Hello to all. My son was just diagnosed one week ago with adhd and prescribed the medication Adderall XR 15 mg for the am and Adderall 5 mg for the pm. I have been researching on all of the meds and have found so much info, but finding this forum was great.
My son's teacher has sent home notes and I have talked on the phone with her and she's stressed about how great my son is doing on the meds. At home is a different story. He isn't being hyper like normal, he is like a zombie. All he seems to want to do is draw and color with a pencil. The first night that he was on the meds he went through almost a whole one subject notebook and almost a whole pencil. It really worried me. Also, the first couple of days he was biting his lip but that did go away (thank heavens!). He has lost his appetite and I have to bribe him to eat, but he will eat once the meds wear off. He goes to sleep at around midnight or later. I have tried not giving the pm tablet but he still stays up because the XR meds stay in his system so long. I am wondering if we need a lower mg??? I went to his teacher this morning to talk with her in person and despite all of the notes and phone calls I have had with her, she failed to mention that she has seen the side effect with the coloring. I asked her if my son was interacting with others and she told that he doesn't unless someone else speaks to him first. This is so abnormal to me because he used to be so out going, a little shy around new people, but for the most part out going. Can anyone tell me if this is normal. I feel like his teacher just wants him to sit there all day and not "bother" her. I would appreciate any info that you all have. I have been struggling with the emotional battle of medicating my child, which I am sure all of you are also going through or have been through. Sorry for the long post.
Susan
It sounds to me that your son is on too high of a dose. But his body may adjust to it. It's hard to say. Maybe your doctor can prescribe you a smaller dose. You may want to help him sleep with melatonin. Ask your ped about it.Sounds like it is too high to me also. Ask the doc to take him down to either a 5mg or 10mg...I would probably not give the evening dose at all. How old is he? My son is 7 takes Adderall XR also and we are able to get the homework done without an evening dose if he starts as soon as he gets home. If he has an evening activity, I will give him a little magnesium rather than more stimulant medication.
When my son was in first grade both his teacher and I agreed that his meds were adequate and any problems would have to be addressed using behavior mod/reward systems...now in the second grade he is expected to follow the class rules and if he does not he gets the same consequences as any other member of the class...so far he has had a great year.
joemom39020.5297569444I would contact your doctor. It does take some time for their bodies to adjust to being on the meds - I don't know whether some of this will go away once his body is used to it. Could be that this is not the medicine for him!!