I know there have been many discussions on here about ADHD etc and I have participated in many myself, but I am seeking information specifically about the medication Ritalin.

My son has Tourettes and today I was told he also has ADHD.
It has been suggested that my son, aged 8, may benefit from taking it. My initial reaction was "No way! Hes not going on mind altering drugs at 8 years old". I have heard alsorts of horror stories about Ritalin but he doc's assure me it has few side effects and none of them long term. I am very sceptical about this and wondered of anyone has first hand experience of the drug, being taken by either themselves or their children?

I do know that Ritalin can obviously calm him down and help him concentrate, but it could also aggravate his tics. Does anyone know of other side effects both short term and long term? Will it dampen down his senses and turn him into an unfeeling zombie?

Obviously I don't want to even consider medication until I feel I am fully informed andcall me cynical of you like but I feel that this information is not likely to come from his Doctors.

Any info gratefully received.

Thanks

:thumbsup:

My little brother has been on ritalin for quite a few years, and now he's on a stronger trial drug... unfortunatly he's one of the small number who's condition has got worse through his teens not better :(

all I can really say about ritalin from my point of view is that it does help to calm him and allow him to concentrate better, BUT, it's not a miracle drug, he can still be a pain in the ass, and my mum's really not fond of him taking it any time other than for school... so at home he can be a real terror!

I take it you've been to somewhere like the Ryegate centre for his diagnosis and such? they're pretty good and know what they're doing from what I've seen...

Originally posted by xafier

I take it you've been to somewhere like the Ryegate centre for his diagnosis and such? they're pretty good and know what they're doing from what I've seen...

Yeah we've been there today (again!!) He's back again in a couple of weeks and I guess medication will be discussed again then but I am really loathe to go down that route unless absolutely neccessary.

He's been taking Eye-Q for about 2 weeks buts it's a constant battle to get him to take it.

I guess what I want to know is about real life experiences of Ritalin so I can make an informed choice for him.

Thanks.

A child in my class was prescribed Ritalin. This did limit the hyperactivity but made him irritable and exacerbated his tics and twitching. However, I have seen children take Ritalin with no side effects.
Good luck making your decision.

When my son was first diagnosed with ADHD, Ritalin was discussed, but the side effects of weightloss and interrupted sleep patterns but me right off. He's always had a very poor appetite and the fact that he was such a light sleeper anyway made me doubt the benefits would outweigh the side effects.
I'm sorry to hear you're having a battle to get your son to take Eye Q because it can have real results.
Hopefully someone will be able to give you some real medical stats concerning Ritalin but in our case it wasn't a course of action i wanted to follow.

A friends child is on Ritalin and I think cutting out the crap in his diet, (fizzy pop and coloured sweets being the priority but as much processed food, crisps, E numbers and frozen junk as possible) seemed to do more. I watched my nephew the other weekend after eating just 5 opel fruits and it was quite scary.

:confused:

Hello there FF, I teach a child who takes Ritalin and have good contact with the parents. The drug definately helps this child's behaviour and concentration, but unfortunately x is very thin and rarely seems to eat at all. For this reason (in consultation with everyone else, of course), I am about to suggest a trial period off Ritalin. Recently, due to a mix-up there was no Ritalin for x to take, and although the child's behaviour fell a few notches it was perfectly acceptable. At least you see the 'real child' off Ritalin. HAVING SAID THAT - it has not made x a 'zombie' in any way at all and has definately helped general learning (inc. language development). It's a very difficult choice, but in the short term, why not try it and see what the situation is? I'm sure Ryegate can give you a view on a trial period. Hope you find this helpful, and good luck!

Ok here goes, my son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was only 5, he was put on Ritalin but after only a short time I refused to give it to him, this was purely my decision as I felt very guilty about giving my son a drug to help him fit in to what society says is normal.

My son temper tantrums outbursts and general behavior got much worse when he went up to Junior school so we discussed the possibilities of him taking Ritalin again and I agreed but on the agreement that he was only given Ritalin during the week while he was at School.

I spent many hours reading up on the drug first. It does suppress their appetite but he never ate much before he started taking Ritalin and on a good day he will eat loads, it does stunt their growth my son is 5ft 8 inch which is not small but he is smaller than most of his friends, it can affect their sleeping but he was never a good sleeper, to help him with his sleeping problems ( he very rarely sleeps through the night even now and he’s 16 ) my son take a natural medication called Melatonin which I get from the Children’s Hospital.

