Re: To Medicate, Or Not To Medicate

[Anonymous]

Thought I had better give an update….

After a successful trial of Ritalin 10mg three times a day, my son has now been put on Concerta 27mg. Here in Australia the doctors have to show success with the short acting drugs before prescribing the long acting ones. Having to only take one tablet per day is a huge bonus, as my son is not the best at remembering to take pills, and we also don’t have to arrange for him to have medication administered at school. He is really thrilled with the effect of the medication. Not only has it helped him with focus and stuff, but it has also seemed to allow him to think more about what his needs are and how to manage his learning issues. He has negotiated with his teachers and is now allowed to do his class work on a laptop, which has made a huge difference to his ability to complete his work and not lose it. He has had no real side effects other than the gastric reflux in the first few days, which we treated with a Ranitidine tablet before bed, which we were able to cease after a week or so.

I still have to wake him up in the morning. He doesn’t get up with his alarm. In the holidays, we trialled giving him his medication before he had to get up, and it made a big difference in his ability to wake up and get moving. But with his school and my work times, I can’t give him the meds before he gets up. He tried doing it himself, but one morning he had his drink but not his tablet, and another morning he couldn’t remember if he had taken his tablet or not, so he now has it once he is up out of bed. Needless to say, mornings are hell. He is angry and irritable. He is always rushing, as he lingers in bed without the meds on board, and he is never organised and takes his frustrations at not being able to find things out on me. But he is much happier at school, and he is expressing fewer frustrations and is more tolerant and calmer when he comes home from school.

Overall, with the medication he has gone from almost failing at school to being accelerated in some classes and doing very well in the others. He is better able to take a step back and look at himself critically. He is more patient and tolerant, and gets much less angry. And when he does lose his temper, he is better able to calm himself down and deal appropriately with the situation that made him angry. The medication has made a huge difference and we are very happy that we decided to give it a go.

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