The shortage of drugs treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has left desperate parents scrambling to find substitutes. According to HealthDay News, however, not all medications are created equally and some may have dangerous side effects.
Generic medication, for example, often has a different rate of just how much of the drug is absorbed into the blood stream, making it difficult to estimate the proper dosage.
“If the does is too high, sometimes kids can get more withdrawn or weepy,” Eric Hollander of the Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program in New York told HealthDay. “If it’s too low, they can’t get adequate control of their symptoms during the day, and they can get a rebound later in the day. The new medicine may wear off faster. It’s also not easy to switch from extended-release formulas to immediate-release.”
Instead of seeking out generic replacements, then, Hollander recommends contacting the child’s doctor. If medication isn’t available, they can suggest another medication that may be appropriate. However, HealthDay notes that parents may encounter a higher co-pay for drugs not on the preferred drug list of insurance companies.
