Hi, my 8 yr old has been on 5 mg of focalin XR for 3 months. He has been on 1 mg of clonidine for a year; it was upped to 1.5 to ensure he sleeps (clonidine is given before bedtime) He has had a wonderful response to this combo. He has mild adhd, lack of focus, impulsivity, and moderate hyperactivity, plus a sensory disorder (sensory seeker to the max). The rebound effect at 4:00 was pretty intense the first 6 weeks, so we started him on an afternoon dose of regular focalin at 4:00. We stopped it after a short time because of an upset stomach (did not occur on the XR)
My son is prone to tics (sniffing, facial grimaces) but they did not intensify on the focalin XR. THe clonidine has really helped diminish the tics. A brief attempt to use Strattera made his existing tics worse and brought on new ones. I know this is not the exact response you are looking for. A friend with experience told me that my child will become a guinea pig while we struggle to determine the right medication and dosage. There are so many different drugs out there. Four attempts before hitting the best medication is typical. I hope that you have a good pediactric neurologist to help you. Even though you would think that focalin and focalin XR are the same drug, they are not. A good example of this is my experience with Suavitel fabric softener: the regular formula is fine but the same brand in the concentrated form gives my son horrible hives. Go figure. Good luck.
Hey, I wonder if anyone has had any experience with Focalin and Focalin XR. My 6 year old son Joseph started Focalin back at the end of May and was on it for a couple of weeks (we started at 2.5 mg twice a day, and then to 5 mg twice a day.) He seemed to do well on it, so his psychiatrist decided he should try Focalin XR so Joseph wouldn't have to worry about a noontime dose.
We started with 5 mg of Focalin XR, and it was like Joseph was not on meds anymore. So, we upped it to 10 mg. It's helped him somewhat, but he seems to be having some slight side effects (stuttering over what he wants to say, and having trouble winding down at night.) And I'm really thinking the XR isn't handling his ADHD symptoms as well as the regular Focalin was.
I'm wondering if it's just my imagination though? I mean, it's the same drug, just one is extended release. Has anyone else experienced the regular Focalin working better than the XR?
We see his psych next week, but I wanted to ask here too :) Thanks for any input!
My son has been on 30mg of Focalin XR for about a year. Taking 20 mg in the morning and 10 mg at lunch. We have noticed this summer the 10 mg at lunch isn't lasting as long as it should so is doctor has put him on 40 mg at day 20 in the morning and 20 at lunch. I have only did this once with him and it seemed to work great. I don't see where this doasge is ok. I guess his MD knows what he's doing. My son will be 9 next week and is about 65 lbs. Does anyone know if this dosgae is okay? Any help or info would be great appreciated.
Thanks
I have had similar experience with the Focalin XR vs. regular Focalin. I think my 9 year old son has a metabolism that handles the extended release differently than most. It seems like it zones him out for about two hours around lunch time and then doesn't really help control his ADHD after that. We switched off the Focalin XR(10 mg) and tried Vyvanse (30 mg) which seemed to be too much because he really would not eat anything all day so I backed off to 20 mg (made the capsules myself because you can't find the 20 mg anywhere yet) which seemed to help and then would offer a 2.5 mg regular focalin booster in the afternoon if I felt he needed it. This seemed to work OK but still had the no eating thing. I finally decided to try just the focalin (not the XR) 2.5 mg three times a day. I usually give him his first dose around 8 and a second around 12 and then again at 4. Dosing three times a day is a pain but this seems to be working better than anything we have tried. I think you are correct that the XR can be handled differently than the regular Focalin. It just depends on the child and how their body handles it. It does feel sometimes like my kid is a guinea pig but summer seems to be a good time to try things because I am with him all day unlike during the school year. Hope this helps!!!hi
i am having the same issues with focalin xr.. my son was on 10mg of xr and it zones him out from 9a-12noon. this started around the time we started giving him tenex 1/2 in am, 1/2 in pmd. tenex has worked real well but i think he is tired in the am from both. i lowered the dose of focalin to 5mg in the am and 5 at noon. he is less zones - not sure if the release mechanism has anything to do with this - but is see that he is wayy to quiet in the morning with the xr. anyone have any other thoughts?
Immediate release Focalin feels less harsh than the XR IMHO.
I take 3 20 mg xr in the morning and 3 10 mg tablets in the afternoon and I notice that I am sort of feeling panic attack-ish all day and I am calm in the afternoon, plus it feels more effective but my doctor cites 'abuse liability' as a reason not to just prescribe me tablets.
It does work and that matters but that edgy feeling gets old.