New to message board and adhd | ADHD Information

Hello to all,

I am new at this!  My 6 year old son was diagnosed last week with adhd.  He was always a bit energetic, but is really bright.  I thought the behaviors were typical for his age....just turned 6 in september.  He is in first grade this year and is having problems getting his work finished, staying organized, staying seated and not getting too excited at school.  At home he is argumentative and moody.  If he is not in control, he is unbearable.  Although he never gets what he wants during his "fits", he still has them. 

He started on 5mg of focalin xr sunday.  Although I cannot see much difference, he teachers do.  He is in a multi-age class for first and second grades.  Is it uncommon to also have a regular dose after school?  We are having a hard time getting his homework done.  I was considering asking for a regular dose for the days he really needs to focus in the afternoons.

He apprears to be rebounding aroun 3:00pm.  I teach high school and the elem school is on the same property.  He has had rough afternoons for about 30-45 minutes.  This is about the time I am tutoring afterschool.  Any suggestions to how I can calm him down?

Thanks for such great information!  I am glad I found this message board!

Welcome to the board!! I am also very glad I found it!!!

Why don't you check alternative and complementary medicine forum. I have a pretty similar situation. My son takes strattera and seems to work perfectly at school but not at home. So I started Omega and Magnesium about a month ago; I don't want to be too excited, but I am starting to notice a happier child and the homework issues also seem to be improving. There is another thing that calls my attention but I haven't tried;  the focus formula. You can check out that section and see if you find it helpful.

Good luck!!

When we began the concerta and had rebound, it usually meant that the meds were starting to wear off and my son was getting his appetite back and was hungry. For my son, I fed him!  He would start with a chocolate bar, usually their blood sugar is low from not eating, and then he would eat something else. I never used another medication because he got 12 hrs out of his meds. which are given at 7:00am, except his guanfacine for overstimulation. 

Even if he has a sport practice around 5:00pm, we make sure he isn't hungry, even a drink with sugar in it, like iced tea, pepsi,juice etc. or he grabs a quick sandwich before he walks out the door.

I have read a lot of parents giving another med for the afternoon, but if you are on a long acting medication time released and at the CORRECT dosage, then they should get 12 hrs out of it. Ask your prescribing dr., at least that's what our doctor told us!

I used food to help with rebound for my son starting with something sweet, that's what worked for us!

 

 

Hi and welcome!  I would talk to your doctor, if he is rebounding at 3pm his dosage may not be high enough.

We started Focalin XR about a month ago, gradually increased his dosage up to 10mg which seems to be working very well for us.  We don't have much of a rebound, but I believe that the meds are pretty much worn off by around 6:30 or so.  It does take a little while for their little bodies to get used to the meds too, so give it some time.

We have been using Daytrana, which is a ritalin patch.  It takes two hours to kick in and two hours to wear off and because of the time it takes to wear off, we have seen absolutely no rebound problem.  If the Focalin isn't working for you, ask your doctor about Daytrana.  You can buy a thirty pack or a ten pack for a trial run.  Ds has done so well this fall and I know that's one of the reasons why.  HTH

This is happening with my son too.  Whether he is on medication or not.  For my son I think it is more of an overstimualtion thing.  During this time I try to figure out what he needs.  Some days he needs something physical like riding his bike or some days he needs quiet space to himself like reading a magzine or catalog.

We were having some problems with meds too and now all he is taking is Omega 3.  I have played around with that too and is mood seems to stabilize more with a higher dose of EPA rather than DHA.

 

hello my son  is  4 and  has very similar peoblems  in pre school he seems to  rebound after  3:00...hes on 5 ml of dexedrine in the  morning and  if needed 1/2 the  pill in the  afternoons and  seems to  be  fine  however we still have good  days  and  bad days so  dont feel badd-my son likes to  get his way for  everything hes odd also  -so  i deal with  both  but sometimes its  just as hard.

so  i would  talk to  your  doctor about giving your  son a nother pill in the  after noons just as long as it didnt disrupt his sleep patter.

 

have a great holiday

Just adding to susieb - we also had rebound problems and switched to Daytrana. My doctor gave me a packet with info and it also had a card to call and "register" to get 45 free patches (still trying to figure out how to use the last 5 because the packs don't come that low, but it was nice to try and see how he handled the new med).

The afternoons are tricky, he is iritable because when the medication is wearing off, it tends to leave the body quickly. It's like being dropped on the floor suddenly, but hard. My son worked through it with sugar, hershey bars to be exact.

Mention the afternoons to his prescribing doctor because some say that depending on the medication, rebound should not be tolerated. Also keep in mind that as he gets older, he will be doing homework, playing sports, etc. after school and will need to be at his best.

My son is 9. We get through the homework but for sports at around 5:00pm, my son takes half of  guanfacine for his overstimulation. If he has no afternoon activities, then we do nothing. His body has finally adjusted to the medication. He is also gaining weight and growing. My son is on 72mgs of concerta. He takes it around 7:00am and it lasts for at least 10hrs, maybe even the full 12.

Hope this is of some help! 

Beth

UPDATE:  I am now trying 10mg of Focalin XR.  He still seems to be doing well in school.  The afternoons are still a mess though.  I  have a DRs appt next week.  I am wondering if he needs a higher dose or a short acting dose in the afternoons.  THanks for the support and suggestions.