Focalin | ADHD Information
I've tried most of the ADHD meds and Focalin XR is still the gold standard for me. I could NEVER express how much I love it and how wonderful it is... It took some trial and error to find the best dosage, though. I take 20 mg. at 8:00 am, and 20 mg. at 3 p.m. It's never caused any problems with getting to sleep. Actually, I had sleeping problems for over THIRTY years before starting on it, and my sleep schedule is more normalized in the past year than it's ever been before.
The only thing is that I have co-occurring OCD and Tourette's, so we're still working out the best med combo!! I can tell y'all, though, that the stimulants don't make either one of those conditions worse, so don't be afraid to take them. And once again--- I LOVE FOCALIN and it's been a lifesaver.
Glad you have found something that works for you so well! I loved the Focalin for my son, he just won't take it. In some ways he is immature and some ways he seems like we are dealing with a bratty teen already(he is 9). I just pray he will get it through his thick skull(like his dad)that it was sooo helpful for him and did nothing but good. oh well another day with no meds.I'm new here my son has been on Daytrana since last March. He has done extremely well on it and we love the long acting affect and the fact that we can remove the patch when we want so he can go to be earlier. The big problem is that he is getting very itchy now at the site where the patch was and the creams I've been using don't seem to help as much. He has gone back and forth with this. Anyhow, our doctor is talking about putting him on focalin but I'm reading here that everyone needs a second dose pretty much. Are there no long acting forms that will get them through the day? There is not a school nurse every day at my son's school and the teacher told me last year she could not give the pills if we did that. I'm wondering do all you parents go to school to give your kids the second dose? Do the other schools have a nurse every day? Or do the other ladies in the office give the pills. I'm not sure we can do this without the school nurse there every day. I don't think I can run to school after lunch each day to give him the second med.I can't believe they don't have a nurse there very day. We live in a very small town (ass't principal covers the cafeteria at lunch, and so does the nurse) and we have a nurse every day. I would give it a try the XR is supposed to give you enough coverage. Even if you had to give him a short acting after school. It's worth trying. Diane V39430.1477314815My son, 13, is on Focalin 10 mg XR and 5 mg tablets 3xs daily. The results have been been good. He takes a dose when he first gets up in the a.m. to help with his mornings. Up until about 3 weeks ago when HE decided not to take it my 9 year old son was on FocalinXR 5 mg at 7 am. This lasted until 4-5 pm when we had a bit of a comedown then dinner and he was ok. The med did wonders for him and we can't figure out why he has stopped, because he is failing school without it. with it he is like another child. easy to get along with , nice, considerate, focused in school and this is only on 5 mg. We have co morbid anxiety as well and after the rebound he would get back some of that anxiety and probably need to be treated for that as well but until he will commit to the Focalin the current doc won't treat his anxiety. We have a new doc appt. coming in 2 weeks so we will see what he has to say about the whole issue. And my son is in therapy working on the taking of the meds issue. I found it very hard to get info on this med as it seems very illusive.My son has taken Focalin for a couple of years now... works great but our biggest issue is rebound (he becomes a raving lunatic when it wears off). Also, the XR only last about 6-7 hours for him... meaning it wears off as he's coming home from school... necessitating one short-acting pill for homework, then another short one as needed for nighttime activities/practices/etc.It saved our sanity, and I'd recommend Focalin to anyone with the above caveats, but we'll be trying Vyvanse shortly to see if we can smooth out the rebound issue.
Audrey.
While we have used Daytrana and had the best success with that - it has seemed to stop woring for my son. We switched to the Focalin and it works and I like it - I think - but it definately does NOT last 12 hours like the dr told me it would - I would say at the most 6 hours......
Hi aesposito
I know what you mean - the Focalin XR works great on my son during the day but it's wearing off as he gets home from school. I have a prescription for regular Focalin which we use when he really needs it - like for homework or if we have to go out. But most nights he is bouncing off the walls. He's older now - nine - and I can get him to sit and settle some nights, but sometimes I can't and he just wears me out! Let us know how the Vyvanse works.
HI-
I just joined. I have a 6 yr old who is going to be the death of me. I love him so much (as I am crying writing this), and he is sweet and adorable and had so much H (as in hyper...). To my dismay, we put him on focalin and it has worked. Really well for the day. What about the evening though? Does anyone have any experience on what to do with the huge mood swings I am experiencing? Thanks.
Kris
Whew, these medicatin dances are exhausting huh?
