Summer Meds Vacation | ADHD Information
I hear you on that note, it is terrible.Thanks I will I would love to see his tics lessen I feel so bad for him
We will be trying this probably in early July let ya know then!I wish you luck too. I know everyone is different. Just my take, my daughter suffers form tics, but only when she is taking stimuanlant meds. We've not had tic issues when she is not on them. She does not have a Tourettes diagnosis. We recently added Tenex to Ritalin LA to help with the tics, it did, but they didnt completely go away. I then stopped the Ritalin. Tics are gone. This is the second time since starting meds this has happened. She is now 12 and the tics were worse this time than the last time.
Please do keep us posted I am interested in how you make out.
Well we saw the Psychiatrist yesterday and told him we wanted to try a Concerta vacation and stay on the Tenex. We are wondering if the stim is making Erik's tics worse. Doc said maybe; maybe not ;probably not but we do have some evidence that it did exacerbate the tics. He went of Concerta last year because his ex-psychiatrist thought he wasn't getting enough sleep. We did the wash out period and tried Metadate CD. He had the most God awful tics!!!!!!!!! Several in a second. The school called and asked if he could come home they just felt so sorry for him. Ever since then we put him back on Concerta and the tics wax and wane. But I guess the peak time for tics is age 5-10 according to the doc- Erik is almost 9. Erik has vocal tics so he just recently was given the diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome (whatever) I am so sick of all these labels ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, Tourette, OCD blah blah blah HE IS JUST ERIK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOOOPs sorry I digress. Anyway we are hiring my wonderful 17 year old nephew to babysit and we will start the vacation off concerta after the nephew has been watching the boys for a couple weeks. Doc said we should let that transtition happen first and the try the med vacation. I am so scared and kinda excitied.
Good luck! I really hope that the experiment is successful for Erik!
Keep us posted. 
a med vacation is what my dd is asking for...i'm not so sure it will be the best for her and all of us around her. something to think about the next few weeks:)
school is out june 7th here...
shelley
I will be taking Will off the meds for the summer, starting in about 10 days.. I am just so nervous about whether or not I will survive this..He is SO loud, SO noisy and that's one thing that I don't know if I can wake up to every morning.. Mornings are just HORRIBLE here.. Every single morning it's the same thing...
Any suggestions on how to keep him quiet?
Video games pump him WAY up.. He's usually screaming as loud as ever on those.. The only quiet thing he does is sleep.. And he often talks then....
You wont know until you do it. It cant hurt, you can ALWAYS go back to what you are doing. Stimulants are in and out of your system in hours, so if you give a shot and it is un manageable for you both go back to what you are doing until you and the doctor can do something different.
That is true, if he is horribly bad off the stims, you will know within the first days....
And remember, we are all here to ensure you don't get hauled away to the funny farm!
And don't kick yourself, you are doing the best you can! That is all any of us can do!
I think we are going to try to stop the Concerta for the summer and probably keep him on the Tenex. We have to talk to his doctor first to get the OK. I'm nervous and excited. I hope he does OK. I mean I hope we do OK He loves it when we forget the Concerta. I wonder if just being on the Tenex will be somewhat helpful? I don't care if he is over active and rambling on and on. He won't have to concentrate because school will be out. Now I have to decide to get a leave of absence from work to home with him while he is doing this transition or can my 17 year old nephew handle both of the boys (Erik's twin is non-ADHD) but together they are a handful. He has babysat for the boys several times and he really gets Erik. He is one of the only people Erik respects and will listen too. It might even work better if my nephew were here and I wasn't!
I wish us all luck too!
ang
That is exactly what I am doing with Chase, guanfacine (tenex) only. Since we already do weekends and school vacations off , we are not going to transition off the stim, just not give it. There was at least one day where Chase forgot to take his ritalin, and was at school unmedicated all day except for the guanfacine. He still came home with the same load of homework as usual (not much), and had experienced a pretty good day at school.
My hope is that when we go back to school in the fall, he can do well on a lower dose of the stim as many others on this board have reported to be the case with the use of the guanfacine.
I think he may well do better with the 17 year old babysitting. For one, boys look up to and idolize those older teen boys, and as you say, the 17 year old already has a good handle on your son anyhow...
I'll give it a shot, Chasesmom... What could it hurt???
Diane, I've just been thinking about things lately.. And when we started all of this ADHD stuff, we was just hyper and talkative. A problem for sure, but nothing like what it is now..
