Focalin xr 5 mg | ADHD Information
I have tried the offiical site to the med and looked up
some sites regarding this med. I do know its a
newly refined form of rittalin, which I am uneasy
about. My son has moderate adhd. It was time to
help treat him with this, enough of medical
documentation and evidence were in favor of trying
meds. I have done it without meds through is
academic career, with sports, extracurricular
activities and alot of 1 on 1. As he is getting older,
the school work is more demanding and he gets
headaches, and finds it hard to keep up. He is a A,
B, student with a C+ sprinkled here and there.
I wanted to be able to help him, and retaining him
was not the answer.
So I am in the same boat, trying the meds, to help
him be more balanced. The Doctor feels this will
help him with the stress, anxiety, headaches and
feeling more balanced.Hi. I don't know if you've done a search on focalinxr on this board, but I know this site has a pretty crummy search engine - so forgive me if you have already read my posts.
My son is 12 and started with Focalin XR last fall, right before school started. He was dx'd with adhd and mild depression the year before. We had been taking him to counseling ever since. He is very bright, but has slow processing and distractability, which made it difficult for him to get any work done which required writing more than a few words here and there.
Anyway, he told me he didn't think the medicine was doing anything. Of course we started at 5mg and eventually went up to 15 mg. He couldn't tell when it "kicked in" or wore off, and we weren't giving it to him on weekends, so we didn't notice much. I wondered if I was just giving him unnecessary meds. Well, then the better grades and finshed work started rolling in. His depression started to dissappear. Now it is totally gone, and we go to counseling only once a month.
Because he didn't seem to feel so well on Mondays, we started giving it to him on the weekends as well. We noticed that he is better behaved and seems in a better mood as a result. We will take a full med break this summer. I have noticed that his growth and appetite seem fine. Hope this helps.
thanks, I haven't done a search, I so knew to this
site. My son has been on this med for 8 days, so It is
very new to our familywe started focalin about a month ago alonjg wiht stratera whihc my 10-year-old son has been tkaing ofr 3 years. it started out good but within a week he was horrible at home and there was not enough difference in school to make it worth the home situtation we arte now trying adderal.
tonicMy 8 yr old son is on Focalin xr 20mg, will probably start Wellbutrin soon. We have tried adderall, strattera, and focalin. Focalin was the only one that sorta worked without bad side effects. Strattera did nothing. He is extremely impulsive and hyper, physically and mentally. Addderall made him moody. Focalin makes him somewhat tolerable, but if we try to increase the dose his mood changes. I am so tired. Tired of ADHD,tired of meds, of notes from school, suspensions from school, suspensions off the bus. Just so tired.I was hoping to see some responses to your post...I am just beginning to start the same Rx/dose for my 8 yr old son, inattentive ADHD and nonverbal learning disorder and possible Tourettes. Feeling pretty anxious about giving these meds.amechris,
I forgot to tell you that focalinXR generally wears off in about 8 hours, which is why some don't use it. If it works but just wears off too soon for homework, you might ask the dr about the short acting version for nights when there is a lot of homework. Some people find this helps.
You're right, adhd kids take a lot more time and support, and I have noticed that a very strong bond has formed between my adhd son and me. I'm actually trying now to make more of an effort with my older non-adhd son, because we are close, but not as close.
You sound like a great mom! How can he go wrong with all that love?
Hello again, you mentioned, 'is why some don't use
it', is focalin a new drug, I read that it is rittalin, but
newly refined. I was wondering if anyone knew
about the drug and what light they can shed on it.
I am hoping my son will use the focalin and thats it,
and the 8 hours at school is fine, to be honest, I
really don't want him on anything more.
Is focalin a habit forming drug for children? How long
does a doctor keep them on this or any meds. Are
you worried about side effects, heart, etc?
If anyone would like to email me or post here, that
would be great.
Good luck and thanks for posting and thank you to all
the posts already, It is very much appreciated.
I am new to this site and new to medication for my 9
year old son. Can anyone message me with your
experiences and information on focalin xr. Thanks. [QUOTE=amechris]
I am new to this site and new to medication for my 9
year old son. Can anyone message me with your
experiences and information on focalin xr.
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
....and so it goes I was curious to know if anyone who has tried the Focalin XR could tell a difference in the first day? How long should we wait to see a difference before contacting the doctor for a different dose? Thanks...
ChrisDay2838835.6608564815my son has been taking it since april 17 and he has
said two things, that are positive.
1) I don't have headaches anymore
2) I can really concentrate at school, I'm not
distracted.
