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Meds - Concerta

NOTICE: The following posts are taken from the Christian Special Needs parenting List. The names, e-mail addresses and locations of all parties involved have been removed to protect their privacy. The posts have been used with permission, but are copyrighted by Christian Kind.

My son who is now 6 1/2 has ADHD. He was diagnosed with ADHD in December of 2006. He took Adderall XR for almost a year and it made him really mean. He would say things like he was going to kill his sister and the list goes on and on. I told the doctors about how he was acting and begged them for a long time to switch his medication. They wouldn't change his medication. He would climb up on counters and get into the cabinets and there would be times when I would get up in the middle of the night and find him climbing on the counters and in to everything. He would not sleep. He would cry at the least little things, like if his glass was on the left side of his plate and he wanted it on the right side, he would cry because it wasn't on the right side.

Finally they switched his medication and put him on Concerta. I was like you and a bit concerned. I finally gave in and tried him on it and it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. He is doing awesome on it. No more crying over everything and climbing the counters, and he is actually sleeping. I am so glad that the doctors decided to put him on Concerta. He has been on Concerta since the first of November and really is doing awesome. I hope this helps you. Every child is different and I hope that you can find the right medication for her. I don't like him taking medication, but the difference that it makes in how he does in school and at home is the reason that he is on Concerta. By the way, I just got their report card a week or so ago and he was on the A/B honor roll. First time. I am so proud of him.

Concerta is a central nervous system stimulant. It affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and inpulse control. I think that it is the best thing that my son could have been put on. He is on the A/B honor roll and his teacher loves him to death.

That is awesome that he doing great and the teacher loves him, but at what cost? What are the long-term effects of this medication on our children. My friends daughter is on Concerta, she is doing fine in school. But she at 11 she has to go to a doctor for the depression. She hates that it slows her down when she wants to run like the other kids. My question is what are we doing to our children and will they have to remain on it for life?

I am not sure if he will be on it for life, but before he was on it he had no friends, was always crying about every little thing, was severly depressed and was always getting in trouble. Now everyone in the class likes him, if he's crying its because something is wrong, he is not depressed, and he is never in trouble. Every child is different but unique in their own way. It just so happens that concerta seems to be what he needed all along. Do you have a child with ADHD?

Well I've tried Adderall and it completely suppressed her appetite, causing growth retardation. She hasn't lost any weight, but she's not gaining any either. I was really aggravated because it caused her to whine alot. Now she's on Vyvanse, it's has less stimulant in it, but she talks back alot more than usual and challenges everything you say. Her appetite has increased, but she still has no interest in her homework. She only wants to read books that she's memorized. She has a very vast memory, but is still stumbling over words she should already know. I think I may tell her doctor I want to try the concerta.

I know that God is going to heal my daughter, but I still have to do the natural things until that healing manifest. Otherwise the school will be calling me everyday for her being disruptive.

How does he act at home? My daughter only seems to have the outburst with me, so I know that it's not behavioral. It's just a way she can get to me. Do any of you have a sample of your behavior plans that I can try for home. Right now I'm using the naughty chair and a reward system, but my problem is being consistent.

Yes, she was diagnosed Dec. 06 w/ severe ADHD, however I am now learning that he couldn't do the full battery of test because she was not yet 6. I am taking her to a Neuro Psychologist to have her formerly diagnosed and if that is not what's wrong with her the doctors are going to have a legal issue on their hands. She's been acting the way your son use to all along, no friends, was always crying about every little thing, was severly depressed and was always getting in trouble.

My son was the same way until they put him on the concerta. Now he comes straight in from school and does his homework and I do not even have to tell him to do it. His teacher says that he is really doing well and that he is right where he is supposed to be. When he was on the adderall they told me the side effects were loss of appetite and depression. While on the adderall he did not eat anything until about 6 or 7 at night. He wasn't losing weight, but he wasn't gaining any either. He was so depressed that he could not stand himself. Now he is the child that we knew before the diagnosis of ADHD just without the hyperactive part and the attention part. It is awesome the changes I have seen in him, and it was like it happened overnight. We took him off adderall one day and the next we put him on concerta and it was like a different child. Hope this helps.

I understand. Before medication, my son was constantly in trouble. He was always getting sent to behavior lab and the school was always calling me. Now when they call it is to tell me what a joy it is having them in their class.

