Christmas Break Nightmare | ADHD Information
I do NOT recommend giving med breaks. It is too hard on their little systems. Children get used to their behaviors and the way they have a mental routine. If you change that, and take the meds away, the chemicals in the brain are used to having things a certain way and then BAM, it's changed. That is not healthy for the child and is very hard on their self esteem when we have to punish them for bad behavior that they cannot control while NOT on meds, because they were taken off of them. Think about how hard it is for his system to go from meds and "normality" to no meds and cannot sit still or control himself in less than 3 days. That is hard on him. It is much harder on him than it is on us as parents. I'm adhd, take it from me, med breaks are only distracting and frustrating for children. Why fix it if it's not broke? Remember that. He was fine with the medications and now he has to start over. You need to call the doc as soon as they are in the office and ask them what meds to take and how much of it. You might have to change or give him more (growing and hormones). I've been there and would not want to do it again. lol Hang in there, we are here for you. Remind him that ADHD is not an excuse for BAD behavior. You're doing fine. Our first med break was our last med break. lmao he was 4 then and now he is 9! lmao
I hear you. The med break idea was actually something that his pediatrician and we agreed on, after he lost 7 out of his pre-med 67 pounds, in the course of three (or was it four? ) months. Losing 10% of his body weight had us scared. When we took him in for a check-up and asked about the weight issue, his doctor acquiesed to 5-days-a-week medicine. It seems to be working, well enough, anyway.
Wow. You're right, though. It's hard, no matter how you look at it. 
I tried replying to this earlier, but somehow lost my post.
I can relate, although it sounds like my experience is much less intense than yours. I also try to give my son a break from his meds whenever I can (long story -- I should probably post a couple questions over in the meds forum.)
On his school breaks, my son's behavior can be pretty erratic. Not sure whether it's the lack of meds or the unusual routine. His just-like-clockwork routine has saved us all, many a time. So, when things are different, my son's behavior can be oh! Really different.
Now that he's older, though, a basic threat of meds-while-on-vacation is usually enough to calm him down.
Not sure that my experience is helpful in any way. Just wanted to say that you're not alone in experiencing school-break nightmares. Hang in.
My daughter is on Ritalin and is off meds for the break and is doing fine I think it depends on not only the child but he meds as well for certain ones there is no break. My girl is still in the study and they are providing the meds and if I were to request they will give me more. What luvmykids02 says is very true. It also gets in the way of the children adjusting to the medication. They are ADHD 7 days a week, 24 hrs. a day. It isn't fair to do that to them, unless it is due to a medical condition.When children are taken off medication on weekends, the child goes from feeling totaly in control to feeling totally out of control so what your seeing is the symptoms of adhd returning with a vengence. The inability to focus affects all areas of life. For my son, suffering socially and emotionally was more devastating than having academic problems in school. On weekends his adhd didnt go away. Off medication he suffered from peer rejection in the neighborhood and would impulsively dart out into the street so his lack of focus also put him in harms way. For my son, putting him on medication was giving him a break from all the emotional pain he endured before being put on medication. Adhd is not a school issue, its a quality of life issue.
With regard to the dose of focalin your son is taking, it may need to be adjusted because perhaps the curent dose is not allowng him to experience maximum benefit. Sometimes it takes a few adjustments or change of meds to achieve the right med and the right dose. Give your child's doctor a call as if the the child is on the target dose, it should effectivey manage all of the symptoms of adhd.
STRATTERA is a bad deal!!!!!!!! we had a nightmare of a time with it too. if he is on it, do NOT TAKE A BREAK FROM IT! if your doc says to, you need to find a differ doc. when we took our son off strattera he was just under 7 and he had the nightmares and thoughts of him shooting himself or some one else shooting him. NOT a good thing. It's not worth it. I hear it is worse as the kids get older on it. It's a personal choice, but go and read the thread at the top on the strattera warnings, there are a lot of scary stories. "Oh my goodness! Right now, I'm terrified. "Why are you terrified? Is your child on Strattera?
If your child is on Strattera, you cannot take breaks with that medication. It builds up in the blood system over time so there is always something in the blood to "help".
we took our son off stratterra when my then 7 year old said he wanted to kill himself! It was stopped immediately, no weaning! He has never said that or anything else like it again!
We are happy with concerta and guanfacine.
Feel free to ask any questions about meds.!
We recently started him on guanfacine for anger, aggression, and moodiness, and I think that I see some results...today his 6 year old niece broke a piece of styrofoam that went with his new magnetix, and he was obviously not happy, but he did not yell...he just said.."Great, I wanted to use that to put them back away." I could see him get angry, then stop and kind of figurativly bite his tongue and then he spoke...usually he goes straight to scream.
He will be up to the target dose in a couple days and if this med helps him, I am going to ask the dr to let us just use it on weekends and in the summertime when the stim is unnecessary for him.
That way, he can gain and grow all summer and hopefully get a head start on the school year on the stimulant. Right now he only weighs 56 pounds.
Oh my goodness! Right now, I'm terrified. Up until recently, I didn't know anything about the links of Straterra to increased incidence of depression and suicidal thoughts in kids. Yikes! My three-year-old policy of weekends off sounds even better to me now, even though I believe I understand the down side.
Oh! 
Yikes! *off to read Straterra-related threads*
Thanks.