ADHD symptoms likely are never outgrown, although hyperactivity symptoms often decrease as a child gets older. Some children, depending on the severity of their ADHD symptoms, may be able to manage without medication. Others continue to take medication all through high school and even when they go off to college.
Talk to Your Doctor
Anytime you want to make a change to your medication regimen, it's best to loop your doctor in. If your provider agrees that it's OK to stop, you should discuss whether it's safe to go cold turkey or if you need to taper off.
ADHD is a common neuropsychiatric disorder with a strong persistence over time. Medication is frequently used in the clinical management of ADHD. After response, medication is typically prescribed for months to years.
There are many reasons why someone with ADHD might stop taking medication or never start in the first place. Some hate the side effects. Others struggle to pay for the medication. Or, like Ruotolo, they find that nondrug strategies work well enough for them.
It may make your child's ADHD symptoms reappear or get worse. Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention may become problems again within a day or 2 of stopping medication.
When the dosage is too high, stimulants can cause children or even adults to seem “spacey” or “zombie-like,” or to be uncharacteristically tearful or irritable (a condition known as emotional lability). In general, the best way to rein in these side effects is simply to lower the dosage.
A person's body adjusts to the medication over the course of the first few months and side effects can lessen or disappear after that time. However, if medication is taken during the week and stopped on the weekends, possible side effects are less likely to go away, says Dr. Wiznitzer.
Proper diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD can improve your life for the better through diet, exercise, medication, and resolutions to make positive change. A proper ADHD diagnosis and treatment can change your life dramatically for the better, no matter what your age.
Treatment for ADHD, along with the related health risks it poses, has the possibility of adding an average of nine to thirteen years to the lifespan of children and adults diagnosed with ADHD.
ADHD medication can be taken for months, years, or even a lifetime. Research shows that long-term use of ADHD meds is safe.
Your child may need to take methylphenidate for several months or even years. They will not usually need to take it for the rest of their life. Your child will have regular check-ups, usually every 6 months or so. Your doctor may recommend stopping methylphenidate for a while, or reducing the dose.
Studies following children with ADHD for long periods of time have found that these medications are safe to take long-term.
He also found that if ADHD persisted to young adulthood, the reduction in healthy life was nearly 13 years and was over 11 years in total life expectancy.
“In evaluating the health consequences of ADHD over time, we found that ADHD adversely affects every aspect of quality of life and longevity. This is due to the inherent deficiencies in self-regulation associated with ADHD that lead to poor self-care and impulsive, high-risk behavior.
ADHD was the first disorder found to be the result of a deficiency of a specific neurotransmitter — in this case, norepinephrine — and the first disorder found to respond to medications to correct this underlying deficiency. Like all neurotransmitters, norepinephrine is synthesized within the brain.
If your medication is working, you'll notice less impulsivity — both physical and verbal. You will interrupt people or jump out of your seat less often. You'll notice that your thoughts are less impulsive, too.
Mood changes
But there is a small subset of kids with ADHD who seem to get moody and irritable when they take stimulant medications, even if we have the best possible dose. It usually happens right away, as soon as they start taking the medication, and goes away immediately when they stop taking it.
Childhood ADHD persisting to young adulthood may typically shorten life expectancy by nearly 20 years and by 12 years in nonpersistent cases compared with concurrently followed control children.
Indeed more often you need to break tasks down and take frequent breaks.… Stop using the executive function system for a few minutes and give it a chance to refuel its fuel tank. This is why we talk about the 10 and 3 rule with ADHD children. 10 minutes of work, 3 minutes of break – 10 and 3 – 10 and 3.
One clinical study showed that 24.7% of patients developed tolerance to stimulants in the time of days to weeks; another showed 2.7% developed tolerance over 10 years. Long term follow-up studies demonstrate that medication response may lessen over longer durations of treatment in a high percentage of patients.
Take Medication According to Symptoms
Although some people need medication all day, every day, others need coverage only for certain activities. Adults are likely to need coverage at the office and children are likely to benefit during the school day.
As the medication wears off at the end of the dose, children have a variety of experiences — from becoming overexcited and impulsive to becoming irritable, weepy, and angry.” In other words, your child's afternoon challenges are not bad behavior. They are a physical reaction that can trigger emotional outbursts.
Stimulants are believed to work by increasing dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with motivation, pleasure, attention, and movement. For many people with ADHD, stimulant medications boost concentration and focus while reducing hyperactive and impulsive behaviors.
Anxiety is a common side effect of stimulants. Your doctor won't know how a medication will affect you until you take it, but it's possible stimulants may make your anxiety symptoms worse.