At home he is really good until about 7:00. Then his medication has pretty much worn off and he is wild, but my kids go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 so during the time after his medication has worn off and the time he is goes to bed, it is bath time and story time so it kinda keeps him busy. On the weekends and on the days that he doesn't have school, he is awesome. He plays with his brother and sister and I have no trouble out of him what so ever. As far as a behavior plan, when he does get into trouble, I give a warning, then the next time I take something from him tha he likes, then the next time I will take the TV away for the day, and/or ps2. If it continues the stuff gets taken for 2 days and then it goes to 4 days and then a week. I have only had to go as high as 2 days and they get the picture. I have a hard time with consistence and I have found that this is what works for me. I do reward all of my kids for things done good, but they all have the same consequences. I hope that this helps. Also, my sister-in-law uses the strips like they do in school. That seems to work for her. If you would like to know more about that, just let me know and I will give you the info on how she does it.

Well i just spoke with the doctor and he wants to change the Vyvanse from 50 mg to 30mg...which is suppose to help with the aggression....what do you think. how long does it take for the concerta to get in the system?

What medication is she currently taking. They diagnosed my son when he was in kindergarten. He was only 5 1/2. They did the full testing on him and I was then told that he had severe ADHD. If that is not what is wrong with her, I don't blame you one bit for taking them through a law suit. I really do hope that everything works out for you. I will be praying for you guys and also please keep us in your prayers too.

That is so good. I am glad that he no longer hides in class. My son did that until we put him on the concerta. What works for one child may not work for another. It's so amazing how our body's work.

yes, my 10 year old daughter. She also have dyslexia. She was tested and that is what we were told. These kids are so over diagnosed and medicated. I don't know what to do. God is in control of all of this. I am believing for better solutions for radical healing.

I do understand that part. I am so concerned with our children being over medicated on harsh drugs. My daughter has been diagnosed with adhd, dyslexia. I homeschooled her for 2 years. It was not easy, but God got me through. She is school now, its not a walk in the park. I don't speak to her disablitiy. We all know what it is, I speak life to her. We have her on vitamins and no high frutrose corn syrup. I am going through and it is difficult, we want our children to suceed and be liked by others. But my dilema is at what cost to my child's overall health and future. Its hard. I am praying that the lord would reveal the root cause of this epidemic.

When we changed from adderall to concerta it was like over night. I give it to him in the morning and it is gone 12 hours later. It starts working within 30 minutes after it is taken and lasts 12 hours. Adderall is pretty much the same thing as Vyvanse, just a little less. They had my son up to 50mg of Adderall XR. Now he is on 36mg of concerta. On adderall he was really aggressive. Now he is so much better.

yes, i've called the doctor and he's suppose to change it. How is your son's appetite?

My son is eating very well. He eats 3 meals a day and snacks too. The concerta doesn't seem to have suppressed his appetite at all.

Oh, then I can't wait to start. I'm having to let her eat as much icecream and chocolate millk, just for the fat.

I am so glad that you are going to try the concerta. It has made such a big difference in my son and I sure hope that it does the same for you. My son is the child that I knew before medication, just without the hyperactivity and the inattention. My son is small, but he is gaining weight. We did have to put him on something called melatonin. It is a natural thing that helps the body relax so that that they will be able to fall asleep. It is not a sleeping pill or anything like that. It is all natural and we did it because he was having trouble going to sleep. I don't think that it was the concerta keeping him awake, I think that it was the ADHD. My mom has worked with children with ADHD, ADD, ODD, learning disabilities, etc. for years and she said that some kids with ADHD do have trouble sleeping at night. I wish the best of luck to you and I hope that the concerta works. If you don't mind would you please keep in touch and let me know how it is working for you. I would greatly appreciate it.

Yeah, but I can't start until after next Wed, they won't change her medication until they see her.

You, as the parent are the best to make the decision regarding medication. Sometimes meds are the answer. Other times they are not. It is an individual thing. Remember, Psalm 139 tells us that we are “wonderfully and uniquely made”. Because of that, what works for one person is not necessarily the fix all for everyone. At the same time, try to look at it from the perspective of other health needs. We do not deny our children glasses or hearing aids when they are called for to give them the tools they need to experience success. We do not refrain from giving our children vitamins or antibiotics when needed either.

ADHD still carries with it a stigma that plagues parents with ADHD children and gives those whose children are not ADHD a platform from which to preach. How sad!!! We do not criticize families whose children are diabetic or have heart problems. Some will say that insulin and antibiotics are for illnesses that can cause death. Yes, that’s true. Conversely, a child who hasn’t the ability to stop and think before he acts is at high risk for serious injury or death as well as isolation from others because he doesn’t “fit in”. It is a physical problem. It isn’t a parenting problem (usually – grin). These children lack the brain chemistry to allow their brain synapses to fire in an orderly fashion like the rest of society’s brains function.

