My son Alex was diagnosed with ADHD 4 years ago, has been taking Concerta 54mg daily for the past 2 years. Over the past summer we decided to stop his meds so that he could eat more and put on some weight. Not surprisingly he did gain 13 pounds over the summer and grew almost 4 inches!! Wow!! He was bouncing off the walls, all over the place and very exhausting BUT happy and jolly and his usual funny self. I loved seeing him like that. Well, school started Tuesday so we got the Concerta out again, he ate breakfast and took his pill and off to the bus he went. He got home and said that he felt exhausted and very sad and depressed all day HOWEVER he was able to sit in his seat and concentrate without flitting all over the place. He was so down and so quiet Tuesday night....I felt terrible!!! So, Wednesday I sent him to school with NO MED on board.....well needless to say I got a phonecall from his counselor at the end of the day saying "Did you send a different kid to school today?!"....he was bouncing off the walls, disrupting class, making noises, moving around in his seat.....blah blah blah.(Welcome to the world of ADHD!!) Does anyone know if the body has to "re-adjust" to starting back on meds if they are discontinued for a while??? I sent him to school today after taking his med.....I'm fearful of what I'll see when I see him after school, another depressed sad face??? It breaks my heart.......we have an appointment with his MD on Monday to discuss "other options". This is the FIRST summer that we held his medication....had this happened to anyone else?? Thanks for listening
Robyn and dear son Alex
Take it from me, the first week of school, I had just gotten back on the meds. 5 AP classes, I thought I was going to fail due to a lack of focus. 3 weeks later, I've aced all my tests and focusing is no longer an issue.