Should We Skip Meds on Weekends? | ADHD Information

Our 6 yr. old is doing very well in full day kindergarten now that he is on Focalin XR 10 mg, which he takes at 8 AM each day. I just have two concerns, one is his loss of appetite and the other is about an hour period each day, about 2-3 hours after he takes his medicine, where he seems out of sorts, not really lethargic, but borderline anxious/overemotional/sad, although he snaps out of that and seems fine the rest of the day. I was thinking about not giving him the Focalin on weekends so that hopefully his appetite will increase, if only for a couple days. Granted, he is harder to deal with when he's not on meds, but I want to do what's best for him, not what's easier for us. So, my question is, how many of you skip the meds on weekends and school holidays or vacations? Is it beneficial for his system to "get a break" or is it better to keep things consistent? Thanks for any suggestions! Kathleen051540200.3181365741I do unless there is homework that needs to get done or a sport requiring concentration. The 2nd day is usually better. The first the symptoms are exaggerated as they need to get used to self-regulating. Definately helps the appetite.so you guys don't notice a loss of efficacy if the medication is used every day? No, I didn't notice any difference at all with the medicine after we would skip a day. He was off from school Friday and today, so I skipped it Friday and he had it Saturday because we had a long day out planned and he did wonderfully. Sunday he had it because again, another long day with company planned and it worked well. Today we skipped because it was just us at home all day and he was actually very well behaved. I find with Kendal that he behaves if he's home with no outside interference, but school, sports activities, etc. are another story. I know he needs medicine to succeed in those areas, but I guess skipping it when I can makes me feel a little less guilty, even though I know I shouldn't feel that way! Plus, he eats much better!Ok, my DS isn't taking stims, so I have a slightly different perspective. I find that if I miss a dose, I'll notice a few days of him getting back on track. Oddly, it isn't always the first day after the miss. Sometimes it is two days later and it will seem like he didn't have any meds that morning, when I know he did. So, to just keep a steady thing going, he gets his meds everyday. I think Straterra works differently in the brain, though. I know it took a little longer for the effects to kick in when he first started, so it makes sense that the levels should be kept consistent.Yes, that's my understanding about Strattera and other nonstimulant medications. It's important that the dose remain constant, whereas with the stimulants they cause the body to react quickly, but also leave more quickly so there is no harm in skipping doses. 

I think it's going to be individual to each child and how severe the child's unmedicated behavior is.  I would say that unless your son is seriously thin to the point it's unhealthy and the doctor recommends the weekend break you don't need to do it just because he's lost weight. There are ways to help with the nutrician without taking med breaks.

It's my personal opinion that my son is so severe that he NEEDS his medication 24 hours a day 7 days a week!  It's too much of a shock to his system to go on and off again with the meds.  He does better when he's steady and things don't change.  I just feel like if he need the meds then he needs them all the time.  Just my thoughts...

Back when I took it all the time, I took weekend breaks. It helped my system clear out, so the effects weren't so bad. Sometimes, I would take a low dose on Sundays, or just take a full dose, if the work load was that bad. Maybe even ask him how he feels about it?