PLEASE HELP!! | ADHD Information

My son has been doing well on Focalin, though we have seen him
disengage now and then, and snap out of it, while on it these last 4
weeks. Today, I took him to b'day party and was so distraught. He was
like a zombie, couldn't speak to me when I asked questions,couldn't
smile, was just very flat
with no expression. He was following the rules at the party ( it was in a
gym) and normally he would never be able to do that, and instead just
run wildly, BUT he was just blank in the face. This is normally a very
joyful,smiling
child. Does this warrant a change in meds altogether? Has anyone else
experienced this side effect on Focalin, and then had success with
something else? He's doing great in school, and teachers have not
noticed this effect in him, but we've seen it somewhat out of school.
However, today there
was no denying it... it felt like I lost HIM...you know? I was so glad when it
all wore off after the 4 hours. Please tell me if this sounds familair to
anyone, what you did, or would do... Thank You!mommabear40215.6113541667My DS took Focalin XR for years and we never experienced what you are talking about.  It sounds like his dose maybe too high.  I would call the doctor and tell him exactly what you are experiencing.  You may just need to lower the dose a little.  I wouldn't change doses without speaking to the doctor first.  I hope things work out, meds can be very challenging at times.Thanks for responding! your right, it did seem like it was too high. The only
time I ever saw him like that was when we were experimenting in the very
beginning, and when we went to 7.5mg we knew we went too high because
he got very zombie like and expressionless. The problem is that today I did
what we have established as his regular dosing, the one that's been
working: 5 mg in am, then 2.5 mg 3 1/2 hrs later. That's why I'm so
confused as to why he'd have that reaction. Do you think that the XR may
be better? Did you start with short acting Focalin before moving to XR? If so
why and what difference did you see?We started with the short acting Focalin and moved to the long acting.  I like the long acting better because it seemed smoother though the day.  There wasn't the up an down of the short acting.  My DS metabolized the XR faster than average and after a while on it we had to add a second dose 4 hours later.  When we did that the second dose started taking effect while the first dose was wearing down.  Unfortunatelly after several years of success with Focalin XR we had to go off it this fall.  My DS started having problems with side effects and rebound that just weren't managable.  Good Luck!My son has been on Focalin RX for a couple years now.  When he first started taking it it took me a while to get used to him being calmer in general, but he was never zombie- like.  The only time that ever happened was when he accidentally took one of my adderall instead of his focalin (we now keep them in entirely separate locations).  That knocked him on his butt- there was a point at which I thought he was actually going to fall asleep in the middle of the day.  Thankfully it was the weekend and I didn't have to explain to the school what happened.

You may want to give the XR a try if you've generally seen good effects with the short acting focalin.  My son takes the XR, but we have used a booster dose of the short- acting to ease the rebound we were seeing in the evenings when he first started.  There have been several occasions when we've run out of the xr (my fault, of course, for forgetting to pick up the script) and he's taken only the short- acting.  I've not paid too much attention to the particulars here, but it definitely affected him differently than the xr.  I've also found that the generic short- acting pills seem to work better for my son than the brand name. 

As far as trying Adderall, or any other med for that matter, it's hard to tell until you try it.  My son obviously is not a good candidate for it, but I've had great results with a minimal amount of side effects on a relatively low dose.  My nephew- a very small 10 yr. old- takes twice as much adderall as I do and it really only takes the edge off for him.
  
Thank you so much for your response and input! I know it's so individual,
but sometimes hearing others' experiences helps me get a better handle. I
do think we'll try something diff over the break. Maybe we will try XR before
switching altogether. It hasn't been a disaster on Focalin by any means, just
a inconsistent in the way he responds at times. From teachers perspective
it's been 98% improvement, so based on that it's hard to abandon it
completely. I just know that seeing him the way he was yesterday is NOT ok,
so I need to get to the bottom of it, and explore and ask around. I'm calling
doc tomorrow to have a followup and help us make a descion. I continue to
appreciate anyone elses input or experiences... Thanks!I don't have new input, but I just wanted to say what a great mom you are for figuring this out. Of course you know your child better than anyone else, and you know what is normal and what isn't. I'm glad to see you being so proactive. Good luck. thank you for positive and supportive response...I truly appreciate it! For all
of those who've been following my thread, I had an inkling of maybe what's
causing this...it's long shot but here goes...
I give him 5 mg in am, and in school the nurse gives him 2.5 mg 3 1/2 hrs
later. HOWEVER, she cuts the the 5 mg pills I gave her in half- she has a pill
cutter. On the weekend I have a separate bottle of 2.5 mg pills because I
don't trust myself to cut accurately. Is it possible that the second pill of 2.5,
that I give on the weekends, because it's diff and not cut from the 5 mg,
could end up being stronger somehow and cause this reaction? Has anyone
heard of, or experienced this? Please lmk!