My 5 year old has fabulous results with FocalinXR 10 mg. at school, but the evenings can be unbearable. Terrible moods swings and anxiety. For those reasons, we are getting ready to start 5 mg. of Ritalin, 2 X's a day. He did great on 2.5 mg of Ritalin, but his body got used to it, so we tried the FocalinXR, with hopes it would last all day.
If the Ritalin 5 mg. 2 X's a day doesn't work out, we will ask about returning to the FocalinXR, and possibly giving something else to help with rebound.
So, I guess I'm not the only one seeing bad rebound from FocalinXR.
The way I ended up having to do it was taking 20 mg of Focalin XR in the morning and 20 mg. at 3:00. This works well for me, but remember that I have no idea how a child would react. Also, I've never had any problems getting to sleep, no matter how late I take any of the stimulants. I have literally taken Focalin or Adderall an hour before bed and slept wonderfully. NOT everyone can get away with that, so YMMV. I'm not sure if I posted to this yet but when we were on Focalin We had hard rebounds in the begining and then they got a little better. We found excersise and playing outside was the best thing for the reboundWill takes 20mg by 7am and takes another 15 mg at noon, both XR. This is, by far, the best med combo for him yet. He is doing excellent in school, much better at home, and can now fall asleep at bedtime, usually. 
I've always heard this time of year and the beginning of Spring, is when it all goes crazy.
His last dosage was the 20 mg in the morning and 5mg in the 3-4pm. It took a while to figure it out, but finally I realized that the pm dosage was keeping him up WAY late at night. Now that he takes his last dosage at noon, it's worn off by bedtime. And I haven't thought about it in a while, but I guess we aren't having any rebounds. I really couldn't tell you when the meds are actually wearing off. I'm not saying he's perfect, he was NOT good at all last night, but things are a ton better.
We are finally able to go places with him without too much trouble..
Will is 8 yrs old and takes Focalin XR 20 mg in the mornings and 15 at noon. Our 10 year old son has been on 20mg of Focalin XR for 2 years, and it has worked great. I started to notice this school year that he was very hyper after school, boucing off the walls! I mentioned to our doc, and he prescribed 5mg of Focalin to give as a booster dose for the evening. I was finding I was doing this every day...mentioned it again at our visit last week and the doc decided to increase his Focalin XR daily to 30mg. So far so good, we won't do the 5mg dose anymore. The doc thinks our son is going through a growth and metabolism increased. He weighs 85 pounds and is 5'3"Hello - we have been doing the medicine dance since June. The latest is Focalin XR - my 5 year old is only taking 5 mg right now and his impulse control is really bad and his anxiety as well.
We did try 10 mg in the morning and he was a vombie. I have been reading that some people or their children take Focalin XR multiple times a day even though it is supposed to be long acting (his starts wearing off before Noon).
I like this med. because he eats on it. Any thoughts or recommendations?
My kids ar on focalin xr and have the option of a second dose in the afternoon. They do not need the second dose because the first lasts long enough. When the oldest starts driving, we will probably add the second dose. Appetite is not affected by this med for either of my kids.
Hi elegy,
Why don't you start journaling (a few words will do) how you feel every day you take Focalin, and you may ask someone close to you to give his/her impressions. In a few weeks, you'd be ready to decide whether this is working for you or not.
Good luck!
Elegy, I know my daughter's pediatrician had told us that if the Focalin XR 20 mg did not seem effective for her, he would change medications instead of increasing the dosage. Focalin is the first we have tried and the doctor said oftentimes you have to try several medications before you get the right or best one. Hang in there and best of luck.
My 13-year-old daughter started Focalin XR 10 mg. around the first of June. In July, we increased to 15 mg. The 15 mg. has worked very well except it doesn't seem to last the entire day. She takes it at 7:00 a.m. and it seems to wear off before her last class that starts at 1:30 p.m. We are now going to increase to 20 mg. with the possibility of taking a small dose of another medication to help with homework, study time. My daughter was just diagnosed last May with ADHD and this year has been incredibly better than the last two years. Her grades are 100% improved as well as her self-confidence. Also, the only minor side effect she has had with the Focalin XR is a little decrease in appetite. Good luck. I was diagnosed with ADHD about 6 months ago, and have been on Focalin
since. At first I was on Focalin XR but was having trouble sleeping, so was
switched to taking the IRs a few times a day. Gradually it's become less
effective, to the point where I'm taking 70mgs of Focalin. 30mg bid and
10mg in the late afternoon.
