Need advice about Focalin xr
Our almost 6 yr old son is doing great on Focalin xr, only problem is it wears off before 8 hrs. and we need something to get him through the nights he has evening activities. He's on Christmas break now, but when he starts back to school he will be taking 10 mg. at 8:15 am, which means by 3 or 3:30, it's stopped working. His nurse practitioner prescribed a fast acting 2.5 mg dose to take on the nights we need to, but the only problem is that it only comes in pill form and he will positively not swallow a pill. I asked one pharmacist if I could crush it and he recommended not to do that....any suggestions??How big is the pill? Sometimes what we'd do with my son is use a small piece of canned peach because it's so slippery. We'd make a small slip in it and put the pill inside. Then tell him to just swallow the fruit. It worked for him but he knew the pill was in there. So if your son knows it's in there he may still have a problem taking it...I believe Methylin is a short-acting methylphenidate drug (same family as Focalin). I'm pretty sure it comes in a liquid and possibly in a chewable form as well.Methylin does come in chewable. That's what my son took.He would have a problem taking it if he knew it was in there, plus he would never eat a peach anyway!!! Thanks for the suggestion of Methylin, I will call tomorrow to see if his nurse practitioner would agree to adding this. I don't want to use it on a regular basis, just when we have an evening activity since he is actually worse coming off the focalin than he was pre-focalin. We can certainly deal with this rebound at home due to the amazing results during the day, but it would be hard to take him anywhere 6-7 hrs after he takes it without a little "booster". I am guessing that since it is in the same family, it would be okay to take both focalin and methylin if needed, is that correct?I seems to me that it should be ok, but kids react so differently to each of these meds...even in the same family. It will just be trial and error.Ditto to the above post. Some people react differently to medications in the same family. Some even react differently to the same medicine in short-acting and long-acting forms. I'd try it on the weekend when you don't need to go anywhere or have anyone over, just to see how he reacts.I have similar issues. I have a 7 year old that will not swallow the Focalin. I open the capsule into applesause and he swallows it down. Our doctor has added a 2.5mg dose as well and she told me I could crush it and put it in the applesauce. If I have an event in the evening I will give him the medication later in the morning. My son seems to be more calm in the morning and I can get through a few hours in the morning without it. That way his regular dose will hold him over longer.
try opening it - if he dont like applesause put in a oreo cookie - that will work.Enter Your Email below to claim your Free Book