Meds for Summer? | ADHD Information

Even though tenex is a pill, it is not time released and can be cut or crushed to make it easier to take. The generic is guanfacine and is an old med so should not be too expensive.I plan to take my son off this summer but I am worried about that temper issueI think I need to look into the tenex but if its a pill he will refuse.  Thats why he's on the patch.  Its so expensive I wish they'd lower the price.  I'm going to go broke if they dont come up with a generic I pay 128 a month.  So as far as summer, I say only when needed.Personally, I keep my child on meds 24/7 year round.  Since adhd is a life disorder ,and not an educational disorder, he needs to experience the full impact of life.  Yes, he is adHd, and the hyperactiviy plays a huge role but his ability to focus on daily tasks and need to conrol his impulsiveness  is paramount to being the child he is meant to be.

I suppose it depends on the level of focusing issues.  My son has little trouble focusing on day to day, home based focusing tasks, only seatwork at school.  He does play summer baseball, and needs the stimulant to keep his head in the game, but I am unwilling to medicate him for the entire day for a 2 hour baseball game every other day or so for the month and a half of baseball....I plan to give him a short acting form just prior to each game, so it will only be in his system when needed.

The other symptoms of his ADHD, the short temper, and low frustration level, will be treated with the tenex (guanfacine).

I do have the option of starting the ritalin LA back up if he is struggling, but I do not anticipate any problems.

As many have stated, it is a personal decision that needs to be made on a child by child, family by family individual basis.

My son will stay on his stim. for the summer due to impulsivity and when he's not on it he has very little frustration tolerance.  He also has said he prefers to take it daily because his brain gets "messy" when he doesn't. 

Have you thought about asking your son what he prefers?  Or maybe try the camp with out for a couple days, and then with the meds to gage how it is for him.  One of the great things about stimulants is that you can play with them like that to see what works best for each child.

Chase is no more fun-loving off the stim than on....he only focuses better on it.  It did not make him more serious, or somber.....he is the same boy he always was.  He always has been a bit aggressive and quick to anger way before the stim or the dx of ADHD.

I agree to ask the child if he feels able to control his mind and feelings off meds....Chase has expressed the wish to be off the stim and just stay on the tenex for his quick temper and impulsive actions when angry...

DD does not use meds anythime she is not in school.  She is not Hyper, only innattentive. Stims can be stopped and started, whereas meds like Tenex or Straterra cannot.Yes I do find that Brandon is more himself when not medicated. He seems to smile and laugh a lot more. Just seems to enjoy life better.

Am I correct that the Tenex is primarily for self-control/hyperactivity?  Since Kyle does not really have those issues perhaps taking him off the patch is a good choice (not to mention a real moneysaver). 

Do most of you agree that the kids seem to have more fun without the meds? 

That is my plan too....not use the ritalin LA for the summer, but keep the tenex (guanfacine).  I have not done that yet....Chase stayed on his stim last summer, and only started the guanfacine in December.  I have been doing this for weekends.

My plan too, for the youngest. Guanfacine is good enough for behavior (hyperactivity, impulsivity and defiance). The stim is primarily for school focus and she needs the break to gain weight.

The older child is in discussions with the doc on her plan. She is almost 12, has no weight issues, and we have discussed that she will be slowly taking more and more responsibility for her treatment (and having more say). By the time she is driving, she will be on meds daily (no breaks) to help avoid inattentiveness while driving and accidents.

I don't medicate ds during the summer. Or on weekends or school holidays. Anyhow he is more busy. This is okay though. We are more active then he is in school. He does seem to enjoy things more. He seems more like his happy go lucky self. As far as friends go, he has 2 boys he likes to hang out with. They seem to enjoy his company without meds. He sees them on weekends or evenings.

 

My plan is to take dd off Ritalin LA for the summer, but keep her on the Tenex. We have done this for spring break and winter break, and it has worked out great.

Hi.  My son is almost 7, primarily inattentive.  He has been on the Daytrana Patch since January (15 mgs) and it has considerably improved his school performance.  However, people who have not seem him for a while have been commenting on how quiet he has become in social settings (weekends).   My observation is that he is much more reserved/shy  in situations that are a bit familiar but not routine to him.  Makes me a bit sad that he is not his outgoing self.

Anyway, I am not sure whether I want to medicate him over the summer.  He will be attending the same camp that he has attended for the last two summers.  They go on daily field trips.  He has attended without medication in the past without any behavioral issues and I want him to have the best experience possible. On one hand I think he may have a better experience with increased focus, however the additional shyness may detract from his enjoyment.

Has anybody taken their kid off meds for the summer and what has the result been?  I would appreciate everybodys feedback on this.

Thanks so much.

Nancy

 

 

 

 

Just a note about the summer medication issue, especially with camps:

I am the mom of a child with ADHD who is on medication for school; I have not yet decided what we'll do over the summer.  She is not more fun-loving off the med, but she is definitely a lot less defiant and prone to violence.

Professionally, I am the Executive Director for a residential children's summer camp, ages 5-16.  From that perspective, I would like to offer the following suggestions, knowing that every case is different and that the most important thing for a parent to do is take care of the child's health and well-being.

