ADD Medication Side Effects – The Good, The Bad, and The Awful

Wanting to learn more about ADD medication side effects is a subject of great interest to virtually all parents with ADD children. This would include parents of children who have been diagnosed with the condition and those whose children are exhibiting telltale signs of having the disorder (inattention, impulsive behavior, hyperactivity).

But for those who have already dipped their toe in the muddy water of ADD research you know how confusing getting to the bottom of ADD medication side effects can really be. After all, on one side of the discussion you have the pharmaceutical companies and many prescription leaning doctors proclaiming their safety and on the other side of the argument you have the natural health advocates saying that the side effect are so severe no one should even consider ADD prescription medications.

Myself I tend to be somewhere in the middle of spectrum, perhaps leaning toward the natural health point of view. The truth is no one really denies that there are ADD medication side effects. The only questions left to be answered is how severe are they and what percentage of children are affected.

Did you know that in 2005 Canadian regulators suspended sales of the once a day versions of the stimulant ADD prescription mainstay Adderall after 20 deaths were linked to the drug?

I know I sure didn't! But was there fire behind this smoke? It is hard to say since Adderall is still one of the most widely prescribed medications in theUnited States.

Adderall is one of a number of what are referred to a psychostimulant medications. Other drugs in this category include Ritalin, Metadate, Concerta, Dexedrine, and Vyvanse. There are also mediations for treating ADD symptoms marketed as non-stimulants. That said, the mechanism is similar and thus many of the side effects are similar.


Some of the known add medication side effects include sleeplessness, headaches, loss of appetite, stunted growth, abdominal pain, unusually fast heartbeat, and weight loss during long-term therapy. There is also some compelling evidence to suggest that use of stimulant medications opens the door for drug abuse later in life. Depression and anxiety are also possible symptoms.


It seems some children tolerate these medications well while others do not. For those who do, research tells us they tend to perform better in multiple areas of their lives than do children with ADD who don't receive treatment.


There seems to be a direct correlation for these children between ADD stimulant medications and better grades.
On the other hand even when a child is fortunate enough not to experience side effects (or mild ones) as a group they simply don't do as well academically and are beset with behavioral and emotional problems.
Perhaps not the rosy picture anticipated by parents relying on prescription medication to help their children overcome attention deficit disorder.
But you do have options if you are concerned about the risks ADD medication side effects present. One option would be behavioral therapy which has shown to be very effective when an open line of communication is established between ADD specialist and child. Another possible all natural option would be homeopathics. Homeopathic remedies are one of the safest treatments available for children with ADD. Additionally, they have been shown to be quite effective with one small British research study concluding that homeopathic ADD remedies produce benefits right up there with prescription medications in the short-term and have the added bonus of continuing to provide symptoms relief even after they had been discontinued.

In conclusion, there are no easy choices. That said, I do believe for most parents safety comes first, way ahead of everything else, making non-prescription alternatives certainly an option worth considering.

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