Love Daytrana | ADHD Information
Congratulations to you and your son.
I am so glad you have found you way though the med trial period and into successful treatment. You stuck with it (pun intended) through the difficult times to help you son and you should be proud.
The right med is wonderful!
DD has been using Daytrana for a year now. I was skeptical when the med trials started, and now I am glad we stuck with it.......it has changed her life!
GOOD FOR YOU!!! And your son, I know what a struggle it is! We just started the patch today, 10mg. We were taking 18mg of Concerta but I had to fight with her to get her to swallow a pill! Horrible!!
How long did it take for the patch to start working?? We started today and had a horrible day at school, like she didn't even take her medicine. I hope this patch works, we had such a nice morning!
I have some wonderful news........It is so nice to read good news or happy things sometimes. If you read the daytrana anyone? thread, you will see that this has been a trial. It hasn't been all good, but now we are at a great thing. I stuck in there with the Daytrana because I saw glimpses of what it could do. DS has been on the patch for months now. We stopped at 20mg several months ago, and things just kept getting better. He stopped getting in trouble so much, his reading IMPROVED wonderfully. Even his handwriting improved. Well, this past six weeks he made the AB honor roll. I about pooed my pants!!! We bought him two PS2 games as an award for his hard work. I KNEW this kid had it in him. We haven't had any backlashes from the patch in a long time either. I just keep telling him, "whatever you are doing to make these grades, keep it up" He tells me that he sometimes has to stop listening to his brain! I am so proud that I had to brag!!
I would consider it a nervous tic. My son pulls at the skin around his fingernails until they bleed..
We were only on Daytrana for a dew days but it did seem to help with that.
A couple of ideas to toss around regarding my patch application and removal experience:
Because it takes awhile to get the medication in the system, I place the patch on my child before he wakes up. By the time he's up and going, plus the time it takes to commute to school, he's all set when the bell rings.
(Of course I've cursed at the patch because it's so hard to get the protective liner off without taking the medication off with it.)
When I take his patch off, I use the fingers of one hand and place them on each side of the patch, holding the skin taut. The other hand is used to remove it, and this approach alleviates the tugging of his skin.
Also, as a side note, if you haven't done so, you might want to check with your physician about the free 40 patch debit card.
Someone tell me about the tenex and the other med that starts with a g. can't remember the name. I am hoping that since tyler is doing so well with his daytrana and with just starting to pick at his fingers and nails and some aggression problems we can find something to assist with that without having to stop the one med that he likes because he said it makes him feel more in controlI think that you should just make a deal with Will, and tell him..."Let's just give this med a fair trial, and if it doesn't work, we will go back to the one you like, and make it work." And tell the doctor the same thing....maybe in Will's presence. Have him try it and give it a chance.
If it doesn't work, then go back to the metadate (wasn't it?), and ask the doctor about the tenex. I think that the benefit of that over the clonidine, is that it may be taken during the daytime witout putting the child to sleep. It is somewhat sedating, especially in the early days while the child gets used to it, but after that, it may be administered morning, afternoon and evening if need be. Maybe that would give him the 24 hour coverage that he needs...it is at least worth the try, isn't it? That is how I would put it to the doctor. Say, "Well, let's just try it, if it doesn't work, you can say I told you so...."
The tenex is much less sedating (but still aids in sleep aat night) and can be taken during the day to help control the tics...it may be something you should check out....I will get you the link for the thread. It is 5 pages and has links in it to a lot of good info on the drug.....be right back...Here is the link....check it out, and ask your doctor if he thinks it may be worth a try...
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24770& PN=2
My problem is everything was going great until the tic started. For the first time in a long time, he made it thru the 9 weeks of school with a satifactory in conduct. I was so proud and was just starting to accept giving him medication, when this stuff started.
Now I'm back to all the uncertainity I had before.
I know that overall, we are very lucky to have such healthy kids, but I just hate having to medicate him at such a young age.
Maybe I should stop feeling sorry for myself and him and do what I need to do to make him the best he can be. Right?
I guess you're right..
Thanks!
That's mostly what I told him.. That we promised the dr we would try it for a week and maybe we will like it better or maybe not.
Thanks for the support. I don't know of anyone else in this situation and helps reading other's stories.
I am fortunate in the fact that the only real side effects that I am seeing for chase are appetite and some minor aggression, which the tenex and periactin are counteracting.
He is older and I depend on his feedback when talking to the doctor and teachers on his meds....he is very self aware and tells me that this med combo is working well for him....as long as his grades don't take a nose dive, we will stick with it...he used to get Cs (with tons of effort on BOTH our parts) and is getting As and Bs with minor input from me now.
