JO-D,
Well we were on...
Ritalin 30mg la at 7:00am
Clonidine .1 mg 1/2 at 7:00am
Clonidine .1 1/2 at 7:00pm
We were not able to get past 3:00pm without a complete meltdown, after the meltdown...constant fighting.
So the doc. decided to change him to Daytrana...We have been upping the dose every 10 days...She upped it 5mg more today...He will star that tommorrow. So th edose will be 20 mg now. And no changes were made to the night time meds. Also still takes the other morning med. She does not want to give up on the patch yet...I think thing should be getting better not worse...HELP???
I am so over whelmed...I just want him to stay in his room when he is not at school, instead I let him play vidio games.
We did not have any weight gain on the adderall but 3 pounds in 6 months on the ritalin, not sure yet with the patch, he has had some lose of appetite though.
Is there ever an end to this? I mean really he is only 6 1/2 what the hell, how long are we going to be in hell and him on some kind of drug? Is there any other way?
Thanks all of you!
I just wanted to say good luck, we have done well with the patch, and have actually had to decrease the dosage, but we still have other issues also, anxiety, nervousness, extremely emotional (cries at any and everything) and some anger issues as well here lately. But I would say, if the patch isn't working change back. What was the reason you had changed? I guess I either didn't catch that or something. I know with our son he did pretty well on the Ritalin LA 30 mg but took a Focalin 5 mg booster in the afternoon around 3-4 pm to get through the rest of the evening. That worked real well for him, the only reason we changed was because the school was not comforable with giving him the afternoon med on Tue and Thurs when he stayed for Karate. You could talk to the Dr about changing back to other med with an afternoon booster. Of course this kept Ty from sleeping and he still has nooooo appetite with any of the meds. We recently discovered melatonin from reading on this site and YEA it works great 1 mg 1 hour before bed. For appetite we bought him Weight gain from GNC and he likes it. We have only recently added these two things so don't know about the weight gain thing yet (still looks like a skeleton). I wish you luck, just remember this is a great site for info and sometimes just to get things off your chest and know you are not crazy or alone in this. Lots of support here!!!Wheelo,
Thank you, I know what you are going through. I already have a peditrician that specializes in behavioral problems, she knows he has the ISSUES but I have yet to DEMAND that she address them seperatly. The DAYTRANA PATCH has made my son's school work plunge...He is on the behavior problem list, HE WAS A HONOR STUDENT, until the patch. I had to actually take the percription leaflet to school to prove that he was on the RITALIN. I had him taken off the Adderall because in the first 2 years he did not gain any weight. He was 47 pounds still at 6 that's when we went to the ritalin, and Me was almost maxed on the once a day amont he could take at 30mg . Does your son have to take the clonidine to go to bed, like mine? What have you been doing for the "FITS" ?
to lila. my son was diagnosed in the first grade. started on adderall...but he lost so much weight. went to concerta...didn't really do anything. he added stratera...but that caused his heart to race. focalin killed his appetite as well. then he started the metadate. and now we're doing the patch.he's been an A honor student ever since he started the meds (all of them). they're always shocked to hear he's adhd...but the meds really do help him focus...during school but at home it's another story. he too throws fits,tends to "gnaw" on his toys like he's teething, screams, gets slightly violent...well, during a fit it's like he's possessed and it takes everything in me to stay cool (and i don't know how successful i am at that)...it's frustrating and exhausting to say the least. his dr. just referred me to another dr. that specializes in ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). when i looked it up on the internet..it described my 9 year old to a T. you might want to look it up and look into it. we haven't seen the odd dr. yet, but we have an appt. in march and i'm hopeful that it will help. i've always been grateful that the meds have made his school life a dream and so i just dealt with the problems at home....but the older he gets the harder it is for me to deal with...so it's worth a shot. anyway..hope that helps.
I've been so lucky with his psychiatrist....in that she's been trying to get me to take him to a therapist for some time (i haven't been able to with all the foot surgeries i've had to have....but now i am going to take him). He isn't taking anything to go to sleep..it's just a struggle. You know, I hadn't really thought about this until this moment: before all the adhd meds, he was "on" 24 hours a day..literally. He would even talk and sometimes walk in his sleep. But then, with the meds, he stopped sleep talking/walking...and seemed to sleep less fitfully. But it just occurred to me that the past few months he's started chatting in his sleep..and twitching. As far as the fits....I plead. I ground him. I take away toys. It all has little or no effect..which is why I feel like I can't take it anymore....and why I'm praying this behavorial specialist can accomplish something.
