ISO Anecdotal Accounts of ADHD medication in younger children.
October 16, 2017 10:42 AM   Subscribe

Our kid (male, 6) has been diagnosed with ADHD. We’re being advised by our (trusted, super awesome, not overprescribing, very reasonable) medical professionals to explore medicating him. We’re looking for anecdotal accounts of how a younger child in your life reacted to medication for ADHD.

Kid has already been diagnosed with a Sensory Processing Disorder and a General Anxiety Disorder. The former is largely under control through the use of OT services and adaptations on our part. The latter is being tended to, slowly but surely. The ADHD diagnosis is brand new as of last week, so we’re still getting our bearings around this.

Basically we have concerns that medicating kid might result in personality changes, not just behavior changes. He’s a really funny, creative, (objectively for his age) smart kid. But he also struggles with keeping his body in check (part ADHD, part SPD, we’re not sure where these overlap yet). When we describe ADHD symptoms to him, he gets really frustrated, and upset because he's clearly understanding that he's incapable of doing certain things (standing still, not fidgeting, overreacting with his body in every way, extreme impulsiveness), and he really wants to be able to comply. We're hoping that the medication effects the behavior, not his underlying personality, but we have zero experience with ADHD medication ourselves, let alone adding into the equation that he's still rather little.

Things we’re specifically not asking about:
  • The pros and cons of putting a child on medication of ADHD. Our collective anxious over-analyitcal brains have this covered, thanks.
  • Efficacy rates and hard data on improvement of ADHD symptoms in children.
  • Armchair diagnosis of if his ADHD is severe enough or not to require medication
  • Judgement calls in general about putting small children on ADHD medication
We are looking for anecdotal accounts and firsthand examples of how children in your life reacted to medicating ADHD, preferably at a younger age. We’re wondering about: behavior and personality changes (both positive and negative), or anything else notable that happened when the child in your life started medicating.
posted by furnace.heart to Health & Fitness (13 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
8 year old boy hallucinated a fire under his brother's bed when the doc doubled his dosage to 10 mg, so we stopped entirely. There weren't any notable positive effects at the original dose so it was a no-brainer. We're no meds right now because he seems to be doing ok-ish, aside from the seriously fascist nature of elementary schools these days.
posted by turkeybrain at 11:03 AM on October 16, 2017


My son (10) is now on Strattera, having been unable to tolerate side effects from the various stimulants we've tried. Those side effects have included headaches and slightly increased aggression without significant impact on attention span; Strattera is much more successful (as part of a cocktail that also includes an SSRI and an atypical, since he's got multiple diagnoses. Thrice exceptional FTW!)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:20 AM on October 16, 2017


My son who is 14 has been on meds since he was 7. I can't tell you how profound the difference was once we found the right medication/dosage. He takes Vyvanse, and it was a real challenge to cycle through to find the best meds for him, which was hard. I find that the primary personality difference is that my son is much kinder to us when he is medicated because he can regulate his feelings much better.

His medication works most effectively in conjunction with his therapist who specializes in ADHD and understanding how his brain works along with regular checkins with his doctor about concerns with growth and appetite and how meds are working for him.
posted by Nimmie Amee at 11:24 AM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


My son is 8 and has been taking medication for a bit over a month now. We knew the diagnosis was there, but seeing the numbers in black and white following a careful neuropsychological evaluation was a pretty staggering experience. He's really bright, but was finding he just couldn't get his work done at school. Home was a constant battle of telling him repeatedly to do something and having a 50/50 shot it would actually happen. He was starting to struggle with friends. Getting in trouble when he couldn't put the brakes on, arguing over little things. It ended in tears one night with him telling me how he wants to do well, and his body just won't let him.

The medication has led to zero changes in his personality. He's as sweet and eager to please as always. But now he does his chores and his homework without tears and frustration and still has time to do the things he wants to do. And all of a sudden he really loves projects that take more than a few minutes. Big puzzles, drawing, games he plays from start to finish. And he's happier and more comfortable in his own skin. For us it's been wonderful.

I was a kid with ADHD, not diagnosed until I was an adult. I got in trouble for not finishing work. I struggled through grad school because I just couldn't structure my time. Having that diagnosis meant the world to me and I wish my parents had known and intervened when I was young.

I'm also a professional who works with kids with all kinds of neurodevelopmental disorders. For the vast majority of the kids I see with ADHD symptoms, the medication is an enormous help. The goal of the medication is to "wake up" the system of the brain that is responsible for inhibiting messages you don't need, and integrating and organizing the other portions of your brain that allow you to carry out the things you need to do. It should give you a beat to stop and think before you act, and should turn down the noise of the things you don't need to pay attention to right now. You get conscious control over what you pay attention to and how much attention will be paid. A school-aged kiddo described it as being like his brain is a TV that someone else has the remote for. The channels are changing all the time, the volume going up and down and you can't cut through that noise to focus on the things you want. When that child started medication they said it was like they got the remote to the TV and got to decide what to watch. I thought that was a pretty powerful metaphor.

