Day 1 and no difference, just a weepy crying kid this afternoon. Was fine later on. Day 2 tomorrow..we shall see. Will seek non medicated methods if this does not work. all of the horror stories about all of these drugs are not inspiring. Need more positive stories.
I see people are reading this, just no posts. soooo, i will use it as a blog ad hope it can help someone. Day 3: teacher notices less impulsivity and better focus but more emotional. same with us in the evening. My son also complained that his legs felt sore last night, like brused. I read from otheres that this is a side effest. I gave him some childrens motrin and he slept just fine. Doing well in the mornings, but not a huge noticible difference. Same happy kid, eating is the same, sleeping the same just a bit more emotional.Hi,
New member here. My 6 yr. old was just at the neurologist and was diagnosed with mild adhd and Asbergers. Smart, friendly, loving kid with adhd symptoms. Great in small environments but as soon as he is "in the world" he gets distracted, has trouble with impulsivity, boundaries etc. Good kid, does nothing intentional to hurt anyone. We were given Vyvance to start with. Doc said to take the 20 mg capsule and dissolv e it in water. We were to then give him half. That would be 10mg. Does anyone have any experience with just giving their child 10 mg? Any side effects? It is such a low dose, I am hoping it will just help him enough to allow him to be more focused and not have problems like I have heard so many other moms complain about. It scares me..Am so nervous about it but we have come to a point where we feel it is necessary to try. He is bright and we want him to do well.
I love reading these posts! It really helps knowing you are all out there dealing with similar issues as we are. I am going to talk to the doctor tomorrow about the dose of medication my son is taking now. He is 9 y/o and weighs 73-74 pounds. He is tall and thin. Right now he is on 50 mg of vyvanse and takes dextrostat tabs 5 mg in the morning too. That kicks in much faster and on school mornings that is very important.Hi Jmpaula!
Thank you for posting! So, his moods are more stable? This is good for me to know in case we need to change. My son can be emotional naturally without the drug so taking it increases it which is no good for him. He is a very happy kid most of the time. Post again at the end of the month. I am really interestd in hearing how things are. Awesome!!
I will keep you posted!Hi Janryry.
I gave him 5mg on Saturday. He was very calm. It was strange. He played nicely with his toys, argued a little with his brother (but in a normal way), and my husband and I could not believe the stress free pleasant happy family environment that was in our home that day. Usually weekends are horrible with all the tension built up from his impusive behavior.
Sunday went okay, didn't seem as calm though.
Monday I gave him 7.5mg. He seemed a little too calm up until lunchtime, but he was definitely aware of everything. Just so quiet. Not quite as impulsive as usual. Still did a bit of darting here and there in public but was slower about it and easier to redirect than usual. It did seem to wear off after about 5 hours. He was back to his "all over the place" self.
The thing I don't like too much is how quiet he is, but I'm wondering if I need to up it to 10 to make it last the whole school day. 8-3. I just don't want it to hit him so hard in the morning that he's a zombie. Do you think raising it to 10 will affect him the same, just last longer until the end of the school day?
Kelly
Janryry,
I'm so glad I came across this forum. My son just turned 7 and the docto prescribed 20mg of Vyvanse for him as well. I've had it nearly 2 weeks, but been afraid to try it. I'm afraid of the "sudden death" side effect. I was considering trying it in the morning, a Saturday, but only giving 5-10 mg. He is 59 pounds. He also has autism. He is verbal, but not all that conversational. I'm so worried that something will not feel right and he won't tell me. He is doing well in school, but is sooooooo impulsive. Constantly darting here and there to touch and mess with things. This isn't just at school. It's on family outtings too. Makes it very difficult and stressful for all of us to go anywhere or do anything.
How is your son doing? Is he on the 5mg? Have you noticed any negatives other than the occasional weepiness?