Why my provider is choosing to go down this path, I do not know. I do know,
however, that my insurance company is giving me a considerable amount of
crap and I have to get an XXL bottle for my prescription of 210 pills a
month.
My son was on Focalin for awhile and it worked well, then stopped - we just switched to Ritalin.
My feelings are this - I can tell within 2-4 days if the medicine is going to work. These medicines are stimulants - they start to work within an hour and then they leave your system within 8-12 hours, giving it for a week or more is NOT going to change anything. The only exception I have found is side effects - if your only problem is side effects (not severe ones) I would suggest trying it for a week or two to see if the side effects go away.
My other suggestion is this - sometimes doctors have free coupons from the manufacturers for a 30 day supply - when trying a new medicine see if they have one of these free coupons, otherwise find out from your insurance provider if your doctor can write a script for a 7 day dose, if it works they can write a script for a 21 day dose - but not all insurances will let you do this - sometimes it costs more up front for less pills than for 30 days - for some ODD reason.
These are MY opinions only and I have about 3 years and about 6-8 rx experience.
Hope this helps!!!!
Brenda
Well, we finally made the switch to Focalin XR 10 mg. My son has been on it for the two days this weekend but I'm already seeing him acting more hyper. I will give it time to work but hopefully we will not need to increase the dose so quickly. I find it odd that doctors give us 30 pills each time and then we usually find we have to change the dose one way or the other and then you are left with unused pills once again. I do save them in case we need to go back on something. But I guess with the 10 we could double that to giving 2 for a while before we get the 20s. Now I'm also seeing him more irritable pretty much all day so I really hope this med does not let us down too. Our doctor said if this does not work for him we should try switching to non stimulants. Now my understanding is that they take about 2 weeks to start working and I know none of us could make it that long with no medication for him. Medication even if it's not the perfect fit for him has been so much better than when he took nothing. I don't think any of us could survive taking him off we've tried a few breaks and it just did not work. I don't understand how anyone can give their kids weekend breaks or holiday breaks. I mean our son would just about give us all nervous breakdowns with his behavior unmedicated. Sad to say that, we love him dearly but it's the truth. Anyone out there with new success on this med to report I don't see any recent entries in here.
I have a 6 year old on Focalin XR 10mg for ADHD. He started at 5mg but did not do well so we upped him to 10mg last week!! His teacher said that he has been fabulous with no problems at all! He is focused, doing his work and not mouthing off like he used to. We are so happy with the results and hope it continues to do the job. Every child is different in how they react to meds and the dosage is key. His appetite has been great although sleeping is rough so we give him a little melatonin to help him fall asleep. Hopefully you will have good results as well. If not switch meds until you find the one right for your child.
My son has been on several things since I last wrote above about Daytrana. We have tried 18 mg of Concerta which was very good but not enough. We moved him up to Converta 27 mg but that caused no appetite and terrible sleep problems like 1:00 a.m. sleep times. So then we tried Ritalin LA and that made him so irritable it was very good for school work he acutally scored Advanced in everything on the State testing and his grades were off the charts. But over the summer we took him off that and put him back on Concerta 18 mg. that was O.K. over the summer with sports camp it kept him lively and able to compete and have fun. But now with school once again we are hearing he's speaking in class when he should not be and he's getting warning slips about second time being told to stop talking. So now I feel like I have to change again. I'm still considering Focalin XR but he needs something to get through the entire day at school. We still only have a school nurse one day per week and we live in Los Angeles. They do have other ladies and the principal who could give the meds but I don't trust them enough to remember and give him the correct meds. Also he's turning 9 now and he's embarassed to have other kids know he's taking meds. I thought Focalin XR stands or extended release I guess I need to read up on this. We have an appointment this p.m. to try to talk about what we should doMy daughter is 13, almost 14. We just started the 20 mg Focalin XR and it is definitely lasting the day (she takes it at 7:00 a.m. and is out of school at 2:30 p.m.). It is lasting a little through the evening which is helpful with homework and studying. I haven't noticed any significant side effects, she doesn't have a lot of appetite during the day but definitely does in the evening. I am very pleased with the Focalin XR. Good luck.
Hi,
Focalin didn't work for us. We tried it on ds (then 8), form Feb 1, 2006, to Jul 30, 2006. They increased the dose gradually, from 10mg to 20 mg.
