Daytrana Patch | ADHD Information

We did the Daytrana patch for about a year+ at 15 mg...We just now took him off of it...We found that it stopped working much to our disappointment.  The doctor didn't think it was a good idea to up the dosage of the patch since you can't really measure just how much he is getting at any given time.  We're now on Vivaynse mixed in his water or milk...I'm not even sure that works.

We liked the patch even with it's pealing off at times and the sticky mess left on his leg.  I wish it had continued to work...

thanks! Well we cut it and upped to 15 mg but was clearly no good for
him. 10 was not enough, and 15 had him sort of out of it. I think it's true
about not knowing how much they're getting at given time. However my
son metabolizes these meds, the extended release meds just don't agree
with him. Focalin XR and Vyvanse were disasters, and now the patch. Not
true disaster, but he's obviously * much * better on the short acting
Focalin, so were back to that. Whenever I have issues with it, and try
something else with bad results, and then go back to it, I realize how well
it's working for him. I just feel like he's the only child -from all I read on
here- that does the short pills. Seems as though everyone else is on the
long acting versions. Anyway, its a clear case of everyone being diff, and
my little guy is good with these even though it seems to be the exception.
I'm just glad I gave the patch a try before school, so now I won't have to
wonder about it. Thanks to all again for your feedback!

How is your son doing with the patches?

My son used the patches for a year and we loved them. We had to stop them when he started sleepwalking and his skin started becoming too irritated. I hated that because the meds really worked as far as improving his ability to focus in school. We actually changed to Focalin. Anyways, I always used to go in his room early and put them on while he was still sleeping. It really improved the morning routine. It is true that they will work as long as they are on him. You may want to monitor his eating habits while doing this though, because if the meds supress his appetite in the morning and then for lunch, he may start to lose weight. I also found that placing them on his back was less irritating than on the hip, on any of the large muscles of the back. This also seemed to help with the patch coming off, as with the hip they use the bathroom and pull pants on and off.  

If the patches still leave that hard to remove black residue, the best thing to get it off is olive oil. Works every time!

I hope Daytrana works well for yall! Good Luck!

Hi All!

I've been off the board for a while. My son has been doing well with short
acting Focalin, but there are still some issues that have us looking into other
possibly better options. We just put the patch on him this morning, only 10
mg. It went very well- I though just getting it on would be an issue! Just
checking in with others for hints or insights to this medication. Any
experiences' you've had are helpful to know because, although I'm aware
each child is different with various meds, I've still learned a lot from others
who have "been there and done that" on the ADHD journey. Thanks!We've been on the patch for 2 yrs now & really like it.  One thing that can be a struggle with the patch is the time it takes to get into their system & start working.  If you struggle with that, there are options of taking a short acting med right away in the morning to get through that lapse of time.  Something else to note is that even though it's advertised as a "9 hr patch" that is not truly the case.  Our Psych told us that 9 hrs is what is recommended by the FDA but the patch delivers meds for as long as it's worn.  We put it on at 6:30am and it comes off at bedtime, around 8pm and we do see the effects of it the whole time once it's kicked in.  If you have trouble with redness around the area, don't be alarmed, it may subside.  At least it did for our son, his skin gets really red while being worn but is completely normal by morning.  At first we would still see red in the morning, but that decreased with time.  Just be sure to alternate hips each day & move it around so it's never in the same spot, that makes a big difference.  Oh--one more thing, it is supposed to be water proof, but we have found that it isn't as water proof as you would like it to be, so if your child goes swimming, it helps to put medical tape (the really strong stuff) over it to hold it on.  Good luck, I hope you've found the right fit!   

My 9yr son has been on it for about 4 mos.  I am quite happy.  He first tried vyvanse and had horrible moodiness in the afternoon.  This also happened with Daytrana after a short time on it, but we messed around with the dosage and now I am cutting a 15mg in half.  (they say not to, but it seems ok for us).

It is hard sometime with the patch getting sticky, so I throw it in the freezer for 5-10 mins and the cold helps.  We sometimes use bandaids to help keep it on, but I think it is because it is cut and has sharp corners.

He still has problems with sleeping, can't seem to get to sleep before 10. We take the patch off at 3-3:30 and put it on about 6:30.  I guess that is the 9 hours.  Before the meds, he went to bed at 8-8:30.  We have been trying camomile tea and benedryl, but they really haven't worked.  I am curious how others' children can wear it so late into the day and still sleep! 

He is also on a very small dose of zoloft for anxiety and depression.

good luck!

