It is day 3 of Vyvanse. There was a noticeable difference on day 1; however, by day 3 it was not as marked. For the first two days he complained about a sore throat which lasted about 3 hours. I'm not quite sure if it was the medicine or just the remnants of a cold that had been going through house but it did not happen on day 3. I haven't had sleep issues but I did notice that, if left to his own devices, he could voluntarily stay up quite late vs. being knocked out at around 11. His appetite has decreased quite a bit. He does eat, but in much smaller portions so I make sure to give him a good breakfast before he takes the medicine. It does make him a bit less boisterous, but we are still having defiant issues and the impulsivity is still in the forefront. His psychiatrist initially started him on 30mg for 10 days and added an additional prescription for 50mgs for the remainder of the month.. However, since Vyvanse is still new on the market, many pharmacies have not added it to their inventories. My pharmacy had to order the 50mg formulation, so I will have to wait until Thursday if my son's dosage needs to be increased (which I think may be the case).
He goes back to school tomorrow. We've talked about it all weekend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for letting me know about the ESE services for behavior. I will intercede about it.
Hope things are going well on your end.
Mel
Hi Mella78,
Well, the ratio in the class he is already in is AWESOME! That's about a 5 to 1 ratio and it doesn't get any better than that as far as I know.
Also, under No Child Left Behind, he should be entitled to ESE services for Behavior in which he doesn't leave the room, but a Special Ed teacher comes in and does some one-on-one with him. I'd see if they can do that. Of course, the best time for the ESE teacher to come in would be during times especially challenging for him, but it doesn't always work that way.
Keep us posted on the new medicine and good luck!
Val
Hi Val --Hi Mella78,
I don't have an answer for you, but I wanted to say I feel for you.
My son is also 6, and has not been kicked out of anywhere - yet. However, the Metadate CD (similar to the Focalin in how it works) causes anxiety bigtime. We just went through a stint of adding Tenex (blood pressure med.) to see if it reduced his anxiety - Not - with a capital "N."
But it did, however, cause MANIA and AGRESSION - which are noted to be rare side effects of Tenex in adhd children. Fun, fun.
Well, due to the anxiety side effect of the Metadate, he already exhibits aggression, so we really don't need to be adding anything that might make it worse. That said, it looks to me like increased anxiety and aggression are possible side effects of all of the adhd medicine out there. Oh, and on Strattera, he had crying jags, which stopped when it was out of his system.
We are using mind-altering meds, so who knows what will happen? Every child is different.
I'm thinking about Adderall, but don't really want to deal with any blood pressure side effects after our Tenex ordeal.
Before meds, my son mostly showed impulsive and inappropriate, silly and aggressive behaviors. Now, the impulse part is under control, but we feel the anxiety he's feeling is causing him to be extremely touchy and it escalates to aggression.
So there is now a time window from when someone annoys him to when he will act out. One boy annoyed him on purpose all day long after he repeatedly asked him to stop, so my son got even in PE by pushing the little "angel" as the coach described him. They had a substitute teacher that day that didn't know what was going on, but when the regular teacher came back, she caught the other boy in the act and moved him away from my son. There are two sides to every story.
I think Justin finds it more effective to be aggressive than to verbally ask someone to stop. We are trying to teach him to tell the teacher, but he's not a very good tattle tale, even at home when his older brother picks at him.
He holds squishy balls in school to counter the anxiety and the staff work very hard at helping him because they are aware of the anxiety piece. He is at a special school for adhd and similar kids who are in at least average ranges academically.
Our psychiatrist told us 30 percent of adhd kids cannot tolerate stimulants at all. I believe that figure is underestimated after seeing the layering of second and third meds. that are frequently added to the stimulant.
I'm going to try Mangosteen juice - an all natural product, which has been shown to help with neuro issues - I researched it in PubMed, a doctor's website. I'll take it first for my anxiety - over his issues, I have it bigtime - and if I see benefits, I'll then give it to him to see if it counters his anxiety.
If my son continues to have issues in school, I may go back to homeschooling him. In public school, his options are a regular classroom - which totally overstimulates him - or what they call Emotionally Handicapped. Hello, it's a documented neurological disorder as opposed to an emotional one and my hubby says, "Over my dead body is he going in that class."
Many states, however, have smaller classes for kids with adhd and similar issues. Have you investigated if your school has such a classroom? My son is according to our school - too smart - to be in Varying Exceptionalities, which is a label my hubby and I have no problem with. So we are very screwed as far as options if our private school decides they can't handle him.
I also wanted to say that two weeks is a very short time to adjust. My older boy, who normally has no issues, just started a new school this year. He's been there for five weeks and recently started having a panicky reaction to seatwork. He's quite capable and above grade level, so I finally got it out of him today that he's having social difficulty with being the new kid on the block. He is the type of kid that usually receives "Summer Camper of the Year," Dean's List, etc. But he was with the same group of kids for four years and this adjustment period is hard for him. So two weeks is not a good amount of time for many kids to adjust.
I'm going to stay with our school through Thanksgiving and see if my younger one settles down.
Kicking a 6-year-old out of public school doesn't address his issues and his needs. He probably would benefit from a smaller class with more one-on-one attention. As for the bus, while it wasn't right to choke-hold the girl, did he tell you that she did anything to provoke his anger?
Take Care,
Val
My 8 yr old just started 30mg of vyvanse this morning. We have a long weekend so I thought it would be good to try this medicine before he goes back to school next wednesday. He was on 27mg of concerta and I'm nervous that we just switched meds this morning.
I would like to hear how your son is doing now after a few days have past. Is he okay? Any more side affects? How is his behavior?
Thanks for any info!
Hi Edbson -- Actually the new psych did do an evaluation of sorts but since she was only for medication management and not therapy it probably wasn't very thorough. She read the three reports and concurred. She did, however, send a few forms to his teacher at the time for her to complete. I believe that he is a ADHD - Combined Type. We did try Adderall for a short time, but like Dexetrine, it raised his blood presure. No he dosen't have a co morbid diagnosis, but I would allude that he has a touch of ODD along with it. Thank you for your suggestions.I would have a med evaluation with the current Psych. Possibly a re-evaluation since he was diagnosed so young. What type of ADHD was he diagnosed with? Have you tried Adderall? Does he have a co morbid diagnosis?
edbson39351.7602546296mella good luck. I am curious who diagnosed at 4 and is managing the meds? I'm only asking as he is very young and the meds dont seem to be working, maybe a second opinion?Hello Diane -- He has been tested three times, once by a psychiatrist referred to me by his pediatrician and twice by two different psychiatrists from my school district. All have the same diagnosis. Incidentally, it was decided at the meeting this morning that they would not suspend him because it was his first offense.......then, this afternoon, the bus monitor tells my oldest son that he was wrestling with another student and put her in a choke hold. The bus monitor will be writing him up. My guess is that suspension is imminent. I am so livid I can't see straight. If he is banned from the bus I will have no way to transport him to and from school. I know that there are many people who don't believe in medication, but at this point I have run out of options. Time outs do not work, removal of privileges isn't doing it and all of the Supernanny and Nanny 911 charts, stars and techniques aren't getting through either. And, medication dosen't necessarily equate to a life sentence. I'm sorry for venting, but this is one of those "at my wit's end" moments.