I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this is a step in the right direction.
My son finally agreed to try an ADHD med. I do question his motivation behind it as he has been pretty adamant that he doesn’t have ADHD… Then after doing some research on ADHD meds and I’m pretty sure coming across things like ‘Is Adderall speed?’, he has decided that he might have it… I know my son pretty well and he actually admitted to me yesterday that that was part of the motivation to wanting to try it.
Sometimes it’s not always why we do something but the end result that makes it worth it. His pdoc made it clear that the type of Adderall that he is prescribing is long acting, slow release and that it is a lot harder to abuse. Also if he abuses it then he won’t get a refill prescription. They are also in my possession as that is the terms of stimulants in my home. I get to monitor the taking of them, or the PACT Team does. I guess it’s a controlled substance and gets monitored pretty closely. I can’t pick up the prescription for him and he has to show ID each time and I think may only get 1 month at a time.
He took his first one last night. 10 mg. He has been talking about a ‘hole’ that he feels in his stomach. Sort of like a void of where his soul should be or where he holds it all together… I’m probably not explaining that very well. I guess it takes a lot of energy to try and fill the hole or keep it together but last night after taking the Adderall he felt that ease up.
I have been told this his pdoc is one of the best for adult ADHD and we discussed some of the symptoms that my son has that he has been calling anxiety etc and has had most of his life. So my son may not have started to take this med for the right reasons however I am hoping that the relief that he gets from not having this hole in his stomach, not experiencing anxiety that may be a result of being under stimulated, and having the want to do something other then play video games, will be enough to keep him on the right track.
We also got the go ahead to decrease his Clozapine another 50 as we have to be careful, just in case, the Adderall does not trigger psychosis. I’m hoping that he will find school today a lot easier with respect to concentration.
This is very cool news. I’m glad he’s trying it. I do see the point of maybe not the right reasons, but the right actions… so I guess the motivation has to be secondary for this case. I hope his school goes easier.
The hole in the stomach is interesting. I don’t have a hole in my stomach… or that emptiness. But any little stress and I have no appetite for nearly a day. Anxiety hits my stomach hard. I always have the feeing like I just got punched and am trying to straighten up.
I think that may be what he is calling a hole. My hubby and I would almost describe it as feeling like heartache.
I find it hard to understand but we were told by his pdoc that being under stimulated can cause a lot of anxiety and even panic attacks. It’s like the hyperactivity is perhaps an over compensation…
I do have panic attacks, I do have a doc that tells me that with upping the meds I can not only blast my voices out of my head, I can have no panic.
But I really don’t want to go back sitting very still for many hours. So I learn to cope and put up with it. I do feel like some of my ADHD is resurfacing lately. But that could be to a lot of new stimulus.
I am getting ready to talk to about this with my doc.
My son is also on Adderall - except 20 mg vs 10. Unlike my son’s first pdoc, his current pdoc would not prescribe this or any other ADHD med until he was tested. He was tested and the results came back positive, that he does have ADHD.
My son has a tendency to abuse drugs and he loves the ADHD meds such as Vyvanse (which he was previously on) and Adderall. After son took control of his meds, I have noticed that he “runs out” of his Adderall before 30 day prescription is up. I look at it like this – if he is taking more than he should, or giving some away, or losing them, then he will just have to deal with not having them for a few days.
Even though I am very wary of these stimulants and don’t like that he is taking them, on the plus side, it is the dangling carrot that keeps him diligent about making his pdoc appts.
It is a highly controlled substance, but my husband and I can freely pick up his prescription ourselves. I guess that is a difference in Canadian and U.S. law (?) not sure.
You had mentioned that your son’s Adderall is a long acting, slow release type. Is this a pill form or an injection?
I hope your son does well, I think he probably will. And at least 10 mg is a pretty low dosage and it’s a very good thing that the Adderall is in your possession!
It’s pill form Adderall XR. I guess it’s affect is supposed to last 8-12 hours and he is to take it once a day in the morning. He took one this morning and says he had no problems with school work today, actually wanted to do it! Pretty impressive lol.
good luck to your son,adderall is not available in my country or region,because its a banned drug,but i seem alot of post online that it works wonder for alot of mental illness,i think your son can do better while on adderall
Crossing my fingers didn’t do the trick. This may be a bit of a vent as it’s after midnight and I’m a bit ticked off and awake. The Adderall may be helping my son to concentrate however that is the only good thing it’s doing. I can’t wait till 9 am so that I can call his nurse and get the ok to take him off it. Even if I don’t get the go ahead tomorrow is his last one and the rest are getting chucked. My son has a certain look around his eyes when he is not doing well mentally. I have been seeing it every day since Wednesday. He has told my hubby and myself on separate occasions that he is going to having another break within the next month and we can’t stop it because he needs to do this spiritual quest. His anxiety is high while on and while coming off the Adderall so he now wants an anti-depressant to counteract it. At least he isn’t talking about having it upped from 10 mg to 20 mg anymore. According to him he is stressed to the max right now. He has been since he was 15 and started his spiritual journey. For me that means he is dealing with psychosis right now. His attitude is getting on my nerves. Friday I kind of lost it a bit as I wanted him to understand what I have to see when he has a break and it’s not the delusional reality that he has created that downplays thinking he is a vampire and literally chewing on my fingernails as him being imaginative. It’s a lot more and worse then that. We went to the park Saturday night for the fireworks for a music festival and he was very distracted and it seemed like he was having trouble understanding us.
