Day 1 on Daytrana and discouraged | ADHD Information
[QUOTE=NicInNC] I know, I know....I need to give it some time, but it's hard to see my dd like this. We stopped the Vyvanse a while back due to side effects that I talked about in another thread here. Her grades had dramatically improved on the Vyvanse and if it wasn't for the fact that she lost so much weight and had such terrible rebounds, I would have kept her on it. So, we started Daytrana today. I had a terrible time getting the stupid backing off. I put it on her around 9am. It kicked in around 11:30. As the day wore on, she got very sleepy acting, not talking much and she began with the mouth tics. She kept moving her jaw back and forth and in and out. She complained of a headache and she wouldn't eat any lunch. I finally took it off her at 4:30 and was shocked at how raw her skin was. It was bright red. I wiped the sticky off with olive oil (she said that burned) and then washed the area with dishsoap and applied some prescription cream on it that she has for eczema. I'm hoping that helps with the redness. At 10 pm, she was still pretty out of it. Like she was really drugged up and tired. [She's only on 10 mg, but it seems too strong. I'm going to give it a few more days. I'm just discouraged because I am already seeing things that I don't like. I can NOT have her lose weight and I don't want her to lose her personality. I LOVE my dd's personality....just not her inattentiveness.][/QUOTE] i haven't been following your thread, but the key thing I am hearing is that you love who your daughter is, just not her in attentiveness. Have you had her IQ tested? She may just be bored and not stimulated by life enough.that sleepiness will pass to. My daughter had that, and it did go away. Week 2 will be better and week three will tell you for sure how she is doing. It's a good med, it just takes some time to figure out 
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Cutting it in half is not advised, you never know what part of the patch the me is on. It's not on all of it. Today was a bit better. I took the day off work and so I decided to go have lunch with dd at her school. It was a beautiful day with record highs (almost 80 degrees!) so she and I ate outside. She ate 3 slices of turkey, half of her mixed fruit, several cheese nips and all her YooHoo (chocolate drink). I was pleased with that because before, all she would eat was maybe 3 bites of a slice of turkey.
She was still pretty out of it, still had a stomach ache and was still tired. I had her take the patch off around 3:15. She did have a meltdown during homework, so I had her take a break and we took the dogs for a pretty long walk.
We just got finished eating supper and she devoured it. I fixed grilled fish, mixed frozen veggies and parmesean noodles. She cleaned her plate and she doesn't even LIKE that food!
I'm going to continue to give the patch an entire week and then make a decision on whether or not to continue with it. NicInNC - dd had stomach isues off and on the first week, but it DID go away. She had a red mark every night, but it didnt bother her for the most part and was always gone in the morning.
my son, my angel, if you are seeing no results and no side effects, I wouldnt wait too long, I'd call to ask about upping the dose after 3 or 4 days, if you're seeing some side effects it's worth waiting it out a week. Their bodies adjust to most side effects and then you can increase the dose with less of a chance or making side effects worse.
Thanks Diane V , i know it will get better and it always help hearing other been there done that stories to kind of pull you through the day. Today was my sons day #2 also, still the same, much more sensitive, and really no more attentive, but the only good thing was he ate more today. Day one he barely ate all day. So I hope this continues. How long does it normally take for the med sensitivity to get better? This is whats bothering us (the parents) the most. Does anyone have any recommendations on a time frame before calling the doc? When should I make the phone call to say, hey this isn't working? Thanks so much everyone.Today was day #2 and pretty much the same as yesterday. One positive thing is that the red mark on her hip was completely gone. I think that cream helped. The only thing different today is that dd complained a lot more over her stomach hurting. DD felt so bad this morning that we didn't put her patch on her. I am now regretting it because she left all her homework at school and hasn't been able to accomplish anything today. Although, as out of it as she was, I'm not sure she would have been able to accomplish anything ON the patch. We WILL be putting it on her tomorrow. I'm also going to call the doctor and see if we can cut the patch in half.We were told we could cut the patch in half it if the dosage was too much for my daughter. Shire doesn't advertise that you can, but it is done.
