Help

[clair]

My son started on equasym capsules yesterday and also started chewing his fingers as well. He has been diagnosed ADHD on tuesday but he also has autistic traits. They could not diagnose asd as he has an imagination. They put him on these capsules which we gather are the same as ritalin but this has coincided with the the chewing of his skin on his fingers. They are really sore, it was only the one finger last night when he went to bed but when he got up this morning he had chewed the other hand. We are not sure if this is the medication making him anxious or if it is a new thing for him. We cannot work out if this medication is supposed to work this quick or whether it works over time as he came home from school yesterday after his first dose and said " mummy I dont need any help anymore at school because I found it easy work today". He was also a little angel last night and he has gone all polite and very well spoken as if it is not him. can someone please tell me if they have had the same problems with their child going on ritalin? I will ring the docs but dont want to sound a fool if he tells me that it doesnt work that fast (if you know what I mean) Any help will be great.

[sarahjane]

My understanding is that ritalin works almost immediately, and gets out of the system quickly so does not need to build up to get a response. I am not sure about the chewing. My son who is not on any meds at present constantly chews his clothes and I have never got to the bottom of it. I think it is worse if stressed or bored!

[Zemanski]

go straight back to whoever prescribed the drug and check it out - phone them tomorrow

 

if you can't get to them within a couple of days go to your GP

 

any possible side effects need to be discussed as they arise - it may be the dose is not right or a different drug is needed, these are very potent drugs

 

good luck

 

Zemanski