Hyperactivity Worse With Friends | ADHD Information

I notice that ds (9 yr. old) gets really hyperactive when certain boys come
over to play. It gets really bad. I figure that the meds are wearing off when
these kids are over, but why such bad rebound? How can we control his
extreme hyperactivity? I am afraid that he will never be able to go to a
friends house at night because of this. Any way to calm him down? I don't
want to give more meds at night because we are maxed out by then and
because of sleeping issues.Are you sure it is rebound and not anxiety?  My son is 9 and is totally calm in his most familar settings (our house, school).  When you put him in a situation where there are kids running around or a new situation, he can go from 0 mph to 60 mph in seconds and won't calm down.  He is wound up to the max.  Hope this helps.

babygonz,

why is 54 mg's the highest dose your child can take of concerta right now?? My son was at 72 mg when he was 7, and he stayed at that dose until he was 10 yrs old. There is no max doseage based on age or weight for concerta, it is where the person,even child, is most successful.

I am curious also whether your son is just running at a high speed or is it the decisions he makes when at that high speed.  We talk alot to our son about making correct decisions each day.  A doctor told us to give him a star at the end of the day for making good decisions and sometime before dinnertime and nighttime talk about what good decisions he thinks he made that day or what bad decisions.  I was wondering if you could do the same with your son.  Maybe tell him what you think it is like for his friends when he is "overstimulated" and how they feel to see him that way.  Try to make it as personal as possible.

 

 

I will try that trixiecat. He is just hyped up I guess. Very silly. Not bad
decisions really, just running on a high speed. He loves card games and
board games. He loves chess, although most of his friends and me can't
play it (LOL).

Bethann, I don't know why the dr. told us that 54mg was the max. I thought
that was the max approved for children? DS is about to turn 9 this month
and is approximately 56 pounds. His growth is fine. The doctor (children's
psych. with MD) told us that I can't give him anymore than that plus 5mg.
focalin or ritalin.that is not accurate medical information. Do you see your pediatrician for medicine? We do not. Our ped recommended a specialist who specializes in adhd and the meds, a psychophamarmacologist. Our ped informed us that he does not specialize in this field. no, we do not see our ped. we go to a psych with a medical degree. We see
him every few months to check ds growth, blood pressure and how things
are going.

Hi again, I am at work logged on, I would question that medical information, it is NOT accurate. Your child may be more successfull at a higher dose.

Strattera is based on weight but concerta is not based on anything accept success for the patient!

best wishes!!

Thanks Bethann. I will look into it.

He is overstimulated when his friends come over. If he was having rebound, he would be angry and uncomfortable, is that what is happening? Rebound is really tough on these kids. The meds just leave their body and it is compared to being thrown on the floor. It is hard.

My son takes guanfacine and it hellps relax him. He takes it when he takes his concerta. I wonder if it would help your son? Ask his doctor. The thing with guanfacine/tenex is you can give it again, for example before sports late afternoon, we give him another 1 mg to get through practice due to overstimulation and his concerta wearing off. Some add short acting to the end of the day. We didn't want it to get in the way of eating and sleeping later. But all people are different.

Also, chocolate helped my son through rebound - sugar. It helped smooth the landing for him. I also know he was starving and when he ate the sugar it helped him to realize just how starving he was.

BETHANN40003.1190625He does take Zoloft 50mg for anxiety. Maybe it is the anxiety, because we
were fine playing Scrabble before the friend came over. I will talk with Dr.
about this. It also happened the first few weeks of summer adjusting to a
new schedule. He was really off last night and gave us a hard time going to
bed.Do you think the tenex would replace zoloft? Also, trixiecat, it is like you
described going 0 - 60. Does your son have anxiety? Not, he isn't mean,
angry or uncomfortable with these friends over, he is excited.

Overstimulated!

I would ask the doctor, I have no experience or knowledge personally with having my child take zoloft.

I will only mention how much the combo of both concerta and tenex helps my son. He couldn't handle adderall xr or strattera, I will add.

My son takes 54 mg concerta, 50 mg zoloft and recently 5 mg fast acting ritalin in the morning.  The last two months of school and maybe a week after school was out he was out of control with making bad decisions.  Now that I look back on everything I am wondering if the pressure from school and the end of school nearing was too much for him.  He has been really good about making good decisions the past week and a half. 

I have asked our doctor to put him on tenex so he has something in his system at all times to keep him calm.  She keeps hesitating since we had recently started a wrap around program and she wanted to give that a chance first.  I believe though if he went on it, the Zoloft would be decreased, but don't quote me on this. 

