Long-term effects of ADHD.
Believe or not…
– 4 minutes read –
In the last blog, I shared a little about my experiences about ADHD medication for my son. This time, I’d like to share some professional points of view about ADHD meds, so that you can be more informed when making the right decision for your kids.
As we know, you can find both sides (pros and cons) of anything nowadays on the internet. So what I share is what I found from trustworthy resources such as well-known doctors specializing in ADHD. Please read and use the information at your own responsibility!
ADHD meds are super helpful if you find the perfect match in terms of molecules and dosage. But are there any long-term effects of ADHD meds? Apparently yes.
Fortunately it’s a positive effect, not a negative one. According to research, “long-term ADHD medication use changes the brain – and that all of these changes are clearly positive.”
Kids with ADHD have three areas in the brain that appear smaller than neurotypical kids. And those 3 areas* affect the ability to plan, focus, learn and retain information. Children with ADHD who have been taking ADHD medication show that the size of those three areas reaches the average size as they continue taking it into adulthood.
*the prefrontal cortex, the fronto-striatal-cerebellar projections, and the caudate nucleus
ADHD kids who didn’t take medication still showed less than the average size when it comes to the 3 areas in their brains.
This sounds really positive, and I invite you to read more in detail here if you are interested.
I’ve also heard it from Dr Russel Barkely before, so I’m leaning towards believing it personally.
(If you don’t know Dr Barkely, he is THE leading specialist in ADHD studies. He has written many books about ADHD.)
But of course, there can be some side effects of ADHD medication.
You can find many examples on google, but what I see in my son is a loss of appetite.
While the med is working during the day, he doesn’t have much appetite. But when I thought about how it was before the med, he wasn’t eating lunch much anyway because he didn’t feel comfortable enough to eat at a cafeteria, where there were so many students and noise. We tried accommodating him to eat with a smaller group in a separate class by talking to his teacher, but he didn’t like to be separated from his friends.
So what I did was to explain to his teachers that he needs to nibble on small snacks when he needs to eat, even outside of lunch time.
His teachers were very understanding and he could eat small portions of snacks even during class. (It’s also beneficial for the teachers to have a calmer student than a hungry-grumpy kid😅.)
I made sure that he brought healthy snacks that actually he eats such as:
- Hummus and veggies & crackers
- Cut fruit
- Cheese
- No sugar added juice
I’m sure it depends on the person, but he eats more when it’s crunchy and a little salty. Regarding liquid, I find many kids drink more when it’s very cold (icy cold).
💡When you decide to give medication to your ADHD kid, it can be stressful but you can always adjust and change the plan with your doctor’s consultation. It’s not a life-time commitment if it doesn’t work.
Also, any decision is very personal, so don’t worry about anybody’s advice to the contrary – that’s what I learned during this journey.
You are the parent who knows your kid best😉
If you still have any questions, you can write to me by hitting reply to this email 🙂
(Please note again, I don’t give any medical advice! I can just share my personal experiences.)
This article is for a reference purpose only. Please consult your healthcare professionals and I am not responsible for any information shared on the blog posts.
References:
Long-Term Effects of ADHD Medication on the Brain: Treating Children