ADHD / ADD Support Group

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) are more common than you might think. It is a syndrome that exhibits symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood shifts, poor impulse control, and distractibility. Join others who suffer from these conditions and share your experiences.

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ADHD and aggression

momenttaker
momenttaker
My 9 year old has been on concerta for almost three years now, and I notice that although it still helps him alot while on the medication, when it is wearing off he becomes increasingly aggressive and unreasonable. It isn't as bad a rubberband effect as when he was four and on adderall (I finally had to take him off because the daily trauma was too much), but it is getting worse and he is getting older, and has even struck me a few times when I have attempted to refocus,settle or turn off the game he just turned on. Any thoughts?
deleted_user
deleted_user
I understand exactly what you are going through. My son was on adderall when he was about 7-8. It got so bad that our psychologist called the police after an episode in his office. We changed doctors and started seeing a psychiatrist who specializes in children with ADHD and similar issues. He changed my son's medication to metadate (in the Ritalin family) and an antidepresant and it made all the difference. He is now on 150mg of wellbutrin(all 170 lbs of him :-) and seems to maintaining well. I have not heard of the violence issues with Concerta, so this is new to me. I know that many years ago there were issues with Ritalin but they have made vast improvements in the available treatments. He has not had any side effects with the Wellbutrin either, which makes it twice as good.
deleted_user
deleted_user
My son is on Concerta as well, but he doesn't have any problems with aggression. Has your son had a growth spurt recently? He might need hi dose adjusted.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Im 21 now but was on Concerta for about a year when i was 19. Yes when the medication wears if it made me very aggressive. When i was at the 54mg it was the worst. Im 5'6 and was down to 124 pounds. It was too high for my size and i looked like a stick.

I would crash as soon as it wore off and if i didnt get to i was very angry and agitated. Your body starts to crave it when you dont have it and it makes you want to go insane.

Please try to get your child onto something that is stimulate free and have more structure for him at home. This was the worst experience in my life and even let me to hurting myself and i was suicidal...
deleted_user
deleted_user
My oldest son(14) gets very aggressive when the medicine wears off and especially first thing in the morning before he has it. His brother, who has ADHD also, is on the same medicine but he just gets more hyper. I have an appointment with a therapist and hopefully she will have some answers as to how to handle this. I have often wondered if the aggression is a result of the medication wearing off, kind of like coming down from a high. It is a catch 22 because the medicine really helps them in school and during sports. If you find any answers, please fill me in. Meanwhile, just wanted to let you know that I can definitely understand what you are going through. Good luck!