Will Strattera work for a five year old?

Answer 1

My nephew started taking medications for ADHD at age 5. He's been on Ritalin, Concerta, then Adderall. He had crying episodes and no appetite. We asked his pediatrician about Strattera. He's been on it for about four months. He's six now. We've had to adjust the dosage, but it has changed his life. He has gotten his appetite back. He is more focused and calm. He is happy and still has plenty of energy. He is doing much better in school.

My son was just turning 5 when he started taking strattera. He had tried one other stimulant medication for just about a month when strattera came out and we opted for the strattera instead. He is turning 6 in Feb. He is just about 41 pounds and is on 25 mg. every morning. He has experienced nausea and vomiting occasionally, when he hasn't had enough to eat, but we concentrate on getting a good breakfast and it usually works out okay. He has complained of occasional dizziness and a headache every once in a while. We have found that it has worked pretty well so far. He was in a 1/2 day pre-k program when we started and his teacher observed a noticable difference. He is currently in an all day kindergarten program and has done pretty well. He has had some continued problems with staying on task and getting his work done, but I feel he is doing much better. (I'm planning on calling his pediatrician tomorrow re: what the weight based dosage is for an increase - I just came to this website looking for answers myself) His IQ score (he is in a school for gifted kids) jumped about 30 points from no medication to about 4 months after taking strattera due to being able to focus better. He still has some difficulty and we have been told by a psychologist that she feels that he can be managed more effectively on another medication. However, at his age we are reluctant to put him on a stimulant medication for what could be the rest of his life. We feel as though we are pleased with the gains we have gotten and can always re-evaluate as his studies become more difficult. Good luck!

Try reading ritalindeath. Don't forget the message boards; they contain a lot of information.

Answer 2

personally i think you should use your own judgment. You know your child better than anybody else does. I havent heard anything on this drug in specific but i have heard the drug Ritalin messes up a lot of kids. Id say be careful giving it to him/her. Maybe a little more discipline could help or attention. Like i said you know your child better than anyone. Those drugs slow kids down, almost to the point where they are like Zombies. do you think your child needs that?