Meds and orange juice | ADHD Information
I've seen some posts that you shouldn't give your child OJ with their meds. I specifically asked the dr. and the pharmacist, and they told me OJ would not interfere with Focalin XR. It sounds like people here have been told differently? For these folks, are you recommending not to drink OJ at the same time you take the medicine, or should you not drink OJ any time throughout the day while the medicine is in your system?My understanding is that you are supposed to avoid citrus acid before or after taking any stimulant because it interferes with the absorption of the meds thus making them less effective.
HTH.
I also try to get the low acid orange juice and mix it with a bit of water. My son now prefers other juices to orange juice. He loved oj at one time. But after speaking with the nutritionist the doctor (psychiatrist) recommended he wasn't as eager to drink oj.
My son isn't your typical 5 year old. He listens to the docs pretty closely after having a bad earache once and having to have shots in both of his legs. The doc said be careful with getting water in his ears and he is very careful with this now. He doesn't want the shots again.
I think it's both. From what I understand, the OJ enhances the meds. Yeah, I always wait at least 2 hours....better safe than sorry!The info that I have gotten is that the OJ(or other citrus) makes it release faster, using it up too quickly, messing with the time release....
Your child can dring orange juice, just not with the med....I think I have heard as long as it has been 1-2 hours you are okay. So I give Chase orange juice in the afternoon or evening if he wants it.
What chasemom said, except Ii would wait a full 2 hours before/after to drink or eat any citrus.
There have been some studies indicating that the short acting forms can have slowed absorption with high fat meals and lower absorption with acidifying agents (including ascorbic acid-vitamin C). This has to do with the time the meds are in the stomache: usually one hour before taking meds to 2 hours after taking meds, not while they are in the blood stream. The best thing is to read the full prescribing information for the individual med. Here are a few...
Focalin XR (antacids and acid increasing agents have not been studied):
Adderall (acidifying agents should be avoided):
http://www.adderallxr.com/assets/pdf/prescribing_information .pdf
Concerta (no food effects in tests):
http://www.concerta.net/concerta/assets/prescribing_info.pdf #zoom=100
HTH
vickie39181.5549305556Thanks for bringing this up because I wasn't aware of this...very good information to know!
[QUOTE=JO58]My understanding is that you are supposed to avoid citrus acid before or after taking any stimulant because it interferes with the absorption of the meds thus making them less effective.
HTH.
[/QUOTE]
That is exactly my understanding. It will release the medication faster to absorb quicker. So it will wear off quicker.
We also stay away from lemonade, just in case?!
Vickie, thanks so much for posting that info. I had read the insert for Focalin XR and even called the company, but the insert didn't mention anything about citrus and the pharmaceutical company told me that there was no indication that citrus would interfere. I wish they'd told me that it hadn't been studied! Given that another stimulant's performance has been shown to be affected by citrus, I'll start avoiding citrus one hour before and two hours after he takes it. This was wonderful info. I was ready to pull him off all citrus until 8:30 PM, so thanks for saving an important source of calcium for him (calcium-fortified OJ)!
I'lll take this moment to say that I am SO GLAD I found this board. It's an amazing resource.