I don't know about your son, but mine craves the structure of school and wants to be doing something at all times.  He also does him best at home in a familiar setting, with familar people and routines.  Mine keeps it together at school and doesn't get into trouble, is easily redirected and totally focused.  He gets on the bus and is the one who is wound up (according to his sister).  Then he gets home and does fine.  Now if a friend comes over that is new or fairly new he gets reved up and can't bring himself down (pillow fights, etc.). 

We do alot of preparing before events, like reminding him not to do this or that and to try and make good decisions, as well as listing the rules (no kids in the house during a party, no getting the fishing poles out for someone to get hurt, etc.).  The other thing we have tried is to give him a small dose of fast acting ritalin after school.  I only give it to him if a friend comes over or he has a sporting event to go to.  It really isn't working so maybe the dosage needs to be higher, but maybe that would be an option.

I think the goal is to get our kids to realize when they are overstimulated and give them tools to bring themselves back down.  I haven't gotten to that point yet and I don't think my son is capable of doing that yet.  Mine needs to stop himself and say is this a good decision or bad and then move on.  It will take awhile and alot of work. 

If you have any ideas please let me know since it sounds like we are in the same boat.

I thought of another idea.  Have the friends over that he plays well with and doesn't get overstimulated.  When he wants to get together with the friends that he gets overstimulated with, try and do an activity somewhere outside the house.  Take them bike riding, swimming, etc.  It is more work for you but that helped me when mine was younger.

trixiecat,

do you think that 54 mg of concerta is the right dose? We moved up to 72mg from 54mg pretty quickly. Just a thought!!

trixiecat, you described my 9 year old son. we also give short acting focalin
or ritalin in the morning before the concerta kicks in. Unfortunately, 54mg.
concerta is the highest dose we can give him right now and the extra 5 mg.
is the max for the day. I think I will try to plan outdoor activities for the
highly active friends.

I wish there was a way to stop his hyperactivity from escalating or a way to
help bring it down and refocus him. It seems that no matter what I say to
him, he just can't seem to calm down.This is my 7 year old dd too.  She does extremely well in school with a lot of structure and at home too but the social situations are another story.  We can do a lot of preparing but when certain friends come over it doesn't seem to matter what we have talked about.  For me my dd interacts better with friends when she is in our house playing.  When she is outside she gets more overstimulated and can't control her impulses even when on medication.  I just try to keep a close eye and try to intervene before things get out of control.Thanks for all the responses. I guess I just get exhausted by it sometimes.
I think we are making progress (and we are), but it's always something. I
just want him to calm down some on his own. I guess it's something he
can't control right now. I hope he can learn as he grows.When the meds are worn off, it can be very overstimulating to hang out w/ a friend.  Have you tried having them do calm, structured activities like play a board game or cards?  That's all my 9 year old can do w/ a friend once meds are worn off, besides watching a movie.Thanks for your post, babygonz. I'm new to this forum and when I read
your post, I was amazed -- it could have been about my 9 yr. old son you
were writing about. I totally understand your exhaustion!!

I agree with some posters that it is overstimulation, at times,but I also
think it is due to the mix of personalities. My son will get out of control
with other kids who like him to be silly and wild (this includes his little
brother). Even when he is on medication, he will still get out of control in
these situations. One boy has been his friend since they were in
preschool together. That boy is very calm and quiet (and I adore his
mother & would like to do more playdates with them), but he loves to get
silly with my son. The problem is that my son cannot calm back down
once it starts. When they're together, it's just their pattern. I am trying to
find playmates for my son who seem to bring out his calmer, more
mature side. I don't know about your son, but mine is very easily
influenced by his friends and will do all sorts of ridiculous, impulsive
things just because someone tells him to. But with an assertive, kind and
firm child who he really likes, and who does not like his wild side, he will
do much better. Of course, it's impossible to control all social situations,
but now that we're in summer, I'm trying to arrange playdates that will
give him more opportunity for success.

I also wonder if any of you have found ways to help your adhd child calm
down, aside from the use of medication? I know he will learn to do this
eventually, but he's already 9! How many more years will he get hyper like
this? It's been a routine part of lives with him since he was two! I honestly
don't know how much more I can take!!

Thanks everyone! It's good to know I'm not alone!


I have really limited video games, computer and television, especially before
bedtime. TV is the one thing that is the hardest to eliminate completely.
The kids are going along with it (3, 6 and 9 year old) DS is the 9 year old
who is ADHD.

Eliminating these things before bedtime help a lot. I have him stay in his
bedroom with books, legos or my IPOD to listen to. This seems to help.

It seems like most of his friends either have ADHD or act like they do LOL! I
think it is called being 8 and 9 years old boys. I just need to see how to get
ds to stop and calm down once he gets going.