My daughter is 13 years old. She was recently put on the drug Concerta 36mg. Since she has been on the medication I have seen dramatic improvements. Before she was forgettable, not considered towards others, grades were very poor and barely passing, cruel towards our dog (at times), daydreaming, always moving around, fiddling, etc. Now she is getting honor roll, she is more calm, respectable, and open with her feelings. I was against putting her on any type of medicine until her moods, and actions were so unbearable I could not take it anymore. I was afraid that she would make bad choices in life and fail at school. This was my last resort and since she has been on the medicine her, our relationship, grades, and quality of life is MUCH BETTER. A lot of people are against medication and don't believe in ADD or ADHD. I WAS one of those people. Now that we are at this stage I do have a lot of unanswered questions and concerns.
The first one is that every once in a while I do not give her the medication for a day or two. When she is NOT on her medication I see such a difference in everything about her. She eats so much. She says really rude things and is very hyper and disrespectful. Our family also sees a difference in her behavior. She is even hard to tolerate at times.
I want to know why is she only tolerable when she is medicated? How long will she have to be on this medicine. Is she doing well in school because of the medicine or what I don't understand. Is the medicine her personality. How will this effect her long term?
I don't want her to be on the medicine every single day because I want her to eat a little more and get a break but when she is not on it I don't want to be around her.
How will this medicine effect her later on in her adult years? How long will she have to be on it?