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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
ritalin - behavior when not on it
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
ritalin - behavior when not on it
by ilovemyboys2, Sep 22, 2001 12:00AM
My son (7 - ADD) was put on a trial of ritalin. I have noticed that as the dose as gone up from 5 mg/2x a day to 10 mg, he is more aggressive, 'hyperactive', and less focussed when he does not take it then he was before he ever had the medication at all. For example, he had 10 mg yesterday, and now today, he has not had any and he is having alot of trouble with these behaviors mentioned above. Will this type of reaction lessen over time? Is he on too much? He did not have much of this at lower doses. The medication has been effective otherwise.
He weighs 56 lbs and is 4'4" tall.
thank you for your time
He weighs 56 lbs and is 4'4" tall.
thank you for your time
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Sep 24, 2001 12:00AM
, Sep 24, 2001 12:00AM
I suggest you report this to the doctor who is treating him so he can make adjustments in the dose. Different doses do have unpredictable effects, and more is not necessarily better. You might also ask this question on the child behavior forum here at medhelp, they deal with these kind of issues more than I do and may have more specific advice to give you.
It's not uncommon for folks with AD(H)D to have what's called the 'rebound effect' where the symptoms return as the medication wears off -- it's unclear whether this is subjective (just seems worse because they were so much better on the stims) or an actual biochemical thing.
Try posting your question at the ADD Forum on www.about.com (run a search for ADD once you're there and the ADD page with forum will come up) --many folks there with lots of experience with this.
Helen