new to any adhd drug in our family | ADHD Information

My son takes focalin xr- it works great for him, but initially we did see some rebound (increased symptoms when it wears off).  That only lasted a couple of weeks and his appetite slowly returned after we got up to the correct dosage.

My son's doc gave us a short-acting pill for after school to help with the rebound and to get us through homework.  That helped tremendously with the rebound, but once that side effect went away we found we didn't need the afternoon dose-the xr will last him till around 5:30 which gives us enough time to get the important stuff done. 

It can be tough to find the right med, and you are lucky to be seeing results- your doctor has a good philosophy, but don't be afraid to call him and tell him what you're seeing.  My son's doc told me to call and tell her any time we were uncertain regarding meds and when I called after he'd been on 10mg focalin xr for 10 days and told her we were seeing minimal results, but tons of rebound, she bumped him up to 20mg and it was like some one turned on the light in his brain.   

My son has been on Focalin for two years. Our doctor prescribes
Clonidine 3 times a day (7 am, 4 pm, 8 pm) when prescribing the Focalin.
He says it is to decrease the side effects and prolong the effects of the
Focalin. We titrated from 10 mg to 40 mg in an effort to get longer
coverage. He took it at 7:00 and it was worn off by 4:00. The Clonidine
did help to get him through until bedtime. It took me awhile to realize
that for the first 6 hours of the day, my little boy was not smiling or
laughing. He was the perfect student in school, but he was too nervous to
speak much other than to just answer questions. We have tried adjusting
doses of the Focalin and the Clonidine, but still can't get rid of that effect.
We took him off the Focalin (kept the Clonidine) for a week and got to see
him laugh and play and have fun, Unfortunately, we also started seeing
the impulsive behaviors that get him in trouble and know that he can't go
back to school like that.
Our doctor has many patients that are treated with Focalin. I just want to
find the dose, or a different med that my son can take that will help his
ADHD and still allow him to laugh and play.
I would love any advice that anyone has.

As her body gets used to the med, some of the side effects will settle down. It can take a while to get to the right med, dose and schedule. You might also look at the top stickied thread for ogram's marble system for a potistive reinforcement behavior plan that can help with behavior issues.

Good luck through this tough journey. You can find help and support here through this journey.

My daughter has just been diagnosed with adhd.  Her doctor put her on focalin.  I have no idea what to expect.  She is more than excited to take her medicine in the morning, that is not a problem, and seems to be good until 2:00-4:00.  Sometime in there it seems to wear off.  She has been taking this for 4 days and once in a while she'll complain of a slight headache, but in the evenings she is on the fight, and full of energy.  Her doctors philosophy is go slow and start low.  I know this is not the right amount she needs and he will increase it.  I guess I'm looking for any words of incouragement or help or suggestions that will make this easier on her as well as the rest of the family.

Thanks,

 phileonickol

This is great you are seeing some symptom relief at your first med and first dose. It is great you are starting low and oging slow, this is what you want. You want to relieve symptoms with the lowest possible dose. Hang in it'll take some time and trial and error.

thanks for the incouragement.  I am totally clueless on what to expect. 

 

Thanks,

phileonickol

Thanks, Diane V.
I want to continue to hear what your daughter takes and what finally ends up
working for her.

And I will post if we find something that ends up working for my 7 year old!

OK you may not ant to hear all my "stuff" it''' make your head spin .

For now we're sticking to Desipramine only. I am going ot try added supplements for the next month or so, but if symptoms are not good I will call him to up the dose of that. In our case anxiety is complicating everything.

If your children are not smiling and playing and/or are nervous and or agitated this is not the right the med for them. Don't settle for that to get through school. Keep trying. I know (believe me I know) how hard it is to keep trying all these diffferent meds, especially when you're seeing side effects, but keep trying. We are still not there with my daughter, but I've learned what things she just cannot take, but am not giving up. We have come off stimulants altogether and are doing a tricylcic antidperessant with my daughter. I thought we were really onto something good here...........this was last week, yesterday she was terrible! So I got knocked back down a couple of notches, but we are going to keep plugging away. Zombie like kids is not the answer, but hyper impulsive kids are not happy either. They need to be able to be social and play too. It's is as important as getting all the spelling questions right.

He's "clicked" now and then, but not like he did the other day in the middle
of sentences.

He started Ritalin LA 20 mg today, with Clonidine 0.1 mg 3xdaily.
Unfortunately I was not with him during the day today as I usually am. I
guess he was great until about 5 hours after taking the morning dose when
he bit someone (I still can't believe that one) and was out of control for
awhile until he was given him afternoon Clonidine.... which may have been
too strong for the dose of Ritalin he is on as he fell asleep for a couple
hours.

I know we're going to get it right one of these days. I will ask my dr. about
the Tenex if I see any more tics.Well we saw a big change in tics just from Ritlain LA and Concerta. She was on the same dose of 20mg per day. She could've used more, but side effect wise we couldnt raise it.Diane V
Are you saying you saw more tics from the Concerta than from the Ritalin
LA?

yes more tics.

She also was doing compulsive scratching and hair pulling. It was terrible. Anxiety went through the roof! All of that has stopped now, but we had quite the time for a few months.

TL is starting Ritalin LA 10 mg tomorrow morning. He will also continue his
Clonidine 0.1 mg three times a day as his doctor is really big on that.

I hope he can "be a kid" on this one.

What kind of tic?

TL was on Concerta for one day and as it wore off in the afternoon he
started making clicking sounds with his mouth after each sentence and
sometimes 1/2 way through a sentence. I was told that is a tic.

Oooooh yup sounds like a tic.

She had a lot of different tics (still does here and there) blinking (when I say blink, rolls her eyes and REALLY blinks hard), that is the most common one, another is sniffing, another is jumping, just be standing there then just jump, another is scratching...........at one poitn she was doing ALL of these.

You should keep an eye on it. Tenex will help with the tics. Has he ever had tics before?

We did that exact combo right before I gave up on stimulants. She actually did pretty well on this combination as far as ADHD symptom relief. It was just the darn tics. Oh and the 74 pounds she weighed at 5'1"..........too thin. Mostly it was the tics, nervousness. But she is nervous/anxious on nothing, always has been...........WAY before meds.

Good luck, I bet you like this combination. Keep us updated