In six months, he stopped eating, sleeping and growing. Dropped 1 lb per month. Rebounds were unbearable. His personality would change too much under Focalin. His voice would go flat. He started having obssessive thoughts; by month 5 he said he was hearing voices. Month 5 he threw the cat against the wall with incredible force, and said he had no idea why he'd done it. Got very OCD about germs. If a fly stopped on a table in a picnic, he'd refuse to eat "around all those germs". He'd wake up in a foul mood until meds kicked in. Anxiety was so bad, he'd make his fingers bleed from biting around the fingernails.
Those six months were my first and last attempt with medications. Since then, we've turned to Occupational Therapist and we are extremely pleased with the results, even though it took a whole change of lifestyle for the whole family.
jpmomagain39711.5143171296Our 10 year old has been on meds for 3 years now, tried a few of the ritilan drugs, finally settled on Focalin for the low side effects, you need to try a few to get it right, watch for stomach aches, (make sure they have something to eat first) anxiety, irritabliity, etc. Your doctor should help, we went to a great Child behaviorist that knew much more then the Ped. The switch to XR gets him through the school day now, he is up to 30mg, it has been hard gauging when to up it, he has these growth spurts, then you start noticing the adhd starting to creep back.
We dont give him any meds at night, makes homework, reading time and bedtime a nightmare but he suddenly is very hungry, and is finally gaining some wieght (we thought he was going to be 6 feet tall and still wiegh 60 pounds..lol) we are hoping it gives him a chance to deal with his impulsiveness and learn how to control it. It certainly is teaching us how!
He has been enjoying school so much more now with the Focalin XR, has been getting great grades.
It will take a few months to get the type and amount of drugs correct, work with the teacher, most are very willing to help>
ag489239850.914525463My son has been on the XR - good at first then depression and not working all day. He was put on the normal and VERY good so far!!!
Everyone has different experiences. I have loved the XR so much!!! :) Also, it does NOT interfere with epilepsy meds at all. Very important to know.
WE LOVED FOCALIN XR!!!! It made my son a different kid. Hewas so much fun to be around. He liked himself on Focalin,
but we had so much trouble finding a way to get it to him.
He can't swallow pills and fights us on it. When we put it
in something he chewed up the XR and so it finally wasn't
working for us like it did when we first gave it to him. We
needed to get him on something he would take. Our doctor
gave us patches in a different drug, but they didn't work
and he couldn't sleep at all. Focalin works
great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =) Glad it works for you!
My son has taken Focalin for the last 5 years. We have had to "play" with his meds. He is now taking Focalin 10mg @ 7am, 12noon, and 3pm. He also takes Adderal XR 30mg @ 7am. We had to add Risperidol in the evening to help with sleep and his appetite. He is 11 years old and is the 6th grade. He is very responsible with taking his meds at school, and they are good about making sure he does take it.
I wish you luck in finding the right dosage and medicine for your child!
Brandi
My nearly 8 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD early this summer. Last month we tried Focalin XR first. We did not experience any side effects, but we did not really notice a difference at home with his impulsivity, frustration tolerance, etc when going from 5 mg to 10 mg. I tried 15 mg. and we started to notice some subtle improvements, but his ped. does not feel comfortable starting him at 15 mg. because he would not prescribe over 20 mg. for a child/adolescent, and he didn't feel that it gave us much room to increase the dosage later if necessary. We switched to Metadate CD 20 mg two weeks ago, we are back to the same minimal effects but the ped wants to wait out the month now that school has started before considering an increase. My son has still not shown side effects on either med, so I don't see why he's so afraid to increase dosages to see what it can do for him. I think he's being a bit too conservative, but I trust him, so I'll go along with this a little while and see what his teacher thinks. I think Focalin XR was fine and would have worked out for us if would have been permitted to increase his dosage until we saw the effects we desired, but since the recommended dosages are not supposed to exceed 20 mg, our doctor would not consider it a good med for my son, who may eventually need more. Good luck with Focalin for your son, how much does he take, and did your doctor tell you he wouldn't prescribe 15 mg for an eight year old? Just wondering.SueFin38969.2918171296MY SON IS ON FOCALIN XR AND TAKES 5MG ONCE A DAY FOR RIGHT KNOW, IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR DAUGHTER AND HOW SHE REACTS TO THE MED, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO ADJUST THE MEDS. THAT WHAT SUCKS ABOUT MEDS YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH THE DOSAGE.
Hi Everyone,
I am new to this forum. My daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD and is going to start taking Focalin on Saturday. I am a little apprehensive about giving her anything but the doctor said that she thought it was time to start. We have been going to the dr. since she was in Kindergarten. She is now in 2nd grade. I am starting her out on 5mg a day. I was a little shocked when I read how much some kids were having to take. Should I expect to up the dosage for Nicole?