That's great. I love to read the success stories.
I've noticed a huge difference in Will lately, too and it's such a great feeling.. It wasn't too long ago that I was worried about what the future held for him. And it wasn't long ago, that I didn't like to be around my child. Now, things are looking up and I'm realizing what an impact these meds can have on him.
I'm still worried about the long term effects but I'm taking things one day at a time. And I'm remembering what a cute fun kid Will really is..
I truly think (and this is from raising one ADHD child albeit unknowingly, un medicated) that the "side effects" of NOT medicating can be extremely severe, and far reaching. These drugs have been prescribed since the 50's, so if there were long term issues, they surely would have been uncovered by now....We are switching from Metadate (which was WONDERFUL but seems to be causing nervous tics) to Daytrana. We start tomorrow and I'm a little nervous. Will has already said he did not want to wear but he promised he'd at least try it.
I'm concerned about the irritations and the fact that it takes 2 hours to start working.
Wish us luck!
Willsmama,
If tics are still an issue after trying the daytrana. Pick the best of the meds tried so far and ask the doctor to add guanfacine for the tics.
Vickie,
He also takes Clonidine, is that similar?
Thanks! I'll read it. I did ask my dr this morning during our visit about it, but he didn't seem to think we needed to change. And I wasn't sure of the difference either so I didn't push for it.
He wants us to give this patch a try but Will really does not want to do it. He keeps saying he wants to just take his normal medicine. Of course, he resists change at all times..
Ugh.. Sometimes I wish life was easier.. 
I wouldn't mind being bored every now and then.
At least I have one easy going child..
Thank God for small favors....I have 2 that are no trouble, my middle 2, and Chase has his ADHD, but otherwise is a funny, pleasant boy, and then there is my oldest.....we have always walked on eggshells, wondering what is going to set her off. She went to the dr yesterday,and got a prescription for meds, so maybe things will get better....I describe Will as an active volcano. 
You just never know what might set him off.
But DEEP down inside, he is a very loving, compassionate little boy.. I just wish I could see that a lot more often.
When you finally hit on the right med combo and dosage, you will. I had lost my Chase for a time last year until he started concerta, then a few months ago, I noticed him slipping back into his former negativity, and grumpiness, and then the homework became an issue again....so we switched to ritalin LA and he says he much prefers this one...., and I prefer him on it....but the jury is still out as far as the teachers....we have a med check on January 29th and I will have to wait to see what the teachers put on their forms that they fill out for the ped....Clonidine and guanfacine are in the same med class and have similar actions. Is the clonidine helping with the tics? And is he taking it for 24hr coverage (the long acting patch form) or only at night to help with sleep? I ouwld see which stim seems to work the best, then work with the doctor for control of the tics and other issues.I guess they are not helping with the tics because he's been taking Clonidine at night for a while now. I am so disappointed because the Metadate was working so well, but then he started picking at his skin and any kind of sore or boo boo he got. In church, he would sit and pick at his fingers until they bled.
Well, this was the first day with the patch. It was very hard to apply but I expected that. We just took it off and he cried and cried, said he hated it and said it hurt pulling it off. Which, I must add, he's a little bit of a chicken to begin with. I'm sure it didn't hurt too much and probably felt like a band aid coming off, but do I really want to go thru this everyday?
On the other hand, he seemed to do well with it today. He's been very pleasant and not too argumentive.
Try putting baby oil on the patch and saturating it before you take it off. That helps bandaids come off easier....makes the "sticky" release better I think....I didn't think of that, thank you!
Sometimes we are just too close to the situation...and you have had a few other things on your mind lately....
Glad I could help! I hope that it works.
[QUOTE=Jo-D]Someone tell me about the tenex and the other med that starts with a g. can't remember the name. I am hoping that since tyler is doing so well with his daytrana and with just starting to pick at his fingers and nails and some aggression problems we can find something to assist with that without having to stop the one med that he likes because he said it makes him feel more in control[/QUOTE]
Here is the thread that talks about it...the other name for it is guanfacine...generic. It is inexpensive (Walmart list) and is used for tics...
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24770& PN=1
Hope this helps...
Jo-D,
My 7 yr old boy is also picking at his fingers, nails and skin.. Any place that has a boo boo on it, he just picks and picks until it bleeds..
I don't have any advice for you. Other than, I know how you feel.
We were taking Metadate, and then tried Daytrana. It did work better with the tics, BUT we didn't like the 2 hour delay before the meds started to work. SO now we're back on the Metadate and the picking has started back.