Hi guys, my daughter is extremely med sensitive. she had all this same stuff the first week especailly. Headache, nausea, sleepy. I forced myself to stick it out and it all went away. I was thinking the same things, that it was too much, but really it wasnt enough. ALL of those side effects went away. I know it's hard to do, but try to stick it out if you can. It's a good med if you cant wait the 2 hours in the a.m.. Her hip was VERY red in the evenings too, but it was always gone by the morning. I know, I know....I need to give it some time, but it's hard to see my dd like this. We stopped the Vyvanse a while back due to side effects that I talked about in another thread here. Her grades had dramatically improved on the Vyvanse and if it wasn't for the fact that she lost so much weight and had such terrible rebounds, I would have kept her on it. So, we started Daytrana today. I had a terrible time getting the stupid backing off. I put it on her around 9am. It kicked in around 11:30. As the day wore on, she got very sleepy acting, not talking much and she began with the mouth tics. She kept moving her jaw back and forth and in and out. She complained of a headache and she wouldn't eat any lunch. I finally took it off her at 4:30 and was shocked at how raw her skin was. It was bright red. I wiped the sticky off with olive oil (she said that burned) and then washed the area with dishsoap and applied some prescription cream on it that she has for eczema. I'm hoping that helps with the redness. At 10 pm, she was still pretty out of it. Like she was really drugged up and tired. She's only on 10 mg, but it seems too strong. I'm going to give it a few more days. I'm just discouraged because I am already seeing things that I don't like. I can NOT have her lose weight and I don't want her to lose her personality. I LOVE my dd's personality....just not her inattentiveness.NicInNC39424.881875NicInNC: I am having the same problem with my son, started the patch today, and basically got the same results you did. How discouraging huh? What to do. My son who is typically very sensitive and extremely frustrated was exactly that and other things today, which was what I thought would get better. I am with you I love his spunky, carefree attitude, just not his frustration and moodiness. Yeah i'm giving it a few more days also. The doc acted as if it would work same day but so far not so good. My son also is skinny and didn't eat a drop until I basically forced him at about 7:30 p/m. This is way too long for my child to go without out eating anything. I just feel lost. Really I often find myself wondering am I doing the right thing here? School is so bad, and so is home life, so I know something has to be done, but what? Good luck to you too. Keep in touch.Hi NicinNC,You shouldn't have much trouble peeling the backing off. If you do, call Shire. Others have been successful in getting replacement boxes. When Daytrana first came out, the backing was a real pain, but it's become much easier to get off. I think that there was another recall lately, so definitely call and ask them. Until you get another box, put the patch in the freezer between two cold containers for about 5 minutes and it will peel off more easily. Then hold it against her skin for a couple of minutes so that it heats up again (heat makes it activate at a higher rate, btw). My son also had more skin redness with the "bad" adhesive. Interestingly, the longer he's been on Daytrana, the less his skin reacts to it.
He has been on Daytrana a year and a half. He was first on Ritalin LA (long acting) and was a little "ticky" for about a month and then it went away. [Ritalin LA and Daytrana are the same basic med.] I would keep trying it. I know that people have cut the patch to get a lower dose, so that could be an option if it seems like the dose is too high after a week or so. Also, be aware of the heat factor. If she is super sensitive, you don't want her taking a hot shower with it on. I notice that my son has undesirable side effects during hot weather because he is getting too much of the med.
Here is the great thing about Daytrana and food: a couple of hours after you take it off, your child's appetite should return with a vengeance. That means you can get breakfast and dinner into them, if not a decent lunch. You have much more control over it than with an oral med, which might keep working too long. I remember that when your daughter was on Vyvance, it seemed to work all night. This way you will be able to peel it off and 3 hours later, she will be back to normal. It may take longer since she seems very sensitive to the effects of the medication, but at least you will have some control over that. My son often isn't too hungry until 7 or 8, but that's OK with me as long as he eats.
Hope this helps. I would stick with it for a while, because it is a medication that you can control easier than an oral med.