If the camp is a structured one (that is, activities are not completely self-directed) and if, especially, it is the child's first time at camp (or it is a new camp), I would recommend continuing meds that are necessary for attention/concentration.  This can be a safety issue, especially in activities such as kayaking and archery.  If the child is on a sleep med and going to a sleep-away camp, I recommend checking with the doctor about the camp schedule and the dosage/timing, and keeping the child on the med while away at camp.

No matter what, make sure the camp nurse/health & safety supervisor knows & understands what meds the child is on, proper dosages/timing, etc., and knows what meds the child is usually on and how long he/she has been off them if you are taking a med break.  This is vitally important information, not just for proper med administration but also in case of (God forbid!) a trip to the hospital.

If the camp you're considering does not have specific training for staff for working with children with ADHD, ask why.  If it does not have a "camper profile" type thing (where information is gathered about what helps the child calm down, favourite activities, sources of stress, etc.), ask why.  There are camps which specialize in working with children with ADHD which can be great for children with extreme symptoms; many camps who "mainstream" all children also have specialized training for their staff and can provide 1-to-1 support if necessary.  Be sure to check out the overall staff to camper ratio!

I hope this is helpful.

Gin

Thanks for the information GinGin-something important to consider.

vickie39203.472349537thank you chasesmomi know this isnt really a med for summer question but you seem to know alot obout the tenex, what is this and what all does it work with if thats not to much explaining, i have never heard of it till i got on here

There is a thread on the medications forum on this med....I will bump it for you....it is titled "tenex" and is about 7 pages long...all kinds of info and links in there for you...

here is the link to it: http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24770& PN=1

Ds starts back at his same dose of meds when school starts up again. This seems to work well for him.

chasesmom,

I think the tritration issue would depend on if there were issues in the original dose titration and what the dose is. If a child were on a high dose of med, it would make sence to titrate up. Of course the doc should be consulted with this question along with the whole taking a break issue.

We have leftover lower dose pills from the original dose titration. The doc had told us they were useful for titrating up when restarting the meds after long breaks.

4myson,

So glad to hear you have not had any weight issues. This has been our only issue on the youngest (no isssues with the oldest). And it would not have been such a concern if she were not so skinny to start with. I hope you have continued success with the meds.

thank you vickie!

My son was brought into this world at 10 lbs and 22 inches long.  He never has been over weight  Skinny has never been a word with us.  He was always off the chart as far as height until recently.  So I guess this really was a blessing for us in regards to the med thing. He must just have the chemical make-up to be able to handle the med and do well with weight.  He must of got this gene from my ex.  I on the other hand gain when I take certain meds.

Chase (and all my kids for that matter) were big babies...the smallest was 8 pounds 10 ounces.  But it seems that once they get born, they don't gain near as quickly.....and he went to the 5th percentile by the time he was a year old....adding the stim med just made it that much worse.

His weight gain is not as big an issue as it once was, but I don't see the need for the stim when the only thing that it seems to aid is focus for seatwork at school.  The guanfacine covers all of the other symptoms without the appetite issue, so we are going to give it a go...

I personally will keep my son on during the summer.  I have seen how my ex can be when he goes off his meds.  I think messing with meds like this can be more harmful than helpful in some cases.  I would rather not have my son be on a roller coaster.  He has good check-ups and the doctor is quite pleased with everything thus far.  We've never had weight issues related to the meds and we have not had to adjust his meds or change meds.  We are one of the lucky few, I suppose. 

There are no such warnings on either concerta or focalin. Which stims are you refering to?  The guanfacine (not a stim) needs to be tapered because of potential blood pressure rebound. vickie39201.2984722222

 

Hi Vickie,

It says on his Daytrana patch warning to not suddenly stop using this medicine. It says your doctor should slowly lower the dose over time.  I can not find the other two prescribtion warnings I must of threw them away since he is not taking them anymore. They were Concerta 27mg. and focalin. I could of swore I saw a warning like this on them too. I remember thinking thats weird when people don't medicate on weekends all the time.  

Thanks

I don't recall any warnings not to stop suddenly on any of Chase's stims...nor has his doctor told me not to do so, and she is aware of (she and Chase decided together) of our intention. The guanfacine does say not to stop suddenly..

camsmom...that is a very good question, and one I will be talking to his doctor about.  Last summer, Chase stayed on the stim (his choice), so this will be my first experience with doing so....the guanfacine was started in December, so we did not think of it for last summer,we did not know of it's existence.

Anyone else?  When you take your child off the stim for the summer, must it be titrated back up?  Or do you start at the same dose you left off with?

Hi, Chasesmom! I have a question...when you go off of the meds for
summer, they need to be started back a week or two before school starts
right? And also when you start them back do you have to titrate up
again...or do you just start at the dose that works...I am having a difficult
time deciding whether to medicate during summer. He does fine without
meds he is inattentive only. But, we will be taking swimming lessons and
going to vacation bible school...and I wonder does he need to be tuned in
to those activities. He did fine without them last summer though. Except,
one area of his ADD that really bothers me is when someone ask him
something..or just talks to him, most of the time...he does'nt hear them
at all...I felt like I was always hearing for him and saying"she's talking to
you...etc." His hearing is fine...that is just a form of his inattentiveness.
Sorry so long...just let me know what you think...We have moved up to
30mg medadate cd...it seems to be working well.Thanks!

 

Hello,

Why do all the stim. meds have warning about stopping them abruptly if you can? I have notice that on all the meds my son has been on.  Just wondering.

Thanks!