Doc wants to switch med | ADHD Information

ok, Thanks for the replies.....I think we will switch and give it a shot!!!Hi Everyone,

I am new to the boards. I have an 8 year old son. He was diagnosed with ADHD back in March 2007 and we put him on Focalin XR. It made a huge difference in school. It wears off quickly but it at least got him thru the school hours.

The Focalin has caused some major tics. Stretching of the neck, clearing the throat, blinking the eyes. They last for a couple weeks at a time then change to another tic. His Dr suggested switching to Strattera. I had a hard time agreeing to put him on meds in the first place and now I have to decide on a new one. On the focalin he had no side effects except about an hour after he took it he would lose his appetite for approx 3 hours but the pill wore off after 6-7 hours.

Does anybody take Staterra that can ease my mind about changing. he also said cause staterra takes a while to build up in the system, he wants him to take the Focalin also for a couple weeks.....

Any encouraging words or advise would help!!! thankswe use Strattera. For the same reason, terrible tics and appetite suppression on stimulants. It is working very well for us. We have no side effects. Tics are gone, appetite is normal. As far as relieving her symtpoms, for us, it works fine. It's not that dramatic change you get with a stimulant (which I prefer, she's not so "flat"). We now have even coverage for 24 hours which is HUGE plus for us as mornings and evenings were rough on stims. Many stimulants gave her significant rebound (extreme silliness) and we don't have to deal with any of that now. This has been our best medication by far and we've been using meds for years. It does take a long time to reach optimum results, but we saw improvement (from no meds) within the first couple of weeks. We have a hard time with the Mornings and Evenings also because the Focalin is gone by 3:00 PM or so. For the most part the Focalin is good for the school hours. I saw no relief from the bouncing off the walls at all because I wouldn't get home from work till 5:30 or so. I am hoping the Strattera will help get rid of the tics and give consistent behavior....thanks so much for the reply.Strat is a great med, and works well for kids with tics. Just make sure it is ramped properly, and dosed according to weight. nothing is a permanenet decision. If you want to go back to the Focalin you can. Just give the Strattera enough time to be sure. Dont' give up on it. give it at least 4 weeks after hitting target dose unless the side effects are unreasonable.