We are still trying to figure out his dosage, but so far he seems to be doing well on it-we are doing 10mg for now. By the end of the day though or even sometimes during the middle of the day, he gets very emotional-is this normal with Ritalin? Some days he'll cry or get upset over nothing and other days he is fine-he's only been on it a week-so maybe its just his body getting use to it??
My 9 year old was just put on Ritalin for ADD and at times he's very emotional?
Question posted by KT1975 on 26 March 2013
Last updated on 16 February 2017 by tswanepo
5 Answers
tswanepo
16 Feb 2017
My child turned 11 one week ago and we started Ritalin yesterday, 10 mg in the morning and again at 13:30 10 mg.
I am very concerned that the dosage is maybe to much?
stopdruggingkids
17 April 2013
Ritalin can cause a lot of side effects because it is an amphetamine like drug. It speeds up your thinking process and also your heart rate which can cause palpitations and other heart defects. When the drug wears off it can cause headaches and insomnia. It can also cause sudden death in some children and it is a risk which all parents must consider before they medicate their child.
He is only 9 and in my experience kids do simply grow out of certain behaviour without drug intervention. A very healthy diet with no fizzy drinks and e additives can help. Also lots of regular exercise. I think ADHD stimulants are very health damaging in the long term to a growing child.
KT1975
17 April 2013
Actually, he's been on it now for about 3.5 weeks and is doing great. He's able to focus, no longer gets anxious and he's able to pay attention in class. I don't want to medicate him and its taken us awhile to get to this point, but when he can't focus in class and his grades start to drop, its time to get him some more help, plus he's getting in trouble at home. This is helping him and hopefully one day he won't need to be on it, but until then, I will continue with the Ritalin and see his grades and our relationship improve-he can now carry on a conversation without getting distracted and he isn't getting into trouble at home anymore .
ConcernedParentInPA
21 Oct 2013
KT1975, can you comment on your son's progress? Have you continued with the medication? I am in a similar situation, and very hesitant to put my child on it.
Thanks.
mommyof6
22 Nov 2014
So my son is now 9 and he is one of six kids and I'm a stay at home mommy.My husband and i went through the whole nine yards of alternatives to medicating our son.he gets enough sleep,nutrition,attention necessary discipline,exercise LOVE/AFFECTION etc. His hearing and vision tests were fine... all these things I made sure weren't the reasons why he acts the way he does.Our son has more of theAttention Deficit Disorder more than the ADHD.. Funny thing is we both thought he would grow out of it.
after his first year in Kindergarten and being held back I knew he was going to have trouble down the road.I chose to work with him and his teachers to give him more one-on-one personal timeand at home I really had to make him focus and look at mewhen something was being explained to him.I could simply ask him to take a cup into the kitchen fill it up and bring it back to meand he will only get as far as getting the cup walking into the hallway turning around coming back and asking me what did he just get told to do.its very hard for him to concentrate unless he's very very focused on you as an individual. I mean this would happen five to 10 times a day with different requests asked of him.The school system just doesn't have that kind of time for one student anymore.no matter what we did at home me as his mother I tried and tried and could not get him to get his grades to where they needed to be.after all the years of struggling trying everything we could do I finally took him to the doctor.her suggestion is for him to start a 5mg tablet of Ritalin once a day.I'm actually going to start him on half of that.and also only during the school weekto see if that may help him.for those people who think it's just bad parenting you're wrongand I'm actually offended because I have six children they are all very well behaved.all the children are treated with love and respect and discipline as needed.our children have never seen a daycare and I have been a stay at home mommy for nearly 16 years.so I'll keep you posted I'll let you know how it works for us and good luck to those of you who are in my shoes.
Jlee6773
3 April 2013
Psychotstimulants tend to bring out psychotic behaviors such as- anxiety, depression, agitation, anger, etc. If your child's emotions continue to worsen I would speak to his/her MD about an alternative stimulant such as vyvanse or adderall. When I was on Concerta (the long acting Ritalin) I started to get very bad anxiety, once I switched the stimulant everything went well. If all else fails, it may be appropriate to add a mood stabilizer to your child's regimen per MD approval.
KT1975
3 April 2013
Thank you-we have a follow up appt soon and I will discuss with her the emotions he's been getting lately-lately he's either been scared (probably anxious he just doesn't know the right word) and angry, gets really mad easily. But the only time he acts like this is about 5-6 hours after he took his medicine-maybe thats when its wearing off on him??
DzooBaby
26 March 2013
My son went through the same thing. He was a whiney little crab when he was coming down off the medication. It does get better in time but it was always there somewhat. He always seemed to be more emotional and would cry easily and his older brother was unmerciful to him about it. With ADHD, there is a certain amount of trial and error to find what works best. Some children seem to be more emotionally sensitive to the effects of the drug too. My son would get the same way if I gave him antihistamines. He would get tired enough to just be whiney but not tired enough to go to sleep. I think when the stimulant effects wear off, it makes them feel the same way, kind of tired and emotionally spent. You know how you always seem to be more emotional when you are tired. My son did the best on Concerta but it is different for each individual kid. I liked the fact that Concerta is a 12 hour medication so he had medicine in him long enough to get through school and do his homework when he got home without needing to re-dose.
KT1975
26 March 2013
Did the Concerta mess up his sleep? Did he eat? Thats another concern, my son is so small and skinny for his age, we have to keep a close eye on his appetite.
DzooBaby
27 March 2013
Yes, we had that problem too. It did decrease his appetite some. I made sure he had a really good breakfast because it was always the meal he had the best appetite for and I used to get him high protein Ensure shakes (I bought the Walmart Equate brand) to drink for a bedtime snack (his appetite was best morning and night-lunch-forget it-he never ate much lunch). He liked the chocolate and Strawberry ones and this gave him extra calories and protein. When he got older, he got to where, behavior wise, I could take him off the medication in Summer and he would catch up a bit on his growth and weight. My son did end up needing growth hormones but slow growth and delayed puberty runs in my husbands family. It wasnt because of the Concerta. One of his cousins had the same problem and needed growth hormone and he never took anything for ADHD.
DzooBaby
27 March 2013
Oh, for sleep, his Dr had him on clonidine at bedtime and it worked like a charm.
KT1975
27 March 2013
Good idea on the Ensure shakes-I'll have to go to Walmart and stock up on those. We have been making sure he eats a huge breakfast in the mornings and at dinner I try to get him to eat as much as possible. He usually starts getting hungry right around bedtime so I let him eat whatever he wants (other than candy of course!).
When was your son able to get off the medication? How long did he take it for? Also, you said you took him off during the summer? So its OK to take him off during breaks and/or holidays? What about weekends?
DzooBaby
26 March 2013
Ritalin is a short acting drug and only lasts about 3-4 hours. When the drug is wearing down, it may make him irritable and he may get emotional easily. It may help to put him on a longer acting methylphenidate like Concerta. It is the same drug, it is just time released so he only has to take it once a day in the morning and it should last the school day. He should get used to the effects wearing off in time and he wont get quite so irritable.
KT1975
26 March 2013
Thank you for your response. If this continues we'll discuss Concerta with his Dr. at the follow up appt in a couple of weeks.
Viccle123
14 Jan 2017
Methylphenidate is Ritalin, but it can have worse affects afterwards, because he has been on it all day and has been used to being on it for a longer period of time.
Related topics
ritalin, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), dosage
Further information
- Ritalin uses and safety info
- Ritalin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Ritalin (detailed)
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