KellyM
Hi Kelly,
After doing some research, I read that children on the spectrum tend to be more sensitive to these meds. I would NOT give him 20 mg! Another friend of mine just cut her son's dose in half to 10 mg as he was complaining of a stomach ache and not eating. My son is impulsive as well! You should see him in the grocery store!! I always threaten to never bring him back in! We just had my son tested for auditory processing issues and he does struggle with it. Handwriting etc...We told him he could get 2 points for each nice paper he brought home for computer time. It is working so far!! We will most likely go back on the meds. The neurologist told us we could play with the dosages. He said to try 5 mg and then 7. there is a magic dose, I just know it. He also mentioned trying a different med but I am not ready for that. Go low and then up from there. It irritates me how these doctors just tell parents to give their kids the full dose! Good thing about this med, is it exits the system . You can take a break on the weekends if you want. When my son was on the med, he did not have any stomach issues or appetite issues. His teacher did tell me that he was hyper focusing on the kids who were breaking the rules! She said that she would take that over the alternative. I will check back in when we start up again. Feel free to post after you have tried it. It was hard for us, I know what you are going through. Try a low dose first. It will not be so scary. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Hi Kelly,
out neurologist said that some of his patients take two doses during the day. the parent gives half in the morning, and the other half at noon. This med only lasted about 7 hrs for my son. I just wanted him to be able to concentrate in school and just "take the edge off" so to speak. The bare minimun so he could get through the day. If he was more hyper at home, I did not mind. Also, some people think that when their child goes off the meds, they ae WORSE, more hyper etc...not really the case, they are just used to the calm and do not remember what their child used to be like. it is a shocker! ha, ha! I hear kids can get used to the med as well and you have to stop it for a while and then start up again. It's all a process I guess. We are still off the meds and working on a point system at home which has helped with his terrible handwriting which is actually looking like Beautiful handwriting. It is a LOT of self control which is hard for him. I sometimes worry we are expecting too much, for him to control too much, things he really cannot control, something the meds can do to help him along. After the last report card, we were shocked. Was not good. We are hoping that the teacher along with our support, he will improve. If we do not see an improvemet, we will start up again.
I hope it works out for you son and family. I'ts nice having those peaceful family moments, so happy to hear about that. Our son isnt hyper that way, he gets overstimulated in "situations" and gets distracted.
Well, we will be trying 5 mg. tomorrow. December has always been a difficult month for our son with all of the parties and overstimulation. He just has a very difficult time handling it. Will let you all know how it goes. It took many discussions and great thought. We are hoping it will just take the edge off so he can control his body. Lots of behavior modification along with this, we hope it helps. sigh...I was thinking of doing the same. I didn't really see a difference between 7.5 and 10mg. So one day I tried the entire capsule, 20mg. He didn't eat a thing all day and was so over-focused on things that he is OCD about that he could hardly function or pay attention to anyone or anything else. It was awful. He ate breakfast because I fed him before the pill, but zero lunch and zero dinner. It was the weekend and we'd been at a family thing late. Got home around 9:30-10 PM, and he finally asked for some food.
I haven't given it to him since. However, this week at school has been awful. Not due to not having the Vyvanse. I'm not sure why. He is defiant, horribly OCD, unfocused, and full of anxiety. I'm thinking of trying 5- 10mg just to see if it takes the edge off, like 5 did the first time we gave it to him. He still ate on 10mg.
Wow Kelly, yea...December is horrible! Too much stimulation for our kids. Every other day is some event..Christmas store, candy grams, school play practice (horrible!) and then the year end party! When do these kids study? According to the teacher, my boy was calm in the a.m and after the music teacher was told our behavior game plan, my son only lost 1 point out of 5 during the practice. He received only one warning which was awesome! The rest of the day, his teacher saw no difference, but then again, it did take about a week for the med to kick in the last time. We shall stay with 5 mg for the rest of the week, maybe bump up to 7.5, then give him nothing for the two week vacation. He was crying after school because he could not find his sweat shirt..Not sure if that was a side effect or not. Sounds like 20 mg is too high for your son. Mine was ok with eating on 10 as well. So, on we go to give this another chance and play with the dosage. It is hard on us but so hard on our kids who seriously cannot control themselves. They try so hard, but there is only so much one 8/9 yr old can control within their own bodies and minds. School work seems to be improving(before meds) and this may be due to the high dosage of Omega 3's. Keep me posted!! Will let you know how tomorrow goes.I know what you mean. Today is Pajama day, tomorrow is the party, Friday is free play day......what do they expect? When an entire week is allowed to be "babysitting" of course the kids are going to act crazy. I don't like the week before Christmas break. Don't like it as a parent, didn't like it as a teacher either. But I always kept everything very structured and academic until the day of the party. Then we played. It makes a world of difference in their behavior, especially in kids with attention and other difficulties. I hope today goes well for your son.My 9 y/o son has been on concerta 54 mg with a 5-10 mg Ritalin
Day 4
Teacher sent an email around noon starting my son was doing very well. Was focused and not overly sensitive like yesterday. Very focused and sweet to all of the kids. good report. Eating well! Too well! No complaints today.
Thanks for the responses! I have no idea how long this is supposed to take effect etc so knowing that every child metabolizes these meds differently is important. I enjoy hearing about the positives.
Day 5 : Teacher reported that she sees that he definately looks "connected" Got teary eyed when he forgot his share object but came out of it quickly! Still has a hearty appetite and a good thing as he is a skinny 59 lbs! Great morning and we still have our funny, happy, sweet boy, just a bit more mellow. Play time with his action figures in the car is the same but just more quiet/controlled. I don't mind hyper behavior later on. I just want him to be able to focus in school and if this small dosage takes the "edge off" to where he is in the norm, I am more than ok with it.