Thanks for reading my post,
Teresa
My 7 yr. old son has taken Concerta since July '05 and has increasingly become anxious and afraid of everything. He won't even go to his bedroom or the restroom by himself. He is so afraid at night that he lays in his bed for hours and calls out to my husband and I about being scared. We've positioned a chair where he can see one of us until he goes to sleep. This is pretty time consuming for all of us.
We just started him on Focalin last week and it is wearing off by about 1 pm. His teacher says he does great until then. He has always taken a Ritalin at 3:15 after school to get him through the evening activities, so we are continuing that and it seems to help. I just got a prescription for the 15mg today and he is going to try to take 2 of those in the AM and see if they last longer. Two 15mg's is supposed to be the same as 54mg of Concerta which is what he was taking.
We'll see......
him (same as short acting). It is great for him, but he has to take it twice at
school to get through the day. He also has anxiety and focalin kicks it up a
little. We are trying to avoid another medicine for the anxiety, but we might
have to go that route. We tried many other meds before settling on Focalin.
It works great. I just wish it would last longer. We tried concerta, which
lasted long, but he had major anxiety and meltdowns at school. It was too
much for him (and us). He is on the thin side, but does eat and sleeps pretty
well. He just gets up early and is pretty wild before the meds kick in.
The Focalin XR (2 15mg in the AM) and Zoloft (PM) combination seem to be working for my son. He is doing well in school and seems less anxious. He is eating better and going to sleep better at night. We pray for this combination to continue to work for him.
My son also has an anxiety disorder that I noticed after starting medication but my psychiatrist explained that when you can attend and focus better, it also will allow the anxiety to be more prominent, but taking something for the anxiety and something for the adhd can be a good balance. My son has been on anxiety and stimulant for years and they have worked great for him. He is 10 and is now on Focalin XR 20 mg. That was not lasting so the psychiatrits added 5mg. to it. He also gets anafranil at night which helps with the anxiety but also potentiates the other medication. It works great for us. Hi Luna16Nicole has been on the Focalin xr 5mg going on 2 wks now. Her teacher told me last week that she could see a big improvement in Nicole's attention span especially in the morning hours. I haven't really noticed any appetite changes in her but this morning when I was brushing her hair for school she said that yesterday at lunch she felt crazy. I asked her why and she said that she couldn't eat. I explained to her that it was a normal reaction to the medication, and to just eat what she could. I didn't give her any medication last weekend and probably won't this weekend either. One thing I have noticed is that it has been more difficult to get her to bed at night. Do you have any problems getting your son to bed at night?
My son's doctor also prescribes Clonidine for him to take at night. This helps him sleep but it takes about an hour to work. On the very few nights we have forgotten the Clonidine it is like 3:00 am before he goes to sleep. In the days before his diagnosis - when we were on no medicines - it would always be 12:00 or 1:00 before he went to sleep. I guess this is the hyperactive part!
Hi Nicolesmom
My 8 year old son has been on Focalin XR 5 mg a day for well over a year now. It has helped him tremendously and I see no need to up his dosage. He only takes one in the morning. The only side effect - it really supresses his appetite so I'm always pushing food at him. We stopped taking it during the summer and he grew like crazy, so I also suspect it may be delaying his growth. We don't take it on weekends/school breaks - which is just fine with our doctor.
So, we're having great results with Focalin for our 8 year old son. Anyone have any relevant experiences to share? Good or bad? Please share. Bump for a replyHum, ok... My son who is 5 took focalin xr pretty much all last year up until about a month ago when we decided to try the patch. From our experience Focalin xr did well. We had a hard time findiing the right does though. 20 mg in the morning (7 am) only last until around 1 max which was not long enough for school hours. So we bumped it up to 30mg in hopes it would possibly last until 5:30 pm (our goal at the time). The 30 was too strong. He was a zombie for the 1st 3 hours or so.... so we went back to 20 mg with a 10 mg around 1. That worked out pretty well... but decided we would like it to last longer in the evening for after school activites and time at home. So we changed the 10 mg to 20 mg. After all that we finally settled on 20 mg in the am and 20 mg in the pm. The only complaint we had was it made his tummy upset for the 1st hour or so and he chewed his nails to numbs from over concentrating. His appetite was good b/c the 20mg was wearing off just around lunch time... so he could then eat... and take another pill afterwards to control his afternoon. All was well. Having to give the 2nd does was a pain. Having to remember.. having a teacher/nurse give it to him ect.... So we decided to do the patch. The patch was a god send! He was good on a 20mg patch. It lasted all day! We got prasie from all his teachers ect... Well, it ened up not working for us b/c the patch irrited his skin to the point that we had to stop using them, plus his appetite had gone to pot. Never hungry! This Saturday he will start 10 mg of Adderall. We are back to square one in finding the right dose and i know it will require 2 pills a day again.... Oh well ...life continues on. Good luck to you.
