Focalin XR help | ADHD Information

My nephew began taking this drug almost 2 weeks ago.He is 9 years old.The dr first started him on 5mg in the morning.Well that didn't do a thing.So I called the Dr back and she up it to 10 mg.Well even though it is the xr on the 10 mg it seems to wear off at around 1:00 p.m. Called the doctor back again Thursday and now she wants to up it to 15 mg in the morning.We are awaiting for the script in the mail from her.It will probably arrive tommorrow.Has anybody had any luck with just taking the Focalin xr once a day without adding another stimulant in the evening as long as the milligrams are upped? Also my nephew takes Clonidine 0.1 mg three times a day and Lorazepam for anxiety 0.25 mg three times a day.Also when the Focalin does wear off it is something awful.He acts like a wildman around here and the hyperness is unbeleiveable. He crashes hard when it wears off!I'm taking Focalin XR too and it wears off around 12-1pm (depending on when I took it that morning) basically lasting me 4 hours. I get irritated easily when it wears off (but then again I'm that way when I was not on any meds). What I did was ask the Dr for a 1/2 dose at 12 or 1 when it wears off and that carries me through the normal work day and lessens the rebound when it wears off. It was causing a bad pressure headache at the base of my neck and top of my head. Now that's stopped.

Maybe another smaller dose is needed for your nephew as well. I doubt they'll want to keep increasing the dose because of his age being that Focalin XR is double the strength of other Ritalin family meds (15mg dose of Focalin XR is equivalent to 30mgs Ritalin). It's worth a shot asking the Dr about splitting it into 2 doses. Or maybe they'll just want to change the meds completely if the rebounds are that severe. Focalin XR is formulated to lessen side effects. Of course that doesn't mean there aren't any.  The higher dose may last longer and may or may not ease the period when the meds wear off. If you can get it to last through school, you could probably add a small dose to help ease the rebound. My kids both get a full school day from it, and the youngest has guanfacine (like clonidine) to augment.