Another thing to keep in mind is that addressing underlying attention and inhibition concerns can lead to improvement in other domains. Sensory things can be less problematic because your brain is better at filtering out the noise of what a seam in a sock feels like or ambient noise in the background. Feeling like you are more in control and can focus means that you're not getting in trouble or always feeling like you're scrambling compared to your friends and classmates, and that can reduce anxiety. Being able to decide what thoughts to pay attention to, worried thoughts or more relevant thoughts, can also have an impact on worry.

I think it's always a good idea to be cautious when considering medication. Some families work with their physician and their child's teacher to test out how well the medication is working. Have some days on the medicine and some days off, don't tell the teacher which are which and see if they notice a difference. Vanderbilt rating scales, available for free online, can help with that.
posted by goggie at 11:29 AM on October 16, 2017 [5 favorites]


Hello, past me. I posted a very similar question three years ago. I had a lot of concerns.

He's been on Concerta for three years. The first day I gave it to him, it was like a shell cracked open and my actual child emerged from inside. That day, he and I went for a long walk and for the first time in his entire life I wasn't afraid he was going to suddenly run into the road for no reason. We had a conversation. I feel like I actually met him.

Its not all great. In particular, we've had to fiddle with the dosage as he got older/bigger and at times during that process the "crash" when the meds wore off was spectacular, but on balance its been amazing.

I can't answer your hard data questions, but I can tell you this -- even for the parts that have been hard, I would do it again. He asks for his meds, because they make him feel more confident and in control of himself.
posted by anastasiav at 11:31 AM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


I was put on medication for my ADHD starting when I was 7, and my younger sibling at about the same age. I also have a sensory processing disorder and did occupational therapy for it.

Ritalin was a life-changing experience. My mother nearly cried tears of joy. She still gets super emotional describing it now, decades later. We were suddenly able to do the things we wanted to do, we had so much more focus and direction, we were less frustrated and happier. There were no impacts on personality other than being happier because we weren't fighting our bodies all the time.

We were also calmer, sort of? Because we could be focused instead of constantly distracted and interrupted by our own brains. It felt sort of like getting the chance to be myself without so much trouble.

However, I turned out to be part of the 1/3rd of people who react badly when stimulants wear off. It was really painful for me, because I liked being competent! I liked being able to pay attention to conversations, to finish things, to remember where my stuff was. We tried several different formulations, but there weren't these modern long-acting formulas that exist now and eventually we gave up. My sibling didn't have that issue and has continued using stimulants.

As a teenager I tried Strattera, which was wonderful for about a year, and then the emotional side effects got serious and I had to stop. Around 10-11 I tried anti-depressants but they didn't do anything. I have gone back to stimulants and have settled on a very small dose of a very long-acting formula (Vyvanse).
posted by Ahniya at 11:35 AM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]


We started my seven-year-old on Concerta a couple months after he turned five. He was getting suspended from kindergarten because he just could not control his impulses. He went from being unable to listen to me finish an entire sentence to reading "Where the Sidewalk Ends" from cover to cover. From digging giant holes in Minecraft and filling them full of villagers and lava to building an intricate museum with suits of armor and a patterned floor.

It's not all sunshine and roses -- the comedown makes him cranky, and we give him melatonin to sleep -- but he went from being a non-functional child to being a functional one.
posted by woodvine at 11:35 AM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


" Sensory things can be less problematic because your brain is better at filtering out the noise of what a seam in a sock feels like or ambient noise in the background. "

Goggie, you hit the nail on the head. I'm a reasonably successful adult with a reasonably successful life, and the reason I keep taking medication is so I Stop. Noticing. When. The. A/C. Turns off. And on. And off. And on. And off. And on. And all the other myriad blinking, fluctuating, whining aspects of modern life (computers make noise! Constantly! Everything has a blinking light! ARGH). Medication just lets me ignore that like a normal person. It's so, so much calmer.

