Our Teen Is Resisting ADHD Medication. Any Advice?
Monday October 26, 2009
"My teenage son has been diagnosed with ADHD. We have gone through parenting classes and some counseling. The doctor is recommending a trial of stimulant medication, but my son doesn't want to take drugs. I think he is more embarrassed about having to take them than anything else. My husband and I are at our wits' end. We don't want our son to continue to go downhill. He is a very good boy and we think medicine may help, but we don't want to force him to take it if he doesn't want to." --About.com User
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Your son is right. He should not be made to go on drugs if he does not want to. Show him how to improve his diet, and I’m sure you’ll see a big difference.
AnneS,
I agree that it is fruitless to try to force a teenager to take medication. This is never a good plan. It is disrespectful to this child and will likely only backfire. It is much more effective for this child to be an active part of developing his or her own treatment plan together with the parents and healthcare provider. The plan needs to be one that this teen feels supportive of and good about.
Medication is not a “cure all,” but for many individuals with ADHD medication is often an important part of the treatment plan. You are right that it is so important to also look at diet, behavioral strategies, exercise, sleep, etc. Thank you for pointing this out.
I am a 61 year old woman who was diagnosed this year with ADD.
I am taking Adderol. My life has changed so much for the better. I almost cry over my lost productive years. I am able to vacuum the house whenever I want. This may sound strange to some of you. I have struggled and lost the fight with myself over this for so many years. No matter that I wanted to do this, my mind and body had a disconnect and I could not do it. I tell my daughter who does not want to take her medicine every day, there is no shame in making your mind and body function at their top ability. One family may have diabetes and have to take insulin. Our family has a brain chemical disorder. We are so lucky it can be corrected. I would tell your son, take the medicine. If it is not right there are different doses and different medications to try. You are so lucky to get this chance. Just give it a try and keep on trying until you find your peak performance combination.
Hi I am a 21 y/o male just diagnosed in june `09. Honestly I wish to god now I would have not pushed away all the facts that I had AD/HD, like your son I was self-conscience about it. If you know very much about ADD and AD/HD then you know that the negative out look of yourself is very low. Getting on meds has changed my life. I am proud to say it now!!! Letting it go untreated was the worse thing!!! Couldn’t do well in school, hated myself, and abused drugs. Stats say that letting it go untreated the person with ADD AD/HD is 50% more likely to abuse drugs. My story is very interesting and want to spread the word on this!!! Any questions email me at ifaneminem@yahoo.com would love to help in anyway!!!
Donna and Kevin,
Thank you so much for sharing!! It is good to hear that you are both seeing positive changes in your lives. Here’s to continued success and happiness.
He should take the medication for the trail period. If there is no noticeable positive improvements then discontinue the meds after the trail period. I don’t feel this should be a negotiable issue. You are the parents, he is the child. I feel certain that if he sees positive results then he will want to stay on the medication. Rather a little embarrassment and resistance now than to have him come back years later with regrets over his life directly connected to un-medicated ADD and ask the both of you to explain why you didn’t help him when you could have. I did not want to take meds either, but tried them for a trail period and it changed my entire life for the better. Don’t take away from your son the very thing that could allow him to live and be successful just because he doesn’t want to do this in the moment. A trail period is a good compromise and takes both parties in to consideration.