med vacations/holidays? | ADHD Information

haven't talked to her yet.  i'm in school and while we're on break, so are our doctors.  but i see her in a week.

how are you on the weekends you don't take it?


happy new year to you, too!!

and thanks for the advice.  very helpful.

i see my doc day after tomorrow so i can discuss w/ her :)

I know I have read this same advice somewhere in the forum on Add meds, but I find that its true you either should take a "med holiday" for a few days or a week or have your doctor decide to increase your daily dose. The problem you can run into with an increase is that the same tolerance can build regardless of how much regular or extended release you take daily.  Maybe its different for those who only take it on weekdays & not on weekends. I usually take it 7 days/wk in the morning & have no problem with side effects or sleeping at night.

My doctor told me that once you reach the "right" dose you should not build up a tolerance but I have not found that to be the case. I started 2 yrs ago on 20mg XR everyday & now am on 60mg with very little difference as my body seems to metabolize the drug very quickly and it wears off within about 6 hrs. I do not want to go any higher on dose & know that the best thing to reduce dose & get benefits of calm & focus is to take a week or so off.

Hope this helps. Everyone is different so it may be a matter of trial & error on what works best for you. Talk to your doc & get his/her thoughts.

Bella, my son has been on Adderall XR for some time and his meds had to be adjusted uintil it worked best for him. He started out on a very low dose, then we waited a month to see if it helped him focus, etc. When we reached his appropriate dose, we only altered when he gained weight. He is now on 26mg and doing ok. He goes back Friday to see how things are really going. As for med holiday, you can do this if it works for you. We don't, because he gets so "WILD" I can hardly stand to be near him. Sometimes I give him a low dose on weekends or school breaks. You need to be careful when altering doses though, one time they upped it and he developed a "tic" which made him very angry. When they lowered it, the tic went away. Just get to a dose that lets you focus and act normal, not like a zombie. Although I would love to experience a mellow child sometimes..... It is way more fun to be around my cool, well liked ADHD guy! Zombie style isn't what we want. I hope this helps you somewhat. Also, when he is off his meds(not too often) we notice no side effects either. We did when he was on Ritalin though, and it was not pretty! Happy New Year!

My 10 year old son only takes his RitalinSR on school days. He has been off for a week so far due to Christmas vacation. His doctor and I agreed to this. He is loud and rather hyper but happy which is the main thing. I think med breaks are important. I want him to know how he feels both on and off the meds. This way when he's old enough he can decide which is better for him.

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well I've talked about my med vacations often - but it seems appropriate to help bella out here with it a bit more.

I take them - every 2 months when I can get the time to do it.  It takes preparation and advance planning with friends family (and even coworkers if you have to work through it).  I try and do it during actual vacations but that doesn't always work as right now I only get 2 weeks vacation time.

I DO take my meds most weekends - as I like to be civil with friends/family when I have free time, and also work many 6 or 7 day weeks in my job.  It's just very inconvenient to not have the happy feel and focus during those 2 day windows where I want to enjoy the time with people I actually like.

As I mentioned I try and warn everyone around me that during my med vacation I'm not going to be as happy, focused or active as when on meds.  They know that they can phone or visit - just be ready to see the old ADHD me and either not come over or tolerate it.  Actually the first 3 days are fine off it - then it gets back to the bad old days the last 4.

This last week I took my latest vacation.  It was only 4 days but enough to give me the push I needed.  I feel better and still staying at 20mg doses which I desire to stay at.  It's now been 14 months on meds and changed doses only once and I give the vacations major credit for that.

Hope this helps some people decide.

 

Glen- What is your opinion on kids taking med holidays? Weekends and school vacations? I understand where you are comming from from an adult point of view, but as a mom of a recently diagnosed ADHD child, I would like some input on whether or not it is a good idea for kids to do. Thanks!!Dr. said it would be okay for now, as we are just getting started with FocalinXR, and trying to get the dose right. Med seems to be okay from a side effect stand point and because it is fast acting to start and by the end of the day gone from the system, Dr didnt see a need for weekends and holidays except if daughter needed to focus and stay on task. Just looking to see if other kids take med holidays and if it was a good idea. Thanks!!thanks, glen.  that is good info :)  i'm trying to stay on a dosage of 20 as well.

justamom, your child's doctor would be the best resource for whether or not med holidays are a good option for him/her.

:)

I'm on my own little med vacation.. well, half vacation... ahem.. my mom came up and has been with me for the holidays.. decided to go on 1/2 dose... good thing I did.. I was way more calm and patient with her than I would have been without.

So far, don't miss the second dose at all. I just start feeling a little tired midday for about an hour.  When the family leaves, I am going cold turkey for a few days til school starts again. I am hoping that there will be an increased effectiveness of the dose like when I first started.. if not, then at least I will have given my body a bit of rest from the stimulant

the only negative I have is that the anxiety that I origionally had before beginning treatment is returning.. I feel a bit on the nervous side.. a familiar feeling that I had almost forgotten about!!  If my BP rises back up like it was before ever taking meds.. I may just go back on them anyway.. I figure if a stim is keeping my bp healthy then It must be something for both my physical and mental health.. Hope this isnt too much information.. just sharing my experience. Glen has posted about his own med holiday on I think the adult board.. you might want to check it out!

Sherry

Hi Bella,

Glen did post about a med holiday in the Adult section. 

I have only been on Adderall a month, but my Dr and I agreed that I would take weekends off to help me to not build up a tolerance.  I take 30 mg a day of the regular but I split the pill up to spread it out through the day, and I don't want to go up much from that if I can help it.  But I know what you mean, I think I'm getting used to the feeling of functioning better too, and I don't notice the effects as much.  Have you talked to your Dr about it yet?

thanks for posting, but that thread doesn't really pertain to what i am experiencing.

i think the effects are diminishing because i have gotten used to what it feels like to function w/o add.

i have forgotten to take my medicine for a day or two and experience no withdrawal, so i really hope somebody else can help?

glen?

bella med holidays might -only might- give you withdrawals, check out thread called

advice????     

posted by bman30 -it might also explain why you feel the effects are diminishing.

 

 

this thread http://adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14806&PN=1

Itchy38715.4123958333come on - i know i've seen you all post about your med holidays! i've been on adderall xr 20 mg now for a couple months.  i take an immediate release 5 mg sometimes when i need to concentrate in the afternoon.

i've noticed the effects have diminished a bit.

not sure why - i don't know if i need to increase the dosage, or maybe take a med holiday?

how often do you take med holidays and for how long?
bella_b38715.3424652778