Seeking Advice on How to Best Administer Medication to My Daughter with ADHD?

i'm 74 and i still have a hard time swallowing pills. They have to be very small. You might ask the pharmacist if they have the meds in liquid form. Or ask the doctor to prescribe a liquid to replace it.. I do know when you can crush a pill it mixes easy in apple sauce. Also if you can. Open a capsule and mixthe powder in the applesauce. Some meds are time release and you can't do this method. Since she is turning away from the applesauce you may have to switch to something else to mix it in. Maybe get some good tasting baby jar pudding that she use to like or some other creamy fruit in a jar of baby food. Just might work. It sounds like for right now she is associating the applesauce with the med.

Hope you get some good suggestions on this. Sandy

K.:

You may want to talk to your doctor about the Daytrana patch. My son used it and it worked great for several years the he got a skin irritation from it more recently so we switched but before he did, it worked great! Your daughter may tolerate it well and they have a trial series you can start without having to pay for it so you can see if it will work better and not have to pay for the trail period. It's a skin patch you simply place on her hip area. Best wishes!

Hi K.,
My 12 yr old son just started taking Adderall XR. They are tiny capsules, but he still can't seem to manage them with liquids. We put them in a spoonful (whole, not sprinkled in) of yogurt. Since it's thick, and not something he would normally chew anyways, the capsule slides right down. Looking at the info on Concerta, it says it CAN be taken with food as long as the tablet is left whole (not crushed or broken). You might want to try yogert or pudding to help her get the tablet down. If that still doesn't work, you'll probably have to consider switching her meds. We have been thrilled with the Adderall XR. My son has been taking it for about 3 weeks now and the difference in his concentration and ability to complete his work has been amazing.

Good luck!

Hi K.,

Have you tried other things before doing medication. These medicines have been having serious side effects and don't take care of the problem, in my opinion. In our family we took things out of the diet and added in supplements which have helped tremendeously.

Removing all wheat/gluten and casein/diary, dyes, preservatives, taking it back to cooking like grandma did has made a huge difference in children. Check out
Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders, by Dr. Kenneth Bock to start with.

If you have any questions about the diet and how to get started, check out www.tacanow.org and go to GF-CF from the pull down menu. You can also contact me. Another thing, no more vaccinations of any kind, especially the Gardasil. They will be pulling that one soon, way too many problems and young women getting hurt.

I hope this helps somewhat and I am sorry to not address your original question. I've seen too many times doctors and teachers pressure us into thinking there is something wrong with our children and that medication is the fastest and easiest way to take care of it. Talk with families who have been doing the medication route and see how their children are doing as adults.

She knows that the medicine makes her feel different, just like adults, some medication we hate because it makes us feel different, her mouth is dry, her head most likely floats, yes it calms her down but it has side effects, did you research the part it also stunts kids growing years.. you are wrong about taking it with food, belwo I supplied you with a link that says if you have trouble swallowing the capsule then open it up and sprinkle with apple sauce..

http://www.aolhealth.com/drugs/methylphenidate/how-should...

Here the thing about this medication it is highly addictive, which means you can not stop her taking it after she stops she has to be weened off of it. Did your doctor tell you while your daughter is on this she stops growing ?
Did he tell you that to ween her off of it two weeks before summer vacation comes, or xmas vacation so her body has some time to grow, did he tell you this medication can cause depression, and cause a child to be more
aggravated, I am a pro mom for meds if it is the last straw, not the easy way out, who am I to judge, well I am a mom of a 19 yr old son with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Mild mental retardation, Add, ADHD , and the only medication we have ever had him on was for him to poop easier. Sure we tried for about a month the meds your talking about, and it changed him, I did not like the fact it affected his growing years, his mouth was dry all the time, and he sat like a zombie, he was guiet and shy.. I felt like it was robbing him of being him.. so what we did is this, at school so he could focus on something is broke up the time he spent on it, the teachers sent home his weeks worth of homework, all at once, so little by little we spent 20 mins on it in the morning and after dinner when his tummy was full and the house being quiet, he sat and did it. We stuck to a schudele it helped alot, we cut back 90 % of any food that contain any type of sugar of caffine, we got him into a sport, that gave him room to run.. sure days come and go where he doesn't have a good day, but that over weighs all the great days he has and can be his self, so I ask you this, is givng your daughter the last last resort and you tried everything else. Or is this just easier for you , give her a pill.. sure that solves it. Its not easy Mom I know that, boy do I ever.. there are days your pulling out the hair.. these are the days after them you get a baby sitter and go out to a place to relax.. but one thing mom don't punish her because she has a disability its not her fault she doesnt want to take the meds, they make her feel funny. If you would like support on this, let me know I will give you my phone number,

blessings

My daughter also has ADHD and she is now 10. we have tried every medication the only one that we have found to work for her is call Daytrana. It is a patch that you but on her hip. The dosage ranges from 10 mg to 30 mg. She is now on 45mg and it is working very well. The only thing is that it does not come in genarnic form. the one month supply can run you About $ 45.00. I hope this is going to help her.

D. O