Monthly insights via Artemis Assessment & Treatment Centre Director/ADHD Coach Tara Carman-French.
** Please discuss all medication interventions with your medicating physician. The following is only offered as information to help you make an informed treatment decision.
After diagnosis, the decision to try or not to try medication is a difficult one and one that I spend a significant amount of my days discussing. I am not pro or anti-medication interventions, as I see it as an individual choice. All I offer is up-to-date research on the myths and facts about medication and how it may help or hinder ADHD symptoms.
In my practice, one of the saddest things I see with my clients is when their bodies do not respond to ADHD medication interventions. There can be such hope that medication will provide a solution to their struggles; when it doesn’t work for them, it can be crushing.
Another challenge for my clients can be the physical act of taking the medication.
Anxiety often accompanies ADHD. This anxiety, often accompanied by negative experiences of pills getting stuck in the throat, can make it very difficult for children (and even adults!) to swallow pills. My 75-year-old mother-in-law has struggled with this her entire life. Today, we ensure her pudding cupboard is fully stocked so she can take her pills without choking. She would give anything to have an alternative to her blood pressure, cholesterol, and other pill-form medications.
There can also be a reluctance to take the medication due to the taste or feel of the pill in the mouth. Some medications (Vyvanse, Biphentin) can be opened and sprinkled into pudding or yogurt. Others must be swallowed intact to have full effect (Strattera, Intuniv).
Having ADHD and remembering to take your medication is enough of a struggle. An additional taste or swallowing barrier to getting the medication in your body or your child’s body is something no one needs.
Thankfully, Health Canada has approved the liquid form of Quillivant XR for Canadians. Quillivant XR is the first and only liquid, extended-release methylphenidate product approved for children 6 to 12 years of age in Canada. In the US, it has also been approved for adults. Stay tuned to our newsletter for updates, and keep your fingers crossed for the day when Health Canada approves the medication for adults. Most recently, the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (CADDRA), the independent and preeminent not-for-profit resource organization for ADHD research, has updated their Medication Guide for Professionals, a widely used resource for doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists.
For more information on Quillivant XR, connect with your medicating physician, or Health Canada.
