my daughter also takes 2 long acting meds, Strattera and Methylin ER. We see the doc today and altough I think we could get by as is, I'm thinking we may actually up her dose or add something later in the day. We use both to get 24 hour coverage and to keep the stim dose as low as possible. Right now she is taking 60mg Strattera and 10mg Methylin ER. She has zero side effects (first time EVER), but symptoms still present. More manageable but there, we'll see what he says. My dd does an 11 month school year AND camp so she reallt needs 365 day meds. She is pretty useless unmedicated anyway. She cant get from A to B EXTREME distractability, it's amazing....................
The Strattera really keeps her anxiety down, helps with rebound, and gives her enough coverage evenings without the stim, although as I said she is geting odler and doing more evening activites we may need a bit more for those occasions.
Answer to OP, is i feel like we adjust meds practically every time we see the doc, at least a couple of times a year...............for us, it's generally been due to side effects though
How often do you find you have to have medications adjusted for your child? We think it is time again. About a month before the end of the school year, the teacher made the comment that my dd is acting pretty silly in class. Even commented that she thought maybe she had missed some doses on some days. I attributed it to the end of the school year craziness, but then noticed she has been acting pretty silly at home as well. Even at the pool this weekend she was acting pretty quirky.
Also, She takes Concerta 54 mg and Straterra 36 mg in the morning plus fish oil. We have been noticing that if she has a bad morning (which is happening more frequently) that it is not until noon that the medication seems to be helping her calm down. We tried the Strattera after supper, but she must burn through it pretty quickly as by about 4:30 pm the next day she was getting pretty out of control. I would rather her show her hiney at home at night then when out with her friends. She burns through the Concerta pretty quickly as well - we are lucky to get 10 hours out of it.
I know she needs the meds - she was not able to pass kindergarten without it, but I get worried becasue she takes so much already and is pretty skinny. Plus, other children are now passing her up height wise. I think I read that these children make up the lack of growth once they get to be teenagers??? I hope so, it would make me rest easier about increasing in the dose - she has been on the meds for 3 years now and besides the initial attempt to get the dose right, this will be the 3rd time we have had to increase or add the meds.
Unfortunately you may have to up again. Our DD was on 54 mg of Concerta and we just bumped her down to 36 mg since school is almost over and there is no need for sitting still. However for us it seems to be every 6 months to a year that we have had to up her. I would talk to the doctor and see what he says. However if you can deal with her and she can hang on til the end of the school year, with it being so close maybe she can wait until next school year is almost here, maybe give her a chance to gain some weight.
We are taking our DD down to 1/2 of her normal dose for he summer but I am a stay-at-home mom and she will be active all summer and has learned some pretty good self-control skills for the impulsivity. She is still extremely hyper off the meds but the lower dose will just help take the edge off.
If you don't mind me asking...How old is your DD and why is she taking 2 different long-acting meds? Just curious because I've never heard of that before. Nothing bad I'm just curious.