I would call the doc. I know that when I give a med break I cannot go up to the highest dosage or I have a zombie, sleepy kid.
Are you getting any feedback from the camp?
joemom38912.2052777778My son (6 YO ADHD) was diagnosed in Feb and started Medications (medidate CD) It took a good month at the right dose for his personality and enthusiasm to fully come back... But it did.. His appetite has also gotten better while on the medication - Not back to noraml but better - we also give him a shake made with ice cream and ensure every am & pm He also goes to day camp (with medication) on days when he is just hanging around the house we dont give it to him. He actually at times will ask to take it... when he is just hanging around the house because he says he feels more relaxed - He even once told me that he can play his playstation games better when he is on his medication haha I had to laugh... (I take the same Medication for ADD and I can relate totally to what he is saying) For us... I give him his meds when he is in a situation that he needs to be able to control his body (be calmer) and pay attention.... Karate - Drum Lessons - Gymnastics - Day Camp - Church - IF I dont give him Medication for any of these activities he usually ends up getting out of hand - and getting disciplined for his actions - which I think in the long run may have a negative impact on him because he cannot really help acting that way when he is not on the medication... WHich may cause him to want to avoid these activites and situations where he keeps getting in trouble... Causing him to miss out on a lot of fun stuff.. For his medication Medidate CD he can stop then restart at the same dose - We can stop an start for a day or two but longer than that I need to start up at a different dosage.no feedback yet but I let his counselor know it is VITAL that he let me know today or tomorrow how he did without the meds, since I will have to give him the meds again on Sunday if he's going to start again - I'm afraid to take more than a three day break. I'm waiting to hear back from the Doctor as to how to start him up again. Quite honestly, I'd rather see him off completely for the summer.
I most definitely would speak with the doctor.
This past year, we discovered my son is ADD. The last week of school is when we finally found the correct medication and dosage. So far, we have had two weeks of day camp and he's been on the medication. He comes home from camp, but hasn't really been enthusiastic (the medication is DEFINITELY toning him down ALOT).
Today, he didn't take the Concerta, and went to a Water park with his camp. He came home happy, smiling, enthusiastic and boasting about the 4 slices of pizza he ate. It was such a pleasure to see him with his appetite back and his usual exuberant self.
Tomorrow is a regular day in camp - we're going to see how he does without the meds (I'm thinking maybe having the meds only during the school year is the way to go).
My question is, if he stops the Concerta during the summer, and takes it up again in September, do we start him off on the dose he is on now? (36 mg), or do we start at 18 and work our way up again. Also, what is other parents opinion on taking the kid off meds during the summer?
Thank you
My son takes RitalinSR. He takes the weekends and school holidays off. His doctor and I decided this together. He takes karate during the school year. By the time we go,his meds have worn off. The only time his meds are fully out of his system is in the summer. From what I understand it takes a few weeks for the meds to fully get out of the system. This makes sense since it takes a while for them to fully get into your system.update - I heard back from the camp and they felt his appetite and participation were sooo much better OFF the concerta, although he was definitely more aggressive and impulsive . We've decided to keep him off the meds for next week and see how he does without them - maybe he really needs them just for school. I spoke to the specialist and he said if we start him up again we start him at 36 mg Concerta, but I think we'll start at 27 or 18 just to get his body used to it again. Thanks for your help everyone.