ptgally38968.3603935185Seriously, does no one else take or have a child who takes Focalin?? Why??? I mean, I know it's relatively new, but SOMEONE must have experience with it?? Please?My son takes Focalin XR 25mg, just added 5mg from 20mg. He is 12, It works good to keep him out of 'trouble' he is not the problem in the class room but it takes forever for him to get work done. He is in the 7th grade and i am so worried about him. I am 21 years old, and just diagnosed with Adult Adhd, I tried Aderall xr for a month and it worked great for a while, but we had to keep raising my dosage, from 20mg a day to 40, then 60, to see any benefit and after a while it did nothing except make me tired, so im trying Focalin at 20 mgs a day and still nothing, Do you think taking Aderall xr 30 mgs, and Focalin 20 mgs at the same time would help, is it safe???Hi 2boyz. My 7 year old (ADHD) was on the 20 mg patch with success untilrecently. In the late afternoon he would be in hyperfocus mode, afraid of
bugs and a bit jumpy. We cut back to the back to the 15 which does not
give him those side effects - but the dr wants to augment with a low focalin
or ritalin dose in the am to get him through the mornings until the lower
dose patch is in full effect. We're going to try it this week and are praying
that the combo works because until the weird side effects, the patch has
been great.Thank you for sharing focalin stories!
My 7 year old has been on focalin XR since May and it's been the best option for him thus far. We had tried dexadrine, concerta, adderall, and strattera - whew. He takes 10mg with breakfast at 7am and it works great for school. The acedemics are going great but he has NO APPETTITE until about 3pm. As he's starting to rebound, we TRY to hurry and get the homework going. We have many rough evenings but we hate to give him more medication since the boy needs food. He's still extrememly wound up until bedtime so we do melatonin for sleep.Focalin XR 30mg did nothing for me. But thats just me.yayyy ima groupie now!!
- busts out into breakdancing pose -To all parents and caregivers of our very special chldren, I have always found this group to be of immense help when I had a question or
two involving my son's treatment, but this stream of focalin responses has
made me smile and even chuckle with delight at the recognition of my family
in your families! And I would like to know how so many of you have found me
and have been looking through my windows at night!!
For so many families, nighttime is an active time, full of family talk,
homework and dinners at the table and then quiet time before bed. If we are
lucky, we can find a few minutes to sit with our spouses and talk about our
day and make plans for tomorrow. For those of us with ADHD kids, nighttime is
anything but.... We strive to maintain a peaceful house for all our kids, but
it is never easy. Time with our wives/husbands is scarce. If you're like me I
collapse every night after the kids go to sleep, with dishes in the sink and
laundry unfolded. With my schedule of full-time work and full-time homework
with 3 children (10yr old girl, 7 yr old DS and 4 yr old son, who I had when
I was 44 yrs old) I have no time for myself or my husband.
What I can add to the mix is that I have a wonderful, 7 yr old who is bright
and beautiful and challenges me each day to be more patient than I was the
day before and use all my physical and mental resources to make him the best
person he can be. If he wants to do his homework as he truly often does
laying with his back on the floor, under a chair with the underseat as his
table and his feet holding the chair up, as long as he learns the material,
I'm going to let him.
Remember this poem and remember to leave the unessentials to spend a few
minutes just hugging on your kids - all of them -
Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep
May God bless each of you.
We just got back from the Doctor and she now wants to try 10mg Focalin XR so it may last a little longer and help with the homework. Once I said that the ADD was beginning to affect the whole family she agreed we must keep searching for a good fit. Hope this one will be better.
