adhd meds and puberty

[sweetnsilly26]

Cortni is 10 and has been off her adhd meds for the summer and has gained between 7-9lbs, her weight changes from 63-65, anyway now school has started and she is back on her meds, 2nd day back on. she took it friday off sat and sun and took it again today. anyway today she wakes up and says her chest hurts and she has a knot on one side, i read up and its normal first signs of puberty, but now shes freaking what if I only get one boob..lol. anyway I feel like the meds are suppressing her body from the natural changes because when shes off her body started going through it, what do you think? just happened that way or what? i was worried just the other day about her being backk on meds and losing the weight she gained and now I am scared the meds are going to stop her body from maturing like it should. I thought she was going to be a late bloomer because she is small for her age and you should see all the other 5th graders, they are starting to develop. She is excited about this milestone in her life and I was just wanting some advise.

[charliegirl]

I've researched the side effects of medication and puberty because I know I may end up putting my son on meds and so far I found that boys will go through puberty a bit slower when on stimulant meds but they do end up reaching full maturity.

I haven't found anything to indicate they affect girls that way but it would be a good idea to talk to her doctor to make sure. Its possible that there just isn't as much research on girls out there so articles on the web are harder to find.

Something I did come across repeatedly and which I know you are going to love knowing is that for some reason, the hyperactivity, impulsivity and aggression symptoms of ADHD actually increase in some girls when they reach puberty instead of decreasing as they tend to in boys. Some articles just state girls in general but at least one I found said they decrease in some girls but there is a subset of girls in which they increase. At any rate, it appears that the chances of more ADHD like behavior increases in at least some girls when they reach puberty.

[charliegirl]

This should help set your mind at ease and you can read the whole thing here:
pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/111/5/1010


Results. The ADHD-growth association was not moderated by gender. No deficits in age-adjusted height or age and height-adjusted weight were detected in ADHD girls. Also, we found no associationbetween growth measurements and psychotropic treatment, malnutrition, short stature, pubertal development, family history of ADHD, or psychiatric comorbidity, except for major depression: ADHD girls with major depression were on average 7.6 kg heavier than ADHD girls without depression, adjusting for age and height.