I'm sure I am beating a dead horse.....

has been around for YEARS. My daughter has taken a SR (Sustained Release) is what SR means form of Ritalin for 5 years now. It has made a huge positive impact on her life. She is active in sports, she plays waterpolo and is on the swim team. The two form of sustained release Ritalin that I am familiar with are Concerta and Metadate. Concerta worked better for my daughter. Metadate wasn’t as effective.

My son’s tried Staterra and it was a bust. But one of my 50 year old friends who has battled with ADD her whole life found relief with what her Dr. did in combining Strattera with Adderall she he doing great now.

Maybe that would help your son? Continuing with the Strattera as it is and combining it with a very low dose of Ritalin or another stimulant to help with the other behaviors?

Our p-doc says that in general, her patients see more side effects and fewer positive results with Strattera vs. stimulants like ritalin. FWIW, the most common side effect of both drugs seems to be loss of appetite. She says patients who don’t respond well to stimulants are generally the only ones who do better on Strattera. There certainly are risks involved with ritalin, as with any medication, and particular because it is a stimulant. Nonetheless, if statistics are what’s worrying you, the NIMH says that 70% of kids respond well to stimulant medications. The number of kids who have life-threatening reactions, however, is infinitesimally small. Don’t get scared by fear-mongering websites about the evils of the ADHD diagnosis, etc. Instead, get familiar with the many studies done on stimulants and ADHD. Be careful about believing statistics without knowing how the numbers were derived. Look for studies that have proper scientific controls. Essentially, you want to look into studies concerning the use of ritalin, the generic name of which is methylphenidate. Try www.medscape.com for scientific research. Also, google has a new scholars search that may be helpful. Also, don’t get hung up on the SR stuff. SR just refers to how quickly the drug is released into the system. FYI, I know a boy who had a serious allergic reaction to Strattera that affected him for months, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone else having that problem.

Ah, the meds decision. We’ve been there, too. My daughter did have an adverse effect with Ritalin, has done very well with Adderall and was a bust with Strattera. Meds are not an easy decision-my decision was a looooong time coming. But what a difference. You will know in hours if the stimulants work. It may take a little manoveuring ot get the right dose or type. But if it works, count your blessings. I am glad my daughter is in the 70% that gets relief from Ritalin. What a difference.

for what its worth, my older sister is a narcoleptic (a sleep disorder) and has spent close to 30 years on ritalin. Just anecdotal evidence but Ritalin has been around for decades.

You have to be careful with your sources, and you have to make a decision based on your circumstances.

Thanks everyone. I was telling my husband earlier that there really is no right answer to all this, just the lesser of the evils. I love my son dearly and just want him to be as much like the other kids as possible. I’m sure you all know how it feels to see your wonderful children unable to integrate socially and academically. I swear, I wouldn’t wish this condition on ANYBODY’S kids, even my worst enemies. Like parenting isn’t difficult enough, huh?

Thanks for all your help. We start the new meds on Monday morning. We’ll see what happens and I’ll let ya’ll know.

Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
deb