My son is 8 and was diagnosed with ADD last year. He was on metadate, did well then rebounded and went on Focalin with disasterous results. He started having panic attacks, was taken off Focalin and put on Stratera.
We just had him put through a battery of psychological testing and he tests really high/low for distractability and possible auditory processing issue. We were referred to a new psychiatrist (we moved from Phoenix to Georgia) and he perscribed Daytrana.
The first wierd thing is he perscribed him the 30mg right off the bat and the first time we put it on he sat like a zombie until we took it off. The doctor told us to cut it, which I have mixed feelings about since the manufacturer and alot of web info says don't cut it. Anyway, we put half on him yesterday and he did OK but, about an hour after we took it off he was stomping around the house and then wouldn't speak for about an hour and then had a complete break down.
ONce we finally got him to speak he said he just didn't feel like himself.
Anyone else have this experience after removing the patch?
Thanks!
I would ask for a 10mg prescription and try that first. I can't believe they started him at 30mg.I'm curious as to why they went so high of a dose. My 9 year-old is on 15 mg and it is a perfect dose. It sounds like it was too much. It also sounds to me like another doctor might be preferrable. Even if body mass indicates he should have such a high dose, a lower dose is better to start with until the body has acclimated to it.
It sounds like rebound (a period when the med is leaving the body and after that) where he is not adjusting to the difference between medicated and the med wearing off. Like the others said, it is normal to start at the lowest dose and increase to the effective dose. This allows the body to adjust to the med at each dose and reduce or eliminate the side effects and rebound.
A poster who's child was in the original clinical trials said that they were instructed to cut the patches for adjusting doses, so the doc suggesting that is not too weird. The manufacture cannot suggest you do anything that they did not completely explore for safety and effectiveness during clinical trials so they will not suggest things that docs can suggest as part of the practice of medicine.
Talk to the doc about either cutting the patch into 3rds or instead of removing the entire patch, remove 1/2 to 2/3 and maybe ease the period that the dose is wearing off. Just some thoughts. Also, if the doc is not working with you or taking the time for explanation of his/her treatment plan, start looking for a new one.
We were advised to have a HIGH fluid intake when on Daytrana.
Don't know why .... but it works.
On the days my daughter is not drinking I find the rebound effects are enormous ... moody, irritable and headaches. But if she drinks her water we see none of those effects.
We've been cutting them into 1/4s and he's not having the side effects when we remove the patch and this dosage seems to be working.
I have a follow up meeting with the doctor next Tuesday to discuss dosages and I assume he'll just prescribed the 10mg patch. Is it wierd that he said I didn't need to bring my son in with me?
The problem is there are no other ado. psychs w/in 50 miles of us on our insurance and we have a decent insurance...it's so frustrating and I definitely feel for someone who has less than adequate or no insurance.