does anyone know if you can take concerta breaks to catch up on not eating?
i'm thinking of giving it to my son Mon-Thurs. and taking Fri, Sat, Sun as a break.
We have given med breaks before, is your son in school? What do you think will happen on Friday? This is typically the day for many academic tests. You might want to just try the weekends first and see if you get the results you want. Watch out for headaches and the day back after the break. This happens to my son almost every time we re-start.
My son only takes his Concerta on Monday - Friday. We skip the weekends. My Dr. said that is fine to do. He is inattentive type ADHD and doesn't need it when he's just hanging out at home.
Discuss it with your son's doctor. The doctor will probably have an opinion based on the experiences of his/her patients. My daughter's doctor does not like breaks in the beginning, but will add them based on how the child is doing and what the effective dose is. If you try the breaks and they do not help, you can always go back to 7 days a week. It should not be a big deal to try. One thing to consider like joemom said is any issues with stopping or restarting. Did you son have any side effects on starting, that went away over time? Also is the concerta a low dose or high dose?I realize every case is different-but we were encouraged not to take drug holidays. My 8 year old son in on Concetta 27 Mg and he has combined type adhd. We tried switching meds a couple different times where we did a wash out period of a few days with out the med-it was a nightmare. He had rebound hyperactivity, he was running out in front of traffic, very impulsive....ended up being too dangerous and non-advantageous.
He is under weight but we are struggling with some tricks to over come that,
good luck
ang
My 10 year old son took a med break from his Concerta briefly over the summer. I checked with my son's doctor, he said it was ok. It did not work well for us, but may work for you. Check with your son's doctorHi my son, who has been on concerta for over four years now, is on such a high dose, 90 mg. I don't give him any weekend or holiday breaks because he can't deal without the meds. He will tell you this himself. He is 12, and has learned to eat when he's hungry, he weighs 71lbs., but the Dr. doesn't see a problem with this. I f your child can handle not having the meds. then go for it!
My son's pediatrician recommended "Carnation Instant Breakfast" to help with getting more protein and calories into my son. We tried some flavors and he likes chocolate. Sometimes I make smoothies with strawberry instant breakfast, frozen strawberries, yogurt, milk, and bananas. He loves that when he comes home from school on a hot day - we're in Texas, so hot days are the norm here!Hi: my son is ten years old with ADHD combined type and in this last year has been switched to Concerta and Strattera (was previously on Ritalin but to many other areas not addressed with this medication along with behav. mod, vitamin supplementation, environmental considerations, diet and keeping physically active and lots of down time, that we have always had in place since very young). Regarding the issue of 'lack of appetitie' due to being on Concerta... despite dense, hi protein/carb. foods and hi protein drinks for back up... he eats like a mouse and is only 54kgs. with a high metabolism (like me). Unless he is at home and we can give him the liberty to come back to his meals as he is hungry,... he doesn't eat much. His nutrition is important for him being at his best emotionally, mentally, and physically... it is of a great concern over the years. Yes, we give him concerta free holidays, as this whole summer almost... but boy our family life suffered and I'm sure he did too, especially in the self esteem and social aspects with his peers. We really think long and hard what the day plans will be before we consider taking him off his medication... but he stays on the Strattera 24/7 (this is not a medication you would stop suddenly... it was titrated over a number of months and requires the reverse to take him off).
We have been seeing a physchiatrist the specializes in ADD/ADHD and co-morbid conditions for over 7 plus months and are constantly evaluating effects and reassessing utilizing feedback from many resources, including school and other disciplines like OT, etc. Given this, more recently I have brought up the concern again about his lack of eating. The psychiatrist discussed Respiradone (labelled as an anti-depressant) which in small doses (not same dosing as treating depression) has an effect on increasing appetitie and helping in sleeping at night. Part of the assessment in considering this medication was 1) any aggressive behaviour (which previously was an issue but not anymore with the lates changes in his overall regieme); 2) presenting with sleepiness with medications he is already on (not at all). The dose would be given twice a day. The mose critical side effect to monitor for would be firstly, muscle rigidity onset, feeling of unwellness, fever... he gave me a verbal list to consider if we decide to use this medication as this would be something to monitor and would be seen within the first 6 months of starting the drug.
Now is the time we have to consider whether or not to go this route. Don't know if this helps your question about 'catching up and eating' but if any one else has something to add regarding Respiradone I would appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks
clm
cclm