible. If I could remember to clean out my file cabinet one of these days I still have pain meds from when I gave birth to Dakota 11 years ago. lol

Good luck. I hope it goes well. Even without ADHD, puberty is a challenge.:)

Studies have shown that talk therapy and drug therapy combined work better than drugs alone - and I wouldn't be surprised if therapy alone was more effective than drugs alone, but I haven't seen any studies on this topic. The problem is that psychotherapy isn't a cure either - you can't stop and expect the benefits to last for very long, I don't think - and it takes a hell of a commitment in time (& money if you're not covered) to stick with therapy in the long term.
I currently see a therapist and take stimulants and I find them both helpfull - the therapy helps with issues the drugs don't touch on and the drugs help me in ways that therapy hasn't historically done much for.
One of the issues that I am currently dealing with is one of "lost opportunity", for lack of a better term - had I had been properly diagnosed and given stimulants when I was a child, I KNOW they would have made a world of difference to me - socially and academically - and I find it difficult not to lament this loss and, to some degree, not to blame my Mother - who thought my problem was simple laziness and never let me forget it. My $.02 worth, anyway - in case anyone wonders why I seem so strongly in favour of giving children stimulants.

I think that you need to remember that there are more then one kind of ADD med as well. Not all meds are stimulants...my son has just started a non-stimulant and is doing really good so far, a little bit of a stomach problem but it only lasted for 5-7 days and it's already subsided. Seems good so far, keeping fingers crossed.

Long story short. I have ADD. Diagnosed same time as daughter. Anyways. She is going to therapy every 2 weeks. Although that is helping it was obvious she still needed medicine. The pediatrician said that medicines are divided into classes And just because one may not work in a particiular class, not to rule out the others in that same class. In short it all boils down to find the right med for the right person. Combine that with therapy. involvement with parenting and school the kids can blossom. ADVICE from a parent. I have done everything imaginable to help avoid this 1 Worked from home to always be there 2 Gone to all the meetings 3 been very involved with the school 4 rewarded great behavior 5 assured she was loved and wanted 6 gave one on one attention to her 7 told her her feelings always matter 8 tried positive reinforcement 9 involed her in dance as a escape from all her frustrations 10 daddy has told her endlessly that he loves her and she is special. So in all honesty it is not bad parenting or laziness. So never ever blame yourselves.

I was so happy to read your post. So, many times parent's are mis-informed or not informed at all about all their option's in helping their child succeed with ADD. I don't know how many parent's come here upset because their child's med has stopped working when their FP or Ped. should have explained that ADD is managed much easier with more then one form of therapy whether it be meds and talk therapy, there's also coaching, behavioural management, etc. There are a ton of new options to medicating, sometimes we do have to medicate but the good news is it does not alway's have to be forever.

My son was medicated at 5 (I believe) with Adderall that is when we got into researching ADD and got more involved with his schooling, therapy sessions, sitting down with him once a week one on one, the options are endless and it all comes down to find the right combination for your child.

Good luck to everyone and big hugs One for Another I saw that was your first post and I am already glad to have you amongst us.

I can't tell you how much it has helped me to read all of your comments. I recently married and my stepson is 11 years old and has been diagnosed with ADD. We were hesitant to put him on meds but other than going to school with him on a daily basis we didn't feel we had any other choice. We are moving into our new home in two weeks, and we have two other children who need our attention as well. Since our son needs extra attention, we decided it would be best that I work out of our home doing Accounting (which is a big change for me), so I can be more involved with the kids. My husband works graveyard 12 hours a night. We are exhausted and don't know what else to do. The stress is getting to both of us causing depression and headaches. I am hoping the meds will work for our son and with therapy we will finally be on the right track.

Michaele also try to remember for yourself and your husband that your on the same team. Our kids found they could get out of trouble if they turned us against each other or started a fight between my husband and myself. Set the rules, make sure everyone knows the rules and stick to the rules it will make life just a little less stressed between your husband and yourself. Set time aside once a week for mommy and daddy I don't care if you sit in your room and stare at the ceiling together, your alone together (redundant lol).

I hope things work out well for you and your family. Please try and learn as much as you can about ADHD from reputable sources (such as the forum). In doing so, please keep in mind that ADHD is a proven chemical imbalance, which is why the right medication works. The child will never outgrow ADHD and school will continue to become progressively more difficult. That is why meds are an important part of an overall treatment approach. Good luck.:)

One other thing to remember...what happened today is over the minute your head hits the pillow, there is alway's tommorrow. Don't hold onto yesterday or you lose sight of tommorrow. Striving as a family to make everyday just a little easier and a lot of forgiveness goes a long way in raising a confidant young man.

:D My in-laws have also been very supportive and took the kids for a few hours so we could have time for ourselves. It helped so much. My son is such a sweet boy at home and he is always asking if I need help with things, it is so hard to believe he is acting so different at school. He is now saying that he is acting up in class to impress a new girl in his class who he has a crush on. I am hoping that once the medication starts to work he will be able to think more clearly and see that this is not the way to get people to like you. Right now he says he can't control it. He gets excited and forgets how to act. We had a great weekend and today he brought home a good report from his teacher. I took the kids to dinner and we rented a movie to celebrate!

You know something? Your off to a really great start...you listen to him, give him a chance to explain himself, reward him and reward yourself. Crush on a new girl huh? I just can't wait for koda's first crush *cringes* OOOoo the wonderful things he'll pull how fun...NOT!!

The first couple of years of tx with Koda and Lex I kept a daily journal...progress is slow and sometimes I forgot how far we had come in such a short time. It's nice to look back and say WOW life really sucked back when but look how great your doing NOW. Today matters the most.

Concerta is a stimulant, and I noticed back when my son was on it they were photocopying something every time I went in to get it refilled (once a month but no appt, just to get the script, still a pain in the butt). I swear one time I knocked the bottle over in our van and couldn't find a couple of the pills and they wouldn't let me get a couple of extra (I was totally offended!) So I found it weird to deal with a controlled substance... my son is now on Strattera and even though reading the side effects scared the crap out of me, I thought I could always try it and take him off just as easily if it didn't seem to be working and/or there were side effects. So far it is working really well, he has a normal appetite (big problem w/ appetite loss and Concerta). But it is trial and error, which is just devastating as a parent to feel like you are putting your little guy through something like that, I know. TRUST ME, I know! But you are doing it out of love and with the best intentions, I wish you the best of luck!!!