Our DS7 has always been a very good sleeper, we've never had trouble with that, even after starting meds (thank goodness).  In fact, very early on when we were trying to get the right meds, Doc made sure meds were out of his system well enough before bed so it wouldn't affect him & that was the only time he seemed to have more trouble.  I don't know if it was more of the rebound effect that was affecting the sleep or what.  I've heard that Clonidine can help with relaxing them to sleep better if they are having trouble.  Thanks all for your responses! Yes, I'm seeing it takes between 2 &3 hours
to really kick in. So far I like the subletly of it ( one of the issues with
Focalin was that it hit him so hard initially he'd be zoned out for a while,
and we hated that aspect)but there are some things I have to keep an eye
on. Hes touching his face a lot- he did that with Focalin too but got better
over time- and he's doing some funny things with his mouth. Not tics
exactly, but knashing his teeth a bit occasionally and putting his tongue
on the inside of his cheek a bit too. Anyone have these little quirks upon
first starting and then saw them go away over time? I'm taking it off after
about 7 hrs so his appetite will come back, and so he'll sleep. He takes
Melatonin & Benadryl to sleep anyway, and that is still working with this
med. I'm curious about putting it on while he sleeps at about 6am, or
giving him 5 mg Focalin during that window it takes to kick in in the am.
Good to know there are options. I'm not sure 10 mg is enough, but I'm
going to wait until he goes back to school in the next couple of weeks and
go by those reports. Does anyone have thoughts about doing Focalin on
the weekends and not the patch? Just to keep that in his repertoire should
we need to go back to it, and because he did do well for the most part on
it? Curious if others do something diff for weekend when not as much
med is needed as for the school week. Overall it seems smoother
experience and certainly more convenient than giving a pill three times a
day. My husband thinks he's a bit foggy on it, but that's why I'm thinking
he may need a higher dose. Thoughts?

I'll try to answer most of your questions the best I can.  As far as dosing, I would give it a week or two on the dose you're taking, if you see some inattentiveness still, it may mean you need a slightly higher dose.  If you want to give it a try w/o the rig-a-marole of seeing the Doc again, just cut one of your 10mg in half & add it to the 10mg you put on, to make it 15mg.  That is the next step in dosing & it would give you an idea of where you're at.  As far as what you are describing w/what he's doing w/his mouth & touching his face, they may be forms of tics.  Our DS experienced tics w/Daytrana when we first started and each time we increased the dose, but we did find that it went away over time as he got used to the dosage.  We also found his appetite increased over time as well as he got used to the dosage.  He lost weight when he first started on it cause he wasn't hungry at lunch time (when the med really kicked in).  We made sure that we let him eat as much as he wanted for breakfast (which was usually a ton for a 7 yr old!) but at least he was making up for no lunch.  Dinner was mediocre but like I said, his appetite increased over time & it got better.  I'm not sure what to suggest about your weekends, personally we keep our routine the same all the time, just for consistency.  You could try it both ways & see what works best for your family.  I know some families go med free for weekends & summer & it works well for them.  Our DS needs his meds all the time, he is crazy w/o them & so we keep consistent w/our meds all the time.  A lot of it is trial & error and finding what works for you.  Good luck! 

thanks so much for your response! I did talk to doc today and he suggested
putting 2 patches on to make it 20 mg first. He said if it seems too high we
can go for the 15 mg patch. My husband wants to try this as well. The 10 mg
obviously is not a high enough dose. Since the med is not kicking in for your
son until 12pm, are you giving him a shortacting pill in the morning? Do you
find that at a higher dose the patch kicked in sooner? just trying to decide
what I'll do when school starts- I think I may try to get it on him at 6am.

Wish me luck tomorrow with the 20mg- hoping it does the trick. If not my
husband just wants to go back to the shortacting Focalin before school
starts and get him readjusted to that. we'll see!

We use Guanfacine in the morning to help get through until the patch kicks in, this also works along side of the Daytrana for the day.  Keep in mind that if 20mg is too much, 15mg may be perfect, so I wouldn't dismiss the patch all together & go back to Focalin if 20mg doesn't work.  I'm surprised that the Doc jumped to 20mg and didn't step it up to the 15mg first, you may just want to cut the 10mg for a few days & try 15mg first to see how it goes.  If it still doesn't seem like enough, then double up the patches to make 20mg.  I would just hate for 20mg to be too much and your son to have a bad day because he's overmedicated.  Our DS experienced an emotional rollercoaster when we increased his patch too much the first time, he was very sobby and cried at every little thing.  Just my opinion from experience.  Getting the dosing right an take some time and if you made the change from Focalin because you didn't feel it was giving you the full benefit it should, it would only seem fair that you would want to give the patch an honest effort in finding the right dose and see if it really works. 

The higher dose patches do not kick in any faster.  If putting the patch on at 6am works for you, go for it.  It means it will kick in sooner at school. 

Yes this is my concern as well. The doc feels that 20mg will be best so to go
for that, and if that seems to high to go back to 15mg. We have had similar
issues when increasing meds, and I don't want him to have a bad day. I tend
to be more conservative, so I think we'll try cutting it. How did you cut it?
Does it matter which way? Thank so much!Nope, doesn't matter which way, just as long as it's in equal halfs.  I found it eaier to cut it into 2 squares rather than the long way.  Hopefully it ends up working out for you, I can relate to the feeling of changing meds, it's scary!