Good luck, I am not sure within a day, but he seems
to be doing good on it ( my son) so far
I'm sorry to hear how tired you are. I have gotten like
that lately. My problem, is the Homework at night,
and as he is getting older, the work load increases.
When he was younger I did alot from the GNC and
the lower grades kept it at "bay". Now, hes older,
and the concentration, focus, headaches are more
noticable, and I just put my hands up to God, and
said, I can't be in control of this much longer, I need
help. Because he was so well documentated, from
5 and on, he was tested privately and public, the
doctors had enough of medical evidence, that yes,
indeed, he needed some help.
Amazingly, with now, a couple of weeks on it, my son
said to me this morning, " Mom, I can really see the
page, the work I am doing, and the other stuff (
distractions) don't bother me anymore, I'm really on
the same page as the kids are." Needless to say, I
was shocked.
My son has moderate ADHD. Things, like wearing
socks, bother him, because of the bumps by your
toes, or friends can make him frustrated easily.
I'm not sure if these things will work for you or any
other moms , Dads, grandparents, but this is what I
have done with my son over the years. We have an
extremely close bond, and he talks to me at length
about anything, I feel The closeness and the help
that I gave him and Patience I gave him, all the 1 on
1 has really helped our relationship and continues
to.
I hug my son everyday. Morning, afternoon and
Night. I let him talk about everything under the sun. If
he paces while talking, I tell him, my ears aren't so
good with the pacing, so come and sit down.
I make the best breakfast's and head starts for
school his whole academic career.
I give him choices in the morning with what he wants
to wear.
After 50 pairs of socks in one year, he knows
sometimes goes to school without socks, its not
worth the battle.
One to two days a week, he has to wear Khaki pants,
instead of all the nylon sweatpants, one or two days
of dress for mom.
I sit with him with homework, this year, I am letting
him go and do it on his own.
Prior to school, I spent every single day with him,
doing academics, books, and at the age of 3 he has
had his own library card.
He makes choices of what he wants to eat for
dinner, or I announce at breakfast what we are
hav;ing for him to process it all day.
I am liberal with him, but pull in the reigns, when
need be.
I demand respect and when he is mad, he can yell,
but he cannot direct names at me, or he says he is
sorry.
My son was an only child till 5 1/2 and even with an
early childhood major, the patience and time I put
into him, were because that is what you do with
children, I had no idea, the high energy and his ways
were apparent, until a neighbor told me, "your so
patient with him", I thought, " what the heck is she
talking about". After the birth of my second child, I
see the difference. My first one with ADHD, is more
work, more time involved.
Lastly and sorry for this being so long: His
pediatrician suggested to put him in as much
activities as I can.
I did ! Drums, three years of soccer, two years of
Basketball, Cubs, School Choir ( one year), open
gym ( one year) Local camp ( three years).
I also kept a structured home and still do, I kept
things organized and activities available here.
I don't like X Box, but now that he is older, I let him
play, but good weather, he is outside, first , then
Xbox.
Hope this helps. Keep your kids active and give
them structure. Give them the emotional time they
need with you, it will go very far.
Focalin didn't do much at all for my son. I hear you need it in high doses to work if anything. My son's doctor did say he hasn't had a very good response from his patients on it but then again, everyone is so different. My son has been taking Focalin XR for about 4 weeks. He's 6 and in Kindergarten. He was started out on 5mg, then increased to 2 5mg capsules a day. The dosage seemed very inconsistent. Some days he did good and others not so good. Some days it seemed to last longer, and other days it seemed to wear off quickly. We did that for the past 2 weeks. Went back to our pediatrican earlier this week and got a 10mg prescription. We'll see if taking one 10mg cap is more consistent than taking 2 5mg caps.
As far as seeing a difference in him, he's not as bouncy or running though the house. He walks through the house most of the time now. His attitude has changed some, but not as much as I'd like to see. So, we may have to have the dose increased, or try something else. It's such a hard call. The past couple of days, he seems extremely talkative. He just carries on a conversation pretty much non-stop...and is making me crazy! The good thing though, is that he doesn't seem as angry. Just talkative.
Has anyone else had any experience with your doctor increasing the dose and using 2, 5mg pills compared to a 10mg pill? We were just wondering if it would be less effective that way.
Oh...the other thing is that he really complains most days of his stomach hurting. And, we've had a few restless nights where he couldn't sleep or woke up in the middle of the night crying.
ChrisDay2838856.4941666667
My son is almost 6 and we tried the Focalin XR and the only issue we had is that he could NOT fall asleep at night! He has always been a great sleeper but he just could not fall to sleep and would cry because of it.