Medication for many children with ADHD gives parents teachable moments and children opportunity to stop and think before acting – as well as learn the lessons of cause and effect. They are still responsible for their actions - regardless, but medication brings a better opportunity for that child to make wiser choices and begin to see the world in a different way. Sometimes they are able to come off meds as they learn to manage. Other times, they simply need the meds to allow them to think straight.

We often pray for healing for our children and when the healing isn’t in the form we desire it to be, we become discouraged or frustrated. Sometimes OUR perspective of healing is not what the Father’s plan is for that child. Sometimes healing is not the removal of the illness, disability, or injury. Sometimes, the healing is the child learning to manage the problem before them so that they can reach out to another human being in a similar situation – because they live it, so THEY UNDERSTAND. If you recall, the apostle Paul asked three times that God remove his “thorn in the flesh” – God did not remove it, but taught Paul how to manage in spite of his “thorn”. Was he not healed???? Did he continue to serve the Master as he was called? While it isn’t necessarily our idea of healing, could it have been God’s healing of Paul’s spirit so that Paul more efficiently helped others, and more importantly, depended upon God rather than his own flesh?

An FYI…we have 4 children ADHD + depression + + + in some cases. J We have gone the path of food changes, homeopathic remedies, behavior modification, contracts, and medication. 3 are now considered adults. 2 are doing quite well – in college desiring to go on the mission field. 1, on the other hand, is off all her meds, somewhat functional, is promiscuous, not walking with Jesus, taking advantage of others, spends money she does not have and has creditors after her constantly, etc. etc. Off her meds she is ill more than she’s ever been in her life. Her sleep patterns have gone back to being very abnormal, her unhealthy food binges have escalated, she self medicates with energy drinks, tobacco, and sometimes alcohol, and she gets sick at least once a month. So, I have to ask myself, are the meds really so bad for general health???? It is heart breaking to watch, but at this juncture, it is HER journey. We’ve done our job as God led us.

Bottom line for us………..all of the methods made a difference in one fashion or other in each of our children – but it isn’t just ONE THING. Yes, I am a supporter of meds if it fits the BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD. No, we didn’t come to that decision easily. It was a struggle – just as it is for each of you.

Okay!!!! Off my soap box now J Just some thoughts for all of us to ponder???

I love it when you're on your "soapbox." My dh and I agree with everything you've said. Our ds is only 7 yo and we've been through sooo much. Between 2-3 yo, he was biting others to the point of drawing blood; we were threatened with lawsuits by their parents.

At 4 yo, our ds would run off the school grounds to get a ball that went over the fence, hide in a dark closet of an empty classroom, run into a major street, etc. We have tried diet changes and restrictions, worked with our local regional center, sat in 16 hours of parenting classes to seek out behavior intervention, parenting classes at the church, college courses on parenting, worked with child psychologists, dentists, pediatricians, neurologists, neuropsych team at UCLA, the list goes on...

So, you're right, we did not come to the decision of medicating lightly. We considered the safety of others and the quality of life for our dear son.

Thank you so very much for your reply about medications. It brought tears of relief to me! I have felt so guilty for having my children on medications and yet I can see how they are able to not only function, but excel. On Saturday I tried not giving her her medication and instead gave her a natural calming supplement. Even she said it was a hard day. She asked why I didn't give her the medicine. She knows she needs it. I've worried so about some harm I may be causing her physically, but I've seen examples of people who didn't get medication who have made total wrecks of their lives. Yes, I will still pursue the natural, but I will not berate myself for trying to give my children what they need so they can learn and thrive in school and at home in these crucial early years!

I struggle as a single parent having a daughter with ADHD and a son with autism and now a mother with Alzheimer's Disease, and having no one to really talk to about my fears and concerns or to even get advice. I am so thankful for this website and those of you who have encouraged me!

Thank you for your experience. I want to make the right choice for her. My daughter had a similiar side effect when she was taking Adderall XR. She would get very depressed. One of my major concerns with Concerta is the side effects especially the suicidal thoughts and that you couldn't just stop the medication it would have to be weened little by little.

Depression was very real for my son on concerta and I made the effort to talk to the specialist and ask for help. They fully agreed he needed off the meds as he was even into cutting himself. After changing we were given a child wanting to learn, wanting to explore and wanting to do things. He went away this past summer to summer camp for a week and can hardly wait for spring when his class goes over night for 3 days at a camp. Strattera gave him back a smile and a chance to belong

My son had the suicidal thoughts when he was on Adderall XR. He was constantly talking about killing himself and other people. Now that he is on concerta he has none of those thoughts. He is happy and smiles all the time. He enjoys school and he even plays alot with the other kids. he has been on concera since November and the only side affect that I have seen is that at first he complained of a headache and a stomach ache, but that went away after a few days. You are welcome. I hope that my personal experience with ADHD and concerta has helped you and I would like it if you could keep in touch and let me know how she is doing.