Back when my son was trying Adderall he got zombie like when the dose got too high.  It went away when we reduced the dose back down.  If your dose is the same then I would look at the timing of the doses.  What time did he start acting zombie like? How soon after the last dose?  Or if he's not doing it at school is there something different at home that you that you can pin point? Like food at home, timing of meals, timing of dose because he sleeps later on the weekends? Definitely let the doc know this is going on.  It may be something as simple as changing the timing of the doses.

Good luck!

thanks! I've been trying to dissect it to figure it out...He only took it one
hour later than he normally does yesterday, so I doubt that was the issue.
He ate the same breakfast, and lunch, that he normally does on a school
day. He didn't have the snack in between. Still, he ate more lunch yest
then he does at school, even though he's been usually eating snack at
school. Bottom line is was a wash yesterday as far as food intake
contributing to this reaction. the only other thing is perhaps the overlap
isn;t working the same? We noticed early on that he got emotional and
agitated at the 4 hr mark it was wearing off, so when we moved it up to 3
1/2 hrs it was fine. he was fine with the 1st dose of 5 mg, but about an
hour after the 2nd dose of 2.5 ( which we gave 3 1/2 hrs after) was when
he started acting off. He got emotional and agitated as that one was
wearing off towards end of party. By the time we got home, when it was
all pretty much out he was fine. UGH!!! At school they said he's not only
calmer, and cooperative, but using more language, more related and
aware. He was the opposite of this of this yesterday at the party, and with
almost identical circumstances in terms of timing and dose- I'm at a
loss. Not to mention the dose is already so low to begin with , my gut is
that it's more the drug than the dose thats the issue. It's only been about
4 weeks, could something need changing already? was it just an off day?
Should I try XR to avoid the the error of timing the ups and downs of the
meds effects myself with overlapping etc? Sorry so long but it really helps
to talk it out and get feedback. thanks!mommabear40216.2296759259Could the difference have been the new situation? Even though the stimulation of school can be hectic, it is familiar. If my DS is in an unfamiliar, overly noisy, populated environment, he doesn't act his normal self. He will either withdraw or overreact. Just a thought.That is a good thought, and it crossed my mind, however I saw it start
happening before we left the house. Plus it was a long way to the party and
I kept trying to get him to snap out of it, but he would not engage. He was
expressionless. He would normally be chatting and excited to go to party. So
it really wasn't the environment because it kicked in before we got there. I'm
so confused...My 7 year old son was on Focalin and focalin XR for two years. In general it worked well, the teachers didn't notice a problem. However, my husband, other family members and I felt like he was zombied or zoned. His doctor explained that with the focalin , the medecine hits the patient strongly at first and he/she may seem zombied or overpowered.

About 3 months ago we switched my son's medication to Vynanse 30mg. I am much happier with this as he seems more like a normal little boy and not zoned. It takes about a hour and half to kick in but lasts through the entire day. Vynanse is a newer medication. I think the drug companies are doing a good job at improving the meds for ADHD.

Good luck, mommabear!  Hang in there!



Thank you! I am going to start looking at others to try. What your doc
said makes sense because I have seen it "hit him hard" occaisionally. It's
usually after the first dose of 5 mg though. Also, because it wasn't a
consistent reaction, and the teachers weren't really seeing it, I thought it
would go away over time. It's helpful to know that you still saw that in
your son after 2 years, so perhaps it won't go away. What's odd is that
what happened yesterday wasn't even after that first dose, it was after he
got the the 2nd dose of 2.5 That second dose is just to keep him level,
and smooth him out while its all wearing off. That's what so perplexing...I
never saw him have that reaction after the main dose wore off, and the
second one was kicking in. There is a winter break coming up in Feb, so I
think we will take that opportunity to try something new. I think my doc
will suggest Adderall.... anyone have thoughts on that one?Thanks Eriksmom!

He 's 5 1/2 and he weighs about 41 lbs. Yes it's short acting. It's not the
second dose of 2.5 mg that's causing the disconnected, zombie reaction it's
the FIRST dose of 5 mg. It was working initially really well, but in the last
week it's causing this reaction, as if it's too high. We lowered that first dose
to 2.5 today, and I will report back when I hear from the teachers how he
did....my fingers are crossed!
As far as the timing, we discovered that waiting fours hrs to give that second
dose of 2.5 was too long for him- he started to get emotional, and
disoriented as it was wearing off. When we moved it to 31/2 hrs it smoothed
it out, and he stopped having that reaction.

Hey Mommabear how old is your ds and much does he weigh? I was wondering if you waited the full 4 hrs until the next dose of 2.5 mg, if that might help with the zombie effect?

I was wondering how you did the 2.5mg because my doc said the XR only comes in 5mg, but you are using the short acting and apparently that does come in 2.5mg. Good to know because I might ask for that as a booster for my ds!

Good luck and let us know what the doc says!