Short acting ritalin working better? | ADHD Information

My son has always done better on the short acting meds (Adderall and Ritalin).  For him, I think it's because he metabolizes the medicaion sooooo fast!  The long acting meds have 2 forms of granules inside the capsule.  The 1st disolves immediately and the 2nd has a coating that prevents it from disolving for several hours.  

For instance, let's say the Ritalin LA disolves the 1st granules right away and the 2nd in 4 hours. My son's problem was that he would metabolize the 1st ganuales in 2 1/2 hours then be completely without meds for another 2 hours or so until the 2nd dose disolved.  Many times he would actually have rebound in between.  The short acting Ritalin allows us to give it to him every 2 1/2 to 3 hrs and eliminate this problem.

Also, I've never heard that the long acting meds are safer. 

Logan'sMom40214.8388425926We have tried tons of meds with my son who is ADHD/Asperger's. Intuniv 3mg has made the world of difference for him, but it seems that Intuniv alone isn't quite enough. The great part of Intuniv though is that now he only needs a very low dose of a stimulant to help him. We have been trying just a 5mg pill of short-acting ritalin in the morning to see if school is ok. He was on Concerta previously--36mg seemed too high after starting Intuniv so we went down to 27mg, but even that seemed too much. On Concerta he seemed more prone to melt downs, especially later in the day. His teacher has gotten back to me and said that while his mornings are great (when the 5mg is working), his afternoons are different--not horrible, but not as good as his mornings. Today we are trying a second short acting ritalin 5mg dose at lunch.

I know that the dr. thinks I'm crazy because ritalin and concerta are essentially the same (and drs. prefer the long acting meds), but I just feel like the short acting works better. Does anyone else feel this way? I think that the way Concerta releases meds into his system makes him more irritable and his late afternoons bad. Ritalin LA seemed a bit better than Concerta when we tried it last year, but it isn't a perfect release of 2 short acting doses so it doesn't last as long as just taking the short acting pills (and is a lot more money than generic ritalin). I also hear about how long acting meds are preferred for not only convienience, but that they are safer. Is that true?

My son was taking Vyvanse which is an extended release once a day and he was having really bad rebound in the evening.

Now he is taking 10 mg of Ritalin 3x a day (morning, noon, and dinnertime) and he is doing fabulously. He is 7 and in second grade.

Unfortunately, meds aren't an exact science and you just have to keep trying until you find one that works for your son.

 

Hope this helps!!

My son was on Daytrana for years, but it made him have bad tics, and seemed less effective this school year.  For the last three weeks we have been doing 10mg generic Ritalin in the morning with Tenex, and it has been working great.  Today I started a second Ritalin in the afternoon.  While it works now, I am very reluctant to have him have to take a dose at school.  As we get closer to school starting he is going to start Focalin XR, we'll see how that goes.  My son seems to metabolize meds quickly so I am a little concerned, Ritalin LA wore off in about 6 hrs, but his Dr. said that he saw a study showing that Focalin is still working 10-12hrs after dose.  So we will see...

Hello, I have a question per the statment by coffeebean73

"Now he is taking 10 mg of Ritalin 3x a day (morning, noon, and dinnertime) and he is doing fabulously. He is 7 and in second grade."

Does taking the stimulant at dinnertime affect his sleep?  My DS is having problems with rebound (daytrana, before that vyvanse), but also, and to a lessor degree (but not unconcerning), trouble with falling asleep.  I can see that his behavior is better during the first half of the day, but later, wow it is much harder.  He plays baseball and football (he's good and want's to play in college) and at night there are so many issues for him when he's participating.

We were out of meds (pharmacy has to order and getting those scripts every single month!)   and for 3 days loaded up on tea, some coffee and a couple of cokes.  He actually did well - even at his baseball lesson in the afternoon.  It makes me think he needs less of a dose of stimulant, but does he need a little med later in the day and then how is the sleep going to go?

I love all of you on this forum.    You are so encouraging, helpful and loving.  I am very thankful for this place and for you and your insights.

Thanks and have a great day.

"...We were out of meds (pharmacy has to order and getting those scripts every single month!)   and...."

geeemo, monthly scripts are such a drag...you might want to discuss with the doc a script for more than a month's supply.  Most health insurance companies will cover a 90 day supply of stimulant med for the same (or only slightly larger) co-pay as the 30-day supply, so it's not only more convenient, but also more affordable!