Medication
Patients of whatever age should always be involved in decisions about the treatment that they receive.
There are several different types of medication used in the treatment of ADHD.
Each one works in a different way to improve the efficiency of the brain.
Pills do not build skills and medication is never enough.
The medication will not ‘cure’ you, but, rather like a pair of glasses, may help reduce your symptoms and impairment to allow you to function better in your relationships, your learning, and in terms of your own mental health.
Contrary to popular opinion, the medication doesn’t control your behaviour - you do.
You are not taking sedatives to dampen down your true personality but rather increasing the speed and efficiency of your brain so that you have more control over what you do and say.
The brain consists of an intricate network of ‘wiring’ made up of neurons which communicate with each other using ‘chemical messengers’ (neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine).
These neurotransmitters help the electrical signals jump across gaps (‘synapses’) between the neurons.
Medication can improve the availability of neurons to perform this task.
Patients should be told what the medication does and why it is being recommended.
Whilst the way that medication works is not yet fully understood, it has been heavily researched in terms of safety, before being licensed for use, and, in general, is thought to be effective because it improves the signalling system in the brain that allows different parts of the brain to function more effectively together.
Your own views should always be considered as part of the plan and if you do not like what the medication is doing, it is important to say so.
It is not always easy to predict how any individual is going to respond to a particular medicine.
As you grow, particularly through puberty, it may be necessary to change the type or amount that you receive.
Remember that your treatment belongs to you, rather than to others.
If you are concerned about it, you should raise these concerns with the clinicians who are overseeing the medication program.
Be very careful about relying too heavily on information that can be found on the Internet.
As ever, check that it is coming from a reliable source before taking it too seriously. There are a lot of people who do not like the idea of medication and who provide false information to dissuade families from trying it.