Sorry to hear about some of these kids reacting like they are sedated. I was told that when a med efects a child that way, it is very likely the dosage is too high. I'm sure there could be a happy medium some where. The neurologist we saw seemed conservative and I am pleased he starts kids on the lowest possible dosage first. It really helps to have a starting point and not such a shock to the body.
It can sometimes take a few days to have any noticeable difference with
Day 6: Teacher said he did Ok which does not tell me much but said he got frustrated with some math and started to cry but composed himself quickly and was fine and completed his work. I told ONE trustworthy friend at his school and she observed him at library time. She said she saw a difference in how he did not move from book shelf to book shelf. He found his book, sat down and started reading. She said he was the "same kid" just seemed more calm, more at peace. Loved that report!
Tomorrow we observe him for the very first time before the meds wear off. We shall see how wiggly he is at baseball....should be interesting and wonder if kids "burn" it off faster during sports?
Day 7 : First day to see if this stuff is working with our own eyes. Baseball game today. He hit every ball but more important, did great when outfield. Was focused and attentive. Daddy was blown away at the difference. I only saw him wiggle/dance once and it was very short lived. Play time is the same. Same play style but just quieter. Very interesting. He ran fast and was awarded fastest runner on the team! We are all so proud! No emotional breakdowns at all today. I am thinking his body is getting used to the med. Started to make his sounds again in the evening when the med seemed to wear off and it was OK!! He is a kind and respectful boy. Only gets in trouble for self control issues, would not intentionally hurt anyone. Appetite is fantastic and so is sleep. Will take it day by day.September is almost over. School update without meds.. My son just reported to me that he had to stay in class and miss about 10 min. of recess because he did not spend his time wisely in class. He did not finish his class work. He told us that he was getting distracted with the other kids talking. Not sure how much talking was going on if any. He was not the only one who stayed in. The other kids who stayed in to finish up are also very active kids. We have another appointment wth our neurologist in a few weeks. In the meantime, I have printed out an assesment sheet for the teacher to fill out so we can do a comparison with the other two we had done at the end of the school year. One was off meds, the next on meds and this recent one will be off meds. It is a process. We are not frustrated. This is the best way to figure out if meds are worth it and I feel we are doing the right thing by testing all of this out.
Will update again after our appointmet. Blessings!
Vyvanse and concerta dosing are completely differentDay 2(yesterday) of my son being on just a hare over 5 mg. Teacher reported more focus and great self control! Yea!! not sure how long this will last, but for now, it seems to be working. Hoping the musical performance tonight goes well as the med will have worn off by then.
Jmpaula, interesting about the concerta. Seems like a really high dose! My son could barely handle 10 mg of vyvanse so we dropped it down to 5 for now. Good to know about the better moods though. I will keep this drug in mind if we ever feel the need to change. Thank you!
janryry40892.5826736111Hi NYGal!!
Your story sounds a bit like mine!!! We just had my son tested for auditory processing disorders. It is difficult to diagnose without several different tests, and if you want a REAL answer, you go to an audiologist. We struggle with reading comprehension as well. We opted to not go to an audiologist as it was going to cost us 0.00!! As far as ticks, out neurologist told us our son already had one! He blinks/closes his eyes tight when someone compliments him or he says yes. Not all the time however. As far as ticks when on the med, he never appeared to have any. 20 mg for a 2nd grader on the spectrum just seems like a lot to me. Not sure if the pharmacist can lower the dose like that as the pill is manufactured at the lowest dose as 20 mg. Our neurologist wrote out like 5 individual paper prescriptions when we saw him last. We just have it filled when needed. which is not often. I have never head about the ticks becomming permanent but I suppose that if he has the same ones every day over and over, it can act as a habit of some sort and habits are hard to break. I really do not know too much about the ticks as my son has not had that problem. As far as dosing to 5 mg, I just fill a small Trader Joes water bottle(kid size water bottle) with the 20 mg . capsulecut that in half so it is 10, then cut the 10 in half. the neurologist told me that 7.5 is like 1/3 of a cup. I need to test that out. you can use the left over the next day even though the instructions say NOT to store and to use right away.
If my son were having so many ticks, I would cut the dosage and see what happens. Why did the doctor suggest you give him the entire 20 mg? How is he doing as far as his emotions are concerned? When my son was on 10 mg, I thought he was overly emotional but he has been off the med for the two week break and has been more emotional! I think he is just overly exhausted with staying up later than normal. So, off to bed early now!
You mentioned so many things that are similar to our situation especially with December plays/pageants etc.. Way too much stimulation for these kids and all of the practices! Ugg!!
