Ritilin | ADHD Information

We started on the regular ritalin 5 mg dose in the morning and then school gave him another 5 mg at lunch time.  It is fast acting but short lasting.  We incresed the regular ritalin several times before switching to the Ritalin LA (long acting)  Now he takes that in the morning and it lasts the entire school day.  If we have homework or swim lessons then we can give 10 mg of the regular ritalin in the late afternoon, but we too are struggling with sleep.  I think we have found a sleeping pill that acutally works for him.  He has slept through the night the past three nightshave any of you noticed tics, my son is having side effcts from the ritalin he is 8 yrs old. and it is really scary they say it is a 50/50 chance that the tics go away when he quits the meds or gets ajusted properly they now have him on clindamycin to help with the tics  please let me know if you can help    scared to death

Tics are a nerve/brain developmental thing that some kids have. It can come and go throughout developement (with or without stimulant medication).  Stims seem to bring out tics in some or make them worse. Generally tics are treated with clonidine or guanfacine (tenex) which have some effect against ADHD symptoms, so these meds are a double bonus.

I am not sure why clindamycin was prescribed, as it is an antibiotic.

Queenie, what other scary effects are you seeing?

I noticed no difference between Ritalin LA that my son would take once a day and the generic that he took twice a day. 

My initial reaction was that if he is starting school at 12.30pm then that is probably when he should be taking his meds.

Hope it works out for you.

He was diagnosed right before his 4th birthday by a Psychiatrist and also by a Behavior specialist in a hospital near us.  His doctor did say to give him his meds later like right before school so it will last.  When he goes to Kindergarten in the fall they will have to give him a second dose at school.  He's only on 5mg a day.  We tried twice a day but he would not go to sleep until 11pm. 

I have a 4 year old who was just put on Ritilin.  So far I thought he was doing ok but I got a note from his teacher in preschool saying he was very hyper.  I give him the medicine at 8am and he starts school at 12:30pm.  Does this medicine wear off that fast?  Any advice out there I'm new to this drug.

 

If it is regular Ritalin then YES, it is only a 4 hour med, and some metabolize alot faster.

How was he diagnosed? 4 is awfully young for an ADHD diagnosis. Most Psychiatrists will not even consider an evaluation until at least 6, after they have been in school for a while.

If Ritalin is making him hyper then chances are it is NOT ADHD, or at the very least the wrong med, wrong dosage.

My son is 11 and on ritalinSR. It works well for him. He takes 2 20mg pills at 8am. He took regular ritalin when he was first diagnosed at 6. I found he was too ugly and uncooperative when it wore off.

Ritalin LA is another one that lasts all day....I give my son his at 8 AM and it is not wearing off till about 6 PM or so...

You may want to look into a long lasting version such as one of these once he is in kindergarten, to eliminate the dosing at school.

 

I WAS WRONG IT WAS CLONIDINE 0.1 MG  I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING.  SORRY ABOUT THAT. THOSE ARE THE ONLY TICS I HAVE SEEN BLINKING, RAISING OF EYEBROWS ALOT. BUT I DO NOT LIKE PUTTING HIM ON SOMETHING FOR ONE THING AND SOMETHING ELSE FOR THE EFECTS OF THE FIRST THING THEN HE HAS TO HAVE TRAZADONE AT NIGT BECAUSE HE CAN NOT SLEEP AT NIGHT .    Was anything else tried for sleep before the prescription for sleep?  Melatonin(non prescription) works well for many parents, and tenex(guanfacine) as well as the clonidine(both prescribed meds) are also helpful for sleep, as well as for managing tics....kind of a twofer if you will...  The clonidine is quite sedating, can he take that at night to help with sleep?