We tried 5 mg and then 10mg because of inconsistant behavior and the only huge problem was the lack of sleep.
We stopped it for that reason only.
Let me preface this post to warn you that my son (age 13) is going through puberty and he is metabolizing his medications like crazy. His meds are being managed by a pediatric psychiatrist who has many years experience managing kids with multiple number of diagnosis.
We are trying a trial of Focalin XR....but it is not lasting over 5 hrs. We are currently trying 60 mg (yes....60!) of Focalin...twice a day. We were on 126 mg of Concerta once per day, but it wasn't lasting long enough at school. By the middle school years......... the academic demands really increase, and my son was not functioning well in the last 3 critical periods of the day when his meds had worn off. Thus....the Focalin XR trial.
My impression of Focalin XR: For my son, it doesn't appear to be the correct medication. Concerta is a much smoother medication for him....less ups and downs on mood. My son is also dx'd with generalized anxiety and dysthymia (low grade depression) and is also on 100 mg of Zoloft, plus 2 mg of Tenex.
It is very hard to compare medications because what works for one child, may be a disaster for another. Adderall was a disaster for us. Stratterra did absolutely nothing for us. Concerta and regular Ritalin had the best results for us. Metadate CD and Ritalin LA were not the right releases for us. Also....med breaks on weekends for us do not work. It really messes his chemistry up. Med breaks for other children may do fine.
Okiemom
bump up
My daughter(1st grade will be 7 in august) takes a 20 mg Focalin xr in the morning...this gets her through the school day. When she gets home she takes a 7.5 (sometimes only 5) mg of the regular focalin (which only lasts around four hours) to do her homework. I can easily tell when either dose it wears off as she is starving. We do have to eat breakfast before we take the large dose in the AM or she will say she is not hungry....but mealtime either way is always a challenge.
Does anyone ever lower the dose in the summer? is it safe? She does need to be medicated all the time as she has alot of accidents without(stitches broken bones etc.) She could also stand to gain a few pounds. Any input will really help. Thanks
Focalin is a new class of stimulant ADHD meds. Originally for narcolepsy (but developed for the US military as an alternative to dexedrine for air force pilots), it works well in some for ADHD. It has less side effects - but does disturb sleep patterns as it was originally intended to.
It has less chance of abuse - has little to no addictive qualities. In other words there is little chance of that "buzz" that non-adhders feel with stimulant meds. Less chance the meds get stolen for a thrill.
Still very new but tests very safe in recent studies.
My stepson just got changed to Focalin 5mg. We are using it for the very first time today. I am hopping that this will help. But I am also trying to learn as much about it as possible. He is going for some more evaluatiions soon so hopefuly we wil have some answers soon.My 4 year old is on Focalin 5mg. We've found it to be effective and have seen no side effects. He sleeps well, doesn't overeat or undereat with this medication. We've been on it for about 3 months and everyday I see more and more effectiveness. His teacher and family and friends have all commented on how they have noticed a positive change in him. He is still an active boy, but now seems to handle his impulsive behaviors very well and just seems to be happier in general. Along with the medicine we are working with a nutritionist. We are using more 100% whole wheat products and giving him more protein in his diet along with the fruits and vegetables. We always gave him fruits and vegetables but have learned that because fruits have natural sugar that we should add a protein along with the fruit. Doing diet and medicine seems to be the trick for us. Hopefully we won't have to add increases of the medicine. I am a 28 year old guy with innatentive add. My therapist put me on focalin xr 5mg x2 daily. It's amazing I haven't had any crazy side effects or interactions. I feel focused and sharp, like a switch has been flipped in my head. I am more productive and even my personal relationships are getting better (not that they were bad before). I'm on effexor and neurontin for chronic foot and leg pain, and Abilify for bi-polar and the focalin fits right in with no apparent problems. I have been on the same dose now for nearly 3 months. Not all meds are right for everyone...brain chemistry differs etc... From what I've read, I feel lucky that my mild add has been pretty much put under control by the low dose of Focalin. I have no trouble sleeping at night because my evening abilify dose makes me a tad drowsy and I'm a big guy who sleeps easily regardless.Both of my sons have were switched to Focalin XR (10mg), ages 9 and 7. They are both doing great on this drug.. my husband and I keep looking at each other like they are different kids! They both seem to listen to us better, and just seem happier overall 
It's been great.. Less fights, less tears... We are hoping to that these good things keep happening... We have only tried Strattera before, and it just was not the right drug for us..
My boys are great sleepers.. we have not had any problems with them not sleeping.. they do seem to want to stay up later with it beign summer break, but other than that, they get at least 8-10 hours of sleep a night..
Good luck!