There is 15 mg Focalin XR -- made by taking 3 5 mg capsules or 1 5 mg capsule and 1 10 mg capsule.
My 8 year old son was diagnosed with ADD/Inattentive/Impulsivity December '05. He was initially prescribed Concerta {beginning dose was to be 18mg then 36mg and finally 54 mg}. Well, we didn't get pass the 18mg dose; he lost weight and practically stopped eating!!! {Weighed 129 in December and now weighs 116 lbs}.
The doctor switched him to Focalin XR; he takes 20mg each morning and it takes him through the day; However, I have noticed he has been having issues in school with talking without permission again and becoming debative with his teacher. He will eat breakfast most days but lunch is almost obselete and I have difficulty getting him to eat in the evening!!! I am wondering if I should consider having him take 10mg early morning and the second 10mg mid day???? Any suggestions? Advice????
How long did you try the concerta for? Your son sounds like a very big boy. My eight years old weighed 58 lbs, so when he lost weight we couldn't go for long. However, his appetite resumed. He never really gained too much, but he didn't lose after the first few weeks.
I loved Concerta, thought it worked the best for my son.. Its possible if you give the Concerta a little longer he will begin eating again. Esp. if you try it after another med, sometimes as their bodies get used to it they will begin eating at least in the evenings after the concerta wears off.
My 8 year is a big boy -- he lacks 1/4 inch being 5 ft tall. He will celebrate his 9th birthday in about 3 weeks!! The doctor originally placed him on Concerta in December -- he was on the med for approximately six weeks. We never could advance him from the lst stage of doses -- he was to take 18 mg the lst seven days; 36 mg the next seven days; and, ending up at the 54 mg stage for his weight. Each time we tried to increase the dose, my son became extremely anxiety ridden; easily frustrated and totally not himself. It would take him nearly 4 hours to go to sleep ... it concerned me greatly to watch my son cry when he wanted to go to sleep but couldn't!!! We tried this 3 times -- He has been on Focalin XR for almost four weeks ... He did eat better and slept much better when this began...
He started on 10mg and after one week it was increased to 20mg... I am now monitoring his performance/behavior at school and meeting with his doctor again ... I agree that Concerta is an excellent medication for ADHD - it just didn't work for my son's system!!
hi i have a 3 yr old his ped just prescribed this for him in a 5mg once a day so far no side effects i am hoping he will still be himself does anyone out there have the same situation would appreciate any advice they have to offer it would be nice to talk to someone without feeling like my son and i are being labeled but on the other hand we are hoping this will also mean we can go into public again without wondering what he is going to do this time or his teacher at pre school more or less politely asking me to take him out cause she can not kick him out
My son Jake is currently on Adderral XR 20mg but with everthing recently about Adderral XR and the fact that its not lasting long enough, I was thinking of switching to Focalin---Any thoughts? Anything I need to know?
For my daughter 10mg doesnt do enough, 15 is almost too much. She gets really quiet. She goes from a chatterbox to mute. I tried 20 once and she became so quiet and withdrawn that she appeared depressed. It's amazing and scary how small changes in doses can alter the personality.
Tasmanian, you can actually custom make your own dose of 12 to 13 mg Focalin XR by giving your daughter a 10 mg (or two 5 mg) capsule and then emptying half of a 5 mg capsule into applesauce or pudding for her to take. That would help with the problem of 10 mg being too little and 15 mg being too much.