My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed last year with add. We went on Adderall XR for a few months but the mood swings were too horrifying so my doctor switched her to focalin. Before we started giving her the focalin, we decided that we would try w/out meds for a while. ( We did not tell her teacher that we took her off the meds). She finished the school year okay with 4 A's and 2 B's. But this summer I have noticed she is still real spacey and can't complete a simple task like putting her clothes on in the morning without having to be redirected at least 5 times.
I'm thinking about trying her on the focalin this summer to see how she does. Has anyone taken focalin? Good or bad results? I am really on the fence as to how to proceed. Any advice would be appreciated.
Personally, I would give it a try. Adderall has a bit of a reputation for making some people moody, but many people love it too. That certainly doesn't mean that it will happen with Focalin. You may have great results with it.
I've only tried two Stimulants. One was awful for me, and one has been great, no side effects at all. So you just never know. Every person reacts differently to each medication. :)
My daughter has been on Focalin XR since October. It has worked very well for her. We tried Adderall, but it caused a very depressive mood. We then tried Metadate, but it did not give her the coverage she needed. She then started on Concerta, which really helped her. After 9 mos. though, she develped a very odd tic of wiping her face-she looked like a cat grooming itself!! She was very uncomfortable with it but could not stop herself. We tried Straterra and her personality was not her usual and her attention span was even worse. Out of desperation, we tried Focalin XR. No tics, her own personlity!!! Sometimes she gets pretty cranky when it leaves her system, but she had all A's and friends this year!!! She has a better appetite than on Concerta and has grown in height this year (she is going into 4th grade). She has commented how her brain has slowed down and she can think better. I hope this helps!Thanks for everyone's advice.
1then2....What dosage of focalin is your daughter on?
Does anyone know when Focalin came out? I'm thinking of asking our Dr. for it for my son. I know it's a stimulant, but how is it different from Adderall and Concerta? (We've tried both..... works just ok..... takes the edge off but he needs much more help with focus and concentration in school. Thanks!My son can't take Adderall either due to the violent reactions he suffers from it, and Focalin did absolutely nothing for him. He didn't have any negative side effects, but it didn't help him focus at all. jfla2, Thanks so much for the info and article!Focalin came out about a year or so ago...can't remember. It has the same active ingredient as Ritalin without the inactive part. It is supposed to be as safe and efficacious as Ritalin. Here's an article:
jfla238894.240474537