This is the first drug we have tried. Doctor wants to just medicate for school and asked me if I can handle the afterschool and weekends. I rolled my eyes! Some days homework is such a nightmare. She needs some help, but then when I attempt it, she tells me "I know Mom". I feel bad giving her something, but I too am hoping this helps her. I just feel like a loser if I tell the Doctor I need her to be medicated after school so we can get through the homework. My daughter (10yr. 5th grade) is really resistant to the medication. She wants to be "normal like everyone else" so each morning I have to watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesnt hide the pill. Ugh.Some docs start at the lowest dose and work up (especially with people who have not been on meds before). This can reduce side effects but takes time and you end up with several partial bottles of meds left over. Others will start at a dose closest to the expected effective dose, especially with older kids and adults.
My oldest (11yo, 120lbs, inattentive) is on 20mg focalin and has been doing great. No side effects and she is getting her work done, not losing it and can "hear" the teacher's instructions better.
You should talk to the doc about your concerns. You, your son and the doc are partners in your son's treatment.
My son was prescribed Focalin XR 20mg last week. He is 12 years old, 5'4 and weighs 130 pounds. Does 20 mg seem like too high of a dosage for him? This is his first time taking any kind of adhd medication. I have not started him on it because he is currently on winter break from school and he is only to take it on school days. However, I plan on starting him on the medication next weekend so I can monitor him at home for a few days.
I still feel SO unsure about medicating him, but at the same time I know it might be very helpful to him. He was dx with ADD(inattentive) in the 4th grade. He has had an IEP since that time, but my husband and I were totally against medication. Now he is in 7th grade and really struggling. He has become so frustrated and is really hating school. He is open to trying medication, so hopefully it will work for him.
I welcome any advice, suggestions, and comforting words anyone might have!
Thanks!
Hey luna, yes like your son, my DD has growth issues also. I am so worried about that. She is barely hanging on to the 25th percentile for height and weight that Im hoping this doesnt interfer with her eating. She has a very poor appetite even before starting the meds. That is why I tried giving her vitamin and natural supplements first. I am so upset that she refused to take them because the teacher said whatever I was doing was working!!! Oh well, my kid doesnt understand that it was better that she was taking natural stuff, granted many pills, versus this prescription med. There is no telling her anything!! I would like to have the option to medicate on the weekend. She is on a travel soccer team and from the beginning was a starter. Her inattention has become an issue at times and she has been put with the second string on occasion. She notices right away of course, but when I tell her she wasnt paying attention to the game she denies it!! I dont want this problem to interfer with the ONE thing she feels she is really good at but then again she brings up "Dr. says I only needed them on school days". Ill have to think on this. My kids' doc has a different perspective than to treat only for school. Because ADHD can affect them in other areas like homework, social interactions, family interactions, impulsivity, etc., He would rather treat the symptoms that adversely affect thier life. Homework is easier (and almost always done before I get home from work) so there are fewer fights with dad and the child/parent bonds are getting stronger. Impulsivity and hyperactivity are reduced in the evening and weekends so my youngest daughter is actually making and keeping friends, which has really boosted her self esteem. I look at the future with driving, the danger of impulsive decisions (pregnanacy, substance abuse, etc) and realize my daughters will need all the help they can get to get through the risky teen times (especially the younger one whose maturity really lags others her age). I was originally focussing on school, but the doctor was the one to help me look at the other areas ADHD affects a person's life. Meds is also not the only aspect of the treatment, such as behavior modification, social skills coaching and other things as needed.Thank you Vickie. I definitely agree that we are all partners in my son's treatment. I'm glad to hear that your daughter is doing so well with her treatment.
spring162. My Dr. wants my son to only take medication on school days as well. We'll see how it goes. It takes him a long time to complete his homework in the evenings as well, but I let him take short breaks which helps a bit. Hang in there, hopefully things will get better.
Spring 162
My doctor also asked if we could just limit my son's medication to school days. He is 8 and has been on Focalin XR 5 mg since the second grade. He mainly suggested this because my son is so thin and this medicine really suppresses his appetite. We also have a prescription for a "normal" dose of Focalin - no XR - for 5 mg for those nights when he absolutely needs it to get through his homework, but we try to limit those times
The Focalin works fine for him in school but I can sure tell it's worn off by the time he gets home!
After a hellish night last night with homework, I fully support round the clock treatment LOL. It was just a bad scene all around and while I realize it is the ADD that is helping to make her a terror, it is hard not to lose your patience with her. I spend so much time explaning and re-explaining to her. I never get the whole story as it changes per her whim. I am seeing the Doc today and will mention she needs something for after school so homework will be easier and life around here will hopefully approach normal.I would go crazy if Chase had no meds in his system for homework! Before he got the meds homework was such a chore. I would have to sit right there and keep him on task constantly. Supper was delayed, my daycare kids that were here were not properly supervised, because if they were in the same room as Chase, they were too distracting to him.