They have just changed his Medication to Concerta he takes 2 tablets once a day he was on 6 Ritalin a day but forgot to take it at lunch time so I would have the School on the phone saying he was out of control and he was refusing to take his medication.

My son is now old enough to ask how he feels about taking his medication and he is very honest about it, if he were writing this he would tell you that it does help him concentrate that it calms him down and makes him feel more in control most of the time.

Ritalin is not a miracle drug and does not always stop the temper tantrums or violent outburst but it does help.

As a parent you want the best for your child, its not always an easy choice and I have said on many occasions that people should accept him for who he is but society expects much more from every one and as ADHD is not a disability that you can see these children are often seen as just out of control which is not true.

Good luck with your decision and if you want any further help please let me know, there isn’t much I don’t know about ADHD and the medication used.

My cousin started taking ritalin when he was 8. As far as I know he suffered no side effects. Before that he was getting into trouble at school, being sent home a lot, excluded etc. He was always in the lower ability groups but now he is in the top ability group and about to take his SATs with good results expected. He is different, but all the changes are positive. Hope that helps.

Obviously you have to think long and hard before placing your child on medication and from my personal experience I would only recommend it after every other intervention has failed.

You mention Eye Q oils, are you giving them to your son in the capsule or liquid form? The liquid form can be easier as it can be mixed with drink, porridge etc.

Have you tried the GF/CF diet? I know it's not suitable for all children and families but I have seen it make such a difference.

Try to avoid aspartame and monosodium glutamate in foods, this can make hyperactivity worse.

These are a few of the common biological interventions, there are others but from what I know these have seen the best results. In terms of Ritalin the choice can only be made by you, but do be aware doctors are viewing your child's condition as "medical" that needs to be "treated". If you are happy with this then Ritalin may well be the best way forward for you. I would suggest having a good read about it first though, and making an informed decision :thumbsup:

Good luck

Our son was taking ritalin some time ago for A.D.H.D and O.D.D,the drug itself worked fine but there was a period of come down as the drug wore off.
He became worse than he was before,he now takes concerta xl which is a slow release drug and seams to be fine on that.

I was going to start a new thread but saw this old one .
It was on the news today that the powers that be are now saying that kids should only be put on ritalin in extreme circumstances and I was wondering where that leaves the kids with adhd who have been prescribed this for years already?

I too was looking for such a thread having heard the news on HallamFM

I have to say that one mother they interviewed about having her kid on drugs under the age of five (which is what the current hooha is about) didn't put a very good case forward, she sounded like it was a great cop out instead of making efforts with less invasive/potentially damaging approaches than drugs (I notice above there's mention of stunted growth, lack of sleep, and loss of appetite which can't be good for such young kids)

I too was looking for such a thread having heard the news on HallamFM

I have to say that one mother they interviewed about having her kid on drugs under the age of five (which is what the current hooha is about) didn't put a very good case forward, she sounded like it was a great cop out instead of making efforts with less invasive/potentially damaging approaches than drugs (I notice above there's mention of stunted growth, lack of sleep, and loss of appetite which can't be good for such young kids)
So was she saying her kid should not be taken off it?
Just clarifying..

I doubt very much that it will make a difference to those children already prescribed the drug if they are doing well on it. To those who will be diagnosed in the future it could be a good thing. I have heard so many parents of naughty children say 'I think they have ADHD' like it's an excuse for bad behaviour. This only makes things harder for those who genuinely do suffer from it.

Most children are thoroughly observed, time and time again by different people before a diagnosis is made. However there are those who have hardly seen anyone. There are also parents who exaggerate their childs symptoms in order to be 'taken seriously'. This could lead to children being on medication that they do not need and who knows how that will affect them when they grow older.

Medication does seem to be the first answer and there are other ways but these are rarely offered judging from experiences I have been told about. It is very hard to make an informed decision when there isn't much information given to start with and then you have doctors and schools pushing parents to give their children these medications.

It is about time someone stepped in to help parents in genuine need of help.

So was she saying her kid should not be taken off it?
Just clarifying..well I got the impression it was more of a 'don't tell me what to do with my kid' rant

I have heard so many parents of naughty children say 'I think they have ADHD' like it's an excuse for bad behaviour. This only makes things harder for those who genuinely do suffer from it.

