need help!! 13year old adderall | ADHD Information

Protective capsule might be there for a reason. Some meds should be only "open" in stomach acid environment or intestine and might cause damage anywhere else. My coach damaged his teeth by removing powder from the capsule and taking it orally.

As vickie stated, the meds sometimes need adjusting from time to time as the child grows and matures.  However, Chase did gradually get more and more angry and aggressive after almost a year on the Concerta....we added the tenex, and I noticed slight improvements while it was combined with the concerta, but because of cost and insurance issues, we switched to ritalin LA before I could tell if his moods would have continued to improve on the concerta/tenex combo or not. 

I would be tempted to try the addition of the tenex/guanfacine w/o changing the dosage of the adderall, since the effectiveness seems to be optimal other than the rebound/anger issues.  I would either do that or try a short acting pill in the afternoons to ward off rebound.

RF_Guy,

Good caution advice.

In the case of meds that are sprinkleable, they have the time released beads (not powder) in the capsule and they say they can be opened and sprinkled in the package insert. They were also tested this way in the clinical trials for kids.

Some pills (usually the old generics and not the time released forms) can be curshed or split.

It is always best to read the package insert carefully and ask the pharmacist if there are any questions or things can happen, like what happened to your coach.

guanfacine should be crushable because it is not a time released med and it can be cut inot smaller pieces. A pharmacist can answer for sure. Another med that can be sprinkled is focalin. It is the dex form of methylphenidate.

These meds also can need adjusting from time to time to keep up with a changing kid. Don't accept partial effectiveness or unmanagable side effects.

ADDED:

I just read that your choices are limited in canada but  you do have biphentin which is a methylphenidated in a sprinkleable form (10-12 hour effectiveness)"

http://addadhdblog.com/biphentin-the-newest-addadhd-medicati on-in-canada/

The artcle also lists other stims in canada.

vickie39185.3476273148

All great information about the meds!

One more thing that could be possible is puberty. I have been told that once that occurs all meds will need to be addressed. They may stop working all together or just need to be adjusted.

Beth

Good point Bethann. I am sooooooo looking forward to two girls in puberty together.my son is on adderall xr 25mg hes been on this medication over a year. as much as i hate to admit it i never really gave much thought to his meds because i was told that this was the only medication that could be mixed with something to take, my son will not swallow pills, i break up the capsule and sprinkle it in pudding, he is a very abusive child at times and hits us and screams and breaks things alot, after reading some of these mesages i realize that these could be due to his meds, is there anything else he could take that he doesnt have to swallow?? ive been reading about the patch but that was never mentioned to me by the doctor, i live in canada maybe this is the reason????? can anyone hepl me?

Along w/ the patch, I believe the Metadate CD capsules can be sprinkled onto something too, but you will have to check w/ your Doctor to verify that.

Also, you may want to consider Tenex (the generic is Guanfacine) to help with his aggressiveness.

Swallowing pills is a learned behavior......Try giving him mini M&M's to practice learning to swallow.  Start w/ 1, when he masters that, have him try 2 at a time, etc.

Good luck!

The tenex is a tiny pill..... should be easy to swallow.

But, before Chase could swallow pills, I would put his allergy pill (he could swallow them byt the time he was put on ADHD meds) on a heaping spoon of pudding or yogurt, and spoon it into his mouth all at once with instructions to just swallow it down in one gulp.  The zyrtec pill is bigger than the tenex....but Chase did this with pills as large as an amoxicillan capsule.

As mamabear says, practice makes perfect, and practicing with tic tacs, or mini m and m's, or regular ones, or skittles makes it easier when they fail the first few times.....they taste good so failure is not so bad.  Once the child gets the technique down, it is somethng the are so proud of.

The tenex (guanfacine, generic) totally eased the aggression, and anger that the stimulant brought out in Chase.  The ped says these are things that are possible side effects from all the stims.  Chase is now mellower and easier to reason with, he has better social relations with his peers, and can now do fine on the 45 minute bus ride, where before it was too much for him and he came home beside himself with frustration of all the kids....you should check into it and call your doctor.

thanks alot , ill try that:)

I read through my insert for the guanfacine, and found nowhere that said the med must not be crushed...but that would be a question for the doctor or pharmacist to be sure.  Perhaps you could crush it and add it to the pudding as well?  I am gonna comb through the insert again.....to make sure.

Maybe vickie knows if it can be crushed......she is our resident meds expert.....vickie?

chasesmom7939185.2850578704thank you guys so much for all the info, in canada there are so few meds available its frustrating, i called our doctor and she recommendedi give him melatonin before he goes to bed, that maybe hes not getting enough rest and thats causing the medication to not work properly, anyone else ever taken this?? does it work?

Yes, many on the boards use it daily for their children to aid in sleep.  It is natural and here in America you need no prescription for it, though in the UK you do...I am not sure of in Canada.  I use it occasionally if Chase has problems, but when he was on Concerta, I had to give it to him every night.

The dosage is 1mg 1/2 hour to one hour before bedtime.  If 1mg does not work, you can give more in 1/2 mg increments till you get to the dose that works, but studies have shown that high doses have the opposite effect on sleep and can cause nightmares.  I had to use 1/2 of a 3mg tablet for Chase.

He said it makes him cozy and drowsy and more able to fall asleep once he was in bed.  It does not sedate a child or make them fall asleep if they are not in bed trying to sleep....

chasesmom7939186.627349537

My oldest takes melatonin and it works well. She takes between 2/3 and 1mg (that is because we cut a 3mg tablet into 3 or 4 pieces. This supplement does not work on me or my youngest.

We had to explore the issue of sleep with the youngest and found that either the stimulant or guanfacine help her sleep. Once we got good sleep patterns, we could really address the med doses for ADHD.