When the dose isn’t right

When the dose isn’t right !!

This wasn’t what I had in mind for my second blog post but this happens so often I just have to write about it – expect more on this subject in future.

Recently, I was at our local state hospital ... Nightmare!!

I resent having to take my children there.  But its either this or no medication at the moment, due to the financial dynamics of ADHD – Shocking and disgraceful when you read how AIDS patients – who get ill because of something they did get free medical care from experienced doctors AND the right dose of medication …

The doctors are young, they have no real experience with ADHD and to make matters worse the pharmacists think they can “play boss.”  And with it being a state institution you get treated like you should be thankful they are helping you at all, it’s just horrible.

I had explained my reasons for wanting my 13 year olds dosage increased from just 30mgs of Ritalin LA (long acting) to 90 mgs.  I had tried and tested it myself because I was becoming desperate, I had his report, and letters from his teachers as back up.

The child psychologists motivated my request, the young pediatric doctor writing the scripts after speaking to me and reading the documents I had provided, agreed with it but when it came to the pharmacy they refused- their reason “no child had ever been allowed anything higher than 30mg” … Never mind the fact that my childs marks at school have been dropping because he is struggling with the increased work load and finds it even more difficult to concentrate and learn even at home.

I remember a time when I was very young. Also in my primary school years, struggling so to speak with the increased work load as I climbed the yearly ladder.  I was of course on treatment by my doctor in Benoni – I was and am still his most “challenging” patient. There was a time when I was drinking 8 – 10 Ritalin pills every 3 hours.  – You see so I know that I know that I know Ritalin is not habit forming or addictive… Remember I told you I am 1.85 meters tall - well there it proves it, it doesn’t do anything to you except help you when used correctly.

When my mother went to get the prescription she had to fight the pharmacist who was refusing to give her the medication which in my case was being prescribed by a well known medical practitioner and a specialist in the ADHD field – his work is documented in many medical journals and publications around the world today.

Just what exactly is it that gives pharmacists and even some teachers and even yes parents or even society and the media out there the right to think they can supersede the advices of a trained, experienced medical doctor?

My mother is not the type to be dictated to.  And she told the pharmacist off and went to another pharmacist who it then later became apparent was also ADHD as a child and he understood to an extent what we were experiencing. So I of course got my pills – the entire lot and my school work improved and so did my relationship with my peers…

The importance of the right dose is so imperative to a ADHD child and even a adult.  I didn’t stay on that dose, thankfully by the time I got to High school it went down to 2.5 and during my matric exams it went up to 3 but thereafter it sort of leveled out to two 10 mg tablets but still every 3 hours – my last dose being at 4 or sometimes at six in the evening if I was going out.

Today many people out there like in our case, don’t have a medical aid & cannot get the correct dose and the patient isn't properly monitored on a monthly basis which is the  way all ADHD patients should be handled.  These people end up with the incorrect dose, and it doesn’t work like it should and then they stop – so very very sad…

People go onto Ritalin (Methylphenidate), Concerta, and they expect miracles overnight, or when the dose seems to work they either think ok I am fine, I can stop (because lets face it Ritalin medication aint cheap) but then they cry because all the hard work falls down the drain faster than what it took to build up and the medicine gets blamed.

ADHD needs to be properly monitored, regular monthly evaluations need to be done, and everyone needs to be actively involved … I am now 41 and until recently I drank 108mg Concerta every day.

The dosage has since been halved – You see I gave the other half to my son and thankfully his marks picked up in his final year end exams. Now imagine his marks during the first half of the year and all because his medication was not correct... they could have been just as good or even better than his final term mark - had been on the correct dose according to his increased need for it ...

But not all parents have my experience, and my hands are tied because I have no medical credentials even though I have years of personal experience.

Don’t let anyone pull the mat out from under you – when in doubt get a second opinion, find a doctor who knows and don’t let people like pharmacists or even the media dictate to you when they don’t even know.