While on concerta, the med was in his system for homework, in fact it was in his system for too long, not wearing off before bed even, and he was only hungry for breakfast. Once we switched to ritalin LA, I noticed that if he did not get right on his homework, the med was wearing off, and it became the same old problem, so I talked to the doctor and she prescribed a fast acting short lasting ritalin for homework help. She wrote on the prescription (and the drug store printed on the label) "For when Chase has lots of homework"
I don't use it every day, but when he needs it, it is here and appreciated by all!
My DD has just taken her third dose of Focalin today. It was her first day of going to school with medicine on board. She seems to have no side effects or appetite issues so far. I HOPE it will help her at school. Waiting to hear from her teacher by Wed. so when I go back to dr. I can give her opinion. Crossing fingers big time
We're currently trying to find the right dose of Focalin for our 6 year old son.
Apparently he is very sensitive to ADHD meds because we keep having to decrease the dose:
Started with Focalin XR 5mg. Becomes zombie-like, introverted, emotional. Won't eat a crumb of food. Decreased to Focalin 2.5mg (unavailable in XR). Still zombie, introverted, emotional, zero appetite. Psychologist and Pediatrician suggested cutting the 2.5mg tablet in half. (Need to get a pill cutter.) Awaiting a response from Shire to insure cutting the pill will not affect its efficacy.(Previously tried low dose Ritalin LA with same problems, as well as Daytrana 10mg.)
The psychologist initially completed a thorough evaluation in diagnosing son's ADHD (predominantly hyper/impulsive). DH and I do not question the diagnosis. Child is in constant over-drive when off meds! Has all the classic signs.
Also, he had his enlarged tonsils/adenoids removed to fix his sleep apnea problem, but he still stops breathing repeatedly during his sleep. Appointment with ENT is in April.
I'm mainly perplexed about how even very low doses of Focalin make such an incredibly drastic change in his behavior (from the "life of the party" to a complete "party pooper").
Leslie
My 7 son has been on Focalin since Feb of last year and in that year we have had great success in quieting his behavior problems at school, but are still dealing with acadmic issues. We have increased the dosage and tried combining the Focalin XR with the regular Focalin. The regular Focalin seemed to be too much - led to ultra sensitivity and 'over-focussing' - so we took him off and just increased the XR dosage. We are up to 30 mg per day and if taken at 8am during school days it lasts until around 5-6 and then we can see the symptoms return. From then on, the evening is pretty much chaos from 8-10pm until he finally collapses from exhaustion. Homework has been a real issue. By the time we get home and settled in, it is harder for me to get dinner, take care of the other children and their homework and struggle with his as well. He has an IEP and accomodations hav been made in the classroom and homework has been adjusted too, but it is still difficult.
He has never had any side effects except the racing heartbeat the first few days until he got used to it. He sleeps well through the night and has had some weight loss due to appetite reduction, but nothing else.
His teacher is constantly monitoring his behavior and when she notices that he is more distracted than usual, she will let me know. We usually notice it at about the same time. At that point ,we change his dosage. We have changed it about 7-8 times since he started.
We are now faced with the possiblity of adding Stratera to the Focalin as our next and inevitable step. I am nervous about this an am not convinced that it is the best thing. He has done well on Focalin and have had little side-effects and am a little afraid of giving him too much.
I would like some feedback about Stratera, as well, in combination with Focalin and what I might expect.
I know this thread is old. I was just wondering if any of your kids are still taking Focalin? My son was on Concerta for about 8 months and he did great except he wasn't eating much and he was losing weight. He also had a really hard time falling asleep at night.
The dr. just switched him to Focalin 2 weeks ago. He took 10mg for a week and I didn't tell the teacher we switched meds. When I came to his class to pick him up she asked if something changed. She said all week he couldn't sit still or focus and he was cutting up his eraser and fidgeting with things. I talked to the dr. and she said for him to take 20 mg. once a day. He has been doing that and things are much better.
I thought if he takes 2 pills it should last 8 hours right? It seems to not last that long. The teacher said he is better in class, but the last hour he gets restless. He is really hyper when he gets home. I hate to give him another pill, but it's REALLY hard when he can't even listen to me. It's as if he is looking at me, but he doesn't hear me. I am afraid he won't go to sleep with more medication too. Just wondering if anybody else has had this problem? Thank you.