Hi all— I know I’ve been asking a million questions, but when I found this bulliton board it was such a relief. Anyway, my 8 year old has been on Adderall for 4 days now. Sometimes he seems to be his natural happy self, other times he seems so depressed. He doesn’t seem to be as outgoing as he use to be. My sister told me that’s what we want— him to be able to calm enough to focus. I think she’s right but he seems different. I’m not sure if the change is too drastic. Any thoughts?
Trudy
Re: Is it still my son?
He’s only on 5mg. That’s pretty low. But when it’s active (6hrs) he seems more focused in school but has gotten into 2 fights in the five days he’s been on it. When it wears off he just seems withdrawn, less happy and less wanting to talk to me.—
Re: Is it still my son?
It takes some time to adjust to the medication. Ask your doctor how long you should give a trial of this med.
Re: Is it still my son?
Depression can be a side effect of stimulant medications. You may want to give your doctor a call.
Andrea
Re: Is it still my son?
Adderall works great for many kids. For some it doesn’t - it can cause moodiness and weepiness. It depends on the kid.
Our doc didn’t want to try it with my little wise beyond her years high-strung drama queen dd. So, we tried the meth (sp?) based products first and found Concerta worked well - didn’t have to try Adderall.
How does your son feel about his moods? Did he have moody reflective periods or need down time before the Adderall?
What we saw when dd started meds was things we had never seen before in her so that was somewhat scary. She stayed with play activities, no longer flitting from one to another. She connected with people socially - didn’t before - now she had a chance to do that. I was concerned about the change in her - I wasn’t used to her NOT bouncing off the walls. But bouncing off the walls or unregulated attention is not the essence of her personality either. All the changes were for the positive - her benefit. All the great things that already existed in her - we saw so much more of that.
IF any of your son’s reaction are concerning you, trust your mother’s instincts and discuss it with his doctor. There’s no reason to endure it if you find those reactions uncomfortable and there are other choices.
Good luck.
Re: Is it still my son?
I’m not familiar with concerta. Is it also a stimulant? My son was never moody before—energetic, playful, always happy. Yesterday he said he felt sad, mad, like the world had turned its back on him, but he was fine. My sister says he’s only moody with me. That with her and my neices he’s still THE BOY.—
Re: Is it still my son?
He feels safe with you and can express how he truely feels. I have seen my son put up a front with others and melt down with me.
It means they love and trust us, as strange as it sounds.
Yup...
At home, when kids know they get our unconditional love, they can let their defenses down. I also think that when they are really trying to hold it together all day without you, it comes flooding out of them - in words or actions - when they get home.
OTOH, not applicable to your situation - kids can also push parent’s buttons like no other too, consciously or sub-consciously.
Concerta is a stimulant. The only non-stimulent ADHD is Strattera, which came out on the market in Jan.
Re: Is it still my son?
go to www.resultsproject.net and look at the link between foods and A.D.D.
window #6 is real cool
Re: Is it still my son?
hello my name is dee i have 3 kids tht have adhd , its been a long haul . well i thought the same thing as you they dont seem the same when on meds until the other week i was at my friends and she has a boy with adhd so anyway she babysits this little boy and i asked her what is wrong with him because he was real quiet and she said nothing wrong thats what normal kids act like . i laughed because it was at that mommet i realized yeah its been all these years of my kids the way they are that its normal to me the way they are . not saying their not normal but the jumping and yelling and attention getting and fighting backand forth my little guy is on meds now and hes school work has improved so much but if he didnt go to school i proubley wouldent have him on it. hope ive help
Re: Is it still my son?- this bulletin board
Hope this site helps you with your problems.
I just wanted to agree with you I’m new too and I think it is such a great site so easy to navigate and see everything as well as great topics and such good informed answers everyone out there and the people on the site should have an award or something. It’s helping me compile a list of things to consider about my ds.
THANK YOU!
Re: Is it still my son?
My son was not able to take Adderall at all. It made him very depressed - “desperate” he said at age 7. He is now on Straterra, did better previously on Ritalin (better than Adderall). Straterra is better than Ritalin but no medicine works well all the time, unfortunately. Probably the less the better. EEliot
Trudy,
A couple of thoughts: First, the dose may be too high. Is he very quiet and maybe a little tearful seeming? Does he seem to have lost his spark? If a child seems flat and quiet, it often means he needs a lower dose. Second, some kids have mood changes when the medication is wearing off. It is called rebound.