meds only on weekdays | ADHD Information

Thank You Mamaou,

I agree every situation is different!!!!

I will try everything before meds!!!!!!!

I would think that it totally depends on which symptoms the child has as well as the severity of their ADHD.  If I had an inattentive-type child, I would certainly consider taking the weekends off (depending on the type of medication and if it's recommended).  If you have a child who already responds to diet and therapy, you may have that option. 

My son is extremely impulsive and hyperactive.  Changing his diet doesn't affect him at all, and we do mounds of "behavioral modification" at home and at school.  He is simply MUCH more pleasant with the medication. He also obsesses less.  Without it, the whole family suffers greatly and we walk on eggshells, never knowing when the next impulsive/negative behavior will occur (anger outbursts, pushing sister, fighting over every toy, interrupting constantly, playing non-stop video games, etc., etc.). 

For us, it doesn't make sense to go on and off, but I can see how it could for some children.  I wish that I had the option just so that my son would eat more .  I tried to medicate last summer on more of an "as needed" basis -- HUGE mistake.  The rebound, obsessing and anxiety were horrible -- MUCH worse than if we had just stayed on Daytrana all day, every day.

We only give meds (Concerta) on weekdays, but sometimes we medicate over the weekend depending on what's going on (like if she goes to church with our neighbors we DEFINITELY medicate!).  For us it's also a financial issue, especially now at the beginning of the year when we have to build up to meeting our deductible again - her meds are 0/month!

< =text/>_popupControl(); We give the meds all school days, but try to pick one weekend day to skip. We've found that if we can skip on Sunday, it makes them even more effective on Monday. We have tried skipping two days in a row, but by the night of the second day he's really exhausted and crabby and has a hard time the next day when we start again.

My daughter in law's child is Add/H.   He is very hyper and talks non stop.  He isn't on medication....at this time.   He was held back in Kindergarden.  Now he

is in 3 grade and doing great with grades....at age 9 almost 10.

Very intelligent.......His behavior is improving each year and social life is better.

It is a slow process with constant behavorial therapy....But still a very long way to go.....for the hyper activity is always present....

but feel he will out grow a lot of it....But very stressful on parents.....Each parent must decide if medication is needed to function sucessfully.....

Sadly granddaughter needs medication to function in school and home even

with the Behavioral Clinic sessions. Some thing I didn't want to do but was best for her.    We give medication every day ....and working pretty well.

 

 

 

My DD is on Ritalin 5mg in the am and 5mg in the afternoon.  I chose not to give it to her on the weekends.  I know Ritalin leaves the system within 4 hours, so it makes it a bit easier to not medicate her on the weekends.  There are times when I question that decision however come Saturday when I'm ready to pull my hair out, but the biggest problem I have with the Ritalin is loss of appetite.  So I figure the weekends give her a chance to "catch up" so to speak with food.No meds on non school days for us, DD is only innattentive, so she doesn't need them otherwise.

I wish that my son could go without his meds on non-school days, but he can't. They help with his impulsivity and help him out socially. But, you have to do what you think is best for your child. A lot of people take med breaks and can do it successfully.

"Our children are precious in His sight"

Mamaou wrote: Sadly granddaughter needs medication to function in school and home even

Look at the positives . There is nothing sad about giving the child the opportunity to have a shot at quality of life :)

Sam E

I know this is best in my situation but I just feel so strongly against medication

in a 9 year old....I fought against it since she was 5...wanting her to develop

both mentally and physical before doing the medication.   Hoping with Behavorial she wouldn't need them.......Worry about what long period effects will have on here later in life.......That is what I am against health issues...not medication.

 I am doing follow

up with Dr's to make sure everything is on track....Its just so hard coming

to the conclusion she has to take medicine to function... 