I appreciate your comments and to some degree you are correct. Some children really need the medication. There are some children I know that without it would hurt themselves or others. Every person will make there own decision. Its very difficult, we all want our children to perform "normally and learn". My thing is at what cost to our children. These medications are very strong and powerful mind altering drugs. One doctor says it like a street drug. Do I want my child to perform so well in school and have friends that I will but them on a drug that I can sell on the streets?

Whether is diabetes or glasses, we need to believe God for the healing and not believe man regarding the problem. God will heal kids with adhd, autism, diabetes, etc. We must do what we have to for our children, but in the mean time lets all agree not to believe man. Lets speak contrary to what the reality is. My child is healed, my child does get along with others, my child have lots of friends, etc. We need to speak life and not death.

I think SOME ADD may be human caused, but I think a lot of it is just how God made these kids. My son is so much like my uncles, and they are in their 60's, long before any of the modern ills could affect people. And my son is young enough to have escaped the thymerisol in vaccinations. They took that out long ago.

I think most people were not meant to be cooped up in a classroom to learn. Long ago, the kids would learn history and counting and all that stuff in the fields, as they worked beside their family members and as they told stories. Our modern education system is geared toward the ways girls learn. If we had segregated education, and our boys could be taught differently than girls, more hands on, more active, less "sit still and listen" then I think boys on the whole in our country would do better. Even some girls, like me, who have brains that are more masculine, would do better in a more active educational setting.

Like I said, some ADD maybe caused by our environment, but I think the majority of it is just the way God made many people, and instead of medicating kids to force them to fit into an unnatural environment, we need to learn how to help them learn and get along WITH their special gifts, rather than IN SPITE OF them. (Please dont' think I am against medicating...because I know those parents who do, don't do so lightly).

We have the great fortune to be part of a homeschool group this year that numbers over 50 kids from preschool to high school. We have all levels of intellegence, activity, a few slow learners, a few ADDers...but the one thing that we have in common, is tolerance and patience and accpetance and love for one another and it is just about as close to heaven as you can get on earth. We get together every other Friday to do things like PE and home ec and choir, that we cannot do alone, and it is just fabulous. Those of us who have "different" kids really notice that the good things get emphasized and the not-so-good things get diminished. My son, 7, has a very unique way of relating to the world, and while many people cannot relate to him because of this, the parents and kids in the homeschool group find him interesting and refreshing, and sincerely love him. I need that refreshement every 2 weeks, let me tell you, because I get weary now and then!!

When I was in college, one of my education professors said that he thought dyslexia was overdiagnosed (that was over 20 years ago, I wonder what he would say about ADD?) Anyway, he said that for a child, all his life, a chair is a chair no matter which way you turn it, forward, backward, upside down, it is still a chair. Then suddenly, when they hit reading age, they find that this is not true for letters and numbers and the order we read in. It is a difficult transition, and often parents/teachers don't recognize that "order" or "placement" is a new concept.

And I think children that have a gift with spacial perception have a harder time making this distinction than others. My husband loves the cartoon of the child at the school for the gifted pushing for all his might on door that says "pull", because that is ME to a T. I hate writing that is on glass doors becuase I can read as easily frontward as backward and if there is a word like "pull" painted on a glass door, I cant' tell whether I'm supposed to pull or push. Like, if I look in my rearview mirror and see the word "ambulance", I cannot tell you if it is painted frontward or backward on the vehicle behind me, because I read it frontward either way and can't tell you if it is backward without thinking hard on it.

I can finally tell my left from my right, and have never had a problem reading...but I see my son doing the same things...saw is was and so forth. If I can touch it, I can tell if it's frontwards or backwards, but not just by seeing it.... On the other hand, give me those mensa puzzles where you have to spin the block, or mentally fold the picture into a shape and I can beat anyone. My son will probably be the same way. he can picture how things will look from different perspectives. So I'm not sure something like "dyslexia" is so much a "bad" thing as it is simply a different gifting, and another way to see the world...which, as I have said earlier, I think much of ADD is as well.

I do believe in what you are saying. The school system expects these kids to sit still for hours focusing on lessons that are geared so they can pass a test. Leave your brain at home kids, learn this test. Its sad the way our education system has become. Its bad for kids with no learning disorders.