I know exactly what you are going dealing with. I have the same issues everyday and everynight. It is still a struggle even with the night time meds...I am to the point where I though about turning him over to a special hospital or something...I just can not keep going thru this... I have adult ADHD no meds just caffine...and 2 other children, a husband, and pets who all suffer because he just can not be good. I can not even go to MC Donalds with him... He was acting so awful that other customers actually moved away from us!! It was so horrible...We already see a behavior doc. But I get no support from any one except my husband when his job alows him to be home. All of our family lives in california, and we are in oregon. My sister said to sign him up for social security because they will provide me with someone to watch him for x amont of time every month, and assist with extra medical needs... We did not have insurance for awhile and paid for everything out of pocket, thank god for insurance now..I am still waitng for the behavioral specialist to help me...Good luck...If they give you informative info please pass it on...I would love to pass on any news I get from mine. We go again next week. I am trying for sooner.
Hang in there....
Hello parents. I am new to this group. My son who is now 6 1/2 was diagnosed at 3 years of age,with ADHD,when he ATE THE CORNER OFF OF MY WALL!!! We started with 10 mg of Adderall, then went to 15 mg, then went to 20 mg...That worked for the first year, then the dose needed to increased to 25 mg.That lasted about 6 months. Then wet to a behavioral specialist pediatrician, who changed him to Ritalin 10 mg, then 15 mg, then 20 mg, then 30 mg. He did ok at school but by 3:00pm he was crazed... She also gave him clonidine .1 mg half a pill at bed time. Then see added the other half in the morning too. And that still did not get us to homework or dinner. Keep in mind I am an adult untreated with ADHD and I also have 2 other children, 9 1/2 year old daughter, and almost 3 year old son. Oh and I am a stay home mother. So at our latest apointment, she decides to change to the DAYTRANA PATCH 10mg for 1 week, then 15 mg for one week ,then 20 mg for now. He was doing good at school just HUGE problems at home. Well now he is getting in trouble at school, I even had toi go get him from school on thursday because he decided to LAY DOWN NEXT TO THE TEACHERS DESK AND TAKE A NAP...OH YES A NAP!!! He was still sleeping when I got there. So I am overwhelmed to say the least and he is only in first grade....Any sugestions???? I mean everything is a struggle...I have to play middle mom all the time and my husbands idea is to keep him on timeout all the time or make him stay in his room, well then he just chews the blinds in the window, or chews on the headboard of his bed....He is destuctive and disobediant to say the least...And oh my god...his fits are worse then the almost 3 year old. Well short of turning him ovr to the state what the hell do I do...I mean this kid even pissed on himself in class because the teacher would not let him go to the bathroom, right that second. She wanted him to wait 5 minutes....Please help....
Oh and the 15mg and 20 mg patches do have that problem of sticking I lose some backing everytime, plus I can not keep them on him unless I use medical tape over them. And when I take then off he has a red square mark for a while.
Any one else have that problem?
Thanks
lila39131.9594097222my son was taking metadate but the dr. just prescribed the daytrana patch to try out for 2 weeks. it's working great...with one exception. it is very difficult for me to get the backing off and usually some of the adhesive comes off with the backing when i'm finally able to pry it loose. i'm wondering if anyone else has this problem or if i just got a bad batch? thanks so muchWelcome wheelo,
There are some good daytrana threads, including how to get the best results with the adhesive and replacement of defective patches.
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20458& PN=2
and the long daytrana threads:
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=25343& PN=3
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20458& PN=2
I hope this helps.
Put the patches in the freezer for about 5 minutes before applying.Same here. This patch is so hard to get on. I might try the freezer trick.lynnderosia is right, put them in the freezer for a few minutes. Also keep them someplace cool. DON'T keep them on top of the fridge! If you have a problem with a box and they don't peel well, take them back to the drugstore. If a little adhesive comes off, that's ok, but don't use it if it seems like a lot has peeled off. Remember to hold your hand on it for 30 seconds after you apply it. The heat from your hand helps the adhesive stick better. Hi there -- no you are definitely not alone with this problem. I spent half an hour on the phone with Shire yesterday. They definitely know it's a problem.Kinda going against the recommendation to not squeeze it: my son takes the 20 mg so the cut is diagonal, I put my thumbs and forefingers on each side of the cut - at the edge of the patch, and then kind of bend the patch in a wavy pattern back and forth kind of quick. 60-70% of the time, the backing pops right up. I repeat on the other side and then can peel each side off easily. And I do put it in the freezer for a short minute or two first.
I never had any problems with the 30 mg patch, but have had a whole heck of a lot of them since we went down to the 20 mg. I have tried a little of all the suggestions and sometimes none of it helps. Good luck, I do definately think that the aggrevation is worth it thought. This has been best med for him so far!!