But for her it is helping with all aspects of a normal atmosphere....I won't

let her miss out on opportunties because she can't control herself....Which she is

just not able to do.....But I am there always to try and lead her down the right

path....But is the type of child that need to tone everything down a couple of notches....

hi

our son never slept when he was on meds, so there for we gave a break on weekends, turnsout, he cud'nt sleep with the thought of school the next day, which he hates with a passion. So we cud'nt win either way!

so, you have to decide wat suits you and ure family life, esp if other siblings in the house, giving them the required attention at the weekends and dealing with your son or daughter. It is hard, only you kno wats best, noboby can tell you what to do!!

we never did, we used meds 7 days.

Some people succesfully do this, others children dont do well being on and off meds like that, rebound gets worse like "starting over" every Monday or after every vacation. As with everything, every child is different.

I have always done it 7 days per week, although my son goes with my ex, his Dad who sometimes *FORGETS* to give them.

My experience is its like starting over each time you do that. I also feel you get more side effects coming back. I also beleive my son needs to focus in all aspects of life, not just school . When he is on his meds, it makes life easier, more pleasant and productive for all of us. I spend the most time with him on the weekends, as I work 40 hours a week. We love to do things together, movies, boardwalk, beach,walks, hikes, the zoo, etc and all of these things require good behaviour and focus.

I do understand some parents like the break. The child usually eats better and sleeps better , if these are an issue with meds. I think it is a descion that needs to be made based on your child, what your md says and your own beliefs.

Does anyone give their ADHD child meds only on school days. That is when ADHD interferes in my son's life the most, we can cope with weekends and holidays.I was just asking a question for help. My son is not on any medication right now.

I don't appreciate the tone of the response though!! I'm not sure what you are trying to imply.

I do a lot of behavioral therapy with him so that "we" (including my husband, and both sons) as a family have made impressive progress recently.

I have dedicated my whole life to my family, so I'm trying to make the best informed decision I can. I wouldn't expect such harsh judgment being passed on this message board, especially since we as parents of ADHD children have dealt with people thinking we are bad parents to begin with.We give our daughter her meds on school days only. We havegiven it to her on a Saturday before and there wasn't much change in her behavior from other Saturdays. Fro us the problem has always been mostly school days- getting up and getting out the door and then the dreaded homework crisis each night for twp hours. The mornings are a little better and the evenings after school have been great, for the most part. Now that the Halloween to New Years crisis time is over, we look forward to an ever improving spring-summer- fall as usual. It has made a huge improvement this year in school. We have our lives back. I think the fact she can perform better during the school day on meds has produced much less stress and thus the of med days are going quite well. She stopped taking meds after Thanksgiving for a couple weeks and it was back to the old routine. As soon as she went back on meds school days only she was fine again. The meds do seem to afect her appetitie, she eats two dinners per day, one right after aftercare and then one more at about 7-7:30 pm. Do whats right for you and your family. Good luck!

[QUOTE=Patrisha]Does anyone give their ADHD child meds only on school days. That is when ADHD interferes in my son's life the most, we can cope with weekends and holidays.[/QUOTE]

 

 My sons adhd doesnt go away on weekends. His inattention intereferes with life in general which is how it is for those with adhd.  You say "we" can cope on weekends. How does your son cope on weekends off meds?

My kid is on medate cd- school days only. slight upset stomach issues for about two weeks when she first started, it cleared up. Slight insomnia sometimes but she has that when not on meds also. we tried to give her concerta at first but she can't/won't take a pill. the medate can be sprinkled on food- we used a spoonful of yogut for a month or so and now are using chocolate pudding for now- she will change when she's "bored" with it. good luck

my son's doc told us that it isn't really recommended to go on and off the meds as it can mess with the stomach and it can wreck havoc with the long term effects of the med...my child uses focalin xr

I elected for my son to have the med 7 days a week as it in my opinion is safer over all on the body rather than going on and then off.  Our family also elects to use diet and behavior mods in conjunction with the meds.  This way we can keep our son's meds on the lighter side in regards to mgs.  We don't always have beautiful times but for the most part we feel this is the healthiest routefor our son.

