My son is 6 and was diagnosed in September. His is also asthmatic and on Pulmicort daily and Xopenex as needed. His ped. wanted to try him on a med that wouldn't raise his heart rate since his asthma meds. already do that. We tried 5 mg. Focalin XR in December and he had three "incidents" of almost rage at school. The pedi. wanted to try it again as he also had a cold and was on more then his normal dose of asthma meds. I said no. We stopped it. I'm afraid of the interactions with the other meds. Is anyone in this position?
We see a child pscychiatrist later this month for further evaluation.
I share your concern as well. I have a 5 year old on Ritalin. We tried the Focalin XR, but the rebound was very bad on him. Anyway, my son used to take Pulmicort daily, and Xopenex when he had wheezing episodes. Now that he is on stims, he takes Albuterol through his nebulizer. We switched Dr.s, so I'm not sure if she purposely did this, or it was just because she perfers the Albuterol. I checked with the pharmacist, and he assured me it was safe.No increase in heart rate? Strattera, Provigil, Wellbutrin, Guanfacine. Try a child psychiatrist if you really want to explore med options. NoTellin39487.4582523148I don't have much to suggest, except that I just wanted to say that my daughter also has asthma and takes several medications for it (Singulair, Claritan, Asthmanax inhaler, and inhaled albuterol), so I can understand your concern. We have not used any ADHD medication for her, but she has inattentive type ADHD and so she doesn't have the impulsiveness, behavior issues, or hyperactivity. She just has difficulty focusing and getting schoolwork completed. She is doing well in school with a 504 plan, and is taking omega 3s and an amino acid supplement, which I believe help with her focus and school work.MY SON COULD NOT TAKE THE XOPENEX SO HE USES ALBUTERAL ALONG WITH ZYRTEC AND HIS ADHD MEDS AND ZOLOFT AND NO PROBLEMS HERE. COULD JUST BE THE COMBO.
One of my kid's friends takes an antidepressant for her ADHD because of her asthma meds. Combinaltions of meds makes the management more difficult and as suggested above, a psychiatrist would be a good option for complicated med managment. My son used to take daily pulimcort (age 2-4) and albuterol on emergency basis. He's about to turn 6. We stopped the daily pulmicort fall 06 and he had no wheezing for a year. This fall 07, he had 3 bouts of wheezing after/during a cold and we had to do emergency albuterol. I also for the first time had a bout of wheezing w/bronchitis and I was given the albuterol in pill form. I simply could not believe how the albuterol made me feel...very jumpy, my heart racing. It really seemd to affect my son a lot too. He ped said we could get back on the pulmicort, but we don't want him on meds if possible. We saw an alt med dr. who rec elimination of dairy, and it has made a lot of difference. We give him almond milk. No daily asthma meds anymore...just emergency treatments if necessary.