Need advice Focalin not working | ADHD Information

Hi.  I am new to the forum, but am relieved to find an outlet and hear that other parents are experiencing similar problems as me. I am exhausted from dealing with my 5 1/2 year old.  He has been on Focalin XR for 6 months and doing OK until recently.  We had tried Dexedrine and Ritalin, neither worked, made him too angry.  Now we are seeing increase in anger, aggression, crying, moodiness, impulsivity.  I am wondering if the dose is not right or the med.  He has learned bad words, and uses them a lot, despite consequences.  He has had trouble at school this week after a period of doing pretty well.  Thoug, I do find he cries a lot at night, and is so moody when he is with me and I give him the Focalin.  He is a sweet boy, but I am on constant alert with him due to his poor decision making and his ability to get himself into a jam.  Does anyone have any similar experience with Focalin, or success with something else?  He is also wakes up a lot at night due to "bad dreams" but I think this may also be due to the Focalin???His teacher says he has completely changed since going on meds though.  So, I want his academic success to succeed. 

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

Hi and welcome. It is impossible to say which medication or dose will work as every child is different. Both the type of medication and dose could cause what you are seeing. Dose being too high or too low. My daughter did not do well on Focalin so we only were on it briefly so I cannot give too much insight into that specific med. Many people on here however do VERY well on Focalin. Quite often physicians will continue with a medication and try to treat the side effects if possible. Also know that because you did not have luck with dexedrine, that does t rule out being able to use Adderall. Or that ritalin didnt work you cant use another methyphedinate med. Every medication is differnt and people react differently to even a different delivery method. My daughter hs never been able to handle any of the short acting meds. Couldnt tolerate Ritalin or Concerta, but di OK on Ritlain LA for a while. So many variables. Please talk to your physican and keep trying you will find something that works for you.

My 6-YO DD was diagnosed in February.  She took Focalin for a while, and it helped with her focus when at a lower dose (5 mg), but once we went up to 10 mg she was a mess.  Moody, irritable, defiant, and it didn't help at all with her impulse control.  We went to Daytrana, which caused the same side effects without helping with the inattention.  Right now we are trying Tenex and I think we will end up adding back in the 5 mg of Focalin. 

Anyway, I've only been doing this meds stuff since March, and it is making me crazy!  I hope it is just the dosage of the Focalin and you can get it back to where it is working. 

Thanks for the input.  We tried to stay off the meds today because he ad a horrible day a school yesterday with the Focalin.  But it was a tough day without it too.  We're definitely going to go talk to the doctor.  I feel like there has to be an easier way.  My other two children get put on the back burner because I have to give so much attention to the 5 1/2 year old.  How do you guys cope?  Thanks for the advice.It is quite the challenge to split your time when your ADHD child needs you even more. Hang in. It will get better, it just takes longer. Of course I dont have three soooooooooo . We are transitioning meds right now and it's quite the challenge when my ADHD daughter just cannot stay out of anything else going on. Nonone can have a conversation, she is right in there..........whether it involves her or not. Not as bad now as it was when she was young, but I DO understand and so does everyone here.

My daughter has been so moody for the last 6 weeks between the 10 mg of Focalin and the Daytrana--multiple on-the-floor fits every day.  It is miserable.  When we took her off of the Daytrana last week, it was the same as it had been on the Daytrana, but at least I knew the meds weren't to blame.  It is so disruptive for the family, so hard to have enough patience not to yell.  I hate that DD's behavior takes so much away from my son, who is just a typical and happy 4 YO.  I totally know where you are coming from.  I hope you can get this worked out soon.

My child's been on Focalin XR since last July.  I've found that we've needed to increase the dose a couple of times when ADHD behaviors returned.  Maybe a dose increase would help? 

We took our son off of Focalin XR - he did great with it for a while, until the 15 mg seemed not to control his impulsivity anymore and we took him up to 20 mg.  Then he became almost zombie like.  We tried a couple other things, and have now ended up with him on Metadate CD 20 mg with a 5mg booster of ritalin in the afternoons - we are getting nothing but good reports and I find his personality to be much more like he used to be, and less mood swings.

