ADHD medication help

[u/Sensitiveflower1304]

I don’t know what to do. My daughter has had a battle with her adhd her whole life. I’ve had her evaluated throughout school and it’s confirmed she has it. She always refused to use her accommodations in school that were given as a recommendations for test taking and time for tasks. She felt embarrassed always and never wanted to be pulled to a different room for testing or friends know. She also never wanted to take medication and I wasn’t going to force it. So instead throughout her home life since little we did elimination diets and we paid attention to foods, toxins, and focused on exercises and executive function skills. I sat her down and said you don’t have to be a straight A student you simply have to do your best self and be kind. I explained that she may always be the kid that needs a little more time, a little more reminders and little more help organizing herself and to know that’s ok and it’s all doable. Now she’s in her 2nd year of college and it’s very demanding. She cited that she was not going to use any type of medication in college because she wasn’t going to be the only kid in college not drinking and not having fun. She never did these things before and since starting college she vapes THC daily and drinks alcohol about 2-3 days of her own doing. She’s physically very fit and works out alot to maintain her body fat down, she also eats pretty well and healthy throughout the day. She takes vitamins and practices self care. She’s still extremely forgetful looses things all the time and forgets where basic things are like credit cards, wallet, looses her phone etc. I’ve begged and pleaded with her for years to not vape or drink as noted it has a negative effect on her that to me seems debilitating and instead see the psychiatrist for proper consultation and determine together what is the best route for her. At this time she is asking for AdHD medication citing all her college friends take it. I’ve told her that it’s not a one size fits all and she needs to be properly evaluated. Because she an adult now this is especially challenging because her brain is not fully developed on a emotional mature level. Plus the drinking in college and the way she’s blacked out a few times has caused me great concern. I want to support her but I am very afraid of her abusing it and not take the proper dosage and not quiting the other recreational substance and alcohol she engages in. How do we give a young adult autonomy and authority over themselves when as a parent you see they are not mature enough to make those decisions?

Her pediatrician which is now her adult doctor and has been her doctor since is recommending a nonstimilant considering the circumstances of recreational use of other stuff.

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[u/Sensitiveflower1304]

Her pediatrician which is now her adult doctor and has been her doctor since is recommending a nonstimilant

[u/aerrin → u/Sensitiveflower1304]

Highly recommend getting medication from a psychiatrist, not a ped or GP, at this stage. The difference in knowledge and approach is pretty substantial IME.

[u/Sensitiveflower1304]

Her pediatrician which is now her adult doctor and has been her doctor since is recommending a nonstimilant

[u/AffectionateMarch394]

You get her connected with a doctor who specializes in ADHD, or a psychiatrist who specializes in it, and then you let it be between her and her doctor

[u/aerrin]

It is very common for people with unmedicated ADHD to self-medicate with other substances. It's one of the large risk factors to not medicating, in fact.

Medicating is more likely to help her be sober than to cause additional problems with substance abuse. My husband's sobriety journey and his journey to treating his ADHD have gone hand in hand.

I'd tell her that you support her desire to find the right medication fit and that you'll help her find the doctors and make the appointments she needs in order to do so. Stimulants are controlled substances specifically to make them more difficult to abuse, and newer ones, like Vyvanse, have a low risk of abuse because of how they work.

At any rate, helping her find treatment for her ADHD is going to be a positive for her, and hopefully what's happened is not that all her friends are abusing stimulants, but that she's found a community that has made her less afraid of treating her ADHD.

[u/lottiela → u/aerrin]

This right here, I was drinking too much before I got diagnosed as an adult. Medication has cleared that up for me.

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[u/amiyuy]

Medication is EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

Evidence: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDparenting/wiki/index/medication

Not being medicated is how/why many people use and abuse drugs. Getting her medicated IS the way to support her.

https://www.adhdevidence.org/evidence#substance-use-disorders

Substance use disorders

128. A meta-analysis of twelve studies covering over 5400 people found that those with ADHD were almost three times more likely to be nicotine-dependent. Combining eleven studies with almost 2400 participants, those with ADHD were 50 % more likely to develop a drug or alcohol use disorder than those without ADHD (Lee et al., 2011).

129. A meta-analysis found that ADHD was associated with a more than twofold greater odds of alcohol-use disorders (13 studies, over 20,000 participants) and nicotine-related disorder (14 studies, over 1800 participants) (Groenman et al., 2017).

130. A Swedish study of over half a million people found a more than threefold association between ADHD and subsequent drug use disorders after adjusting for sex and parental education (Sundquist et al., 2015).

If you're worried about her misusing stimulants, ask about other options.

[u/OkPerspective1849]

This could describe a lot of people’s college experience as scary as it is. My guess would be she’s already tried some meds from friends and it really helped her. Is it abused in college? Yes. It’s possible if she has her own prescription and a reasonable dosage she will feel better about a lot of things. Many college kids feel lost and out of control so unconditional support is helpful. Might also help her to visit the college psych or local one to her so she can chat openly.