6 yr old son Rx Adderoll XR-INFO/ ADV.?

My 6 yr old son was just prescribed Adderoll XR 5mg.one x aday. This is our first time to try any medication. He was just diagnosed with ADHD/ODD and I'm relatively lost, even though I have been Extensively Researching anything and everything I can get my hands on. I would like to hear from someone who has had some personal experience with this med. and ADHD/ODD, whether it be PARENT, GRANDPARENT, ANY CAREGIVERS, ADULT W/ADHD OR ADHD/ODD, AND OR ANY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALwith first hand  knowledge!!        & nbsp;    

I would really appreciate any advice or information!

Sincerly,

Overloaded Mom  

My son was 7 when we started meds. We tried adderall xr, a highter dose than your son's but still low, and my son had a horrible experience.

But please keep in mind every child/adult is different when it comes to medicines and dosages.

Some people swear by it, I am sure they will post back to you.

My son couldn't handle that type of medication. He is successful on concerta. He also takes guanfacine for overstimulation. And he is on what some consider a high dose of concerta - 90mgs. He leveled off originally at 72mgs when he was 7 and stayed there for 3 years. We just recently increased his dose. Sleeping and eating did get in the way for a while, but they all went away as his body adjusted to the meds.

Please give it time, it is trial and error unfortunately. It took us almost 6 months to reach his correct dose once we found the right med.There are lots to chose from.

Call the doctor when he is not successful immediately. It does NOT takes days to see a difference, it is in less than an hour. You will either need to increase him or change meds.

Regards

My DS was started on 5 mg Adderall XR when he was 5, and had the dose increased after 2 week to 10 mg.  He is now 7 and is on 20 mg.  Basically, you may not see any difference with 5 mg and most Drs. titrate very slowly to be on the safe side so the body will get used to the medication and side effects will be less evident when the dose is increased.  It sounds like your Dr. is taking the conservative approach, which to me is good. 

The bottom line for us (I am on it as well) is that it does work.  It has a good therapeutic effect of about 8-10 hours with no residual effect by bedtime.  It has almost totally decreased the appetite, and when it wears off in the afternoon, you may see some irritability, but that does not last longer than 15 minutes or so.  We eat a high-calorie breakfast, and have high-protein, nutrient dense snacks at night (if you look through these boards you will find a lot of posts and advise on loss of appetite).

It works for us, but like all medications, you have to find the one that works for you.  This may or may not be the one for you.  Usually, an adequate therapeutic trial of psychiatric medications is 8 -12 weeks in duration, with at least one upward dose titration during the trial.  If you do not see any results, I am sure you Dr. will re-evaluate.  Good Luck.

Thank you, for your help!  We seem to have had good results today, no side effects yet. I did notice some difference in his level of hyperactivity and impulsiveness, and behaviour, but what amazed me is that to be 6yrs. old the degree to which, HE! has understood and realized the changes. I have really tried not to talk about this a whole lot in front of him, until I can research and learn more and kind of figure a few more things out. Except topics, that are aimed at him or will have a direct effect on him at this time, such as on the way to our family Dr. to get his meds RX. I simply explained to him, that we were going to see Dr. Jay, so he could RX him some med. to help him be able to control things better, such as not getting in as much trouble and to help settle him down! I, also told him that this first med. may not work, but we would try another and keep trying until we found one that worked for him. I informed him that it may have some, not so good effects, and it was very important for him to tell Momma, Daddy, his teacher, His big sister or whatever adult was around as soon as he noticed it, such as a headache, stomach ache, feeling weird or anything different that was not good.  By the way I chose our Family Dr. to be the one to handle medication, because I trust him, my son is comfortable with him and he does not think I'm an idiot! He knows I am very alert and concerned where my kids are concerned and that NO ONE! knows my children like I do! I may not have a M.D. or a Ph.D., but I DO! have a P.D. (parent degree). I have done more research and feel like I have Information Overload! But I insisted on start low, go slow and monitor closely, as far as his meds are concerned! I feel like non-medical treatments that are also,  geared towards the ODD are not the same case. As soon I can find, well, determine the best place to start here I want to implement things as soon as possible, also I want to be sure we get the right type of guidance, counseling or therapy, so far can't figure this one out. Do you have any suggestions? We are in a rural area in Mississippi, which seems to be making things more difficult, not that it's rural, but that it's Mississippi! I have called PAI in Jackson, MS which is not too far away, but no one has contacted me back so far.  Special Education is going to be one of my biggest challenges due to School District We live in. There is a seriously alarming lack of Services, adequate materials and knowledge of the available teaching techniques and the means to implement them. This includes Teachers, SPED Teachers, Counselors, or anyone else for that matter. The Director of Special Education at his School did not even Know what ODD IS!  VERY SCARRY! I see a battle then a war coming! Anyone live in Mississippi or had any Experience with Special Education in Mississippi? I sure would like to hear from someone!                  

Thank you, still needing a point in any right direction, especially those mentioned above!

Overloaded        &a mp;n bsp;

Dear Overloaded Mom,

First, what a great handle. Most of here have those days when that describes them.

Let me tell you are doing a great job so far. His condition is not your fault and not the result of bad parenting.  Research says that 80% of it is due to genetics, a flip of the coin. You will recieve lots of advice, both bad and good. Take what is good and toss the rest. You don't need to guilt trips other lay on you, we put enough on ourselves. 

You are educating yourself about his condition and the options. Continue to do that.  My son's doctor was surprised when I questioned her prescription for my son based on the small print I had read. When I told her why, she agreed with me.

I knew my son was different from birth. At 4, I had him evaluated and got hold of a bad psychologist that told me he was just a difficult child. His pediatrican diagnosed him during a visit for something else, he was 7 and in the middle of 1st grade.

We are currently on our 4th medication. We started with Concerta, maxed out of that after a year. We went Adderal and had good sucess for several years. We were part of a study for Modifnal,  which the company discontinued. We have now gone to Vyvanse, which is working well for us. It may take time to find the right med and the right dose for your son. And you may have to change meds after a while. Be patient.

The two side effects that have been pretty common are lack of appetide and sleeping. Sometimes you have to be creative with solutions. Be sure and pack something sweet in his lunch because their blood sugar tends to get low in the afternoon when they don't eat much.

Keep up on the education. Many times the schools don't tell you anything because they don't know the answer, let alone the question.  But, you have found this out already. And depending on his level of impairment and comorbidities, he may be entitled to special accomandations. (I.e.an IEP, longer time for tests or having someone read the question for him, ect., ect.).  Look for groups lke CHADD or CARD online for more information.

His pediatrican has been great but I have decided to start going to a psychiatrist because I think my son is beyond the scope of her care. Puberty has arrived and it is a whole new can of worms.

Good luck. You can email me at reruho@hotmail.com

We homeschool. too. It has been wonderful. But is not always an option for everyone.

Reta