Stimulants and hair-pulling | ADHD Information

Thanks for the information. He has been off of Focalin for about 7 days
now. Yesterday he he said he started pulling at school and then stopped
himself. This morning I asked him if he felt less jittery off of the meds and
he thought about it and said yes, he did.

He takes Zoloft (50 mg) in addition. I was curious if it takes a while for that
that of type to go away or if that is OCD and was increased by the stimulant.

What are the natural/homeopathic remedies for focus issues? I hate having
him take a stimulant so that he can focus at school and to keep the teacher's
happy.Hi,

I know there are a few postings on this site, but I thought I would also
post our issues to see if anyone else has the same thing going on.

To make this shorter, my son was in OT for years for his sensory issues.
Diagnosed ADD and Anxiety in 3rd grade, tried some meds in 4th grade
that made him feel like bugs were crawling on his head and went back to
Focalin XR 10mg. This summer we took him off of Prozac to see if he
needed it and a few weeks later, he had a bald spot. He wasn't on the
stimulant. Put him back on Prozac and it stopped. School started, started
the Focalin and after upping the Focalin to 15mg, he was pulling hairs
again. Moved him to Zoloft 50 mg, it stopped.

He recently started it again during TAKS testing and says his Focalin
makes his head itch and the only relief is pulling out the hair with the
root. Well...took him off of it and he still does it without the stimulant.

So stopping the meds has not stopped the behavior. Going back to the
dr.

Any suggestions? His head is really balding now.

Thanks.@bluehousemom : According to one resource I read about Focalin : "The
theory about the superiority of Focalin is that it is made of just one
part of Ritalin, and leaves another part, which is inactive and may
contribute to side effects, out" ..

The itching of your kid's scalp could be one of those side effects. But
I know someone taking Focalin, and she's not having the same balding
effect as your son has. There may be ingeredients of Focalin that he is
allergic too. You should tell your doctor about it since they may other
issues that will arise. I know some people taking natural remedies for
ADHD. have you tried those? but anyway, try to ask your doctor first if
your son can also use those homeopathic remedies available which is
believed to have no side effects.