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Avatar universal

meds, pros and cons?

I usually post on the aspergers forum but as of today my son has a diagnosis of hyperactive disorder. No shock to us he has been that way since he was two! We have been sent to another dr as the psych has never seen a kid with hd who also has aspergers(which I dont need to be told that he has as my brother has aspergers) Anyway, the question is what do you think of meds for the hyper activity? Recommend or not? Does it dull their senses just to help them get to seem normal? Can an initial diagnosis of hd turn out to be aspergers(Ive heard a lot of this) Anyway what are the ups and downs of meds, I REALLY need to know
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the replys! I was wondering if anyone tried homeopathy instead of meds for their children? If so, did they work? What kind of "behavious" do your children have and how to you judge what is serious?
Helpful - 0
473036 tn?1211756912
hey how are you?
your very wise to question the use of medications, its always good to do your homework! Well, does your son take anything at all for his aspergers? And how bad did the doctor say his ADHD was? My personal advice would be to determine the severity of the ADHD before deciding the approperiate treatment. Usually the amphetamine medication should really only be used if really needed. If your son is still able to control his hyperactivity then you probably dont need to medicate but if he needs help with concentration and so on then its deffinatly worth a shot! But even then just start off with the lowest dose then work it from there. Its all trial and error with these medications, if the lower dose isnt working, then try to raise the dose. You will find the right one eventully. In terms of reactions to medications - the most common side effects can be feeling a bit racey (best way to describe it), dizziness, sweats, your heart can feel like it is racing, feeling nervous, insomnia, nauseous and so on. If your son feels anything like that then the amphetamine dose it too high. These symptoms are your bodies way of telling you its had enough! Its common to feel these symptoms upon taking the first dose but they should not continue if the dose is correct. the insomnia is most common, but to avoid that dont take any tablets past 2pm. That way it has worn off before bedtime, allowing rest. This is all exactly what i felt when going on the amphetamines. Im 18 years old and have ADHD and im still trying different doses after being diagnosed over a year ago. Ive been taking ritalin for a while now. I started on 2 tablets daily, then 3, and it has now been upped to 5 tablets! (which I start tomorrow which will be interesting) The reason for altering my dose is because im needing more to concentrate (I go to uni so i need maximun concentration at all times!) It's not because my body is used to the 3-4 tablets daily, its just because i need to concentrate throughout the day.
I hope I could of been of some help to you, good luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think you are smart to question whether stimulants will be useful or not.  It seems that no kid with any diagnosis on the autism spectrum is without an additional diagnosis of ADHD.  Probably the only way to see if the meds will help is to do a trial with them.
Helpful - 0
436507 tn?1209940574
We tried Ritalin and Concerta and one created a zombie and the other a sleepless child who was very angry all the time.

We have been using Stratera for almost two years and we think it's just wonderful. My son his seeing the doc everything 3 months, but that medication does not stop his growth, he is not a zombie, he is still a clown and he loves to tease and joke around. It is one pill a day and we noticed the effects to last for + - 12 hrs. By 8 pm he can easily get distracted and climb the walls if he gets to excited. His grades have improved, he has a social life and his self esteem has sky rocketed!!!

Look it up!

Good luck!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I don't know what aspergers is but I can say meds will help with hd.  As long as the dose is correct, they are a normally functioning child.  If the dose is too high, they will seem out of it.  There are so many different kinds and dosages...do your homework before you go.
Helpful - 0
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