anyone stop meds cold turkey? | ADHD Information

I've been thinking of stopping my son's medication over Memorial Day weekend to see how he is without it.  I figure he has a 3 day weekend and we have nothing planned.  I don't like the side effects of Vyvanse 20 mg (he's very emotional and almost depressed at times, throughout the entire day).  He wasn't like this before we started meds (almost two years ago).  I don't know if this is from taking the medication, is this the adhd and the meds aren't helping, or is this how he would be even if we didn't start the meds at all. 

I have a call in to his doctor to discuss this.  I had mentioned his behavior last week to the doctor and she wanted to add another medication to what he is already taking.  I don't want to keep adding meds, I've always wanted to stop them eventually if we can. 

So I'm just curious how he would be.  I'm hoping he would be back to his happy fun self, rather than emotional, depressed, whining and crying.  I expect hyperness and inattention, but I still see that now, except for maybe 1 or 2 hours in the morning.

Has anyone all of a sudden stopped?  Or has anyone not given their child meds on weekends or vacations?  If so, how is the child when not on meds and how is the child when he/she starts taking meds again?  I don't want to harm him by going back and forth - meds, no meds.  I just want to see how he is.   Of course, I know everyone is different and I am going to check with the doctor first.  I'm just looking for experiences with this.

Thanks,

Kathy

I hate absolutely hate when my son is not on his meds.
He is far worse OFF of them, than he is ON them. He's
mostly inattentive with a bit of lack of impulsivity
thrown in, but oh boy, when he's not on his meds, it's
COMPLETELY unbearable, for us. He's bouncing off the
walls (and he's not normally hyper) and he can't say or
think up a coherent thought to save his life. I'm
tempted to ask our ped to change the meds, because it's
such a drastic change with him on the meds vs being off
the meds. He acts off the meds like he can't think
straight or anything and he was NEVER like that BEFORE
the meds were started in December.

So no, for my son, med vacations don't work. But that's
just my son. It might work well for your son. I will say
that we were able to successfully take my older son off
ADHD meds after him being on them for 7months; they just
no longer were needed and were actually putting him to
SLEEP rather than calming his system down (or, rather,
they were calming him down TOO much LOL)

HTH!

Thanks for sharing what happens with your son.  That's so strange how he is so much worse off the meds than he was before starting them in December.  That's great for your older son though.

I talked to the pediatric nurse and got the "okay" to give it a try.  If he is totally off the wall on Saturday, then we'll just go back to giving him the Vyvanse on Sunday.  We'll see how it goes.

Kathy

Stimulant meds are not blood level medications so therefore the child dosent have to be weaned off of them. You can just stop them. However, be prepared for a fierce return of the ADHD symptoms. The child goes from feeling in control to feeling out of control once off the meds so its could be quite unsettling .Good luck.

I'm no kid, but when I stop takin' my meds, I'm either sleeping or eating non-stop for about 48 hours. No kidding! 

You son's response to the medication seems less than acceptable.  I'm surprised your doc isn't considering trying another stimulant (unless you've already been there, done that).  My experience is that each one is different...even the same drug made by different generic manufacturers.   I tried Vyvanse but after 6 months went back to Adderall--I felt that the Vyvanse never really "settled down" (read: side effects, including heightened emotional sensitivity).

Just to let you know, my son is on Vyvanse, and his doctor actually
recommended that he not take it on the weekends because it kills his
appetite. However, he reacts a bit when he first starts up the drug - it's
actually like he has super-ADHD for the first day - and that reaction starts
after 2 days of skipping the drug, so I usually let him skip it one day a week.

Glad you're trying a new drug if you didn't like the side effects of the first
one. Definitely trust those instincts when it comes to your child.

Just an update if anyone is still interested.   My son was off his medication Saturday - Monday, with each day getting a little worse.  Saturday was his best day.  Sunday was okay, just a bit more hyper and silly at night.  On Monday he was loud, silly, talkative, non-stop moving around, but happy, almost too happy I dare say.  He was more impulsive and silly than usual, BUT I never saw any anxiety, depression or whining like I did with the Vyvanse.  So I now know that Vyvanse is definitely not for him.

Unfortunately I did give him his medication this morning because I could not see sending him to school like that.  I called the doctor and told her how everything went, and she agreed Vyvanse is not for him.  It sounds like no stimulants are for him.  She mentioned the next one to try would be Straterra, but it has all of these warnings and we could not stop it (I told her come summer, we would probably stop meds and try something with his diet - Feingold or gluten free - he is sensitive to wheat). 

So we are back to Focain XR 10 mg.  He took that before Vyvanse.  He was not as depressed on this.  We will start again tomorrow and see how it goes, if it's not working out, I'll call her and discuss the next step.  Hopefully he can finish the school year (June 19th is his last day) on Focalin and then we'll try something diet related.

