AboutDr Billy Levin Expertise All questions related to medical diagnosis ,treatment ,councilling ,remediation and monitoring medication in ADHD and co morbid conditions.
Experience
Past/Present clients Mainly children, some Adults with ADHD and co-morbid conditions, country wide.
Question My ex partner has had our 8 yr old son diagnosed with ADHD and placed on Concerta. This diagnosis was made soley by information provided from my 8 yr olds father. I have my doubts about the diagnosis. I believe there are many issues such as our current child custody case and my son's living enviroment that have been left out of the possible reasons for my son's behavior.
In any case, my son takes Concerta. He has absolutely no appetite for approx. 14 hours after taking this medication in the a.m. of each day. I have also noticed that he is "out of it" and just not himself when on this medication.
I have read on the Internet that Concerta is not meant to be taken 7 days a week and that the body needs to rest weekly from it. At first my ex only gave Concerta to our son during his 5 day school week, leaving him Concerta free during Sat. and Sunday.
Since my son had no appetite during the week because of the Concerta is was very important that he be given the weekend to have a chance to eat, which he did! Now my ex is giving the Concerta to my son 7 days a week.
My son is very thin and I've noticed is showing signs of depresion.
Do you feel that it is wise to give drug holidays when taking Concerta?
Answer You pose many questions. I will try to answer briefly.In a divorce, the parents'should not fight about the child,as they have common interests.When an expert doctor does an assessment he does not just rely on your exe's information.Divorse does not cause ADHD, but it might aggrevate it.When one or both parents have ADHD 50% of marriages will end in divorse. As ADHD is inherited a good possibility exists for a child of this marriage to have ADHD. As I have not examined the child or spoken to the parents I can only make general comments.It might not apply to you. Concerta is long acting Methylphenidate. As the treatment is a 24 hour condition treatment is 7 days a week. There is absolutely no reason to let the body "have a rest"! Methylphenidate is also an antidepressant and as such cannot cause depression.However a patient not correctly treated and subjected to excessive stress might need antidepressants as well as a stimulant like Concerta. Do not confuse overdose with depression, they are very similar.An expert doctor will know what is what. No child in the world in approx. 50 years has ever developed malnutrition on stimulants but some are skinny. It is very obvious you and your ex need much more info about the treatment from the treating doctor to build more teamwork and confidence. What dose is he on and what system is being used to monitor the dose. I usually use Concerta in children during the week and Ritalin LA on weekends. La has a shorter action allowing the child to wake up later, take his dose later and not intefere with sleep.
