Focalin XR / Intuniv
My ds has been on Focalin XR for 3 1/2 years. It worked great (had to increase dose a time or two) up until this school year. He's now in 4th grade and this has been the worst school year ever. He has a great teacher. But, he just isn't focusing. He never finishes his classwork. He needs CONSTANT reminders and redirects to keep him focused on the task at hand. The Focalin XR still calms his hyperactivity, but it is no longer helping him focus. He is smart. He tested high enough to be in Gifted class but we haven't even pursued that because he's getting so behind in his class because he's not doing his work. He needs DIRECT supervision to complete even the simplest tasks (like getting dressed for school). His organizational skills are non-existent. He's always forgetting to bring home his books for homework, his jacket, his lunch box. Several times, he's taken his lunch to school but forgot to take it to the cafeteria at lunch time. Homework sometimes takes hours and it's not all that much. It just takes him forever. We tried increasing the Focalin XR. We tried Vyvanse. We are now trying Adderall. None of them are helping his focus. We're about to increase his Adderall dose and if that doesn't help, we'll probably go back to the Focalin XR 15 mg and add Intuniv. We were skeptical about using a blood pressure medicine. But, he's got to have some help with school. He actually has several different things going on. He has ADHD, some tic behaviors (which were present before starting stims and most of the meds didn't make them worse), he has some OCD behaviors, anxiety is increasing, and he goes through times of pulling his hair/eyelashes out. The Adderall does seem to be increasing motor tics, but the vocal tics seem a little better. In class, instead of doing his work, he is either pulling strings out of his socks (to the point where they are no longer wearable), or scraping paint off his pencil on the side of his desk, or some other thing like that. When he DOES write sentences, he in obsessively going back over the letters he's already written. That is getting much worse. His OCD behaviors seem worse on the Adderall. I guess I'm just wondering what experiences others have had with Intuniv and a stimulant, especially in helping with FOCUS. Unless he makes a DRAMATIC improvement, we'll have to hold him back in 4th grade....even if his grades are passing. In 5th grade, they have lockers and start changing classes. He will never be able to handle that kind of responsibility.My son was where you are now about a year ago, smart but maxed out on the Focalin XR at 20mg, tics, obsessive and falling apart at school. We added Tenex/Intuniv and we are seeing a different kid. The addition let us up the focalin dose a bit without problems or tics, and let him sleep without us stuffing him full of Melatonin every night.Of course, a strong IEP at school is also helping, not sure where we'd be without that... he basically gets an extra study hall every day so he can focus on longer tests and projects, and an aide follows him around to herd him to locker/class on time, etc.
Audrey We have seen a real turn-around with my son since we have started Intuniv. Concerta alone was horrible and since adding Intuniv we are starting to decrease his stimulant dosage which is helping his mood, irritability and anxiety.
My 7 year old daughter has severe ADHD. Vyvanse did not work for her (bad reactions), so we have her on Focalin. We started with extended release, but she seems to metabolize the medication too quickly. She is now on 5mg Focalin two times a day.
While this has improved her symptoms, she was not getting enough control over her hyperactivity and lack of focus/attention. She was continuously "getting in trouble" at school for not paying attention, not following instructions, incomplete class work, etc. So, her doctor started her on Intuniv. She is up to 2 mg of Intuniv.
How does the combination of Focalin and Intuniv work? AMAZING!!! She has gone from bringing home daily reports of interrupting, talking when she's not supposed to, incomplete work, not following instructions, etc. to getting stickers every day. She has brought home stickers every day for the past 3 weeks. Not only that -- her teacher has her on a contract. Each day she receives 6 talk tokens. Each time she interrupts, she spends a talk token. If she runs out of tokens, she is not supposed to talk unless she is called on. She has not spent a single talk token for over two weeks!
Obviously, all of her symptoms cannot magically go away. But, I have to say that this combination of medication has significantly reduced her anxiety, has increased her self esteem, and has dramatically improved her relationships with her peers and her teacher. While the focalin did have the effect of creating some anxiety for her (picking at her fingers), the intuniv has calmed down the anxiety so much that her fingers have healed. Not only has her anxiety reduced, but OUR stress levels have gone waaaaaaay down.
Thanks for the helpful posts! My 11 y/o who has ADHD on Focalin XR isabout to start Intuniv as well. My other son is 8 with ADD Inattentive Type
who recently has been having good success with Vyvanse.
To tonyabd whose son qualified for the gifted program but might be held
back: your son needs an IEP. His ADHD is severe enough that it is
interfering with his performance and functioning, and can qualify for an
IEP under the "other health impairment" clause. It is against Federal Law
for the schools not to provide him with gifted programming because of
his ADHD. They have to accommodate him. It may be a big mistake to
hold back a gifted child, but you know your child best. Just make sure
that you force the schools to give him what he deserves and is legally
entitled to. It sounds that he is not getting the support that he needs.
Enter Your Email below to claim your Free Book