FocalinXR 5 mg | ADHD Information

My son has been on Focalin XR for several years so I think I can call myself an unofficial expert, LOL.... anyway, none of this is gospel and I'm not a doctor, just my observations.

First of all, if it doesn't work in a day or two or three, it's not going to.  There's no waiting for it to build up in his system, it's time to raise the dose.

Second, in the beginning, it will last 8 hours or longer.  As time goes on (weeks for some people,  months for others) that duration fades and you'll have to consider adding an afternoon dose.  In my son's case, it lasts for 5.5 hours on the dot.  You can set your watch by it.

Third, the eating thing is a real problem.  They won't eat a thing while they are on it.  My 12.5 year old son weighs 70 pounds, 5 less than his 10 year old sister.  But then they will eat you out of house and home when it wears off, literally stealing candy in the middle of the night, eating like they've been on a desert island for a year.

And fourth, if your child metabolizes drugs quickly, you may find yourself raising the dose quite frequently over time.  My son started at 5mg several years ago.  He's now at 20 (we were able to drop back a bit from 25 after adding Intuniv).

Focalin is the best, and worst, stimulant.  The best because it works like a charm almost exactly 30 minutes after you give it.  And the best because of all the stimulants, it was the one my son could tolerate the most.  The worst because the rebound in the morning and early PM is awful, with behavior and crying and etc until you give them their next dose. 

I have a love-hate relationship with the stuff, but it's given my son his life back, he got on the high honor roll in junior high, and so I have to live with it.

Audrey

HI there, I started my DD who is 7 1/2 yrs old on this on Nov 30th, it has been almost 2 full weeks, and we are already starting to see a difference in her at school, FOR the good. We tried to go up to 10 mg NO GO she got the tics but once we dropped her back down she was A OK. Although the eating can be hard she has a hard time getting to sleep. We don't really get the rebound with her, although there are times she can have a HUGE meltdown and get so very upset over little things!! We had our med check today and we are going to keep going on this, we just have to watch the weight which they say she lost 3 lbs,  and the sleep issues. IF we are happy with how she is doing we keep on going for 3 months until our next appointment, if we are concerned we go back in a month!!! I pray we have the right magic pill for her It lasts six to eight hours. You can expect reduced appetite. Lunch is after school, because nothing is eaten there. When they get older they may throw it away at school, and tell you that they ate it. Give breakfast before medication. With XR they get fifty percent of the dosage about 45 minutes after given, and then the other fifty percent four hours later. That's why they call it extended release. With one child I had zero effect when it wore off, and with the other major crumpiness if the belly was empty. Of course it wore off at 3 pm and lunch had not been eaten. Food was sitting on the table as soon as she arrived home from school, and she ate it whether she wanted to or not. The hyperness reappears each morning with a vengeance, like adhd on steriods. Except for that lovely get ready for school time, you probably won't see it at all, but the mornings did become more difficult post meds.Jessica N40519.9254513889Thank you very much for your comment. We started it yesterday and it just so happened he was out of school with strep. So far it did not affect his appetite yesterday but I didnt really see much difference in him and I guess that means it just isnt in his system yet. He went back to school today so we will see how it goes. His teacher is great and is going to watch the eating issue at school for me as well. Thank you again for your comment every little bit I learn is a big help!!

My child has been on Focalin XR since January. You will have to stay on top of the eating. She was rxed a small dose antihistime to help increase the appetite after she was increased to 10mg because she lost too much weight. I can say that once she started meds she went from getting time out/ warnings every day to getting green dots (great behavior) everyday. She even made Student of the Month the last month of 1st grade.

The meds do tend to wear off right after school and that really effects getting homework done. The doctor once rxed Ritalin for afterschool but I didn't want to give it to her since she had lost so much weight. We are doing best just to manage.

mmcnatt40520.6275578704

Hello I am new to this site so If my post is too long or something please someone let me know. I have a 6 year old son that was just diagnosed with ADHD today. We have been dealing with the VERY hyper behavior for a while but was hoping to not have to use medicine. It has been really difficult. He is such a sweet boy but can be so hyper and unpredictable that we hardly ever go anywhere. It has been affecting him in Kindergarten so we decided to start trying to do something about it. He is going to start taking Focalin XR 5 mg in the morning and I was just wondering what we can expect. I know everyones child reacts a little different but I would love to hear any advice or suggestions. Has there been really bad side effects with this medicine? About how long does it last and will the fact that its wearing off cause extra hyperness? Any advise or stories will be appreciated. Thanks!