I’m scared about stunted growth due to ADHD medication So the folks that try to scare you about ADHD medication will tell you that the medications will cause problems with the growth. They'll say that the medications stunt growth, but there's just no evidence of that when you look at the long term studies that have been done. Well over half of the study show no effect on final adult height, even in children who are treated for years with stimulant medication. It's very reassuring news, that even the studies that do show that a difference in growth, find it to be small and really clinically insignificant. The way I explain it to parents is like this, the average change in those studies that did find the difference is about a half of an inch or a centimeter. That's the difference in wearing flip flops and being barefooted, not the… Read More »

I'm anxious about appetite loss while on ADHD medication Besides the zombie effect, parent's biggest concern is usually the decrease in appetite that children sometimes experience soon after the medicine is started. This is a common side effect, and often occurs at lunch, when the medicine is at its most active state. It's important to know that this is not usually a long lasting problem, and although it can be associated with weight loss, that is almost always temporary too. We call it the checkmark effect, a small decrease in weight on the growth chart followed by resuming normal weight gain. It's also reassuring that this almost never results in any problems with the child's overall growth or development. There are a couple of places that you can troubleshoot this side effect, and the first, which we've already mentioned, is to give the medication seven days a week. If you… Read More »

Is there anything I can do to stop the Zombie Effect of ADHD medication So today, we're going to go another step in helping you prevent your child from being a zombie on ADHD medications. The fact that many parents don't like the way the medicines make their children feel or the way that it makes them flat or changes their personality, leads them to use the medication less often. So they only give the medication on days when the child needs it. In other words, on school days. That leaves the child vulnerable to waking up Monday morning to starting the side effects of the zombie effect all over again. Side effects of stimulant medication decrease over time. This is well documented and if you start over every Monday with new side effects you're more likely to have changes… Read More »

Don't let your child be a zombie on ADHD medications! Speaking of Halloween, the biggest fear that parents have about stimulant medication is that it's going to zombify their child. Nobody wants their child's personality altered by medication, and at Focus-MD, we don't want their personality changed either. There is no reason, in 2013, for stimulant medication to flatten the affect of any child. We always say that getting the dose precisely right, getting it optimized is the way to avoid this. Most kids are actually under treated for their ADHD. They're not on enough medicine. But there are kids that are over treated, and they look like robotic zombies. They're affect is very flat. They don't, they're not as expressive and don't talk as spontaneously. That is not the stimulant medication. That is the wrong dose of the wrong stimulant… Read More »

Hi, I'm Dr. James Wiley with Focus-MD. It's ADHD Awareness Month, and we'd like to spend the month of October giving you 31 reasons to be less afraid of stimulant medication between now and Halloween. Parents have a justifiable concern about stimulant medications, but the last 30 years of science has taught us that these medications are safe and effective, and we want you to know that information. Fear of stimulant medications is one of the main things that keeps parents and families from seeking ADHD treatment that can be life changing, and we want you to have the real information based on real science between now and the time that the ghosts and the ghouls get out on Halloween. So stay tuned for a daily update of another reason why stimulant medication is safe and effective, and you'll be less… Read More »