Switching back and forth between meds | ADHD Information
Have to get me "2 cents" in!My 7 year-old started taking Adderall (not extended) right after Thanksgiving 2004 (10MG). BEAUTIFUL!! His behavior at school was a 100% (no exaggeration!) difference. A week later we did change to the extended release (15MG) to see him through the school day. His teacher said he was focused, less impulsive and, in general, a much happier child. Returning to school after the Christmas break, results stayed good for about another week, then....BOOM! We hit a wall. We have increased him to 25MG and still no results. If I did not put the medicine in his mouth every morning myself, I would swear that he had not taken anything based on the behavior sheets that come home daily. Teacher says the same thing...behavior has reverted back to
pre-Aderall behavior.
Something tells me that if we increase it again, it still won't work and we will have to change meds. Coming across this site lets me know that I'm not imagining it and that there are many others who have experienced the problems of medication no longer working in such a short time.
Thanks!!Kidsinspace
Hi! My 11 was on Adderal XR it worked for a month and then it went with no response. We increased the dose and notice a change but after two weeks we were back to square one. The MD changed him to Concerta. We started on the lower dose and it worked for two weeks. Then the dose was increase to 54Mg of Concerta. There was a change and here we are again 2 wks later back to square one!
Our MD has determined that he metabolizes his medication very quickly. I'm concerned due to a slow down in his growth and I'm not a real fan of medication. There was a "good" change in school behavior and his focus was much better. He is still having difficulty on the 54mg and needs something else.
Any suggestions
I have gone through the same thing. Only my 6 year old son started out on Strattera. I worked great for the first month and then he seemed go back to his old behaviors.
So we went back to the doctor and she changed his medication to Concerta, and oh my gosh what a change. He is doing so well in school, but the same question came to mind. Will this not be affective after a month? But then the doctor called and said that my insurance will not cover it until we try at least one more "cheaper" medication. So now he will be changing to Medidate CD. I know that it is a time released as well, but I am not to worry about how changing the medication effects him. He got so emotional when he changed before, and then if the Medidate does not work, then he can go back on the Concerta. I guess I can hope for the best.
My DS (8) started 18mg concerta at the begining of this school year with ideal results. By Christmas the Concerta's effect on him had diminished and he was actling impulsively again. Gave him a slighly higher dose (27mg) for 3 days. No difference in behavior but HUGE difference in appetite. He barely ate a thing in those 3 days.
We switched to Adderall XR- 10mg daily. Hooray- it is working. His appetite is okay. I am afraid we are going to be in the same boat a few months down the road- that the Adderall is going to lose it's effect on him just as the Concerta did. Has anyone been in a situation like this. Can we switch him back to Concerta 18mg if the Adderall stops working? Then will the Concerta be like a brand new drug to his system and work beautifully again (even if only for a while)
Are there other reasons we shouldn't be changing his meds around?
KidsInSpace38394.5832175926 [QUOTE=lissamarree] [QUOTE=lydzoejake]
Do you give the Concerta daily or do you take weekends off? Maybe try the weekend off if you give it daily now. Maybe it will help.
[/QUOTE]This weekend we took him off, so he could get some eating done. He was off the wall at the beginning (potty talk, impulsiveness) but settled down quite a bit by the end of the first day. His appetite changed the same (eating like a pig at first). On Monday when he came home from school he was really subdued and has had no problem doing his homework for the last 3 days.
I think you're right, a drug holiday seems to help. We'll see what happens by the end of the week.
< =""> [/QUOTE]
I took my son off his meds for February vacation so he could gain some weight. He gained so much that his pants didn't fit a week later!
It took all weekend for the meds to be out of his system completely. It was a challenging week for me, he spent a lot of time in the "naughty" chair (ala SuperNanny). Lots of impulsive "making a mess" behavior (clogging toilets, crushing food, etc.) and "bathroom" talk. At least he ate like a pig!
