Help with a 5 Yr Old with ADHA

C.,
I'm not sure how long the your daughter has been on the medicine, but this is what came to my mind if you feel it isn't working. I've recently looked a great deal into sleep apnea and I've read in multiple places that children are often diagnosed with ADHD when the real problem is their sleep. If kids have sleep apnea, they rarely fall into REM sleep and end up being excessively tired during the day which can appear as hyperactivity. You'd think they'd be tired, but instead they have trouble concentrating and focusing. Often times, enlarged adenoids/tonsils are the cause for sleep apnea in children. Just a thought and something you might want to look into. Good luck.

S.

my 6 year lod was diagnosed when he was three i didnt start medicaine untill he was 4 even though that seems early he needed it .they are very hard to contril i know how you feel!the first med he took was concerta!it never did work.my son is now on 15mg adderalxr it works very well !he just now started taking a 5 mg xr it starts wearing off at 300 pm but it kicks right back in but i just now started wearing off!it makes him normal!like any other kids!the med should start working right away it might take a couple of tries before you find the right one.who is your babies dr?this med reaaly is good!

Hi C.. I know how frustrating this can be. My son has been diagnosed since he was actually 3 but couldn't do anything about it till he was 5. It apparently runs in the family. We have tried every medicine there is and unfortunately it takes awhile to find the right one and the right dosage. We tried each one with different doses and increasing and then even tried a combination. Concerta is not one that you can tell right away like Ridalin(spelling?). Technically you have to wait 2-3 weeks to see a differce. I know you are expecting a major change but it isn't like that unfortunately. After about 3 weeks, if you still don't see a change, you can ask the doctor to increase it. They will increase by 5mg each time until you've reached the maximum dosage allowed then try different ones if you don't see a change. It is very tiring. Since he started the meds, my son just now is on the one we think works the best. It has been 3 years now. Talk to your doctor about options. Good luck. Check out the website www.ADHD.com too. They have good information about dealing with it and even what sports are good for them. Let us know how it goes.

I never saw any improvement with my daughter when she was on concerta. Her ADHD is very severe and is combined with BiPolar disorder and ODD. Straterra, which is non-stimulant, is the only thing that has made any impact for us. With it (and the other medications for the other symptoms) we saw improvement within a couple of days.

You should notice improvement within a few days and at most a week. If you are not seeing improvement the dose is probably to low for your child. Most doctors start with very low doses and gradual move up, also concerta may not be the best choice for her if you are not seeing improvement.

Generally, you'll begin to see an improvement in her focus and concentration the first time she takes the medication. If the dosage is too low, it can cause her to be cranky, though.

It took awhile before my daughters behavior improved, mainly because up until that point, she didn't care about punishment. Once she was calmed down enough to realize that time out wasn't very fun, she began to act a little better.

MY son jacob was diagnosed with adhd when he was 7. I saw it much earlier but battle my husband on it. He started out on aderall xr.It had terrible sideeffects and we had to start all over. So you may have to wait at least 6 weeks to see if it will work and since your gone, you said you work you may have to be there daily to really notice a diff. They may even have to adjust the dosage.But a positive to this. Kids that are diagnosed his early have been known to go off all meds at puberty when there chemicals change and straighten out the adhd.My son is experiencing that now. He is onlyo n 10 mg once a day. Its not ever xr.

all of the responces pretty much answer it. i have a 7 yr old boy whos been diagnosed since 5yrs old. they had him on abulterol first and that worked at first then we had to up it and he wouldn't eat, play or do anything, so then they changed it to concerta they started him at 18mg and with in 6-8 months he was up to 45 mg their bodies begin to get a tollerance to it i think and they are also growing. now my son takes focolin . i use to always think that it was suppose to help them all through the day but i finnally learned that as long as it worked long enough for him to get through school and his homework then that's great! it is deffinatlly a tough thing to deal with and they can drive you crazy! you have to be very patient with them easier said then done believe me i know my son could probally put some one with no patients in a loony bin :) but i love him!!!!!

good luck.

My son has ADHD. I know it feels like things will never improve but give it about a month you will see a world of difference.

Dear C., if you live in the Cumming,GA area, please come to our MOMS (Ministry of single mothers) Support Group on Wednesday nights at 6:30. One of the leaders is Dr.Melissa McGinnis, a peditrician, and we have seminars dealing with many issues facing single mothers and their children. We meet in Room 215, First Baptist Church, Cumming,GA. The address is 1597 Sawnee Drive, telephone ###-###-####. Child care is provided. M. Holland

I could tell a little difference in my somn when he started it , but also he was triying different medicines before he started concerta, it took about a week or two to get the full affect of the meds though, but i think the concerta is better then the other meds he has been on . he seems to do well can i ask what amoint she is on ?

my 7 yr old is ADHD. started addrall xr, at age5. it got increased to highest dose and then it made him cranky. WE got a new Highly recommended dr.and tried Concerta(time realeased), he has homework
after school so he takes a focalin in the afternoon so he can focus. No matter what medication he was on, he would NOT go to sleep. if he did, he would just get up around 2am and stay up for 3 hours. Dr. gave a med to help his anxiety, he takes it 1hour before bedtime. THIS WAS the MOST wonderful thing!!! He sleeps at night, all thru the night. I think that has helped him the most.