Holiday from meds? | ADHD Information

We stop concerta on the weekend.  We plan on keeping him off it for the Christmas holiday. The doctor gave us a short acting ritalin to use if  needed. He is a skinny kid and this break helps keep his weight up.

It almost looks like a holiday is a great idea for children on meds.. Give their little bodies a break, let them relax, grow, and get in some good groceries over the holidays

For an adult, a holiday can work, but I think its more difficult for us. Responsibility and social behaviors are not only 9 -5 M-F..

I like being able to listen to my children on the weekends, being able to actually get my house clean on Saturdays.  and ( oh my gosh! I cant believe I did this!) be able to put up the christmas lights, clean the dishes and do a little shopping all before the thanksgiving holiday is over!

I am thinking about taking a reduced dose on the weekends, though..  Today went pretty well with 1/3 less medicine

So, I guess what I think is that med holidays are a great idea for children.. but us adults, who have the ability and creativity to screw up even more, might need to stay on the meds.. Depending of course, on the individual..

Sherry

I stopped my metadate CD on friday, and all I did was lazily lay around the house. I got nothing done I intended and felt like it was a total wasted day.

For  me, the only med holiday I am going to take is when I am sick.. ( I should sleep really well, LOL) or going to a Company Christmas party, and I know it is a time that that there is nothing pertinent to be accomplished.

Sherry

We're new on Concerta. It works very well. With the X-mas break coming up next month. How many folks stop the meds over vacation? How are the results? What does your doctor think of doing that?

Thanx 

Actually, I asked my doc about stopping over the holidays.  She said no.  She thinks I need to continue them daily, even during the holidays.  

I am on dexedrine - and stop for one week  every 2 months.  It kept my 20mg daily from being upped to 30 and I'm stable at 20mg once, twice sometimes daily.  It does work for some - other's don't find it as effective.

I find that because I enjoy the increased stamina and energy that the med vacation keeps that aspect longer and more potently.  If it's day in day out then that tends to go away after a while.

It's good to rest and relax if you can sometimes anyway - just let it hang out if there are people around to catch you if you fall.

 

My son takes his RitalinSR on school days only. So he has weekends and holidays. The doctor and I decided together. This works well for us. I thinmkmit is good to give your body a break from any med. if possible. Sometimes my son is hyper and impulsive but that's okay.