 

 

Thank you soooo very much for your info. What kind of med is your daughter on? My son's dr. said that Adderral extended release I could only give him on weekdays if that is the med treatment I wanted to try.

we finally found some real help with vyvanse, and have always given it to her 7 days a week.  i have tried giving her a smaller dosage on the weekends or no meds at all, but for her it was like haveing to start on square one on monday (sleep and eating issues return). i think every child (person) is going to react differently.  the stimulants are out of there system rather quickly, while other meds, like strattera have to build up in your system, and i wouldn't think it would be recomented to stop for several days or holiday breaks.  also my friend gives her son a short acting (adderall) for sports or social events on the weekends, and he takes the adderall xr during the school week, it works well for them. 

i would talk to your doctor about it.  my daughters doctor recomended 7 days till we found the right med and dosage.  we might try a break in the summer.

Thank you all for the support, I truly appreciate it.

The behavior therapy and diet changes we have made have really made a world of difference in my ds. It took a long time to see the change but now we are finally seeing it. When he was tested for ADHD they tested his intelligence too and apparently he tested abnormally high on the nonverbal mimicry test, so he is really smart but inattentive. He does get hyper and all that but can keep the hyperness together at school. I asked him the other day how he can sit in his desk all day long, cause he almost stands and dances around his plate when he eats at the table. He told me that he asks to go to the bathroom a lot so that he can get up and move around. I thought that was pretty smart of him to think up on his own. I am disappointed in the PE in school these days. I do firmly believe if the school made them run around and play sports the whole time in PE, the adrenaline rush would give kids so much relief.

Anyway, I do think every child is different and my kid is not on any meds as of today. I am trying alternatives but if they do not work, I will try meds cause he is suffering because of his inattentiveness, he can't help it and I feel so bad for him cause he will get down on himself about it. I've always given my son his meds 7 days a week.  His impulsivity gets in the way of his functioning.  His therapist had recommended to us that we give him the meds on weekends so that the impulsivity and innattention did not hurt him socially and emotionally (we would have done it even without her recommendation, for our sanity's sake).  So much attention is paid to how they're doing in school, but I felt that his self esteem suffered a lot.  He's never had trouble making friends and the other kids really like him, but I can see how much he struggles to follow the social norms when he's not medicated.

I have 2 kids with ADHD.  I give Concerta to my 8 yo ds everyday.  I give Daytranna to my 11 yo dd only on school days.  Occationally, she wants one for girl scouts on the weekend.  Hers is for inattentive only so she really doesn't need it except for school.  The doctor says whatever works.

 

 

i think that it is great that all the changes (diet and therapy) you have made for him are working well.  i think that it is important to remember that medication is only a piece of the puzzel.  it can help with some problems, but i don't think that it will solve all of them.  unfortunately every medication and even therapy is not going to work the same for every child. but i believe that if you stack your defenses accordingly, (sort of attack it from every angle) your chances of success will increase. 

also keep in mind that if you do try medication try not to get too discouraged.  it took us 12 months for figure out what would work best for our daughter, and life is still not completely perfect, but close enough works for now.

I can understand that. And I'm not saying that I would not put him on 7 days a week. I was just curious how everyone else has been doing it.

I know my son's impulsively bothers him and me, but recently he's gotten better. We cut out milk and make sure he has a well balanced diet so that his sugar doesn't drop. I noticed that if he hasn't eaten properly, he has more meltdowns. Behavior therapy has been great too recently.My son's dr. also said to give him meds 7 days a week. He's on Metadate CD, 20 mg. First off, it takes awhile to really get into his system steadily and for it to work and for the side effects to go away. And, like some of the others said, if they come off for the weekends/holidays/vacation, on Monday it's like starting all over again with the rebound and side effects.  Also, I think it would be like a rollercoaster ride for my ds to feel so much better during the week on his meds, and then feel out of control on the weekends. I would rather him "stay steady" every day of the week! If that makes sence! I want to give him all the tools he needs to be succesfful, both in and out of school, so what the dr said sounds right to me.   But, again I think each child, and each medication is different and you have to do what works best for your son and your family.