Right now the hard part for me is his attitude. I have a lot of patience for him being not well right now. I’m fuming though because for the last hour he has been tearing me apart while talking to his grandmother. Outright lying about what I have said and done. This is not a delusion. He knows that he is lying. When I called him on it he asks: Why should it matter to you what she thinks of you? Yes I care that he is telling people that I am saying things like: Shut your mouth I don’t want to listen to your spiritual crap. (Not as nicely as that)
Oh well… Now it’s my fault for upsetting him so he can’t go to sleep for another couple of hours. It will be me calling him to get up for school and listening to his alarm go off forever because he has not taking his meds yet. It’s been me listening to my son talk about me like I’m a piece of garbage for the past 1.5 hrs. Then when I tell him that I don’t want to talk to him right now. It’s me being unreasonable. No I don’t want to talk to someone who thinks that lying about me is acceptable.
He didn’t go to school today. Is still awake from yesterday so has been up for 21 hrs. Hasn’t eaten yet today and only had a burger yesterday and I think only a burger the day before. Talked to his nurse this morning and told her that I will not give him another Adderall. Explained what I have been seeing and she seemed to support it. She will talk to his pdoc tomorrow and perhaps he can prescribe Concerta without seeing him again. I’m in agreement with Concerta as long as it isn’t supposed to mess with his dopamine like Adderall is supposed to. Really kicking myself for not reading up on it and going with this but now I know
Hopefully this has been caught before it has done to much damage. Most of the day I have been over hearing him talking about meditation, his creativity and spirituality (soul etc). I don’t hear him gaming yet he is at his computer so probably writing notes, in code… I’m somewhat concerned now if he took his AP’s last night as he told me today how he learned to make his body burn them off so that they didn’t affect him… Will get an eye out as that is all I can do for right now knowing that he would rather be in his head.
I’m sorry your son isn’t doing well on Adderall. I was kind of afraid that would happen. I’ve seen it many times as a nurse.
I’m also nervous about him taking Concerta (methylphenidate). It’s second most common adverse reaction is psychosis. Followed by mania, agitation, insomnia, and anorexia (lack of appetite–not anorexia nervousa). It’s just another powerful stimulant and dopamine agonist.
Has he tried Straterra? It’s a much safer med as far as stimulants go. It doesn’t increase dopamine, although there have been reports of it causing mania and depression. But those are certainly more manageable than frank psychosis.
Also, here in the US, Concerta is a schedule II controlled substance, and requires a hard copy of the prescription, with no refills allowed. So your son would have to see his doc every month for a new prescription. That could be a hassle for both of you.
I hope that you and his treatment team can find a safer alternative to help your son with his ADHD.
Oh gosh, I feel for you. It’s such a frustrating situation to be in.
Do you know for sure that your son has been taking his ap’s? Reason I ask is that one of my son’s previous psychotic melt downs was because he had stopped taking his ap’s and was only taking his adhd med Vyvanse. He was like a wild banshee. He eventually was locked up in jail and then a week in the hospital. I am hearing similarities between our two.
I have to say that my son being on the depot injection is such an anxiety reducer for me and my husband. Never have to stress about him not taking his ap’s.
I don’t blame you for not putting up with your son talking about you in such a manner. You’re only human and you have to draw the line somewhere. Sometimes I think our kids don’t realize that we have feelings too. Having to suck it up all the time just sucks .
Hang in there, I’m really hoping this situation improves for you and your son soon.
I’m pretty sure he is still taking his AP’s but I plan to watch for it just in case. We did decrease his Clozapine another 50 which probably hasn’t helped. My son hates injections so would have to be court ordered at this point sigh.
His attitude is improving even if the other stuff is still there but hopefully it will slowly go away.
He just told me that he is done with ADHD meds for now when I tried to talk to him about supplements instead. I’m pretty ok with this for right now too. I really wish he would open up to the idea of vitamins and supplements.
Wow what a difference 24 hours of no Adderall can make…
My son is coming back! He ate dinner with us. Stated that he is moving past the idea of psychotic breaks and that he doesn’t need to go back there. It’s been 10 months and that is good. He is going to call his Nana and tell her that what he was saying was lies. I needed him to acknowledge that that was not ok and needs to be corrected. I was worried as he wanted to spend the night at his friends but he is agreeing to go to sleep tonight and may even take a Trazodone if he needs to.
It was about 3 years ago that my son tried Ritalin to help him focus and concentrate. I had a lot of hope that it could make a positive impact with him. I believe that it is similar to Adderall.
The only thing that it did for him was to help him focus and concentrate better on his delusions. He was methodically writing down his scientific theories which had no basis in reality.
I don’t know if his delusions were increased but we were more aware of them because it became important for him to tell us about them and of his writings.
I was told by my son’s doctor that many psychiatric illnesses have an Adhd component including schizophrenia, but the ritalin might not work and may even make things worse.
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