Most children are thoroughly observed, time and time again by different people before a diagnosis is made. However there are those who have hardly seen anyone. There are also parents who exaggerate their childs symptoms in order to be 'taken seriously'. This could lead to children being on medication that they do not need and who knows how that will affect them when they grow older.I suspect this pretty much covers the interview I heard

As a parent, I wouldn't want to risk my children's health with Ritalin. As a teacher, I think it's a godsend. It calms down the craziest of kids!

she sounded like it was a great cop out instead of making efforts with less invasive/potentially damaging approaches than drugs

I'm sure that a lot of the children who take it, suffer only from a lack of discipline at home - It seems sad for them to have the risks of side effects when they could conceivably be helped without medicine at all.

I'm not sure of the way around this problem though? Children need to be calm in a classroom environment. Ritalin works!

As a parent, I wouldn't want to risk my children's health with Ritalin. As a teacher, I think it's a godsend. It calms down the craziest of kids!

I'm sure that a lot of the children who take it, suffer only from a lack of discipline at home - It seems sad for them to have the risks of side effects when they could conceivably be helped without medicine at all.

I'm not sure of the way around this problem though? Children need to be calm in a classroom environment. Ritalin works!As does a controlled diet - in some cases!

I agree with what somebody said above - greater access to knowledge and services, not just for parents but GPs would go a long way

You won't get balanced view from me...

no no no no no no and no... oh yeah, and no.

As does a controlled diet - in some cases!

As does discipline and a decent family life (in some cases)!

Sadly, these factors (diet & discipline) are outside the control of doctors or teachers. The bottom line is controlling unacceptable behaviour.

If all parents were committed to this, a lot of kids could come off Ritalin.

My kid is autistic and its been suggested that I put him on ritalin by workmates/friends etc when I complain hes a handful and i'm tired. The casual way that people suggest it like its nothing appalls me. That however is by the by. I refuse to put him on it. He doesn't need it and i'm currently experimenting with his diet and found that sugar is to blame for an awful lot!

couldn't agree more bananagirl :(

unfortunately in the atmosphere we live in today, there are those who think kids should be allowed to do as they please, and there are also parents who'd like to exercise more control, but out in public are too worried what somebody else may think if they rebuke a child too harshly, raise their voice, or administer a sharp slap to the back of the hand in a measured fashion... and kids know what they can get away with and when! (The whole naughty step pantomime is more difficult in the middle of a bustling city centre ;) )

My kid is autistic and its been suggested that I put him on ritalin by workmates/friends etc when I complain hes a handful and i'm tired. The casual way that people suggest it like its nothing appalls me. That however is by the by. I refuse to put him on it. He doesn't need it and i'm currently experimenting with his diet and found that sugar is to blame for an awful lot!
Wheat and casein can be also

My kid is autistic and its been suggested that I put him on ritalin by workmates/friends etc when I complain hes a handful and i'm tired. The casual way that people suggest it like its nothing appalls me. That however is by the by. I refuse to put him on it. He doesn't need it and i'm currently experimenting with his diet and found that sugar is to blame for an awful lot!I'm so glad you're starting to find ways to alleviate the problems you're having discodown :) people who make flippant remarks about stuff like this are also the ones who scream 'they should do something about that' when a news story breaks about negative impacts of such drugs (the height stunting is bothering me here)

I've never figured out who the heck such people think this mysterious group referred to as 'they' are either :rolleyes:

Wheat and casein can be alsoWhat is that espadrille?

Its in cows milk

it's in all dairy products then?

Yes, I think so, so cutting to 2 things from the diet has had drastic results for some .Though of course this is difficult as they are in a lot of products

I might be dropping hints to my mum about their shopping list then :hihi:

My son had Meningitis aged two, and although he made a full recovery, it left him with behavoural problems. He threw tantrums, was very often violent towards his sister, couldn't concentrate etc etc.
We were reffered to Ryegate, and after a few months of observations, tests etc, we were advised that the best option would be to put him on Ritalin.
We were told of all the side effects, plus we did our own research. We decided that we didnt want our son on Ritalin, and would hope that he would 'grow out' of his problems. Ryegate basically told us that if we did not accept the drug, then they could do nothing further for him, so he was discharged.
16 years later, we have a healthy, normal well adjusted young man, who is our pride and joy. If ADHD was around then, then he probably had it. In our case Ritalin was not an option for us, and we're glad we persevered.

Jayne