Now he is wild, hyper, defiant, argumentative, and plenty of other adjectives. I just wonder if this is because of his maturity from the past 1.5 years or lack of maturity or are the meds causing this..
Either way, things are not good at home, and I am scared to death of what the summer will hold for us.. But I guess, more afraid of what will happen if we don't find some sort of solution to this...
I thought if we take a med break, I could see what he's like without them to determine if stimulants are our answer....I am starting to believe it's something more than ADHD...
Well I know that even though chase has always had a quick temper, the stims just made it worse. He is much better that way on the weekends, partly because of no school pressure, but I am sure partly because we don't give the stim on the weekends.Chase says to try eduplace.com too....
Thank you Chase! 
I'll take a look at it..
I hope it all works out for us this summer and I don't end up on the funny farm... Not laughing...
If the stims are the problem, I'm going to be kicking myself that I've been going thru this for SOOO long..
Ugh.. Sometimes I just want this all to go away....
Thank you all for your thoughts. I think for the time being we might have to see how it goes with summer school. DS is so hyper, so loud, so high strung that I worry about how it would affect the household. Also, I am 4 months pregnant so unfortunately i have less energy to wrestle with his moods. That is why I think twice about a meds vacation. Also, the reintroduction to the meds can be rough. Its like starting from scratch. For Christmas vacation he left the meds for a week adn we have a rough time when he went back to school.
Thanks everyone....
Glad you worked it all out
Oh yes the med break takes a bit of thought. We've just taken my daughter of her stim due to bad tics, trychotillomina, increased anxiety and weight loss. I KNOW it is the right decision, but BOY this is a challenge. I dont think we could do a whole summer :o(. We still have her on the Guanfacine and are building, very slowly, her new med, so she is pretty much minimal meds (no stim) this week............
Hi Everyone,
I haven't logged on in ages. But, I normally check in with the board.
Something is on my mind and I feel that only here will I be able to find the right options for my DS. He is 10 years old, ADHD, with some obsession compulsion and depression (not all the time).
Summer is almost upon us. I have been contemplating a meds vacation, except when we go on vacations. Please share any experiences you may have or any advice. I will be consulting my doctor before the end of the school year. Since my DS has to go to Summer school ... the meds vacation would only be for about a month and 1/2.
I am torn as to what is the right thing to do.
It certainly depends on your child and how well he can function off medication. Don't forget about how the rest of the family functions when he is off med.s as well. If he tends to get more negative feedback or its constant then I wouldn't suggest it because its really not to anyone's benefit. I never gave my son med. vacations, just because to be honest life without med.s is HELL for everyone.It is truly an individual choice. As momiss2 says, if his off meds experience is all negative, you are doing no one, most of all him, any favors by going off meds. If his time off meds is bearable and calm for all most of the time, then it may be an option. You must also remember that some meds need to be in the system for a time before they become effective and that could be a chore too for a med break. As always, consult the doctor before taking any med breaks.
My son is mainly inattentive, and for the summer, we are going to discontinue the stim, and stay on the guanfacine, which takes care of his impulsiveness, his minor issues with hyperactivity, aggression, quick temper, frustration, etc. The stim is mainly there for the school focus, not needed in the summer.
Lke the previous poster said, it really depends on the child. You could experiement with it and see how it goes.
My son has been on meds since 4th grade, (now finishing up 6th grade) and I have never given it to him on weekends, holiday breaks, or summer break. However, he is an only child so there is no issue with siblings that we have to deal with and his major problem is hyper-activity and volume......but I have come to just equate these things as being a part of who he is and so it doesn't present a problem.
OHHH life would be sooooo much easier if Chase had no siblings to deal with...he is an angel when it is only me, him and Jon....it is Jake he tangles with in the summer... Like the others have said, it depends on your individual situation. If you need the break to gain weight, or see if it will ease some of the OCD symptoms, it is a good idea. If during the initial titration up to the current dose was difficult due to the body adjusting to the med, I would not take a break. Then consider impulsiveness and hyperactivity.
My youngest will be breaking from the stim, but the guanfacine controls all the behavior issues, so she will stay on it. My oldest is discussing the pros and cons with the doc so that she takes ownership of the decision that is made.