I have to find ways to deal with his behavior when he's off the meds. I'm too unfocused myselft to come up with a behavior plan!
< =""> [QUOTE=lydzoejake]
Do you give the Concerta daily or do you take weekends off? Maybe try the weekend off if you give it daily now. Maybe it will help.
[/QUOTE]This weekend we took him off, so he could get some eating done. He was off the wall at the beginning (potty talk, impulsiveness) but settled down quite a bit by the end of the first day. His appetite changed the same (eating like a pig at first). On Monday when he came home from school he was really subdued and has had no problem doing his homework for the last 3 days.
I think you're right, a drug holiday seems to help. We'll see what happens by the end of the week.
< =""> I am in the same situation!
We've been through all the meds. They've all been a "miracle" at the beginning and then seem to taper off. When my son's dose went up a month ago his teacher wrote home "he's gotten more done today than in the past three weeks". That lasted about two weeks.
I can always tell the med isn't working anymore when he actually eats dinner at dinnertime.
We've been going through this for 3 years now. Like most of us, I'm completely frustrated and tired.
My daughter has been off the meds since Wednesday. She was sick this week. On Tuesday I thought it was just a cold and gave her the Concerta but by Wednesday she was feverish. I didn't give it to her because I needed her to be able to rest (she slept for 3 hours on the couch!). The doc said don't give it to her until she is better. Now it's the weekend and we don't normally give it to her but boy can I tell a difference. I'll give it to her on Monday and hope for a miracle week.
The doc never told me about giving weekends off. A friend of mine doesn't give her daughter the meds on the weekends or school vacations. She mostly needs it for concentration at school. She doesn't have the impulsivity issues that mine has. But the med had been working well for her for nine or ten months. The 18 mg. didn't work after 2 weeks non-stop so I tried the weekends off and noticed an improvement. The doc didn't recommend it but neither did he tell me no when I asked if we could do it that way.
I had a similar situation with my 8 DD. She started on 18 mg. Concerta and had a miracle week. We gave it to her every day for three weeks and by the end of the 3 weeks I felt like we were completely back to square one and there was no effect whatsoever.
I gave her a 27 mg. toward the end of the 3 weeks and noticed no change. I gave her a day off of the 18s and the next day I noticed things weren't so bad. So then we gave her a weekend off from meds and started with the 27s on that next Monday. She had a miracle 3 days. My SIL was here and she noticed a huge difference in my DD's behavior. Even my MIL, who doesn't know she is on medication, noticed a big difference. Since then, though, things went down hill for a while. She cried every day for a week and a half (except for the weekend when she didn't get the meds). But then, last Friday, she didn't. And Monday was a good day too. Tuesday she was home sick and today too (the flu). I'm not going to give her the Concerta until she is better because I don't want to interfere with her sleep.
Do you give the Concerta daily or do you take weekends off? Maybe try the weekend off if you give it daily now. Maybe it will help.
wow my first day on here and i don't feel so alone anymore.
the ups and downs with the meds the emotional rollercoaster from all the chages.
thank you all for being here to write to and to read the problems are not just me 
Heather
My son only takes it m-f as it is. The Adderall only worked for about 3 weeks. We just switched him back to Concerta. Can't wait for summer- no meds! [QUOTE=hfire] Over the summer, I think I might try a homeopathic medicine called LISTOL. Has anyone ever heard of or tried it? I am curious to know if it really works. It certainly can't be any worse than the prescription medicines!
Heather
[/QUOTE]
My DH just emailed me a link to an herbal remedy, which is really desparate for him! I'm going to check around the boards for any success stories with that type of treatment...
Lissa
Ok after two herbal sites I think maybe not. One you have to also exclude sugar, artificial colors and flavors, and eat certain foods. It's hard enough to get kids to eat, never mind take away the few things they do eat! We tried the Feingold diet once, it lasted about one week and the kids were starving.
Another site starts with one remedy, then says to add two more-10 pills a day?
I'm so confused...
Lissa