Daughter starting Ritalin..side effects?

[JanisMomto2]

Hi there everyone! My 6 year old daughter is starting Ritalin on Monday and I was just wondering what side effects your children experienced if they tried or are taking Ritalin and if they went away (ie: nausea). I was kind of surprised with all the medications out there that this was the med he prescribed but I guess we have to start somewhere.

He also mentioned not saying anything to the teacher to see if she noticed a difference but I kinda of want to tell her what's going on incase she does complain of nausea, etc.

Any advice?

Thanks!

[inko]

Personally, I had cramps, especially in my legs, and I hardly/no longer 'felt' hunger, so I ended up not eating when I should have.

I would actually have to force myself to eat, my brothers are exactly the same. I've met other people who are affected in the same way, my shrink always said it was a /possible/ side effect, but so far I've heard this from everyone I know in real life who uses ritalin. To me it seems to be a rather common side effect?

If she does get cramps (but hopefully she will not!) - and it really is horrid - stretching legs and pinching limbs doesn't seem to help much (in hopes of instantly improving circulation), but washing whatever cramped region of my body it was with a cold washcloth and soap seemed to help (often!).

And then ... well my mom learned her lesson after me, so she started checking my brothers' lunchboxes.

And then I might add, I had to take ritalin twice a day - but I usually forgot the second one, I don't know if other people have/had this issue but yeah, it happens. But I suppose this is more an issue when the child has to remember taking it autonomously later on, like in high school.

I realize this may sound scary since I've listed the cons I've experienced, but honestly the pros are so overwhelming! I felt like my mind/head was clear and coherent for the first time in my life! To me it was almost like the time I got my first pair of glasses, it felt as though I stepped into a whole new world.

[Sometimes]

Originally Posted by JanisMomto2

I was just wondering what side effects your children experienced

Im not 6 but ya, My appetite went down so keep an eye on that. Dry mouth but that went away in 2 days.
Other then that, nothing

[MuscleMama]

My 8 y/o son did not complain of any side effects, we only noticed some 'rebound' when the dose wore off. This greatly improved once we switched to Concerta (a long-acting form of Ritalin).

I say don't tell the teacher, but I would also give her it for the first time on a non-school day so I could keep an eye on her myself.

[ditzydreamer]

My son, 5, takes Biphentin, 10mg/day. It is methylphenidate, same as ritalin.

The only thing we noticed, was he would sometimes get really tired. He had a slight decrease in appetite and a little diarrhea (very minor, and has chronic bowel problems already). All went away, other than the slight 'rebound' around dinner time.

We didn't tell his teacher so that she would give us an unbiased opinion of his behaviour for the last month of school. She was very happy to announce how much he had "finally grown up" and "matured" in the last few weeks of school. When I told her he was on medication she was very surprised, but finally saw what he was capable of and why I was so concerned about him.

I wouldn't tell the teacher if you can help it, but you should inform the principal or school nurse so that someone is aware he is on medication, in case he has some adverse reaction at school.
Start the medication on the weekend, and you'll have a pretty good idea of how it makes him feel. If he does feel ill at school, could he not come home?