Help with Meds.... | ADHD Information

Hello-

I have not posted for a while, but my son is almost 7.5 years old and in second grade. He was diagnosed with ADHD about 1 year ago. He has some socialization issues (but he is not aware of that), is a little behind in reading and writing and has been on Adderall XR since last November. In December of last year we settled on a dose of 10 mgs of Adderall XR each day and that seemed to help overall, but didn't last the full 12 hours - more like 8ish, so we also have a 5 mg booster of regular Adderall for evenings, if needed (which we tend to avoid giving to him if we can). His 2nd grade teacher has been telling us that his mornings are going ok, but he loses focus in the afternoon and doesn;t do as well then. As such, we bumped his XR dose to 15 mgs yesterday thinking that would solve the problem. When I talked with his teacher yesterday afternoon, she told me he had a good day overall, but his afternoon was fairly typical with no noticeable change. Now I know it was only one day and we need to wait to see how the next few play out - but I thought he was terrible last night after school and seemed less focused than ever. It took us about an hour to get through his homework (which was a quick 5 minute math assignment, 16 spelling words and about 10 minutes of reading). He is such a wonderful kid, but I get so frustrated with him at times and I worry so much about his future given his behaviour. So - do we need to try bumping him to 20 mgs or try a new med all together? I though 15 mg seems high. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Kimkyle soulds just like my son Alex, Alex is also 7 and is a lot more focused in the morning but afternoons are worse he isn on Adderall tho he is on Equasym he is on 40mg tho he has a 5mg top up aswell but like you we do try not to use this he has had to change meds numorus times now because of them wearing off so maybe Kyle needs a change to his meds aswell think you should get a letter of his teacher explaining this change in him and go back to kyles doctor hope this helps  It could be that he just needs something that last longer rather than a larger dose.  If you want to stay in the Adderall family of meds,  you could try Vyvanse.  I think it's supposed to last longer than the Adderall XR.    Many people find they need a short acting medication in the afternoons after their long acting medication wears off. Check with your pediatrician or psychiatrist.

If adderall is what works for him, then I agree with HOrseMom. My son can't take that family but can take the ritalin family. We are on concerta & guanfacine. Very happy with both.

I wonder if an increase would help? I also like the idea of the other one, vyvanese because of it longer acting.

Call the doctor and discuss. I would start now, either increase his current dosage, or try vyvanese.

If the dosage increase isn't helping at all, I would think going higher isn't going to make a difference.  It sounds like either you need to change meds or do a booster dose at school.I agree a booster at school might be the answer, definatly talk with the doc about the afternoon thing as he might just be burning through it quickly. Also Vyvanse is another option it lasts very long, 12 hours for most if the adderal is working and you like it.