Taking kids off meds

[saffie]

My son has been on meds since his diagnosis when he was 4. He is 10 now and we have decided to take him off. He was on Adderall XR and also taking clonidine at night to help him go to sleep.

I would be interested in talking to other parents who have taken kids off meds.

I also am worried about school, which starts in less than 2 weeks. He's always had such great behavior in school and no problems at all. I worry that will be the opposite now and I'm so sad.

But yet I felt overwhelmingly that he needed to be off the medication. We've had wonderful success with nighttime routine now. My husband and I have been diligent with helping him relax and go to sleep on his own and he's sleeping great.

His daytime behavior hasn't been all that great however.

I'm hoping to see some growth and weight gain as well. He is extremely small for his age. Before taking meds he was in the 95th percentile on the charts and is now down to the 5th percentile.

[kstquilter]

welcome saffie!
my daughter was on ritalin since 2nd grade. she took herself off in her junior year of high school. her grades went down the tubes. however, she's also admitted she didn't try too hard her senior year. she's 20 now and gradually putting herself back on ritalin when she wants to take it. i know it helps her in school.
as an infant and toddler, she was also in the 95th percentile for weight and height. she has averaged out to be 5'4" and a normal weight.
i'd be worried about how he'll do in school with no meds. but you also know your child better than anyone. good luck and hope it works out well for you.
karen

[Linda]

saffie and welcome. I would be concerned about the daytime behavior being transfered to school!!

Paul has been med free for over a year now but he is 17. He absolutely needed them for school pryor to that time.

You can always talk to his teacher and see if she notices a difference without meds.

Tjhis is a hard decision and I wish you luck....and remember you know your child better than anyone.

[milesofsmiles]

Steph,

Hopefully things will work out well for you during school. Keep the lines of communication open with his teachers. Make sure they know what kind of behaviors to expect and how you expect to handle them. I think I posted somewhere else that sometimes our kids need the medicine to learn the behaviors. Hopefully it works for you. If not, in time it might.

Miles