Hope all goes well for you! I will be checking back in after school starts up when he is back on the med.
Thanks Jmpaula, I have no idea the differences in the dosings of these meds. I have only had experience with just one. So far the 5 mg Vyvanse has had no effect on his emotions. He is already emotional so it was just his regualr stuff going on. I looked up most of the other meds and so many people report the exact same thing with being emotional or depressed and having to add a 2nd med to counteract that. So bummed these meds can effect people this way but good to hear there is a solution! ( :
My son did well for his last day at school and the performance!
No meds for the rest of the break, not needed. Will resume again when school starts back up and take it from there.
Just wondering...Why do you not give the meds on break? OurDay 10: Teacher reported better control today. Gave med earlier like I usually did. He did not have any meltdowns and made a wise choice, a mature choice today for which we were all proud. I did however notice more activity on the way to school with playing with toys. I started to ask him questions, get him to think about "real" things and it seemed to calm him down. I am finding myself needing to seek out a support group for kids on the Autism Spectrum. I feel like his body may be getting used to the med/dosage and or wearing off early. By 4:30 today, he was chatty which is fine but in the grocery store, without bringing in a toy(he loves to bounce the toy around in the store) he bounced his hands around instead. Self control issues with touching things etc. He went up to a little girl and started a conversation, extended his hand to shake hers etc.. bent down near her face..you know the drill. I thought the mom might be getting irritated until she got into the same line as us and mentioned her daughter usually does the same thing, and she asked about the Omega 3's we were purchasing! Told me her daughter was having trouble with concentration, been to O.T etc...I finally said YES! so have we! He is on the Spectrum. Funny how God just brings people together.
Will need to see how the rest of the week goes and will speak to neurologist about this two week journey and if we need to up the meds..
I am one greatful mom for such an awesome kid! Quirky for sure but awesome!!
Day 11: teacher said he did great today, good concentration in class etc.. Said he is still having Language difficulties. difficulties expressing langiage and was trying hard to get his thought out. Need to discuss Auditory processing challenges with the neurologist and figure out how to help him with that. I see him as his usual self at 4:30, like meds have worn off. We are on some good Omega 3's right now1 Nordic Naturals which are highly recommended from the neurologist. ( :
Updating after a month or so. My son is currently off of the medicatin completely. I gave him the med two weeks ago when we had a large family gathering to help with impulsivity. He was tired, seemed more weepy and down! I immediately regretted giving it to him! I gave him orange juice as I read it lessons the effectiveness, hoping he would be himself. Not sure if the med had this effect on him because he was off it for a week or if this was just how he was at school as I never really got to experience the full effect first hand. I called the neurologist and asked about reducing the dosage even more to 5 mg. I know...sounds like it would do nothing but some kids are very sensitive and this may be the magic amount! I have yet to try it but at least it is an option when school starts. He is at camp and NOT on any meds and doing fine according to the camp director. Very pleased with this!!!! I may even just do a wait ad see when school starts and if he falls back into what he was doing before, I can try the 5mg dose. I can always go back up to 10 mg if i need to. The side effect I do not like, is his tendency to cry easy. After I gave him the med the last time, he came up to me with a very small concern and then rubbed his eyes and said" I feel like i'm going to cry, its weird!" I hated hearing that!!!! It was horrible! So, although this drug works and we have seen results, we have decided it is not necessary in the Summer and will be prepared to use it again when school starts but a lower dose. We are taking our son to a counselor so help him with social skills, and coping skills. This will prove very valuable when off meds. We need for him to be able to cope with just himself. Update later.
Oh, Got him to make his bed daily and he is getting stickers on his chart for good behavior and self control. ( ;
I have decided to to give my son a break on the meds on the weekend. We shall see how it goes. The doctor said breaks on this medication are fine. No need to wean off on such a low dose and because the med wears off and exits the system, it is fine. I see no need give him the med if we are home and in a non stimulating environment. Will observe him closely and see if i notice any difference. Will give it to him during the week when he starts his summer camp activties.
Anyone who went off it for a wekend and back on , please post how your child did. My son is on 10 mg. Half of the lowest dose avail.
Day 8: went to pro baseball game with daddy. Reported focused, interested and no jumping around and looking for things on the ground. did very well!
Day 9: Gave him his med later on in the morning......witnessed the same behaviors he had before the med like loud play and stutter/like sound efects. had to tell him to play more quiet driving to school. Watched im walk to class and saw him make spastic movements with his arms while in line... Was hoping the med would kick in by class time!! Note to self, do not do that again.
I read posts here and there about parents reporting their kds were worse than before after stopping the meds. I think that we start to get used to the "New Junior" and when not on the med, it seems like they are worse but they are really not. It becomes a SHOCk to US. Just my opinion.