That reversed during the bounceback effect though - I get much more sensitive to all kinds of things, even issues that I've trained myself to ignore like cloth texture. I deal with that by timing. I know how long it takes for the wear off to start happening, and what it feels like when that starts happening. So about 4-6 hours after I take the medication, I notice that bounceback is starting, go sit in a quiet, dark place and just let myself be distracted and not think about anything for half an hour. Then I can get back to work and be somewhat productive for a little bit, and then I get fully back up to speed.
posted by Ahniya at 11:43 AM on October 16, 2017 [3 favorites]


My son started ADHD medication at the end of 2nd grade and there were some really transformative changes for the better. First, definitely no loss of "personality" or things that you think of that make him HIM. Second, if anything I think it helped solidify parts of his creativity and personality. For instance, one of the first things I remember shortly after starting medication was that I walked in on him at home and he was drawing pictures. For fun! Like whole, intricate, interesting, little kid drawings. Before starting medication he never had the ability to stick with activities that interested him, so we learned about all new things that he loved to do that require a little stamina. This included putting together Lego projects, building his own Lego designs, creating funny art pieces with, like, tin cans and glue and stuff, and even writing music (thanks, cool 3rd grade music teacher). It also helped him not blurt out stuff during school, and to be able to stay in one place for longer without squirrling out of control.

He still has some things he's working on, so it's not like it solved everything magically, but I really wasn't expecting the medication to be a gateway to his creative soul, which I think it was in a way. He just didn't have the attention to do the things he loved before.

So, for us anyway, it was a positive experience, though I acknowledge we're still in the middle of figuring things out and things may change down the line.
posted by LKWorking at 12:05 PM on October 16, 2017 [1 favorite]


My son has been on Concerta ER 18mg for almost two years now. Almost all the observations above mesh with my experience, but I will add that there has been some appetite supression during the midday when the levels are highest.

Making a lunch that appeals to him has been some trial-and-error. Kiddo will come home from school and snack on everything in the house as the medication wears off. So his weight looks normal from the well check appointments, but it's been a bit of a struggle to make sure he eats healthy and doesn't down a whole box of Goldfish in one sitting and spoil his dinner.

There was also some sleeplessness in the first week or so, but after that it's been fine.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:42 PM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


My cousin was on medication from a young age. I'm not sure that it ever helped him in school (he also had severe dyslexia.) What I remember most is how he was stick thin and how his parents would comment on how he was such a night owl and pretty much only ever ate in the middle of the night (aka after the meds wore off) and yet somehow never connected this with the fact that they were giving their young child a very strong stimulant. He also grew up to have some serious problems with drugs once he was a teenager. I'd love to see some studies on later drug use in kids who were given these drugs at a young age. Just because it's legally prescribed doesn't mean it's not going to have an effect on your brain, especially in a developing child.

I think doctors also tend to gloss over how harsh these drugs can be on the body. Adderall is a salt and is very dehydrating. I was on it for many years (though not as a young child) and I could really feel the effect on my body, and it wasn't something my doctor ever really addressed. Eventually I just couldn't tolerate it anymore. Also something to look out for is stimulants might cause or increase anxiety, this was another factor in me going off Adderall.
posted by catatethebird at 1:33 PM on October 16, 2017


My wonderful nephew started taking medication at 3.5. I just asked my sister and she says "He was just a better version of himself. It was more like we could finally see the real personality behind all the crazy behaviour." He has an ADHD diagnosis, and we all think there will be other diagnoses but he's now still only 8 and we don't know what they are. At that age he had severe receptive language delays and I'm pretty sure he has/had sensory stuff because he was a runner and a climber. He literally once swung from my chandelier, at about that early age. My (distant) perspective is this - and forgive me because I'm not read up and probably don't have correct language to describe any of this. For me, once he started medication I actually started to 'see' him, if that makes sense. Before, he didn't make eye contact, couldn't answer many questions - most of what he said was echolalia - and he was always this little crazy uncontrollable being who didn't interact expect that he loved being tossed and swung around. Once on the medication his language improved greatly. He was able to follow instructions. When you say "Please stop doing X", he usually can. He started seeking out hugs. For the first time, he expressed attachment to his mom. He's now in a regular grade 2 class. He's wicked good at drawing and puzzles and he can spell better than my younger daughter. He's doing great and I'm so happy he's finally getting the help he needs. I don't know if this helps you because his case is/was I think very severe, but I thought I'd share.

He was always tiny and skinny and the meds don't help, but the doctor recently started him on a sleeping pill at night and an unexpected side effect was that his appetite increased. I think he's gained about 15-20 much needed pounds.
posted by kitcat at 2:18 PM on October 16, 2017


To catatethebird and others who have concerns about later substance abuse, long term studies suggest that kids with ADHD and comorbid conduct problems (e.g., stealing, lying, aggression) are more likely to abuse substances in adolescence and adulthood. Most common is tobacco. Medication actually reduces the risk for most individuals with ADHD because it can help address anxiety and depression related to environmental stress associated with ADHD symptoms, and also reduces risky/impulsive behaviors. Behavioral therapy paired with medication, as in most cases, is the most effective combination to reduce the risk. See here for summary.
posted by goggie at 5:35 PM on October 16, 2017 [2 favorites]


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