sam
Member
Posts: 1
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Post by sam on Apr 28, 2016 7:47:49 GMT -5
My 7yo daughter was just diagnosed with ADHD (Inattentive) and the doctor we saw wants to put her on Metadate CD. While we see symptoms of ADHD at home (and they are very manageable without meds), she is extremely well-behaved at school but is missing out on learning. My goal with the medication is to allow her to focus enough at school that she has an easier time with her work and is able to keep up academically (or at least show some improvement). With the in mind, I'm wondering peoples' opinions about not medicating a child every day. Our doctor was against taking kids off meds on the weekends and in the summer. What I'd like to do is only give it to her on days she's at school or days where she'll need the extra focus.
Also, she was diagnosed with a complex tic disorder a few years ago. Does anyone have experience using this medication with a child who had tics prior to taking it? I know there's a chance that it'll make the tics worse (she controls them very well at this point--we barely ever see tics anymore).
I'd appreciate any feedback--thank you!
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Post by healthy11 on Apr 28, 2016 9:45:19 GMT -5
Welcome to Millermom's forum, Sam! I'm heading off to my "paid job" in a minute, and can't spend quite as much time as I'd like to respond, but I will come back later, and try to find links to past conversations where other people have asked the same questions as you have. If you haven't already, you can look through prior discussion threads and/or do a search for topics like "Metadate CD" or "Medication Holiday."
My own son has combined-type ADHD, and uses Adderall instead of Metadate CD. While our situation may not be identical to yours, we also felt like we could manage at home even without meds, but as far as academically and socially, we wanted him to be able to maximize his potential. I can tell you that we opted for him not to take medication every day. He has always been slender, and we were very concerned about appetite suppression, especially when he was younger. Like you propose to do, we didn't have him take meds on most weekends or over summer vacation. Initially, I'd say that on Mondays my son would come home from school and seem more irritable, probably because his body was re-acclimating to the medication and he wouldn't eat as much of his lunches, but we managed. We also would resume having him take medications at a lower dosage for a week or two before the end of summer break, and gradually "ramp up" to be at an optimal dose for when classes resumed.
I wish there was an easy answer for finding each child's "optimal medication" and "optimal dosage," but even two kids with the same diagnosis, who weigh about the same, might not respond the same way to a particular medication. As far as having a history of tics already, is the doctor who prescribed the Metadate CD aware of it? There are other categories of meds for ADHD besides stimulants, which might he might want consider. Again, what med works well for one child might not work as well for another, but hang in there ~ your daughter is already fortunate to have you as her mom, as well as a knowledgeable advocate!
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Post by Mayleng on Apr 28, 2016 19:23:21 GMT -5
My son has been on Metadate CD snce he was 6 yrs old. He is now 20. It has been the only med that has the least side effects for him. However, he does not have tics. Stimulants can exacerbate tics, depends on the individual. My son does not take meds on weekends or vacations and have been doing it this way for the last 14 yrs. He is now in college and only takes Metadate CD on days he has classes. I woud imagine that with your daughter's history with tics, that only taking the stimulants on days she needs is better than taking it all the time. Afterall, stimulants only lasts a certain number of hours, Metadate CD is only 8 hours, and leaves the system.
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