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Post by rosie on Aug 20, 2017 23:07:30 GMT
Our DD now 16 was diagnosed with Anxiety disorder and ADHD a few months ago. She took medication for the anxiety initially Sertraline and is now also gradually increasing her dose of ADHD meds. So far there do not seem to have been any negative side effects. She is on Medikinet which lasts 8 hours, and I don't think we have quite reached the dose she needs yet. We feel it is beginning to help some of the behaviours but because it is the holidays it is difficult to know yet how effective it is with the attention/concentration side. I know that some ADHD medication lasts up to 12 hours and am wondering whether once starting at college this would be better and allow her some time in the evening to help her with coursework she needs to do. I would be grateful if anyone with teens on ADHD could tell me what has been effective for them, and what dosage; though I realise this will differ with each child. We have a follow up appointment this week and it would be useful to know whether others have found the 12 hour medication more helpful. The psychiatrist asks dd a lot about how effective she is finding the medication, but I don't think she really thinks about her answers; I do want to make sure she gets the dosage that will help her most.
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Post by lilyofthevalley on Aug 21, 2017 8:58:45 GMT
Hello Rosie
My AD, now aged 31, is on Concerta medication for her ADHD. It makes a huge difference. You are in a fortunate position that your daughter is seeing a psychiatrist, that her ADHD has been diagnosed and that she is being prescribed medication. It sounds like the medication is also being prescribed correctly by gradually increasing the dose to find the optimum dosage. You cannot make generalisations about medication for ADHD. What suits one person may not suit another and dosages are very individual. For instance, as a child my AD was bigger than my AS and her ADHD was worse than his and she had ODD too, but she required a lower dosage of Ritalin.
My advice to you is to either make a phone call to the psychiatrist to make him/her aware of your worries/ concerns or, if it is acceptable to your daughter and to the psychiatrist, perhaps you could join them for the first 5 minutes of their session just to explain your worries. I have done both of these with my daughter and her GP and her psychiatrist.
Lily x
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Post by rosie on Aug 21, 2017 19:54:33 GMT
Thanks Lily. We had our appointment today and I went in for the whole session. The psychiatrist does seem to value our comments in his assessments and is realising that dd is sometimes rather vague in her answers. She is now going to change to Concerta 12 hour medication as he also felt this would suit her better, continuing to increase the dosage. He also wants me to get views of tutors at college as to whether they think her attention and concentration is causing any problems, so he can assess through dd's views, our views and the college to see if the dosage needs increasing. Feel more reassured after today. Next battle is getting her to collect GCSE results from school on Thursday and enrol at college; unfortunately on the same day. Am hoping her anxiety doesn't go sky high again and I can get her to both.
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Post by lilyofthevalley on Aug 21, 2017 21:30:17 GMT
Hello Rosie
I'm glad things went well today. It sounds like you have a fantastic psychiatrist who is really on the ball. I just hope he doesn't leave! My daughter saw a young woman psychiatrist who she liked but she left after a few months. The same thing happened with the next young woman psychiatrist. She then saw a male psychiatrist who did not seem to believe in ADHD. She hated him and would not go back. For quite a while she had no-one. When her mental health deteriorated her GP agreed to try again. She got an appointment with a different woman psychiatrist. She arrived for her appointment with her boyfriend to be informed that the psychiatrist had left. She had not been informed. There was then a scene as she refused to leave unless she saw someone. She saw a psychiatrist who had started that day and hardly spoke English. She is now seeing the GP.
Your daughter stands a much better chance of managing her college course if she is on medication for ADHD. The first college course my daughter did she was not taking medication (she still came under her residential school) and she was excluded on account of her behaviour.
Hope things work out for your daughter.
Lily x
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Post by rosie on Aug 22, 2017 10:40:30 GMT
Thanks Lily. Yes we are pleased with the psychiatrist we have found and hope we can stay with him. I am hoping too that she will cope with college now she is on medication as the last 6 months of school were terrible for all of us.
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Post by nzhb on Aug 22, 2017 18:32:59 GMT
My daughter is on methylphenidate 54mg daily ( modified release) She has been onthis for ages - it really helps, although her sleep seems to get later - but that might be just tennage ( age 14) pattern
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Post by runmum on Sept 7, 2017 18:13:45 GMT
Our AS now 11 takes Concerta before school and then an additional 10 mg ritalin after a snack when he gets home. Everyone is different. The 10mg is to help him focus for homework because we give the concerta at 6.30am. Both affect his appetite. But he eats well at 7.30pm taking the ritalin at 4.30. The medication also affects sleep but he manages to relax in bed by 9.45pm so all round it's ok. You just need to find a pattern that works for you.
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