Every med works differently for every child.  Focalin may not be the one for you!

 

I have found being up front with people is generally better. No need to to go into details or specifics, but you will need to let camp know his meds anyway. I wouldnt say he may be a bahavior problem, but just that he takes meds for ADHD and then you can check in with them after a couple of weeks to see how it is going.

How long has this been going on?  I only ask because every year around this time my son's behavior gets dramatically worse.  This is the first year we've been on meds (focalin xr- which has been working great) during the spring, but it's been seeming like his meds are not working as well lately too.

Except that it's not the meds- it's anxiety about the upcoming transitions from school schedule to summer schedule and back to school again just after he's really adjusted to the summer.  Not to mention worrying about next year's teacher, classmates, and the increased difficulty of the work and responsibilities.  He stops worrying about that so much once school is actually over- until we start buying next years school supplies.  And then there's the vacation we're taking, the long weekend the kids are spending with their grandparents. . .  All the fun summer stuff that's an absolute nightmare for the kid with difficulty transitioning. 

May through August is sort of like one slow motion anxiety attack in our house.

I just wanted to offer another perspective, especially since you mentioned bad dreams and tears at night- also, my son's anxiety usually comes out looking like anger and a general increase in misbehavior.

jaderock, this is a really good point, my kids (both) have been out of sorts lately. The difference in the weather, the daylight........etc, etc, all contribute.That is a good point jaderock.  School is almost over, the kids are restless.  Awaiting summer, summer camp.  I thought he may need a med change, but with this being the last week of school, I don't know how well that will work during a transition to summer camp.  He just seems to be learning new ways to get in trouble at school, on the bus.  But, it may be the spring fever.  His teacher has handled him so well this year.  He will only go to summer camp 1-2 days per week.  But, I'm wondering if I should alert the director to his possible behavior.  Or, is that going to label him as a problem child? 

I let my 5 1/2 year old take a break over the weekend from meds.  Today, we opened the capsule, and gave him about 3/4 of the granules, which the Dr. said is Ok to try.  He is much happier today.  He got a "smiley face"  at school.  I am hoping this keeps up.  Maybe the 10 mg of Focalin was just too much. 

great news. See how such a minor dose adjustemnt can make a difference. Hope this keeps working for you.Well you can also see him all day and get a feel for his mood. We do tend to do that, if the side effects are better than the last med, we accept it. You can always go back to it..................

That is interesting.  I didn't know you could take the XR twice a day.  Does your son get cranky on the meds?  At night I notice my son gets very demanding and gets upset easily, during the time the medicine would be wearing off.  And it's so odd that he's fine at school, but when he's with me and on it , he is very moody.  It's a toss up on his days off of school if I should give it to him or not.  It's either he's thinking clearly and making better decisions, but moody, or he's hyperactive and impulsive all day.  I think I can deal with that easier, because that's how he's always been.

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Is he only cranky when rebounding or cranky all day. He shouldnt be unhappy on his meds. It should treat symptoms with minimal or no side effects. If you are having side effects (moody, easily upset) you should think about a dose adjustment or a new medication. Dont' make him unhappy for focus, it doesnt have to be that way for either of you.He's cranky and moody when he's with me on the meds.  He is not that way at scool with his teacher though, I have asked her many times.   He was really unhappy on Ritalin LA, so we switched.  He would cry from the time he got home until he went to bed.  It is better on the Focalin XR 10 mg, but I am comparing it to a horrible side effect on Ritalin.  I think I will go talk to his Dr.  now that it is summer time, it's easier to experiment in case it doesn't work.  At least he'll have a bad day with me, and not his whole class.  Thanks for the input.that just goes to show the difference in children.  My son was ok in the am on 10mg foculin. 15mg made him a zombie.  But by the afternoon, it was wearing off. He is now on Foculin 10mg xr 2 times a day.  Once in am and once at lunch.  He is now able to sit still, do school work and hardly ever gets into trouble at school.