Hello,
My son was just diagnosed with ADHD and has been prescribed Dexedrine. He takes one dose in the morning and another at lunch time. I thought that this drug wore off after 4-6 hours. That being said, would there be side effects such as insomnia later in the night, when the drug has worn off? Am I missing something? He woke up a couple of nights in a row, presumably due to thunderstorms but I am on the look out for side effects and was hoping someone could explain this to me. Thanks!
Kim
Kim, I am not familular with Dexadrine but my son has been on Ritalin, Concerta and now Adderal XR and all thoes meds made him not sleep, so I believe it is a characteristic of the meds. I give my son one 3mg. tablet of Melatonin (an all natural sleep aid) Melatonin is something your body already makes and most Autistic spectrum children/ADD don't make enough melatonin on their own. It usually works within and hour. If you get to the point where he isn't sleeping and it is causing problems, try melatonin, it really does work. Oh you can get it at any drug store in the vitamin isle. Hope this helps some. ShellyKim,
As Shelly says most ADHD stimulant meds have the risk of insomnia as a side effect. It sounds like your problem is not falling asleep, but staying asleep??? I only ask because I am curious how his overall anxiety level seems? Stimulant meds can increase anxiety and this could be part of the cause. If this continues speak to your doctor, you may want to switch meds before adding something else. It's amazing how some meds cause side effects, but another release of the same med or a different med is totally different. How long as he been on the meds? Some children just need time to get used to be on a med and these side effects pass with time.
Thank you both for the info. He has just been on the dexedrine for one week now. He does not seem to want to go to sleep at night. He fights it and then when he falls asleep, he sometimes stays asleep and other times, wakes up in the middle of the night. This is all so new for us so I guess I am looking for side effects etc. I would start lower on the Melatonin if you do decide to use it. .33mgs is plenty for my 10 yo DD. Too much can cause nightmares. I took 3mg for myself.......once.....must've been WAY too much. Vivid dreams all night, groggy headache nausea for the whole next day, I again agree with edbson, be careful. I would still check with the doc before adding anything. Sometimes changing meds avoid adding something. Obviously the first choice would be to take one thing if you can get good results that way.