I agree that it depends on the child. My ds is going into Grade 7 in the fall. He has never taken his meds on weekends, school holidays or summer vacation. He is mainly a loud talker without meds and more hyper. He is also an only child and I am a single mom. So I really am the only one who has to deal with him on a daily basis without meds.I'm glad to see this post I imagine it must come up every summer. I really would like to try a med holiday this summer. Someone else wrote they were going to stop the stimulant but continue the Tenex (my son also takes Tenex for the impulsivity and agression also tics) I though about stopping the stimulant maybe trying Strattera????????????????? Due to his tic disorder and anxiety. I know he is wild without the Concerta. There have been days when we forgot his pill and he was climbing the walls (literally) When I told him he was acting this way because we forgot to give him his pill he said "no I'm not I just like acting crazy) He thinks the energy is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do like to see him active and having fun; on Concerta he is quiet and reserved. Doesn't go outside as much to play. He watches more TV and plays video games. He could never concentrate long enough to do well on video games before the Concerta. But..................he is tiny. He hasn't gained weight in a couple years and he hasn't really grown either. I would love to see his appetite come back and see his crazy energy. But... blah blah blah I think you get it.
Then what happens when we reintroduce the meds after summer-will they be as successful as before and will we have to go thru the med tweaking and playing around again. I'd love to hear more testimonials.
Thanks
Ang
[QUOTE=olie]I'm glad to see this post I imagine it must come up every summer. I really would like to try a med holiday this summer. Someone else wrote they were going to stop the stimulant but continue the Tenex (my son also takes Tenex for the impulsivity and agression also tics) I though about stopping the stimulant maybe trying Strattera????????????????? Due to his tic disorder and anxiety. I know he is wild without the Concerta. There have been days when we forgot his pill and he was climbing the walls (literally) When I told him he was acting this way because we forgot to give him his pill he said "no I'm not I just like acting crazy) He thinks the energy is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do like to see him active and having fun; on Concerta he is quiet and reserved. Doesn't go outside as much to play. He watches more TV and plays video games. He could never concentrate long enough to do well on video games before the Concerta. But..................he is tiny. He hasn't gained weight in a couple years and he hasn't really grown either. I would love to see his appetite come back and see his crazy energy. But... blah blah blah I think you get it.
Then what happens when we reintroduce the meds after summer-will they be as successful as before and will we have to go thru the med tweaking and playing around again. I'd love to hear more testimonials.
Thanks
Ang
[/QUOTE]Another thing I'd take into consideration is this:
If he's high-energy off med then where is he going to be on vacation?
Is he going to be in a location where he can run and jump and kick balls around from morning until night [like a cottage]?
Will he be outside a great deal so he doesn't drive everyone else in the house up a wall? [go outside and play kid!]
Med break is a tough question!!!!!
This will be my dd's 4th summer since starting stimulants. The first summer she had no break but the next 2 summers we gave her 4 weeks off. It is SO hard. I would prefer not to give her a break because I don't think it is good for her (or anyone who has to deal with her) psychologically. I know she gets more negative feedback from people. But she seems to get to a point where the meds are not working well and the only thing that seems to make them more effective is a break!!!!! She also could stand to grow. SHe is not that skinny but her growth has definitley slowed. She was off the charts height and weight when she started adderall, she is now around 65% for both. The 4 week break last summer didn't seem to be enough so we are planning to take her off almost the entire summer! We go to see her psychiatrist next week but the tentative plan is to try her on guanfacine for the summer. I really hope it works to control her behavior. I am getting worried recently with all the posts about daytime sleepiness with guanfacine alone. Also, her psychiatrist has not really signed off on it yet. I may have to find a new doctor if he won't agree to it!!!!
FYI- When returning to stims after a 4 week break we have had NO problems. It is actually great when she starts back up, she is an angel. She is on a high dose of adderall and we do titrate back up but not that slowly. I start her on about half of her current dose and go up when she seems to need it.
Med breaks can be tough but for some I think they are beneficial.
Good luck to all for a happy, peaceful, successful summer!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gotta love our "little men"!!!!!I noticed the same thig this week with my daughter after stopping her Ritalin. She did ok until day three, then not so good. I also would applaud the 50%, we're lucky we stay in the 10%.We tried a med break last summer. The first few days were great...then not so great. We decided to keep him on the med (adderall) a couple of days a week. It seems like when he doesn't take it for about 3 days, that next day is hell. He was fine with that. And that way he also didn't have all the side effects of starting back up again when school started. (headaches, stomach aches ect.) We also needed him to EAT!!! He's only in the 50% for his age in height & weight.If Chase had to deal with start up side effects, I probably would not take a break either, but he had none of that, so we will try it this summer.
Oh, and I would be thrilled if Chase was in the 50 percentile for his age in height and weight! He is lucky if he stays above the 5th! And usually falls off the chart completely!!!