Kathy

Yes please keep us updated! That isnt normal to turn into a zombie when one comes off the meds.  The medication can be stopped instantly and this is not something that commonly happens and may be unrelated to coming off meds but I think it would be better to consult a pharmacist to confirm if one is unsure, not a doctor. Doctors dont know much about medications. These medications leave the body not too long after the effectiveness has worn off but don't take my word for it. Talk to your pharmacist.

Well, we did it!  We did not give my son his Vyvanse today and to be honest, I would say he was definitely better!  I wouldn't say he was a perfect child, but who is?  The morning was the best for him - calm, happy and playing.  We ate lunch later than usual, so I think that is why he got a bit whiny, but after lunch he was better.  My daughter had a friend over and for the most part he was good.  He played outside without me nagging him about it (lately he just wants to stay inside and play because it's too hot, too cloudy, too cold,etc.  All these days have been beautiful weather, so it was just another thing to complain about). 

He did get a bit silly and was moving around a lot in the evening.  He also seemed to bother my daughter a bit more than usual - touching her on the head, bumping into her, etc.    We brought in the mini trampoline and he jumped a lot while watching tv.  Bedtime was okay, not too bad.

So all in all my husband and I are very pleased with how his day went without medication.  Hopefully tomorrow will be good also.  Yes, he still had his moments of complaining about something, but he got over it more quickly.  There was no constant whining and crying and "woe is me" at all.  This used to happen for up to two hours at a time on most days!  I would say he was not depressed at all today.  Just a "normal" 7 year old with a complaint here and there and a bit more moving around.  I can definitely live with this over the constant crying, whining and ups and downs throughout the entire day. 

If all goes well tomorrow and Monday, we will send him to school on Tuesday without his medication also.  I'll inform the teacher and we'll see how he does in a classroom setting.  I will also call his doctor  to let her know how he is doing. 

I'll keep you posted.

Kathy

ms.mom39957.4444212963sam - Doctors DO know about medications.  That's part of their job/training.  True, some doctors may know more than others but doctors HAVE to know about medication otherwise, how do they treat people??? That's why they go to seminars and workshops and continue their training.  Because medicine is always changing. I have a very good doctor and if she doesn't know something, she'll tell me. 

Yeah, I know it's not normal to be a zombie.  That's why I called my doctor. I went to see her the very next day.  Even the nurse knew that reaction wasn't normal. That's why she referred me to a specialist.  But she's not ignorant about medication either. 

And pharmacists don't know it all either.  That's why one usually has a team of people when treating an illness or condition.  Granted some people may only have the doctor and pharmacist at their disposal but usually between the two of them, they can get accurate information.

I don't mean to sound rude or anything but to say that doctors don't know about medication is not an accurate statement in my opinion.
Perhaps your not understanding. A pharmacist specializes in knoweldge of medication. A doctor specializes in medical illnesses. Knowing about medication interactions and side effects is something a pharmacist is the most well versed on because thats what they study exclusively. If you have questions about an illness you speak to a doctor but if you have questions or concerns about medications or interactions you speak to a pharmacists. I'm not here to debate you. Its common sense.There are doctors and there are pharmacists, and then there are pharmacologists!         Sam - I understand what you're saying.  I guess clarification was all that was needed.  Thanks.

And John, my specialist is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner!  She specializes in psychiatric medications.  No wonder why we're all confused.
Its all good KJ  I needed clarification also.  I hope you can find the right med for you. It can make a world of difference but the process is frustrating. Good luckYa I just tryed this with david. Like you I wanted to see my child without drugs. OMG - I had to start giving him the metadate. I really didnt want to but I couldnt deal with it!!! I even tryed natural child calm - nothing. Im wondering if his ADHD is too bad for natural to work. I didnt give him anything this morning I was so happy to see him eat too!!

[QUOTE=wildman02]Ya I just tryed this with david. Like you I wanted to see my child without drugs. OMG - I had to start giving him the metadate. I really didnt want to but I couldnt deal with it!!! I even tryed natural child calm - nothing. Im wondering if his ADHD is too bad for natural to work. I didnt give him anything this morning I was so happy to see him eat too!! [/QUOTE]

I thought yous said you were having your child reevaluated and tested for bipolar disorder. Calm Child is not natural. It has sedative properties. It's a drug.

Kat5, how are things going? Please keep us posted.

I have requested for it to happen - haven't herd anything yet. I was taking generic Adderall 10mg 2x day.  I quit cold turkey and turned into a zombie for nearly 3 days.  Doctor said that's not normal and sent me to the specialist.  Currently, I am not taking anything - waiting to talk to specialist after the holiday to get more information.  I am so flippin frustrated by medication because I know it can help me but I just haven't found the right one that I can afford.

I would definitely check with the doctor before going cold turkey.  It can have some bad withdrawal like I experienced.