My 7 year old recently started using Adderall XR. Day 1 was the pitts becuase I gave it to him later in the morning. He was very restless and emotional that day. We are on day 6 and he is like a different child. He has had wonderful days at school. He has completed all of his work in class and has gotten additonal papers to do. His behavior at home has been amazing as well. Not to say he isn't still 100% boy, but it is so much better. I hope it continues! This is out first time on meds, we have been going round and round with having him tested. This year we did it. He was doing so badly in school. His grades were suffering, he was " turning clips" in his class, and his teacher and I were getting very concerned about his self esteem. WOW what a difference. We have not raised our voices at each other at night, I want to come home from work now. This time last week, I didn't want to look in his backpack in fear of what I would read. It was getting really bad. The only downfall I see is when he comes down from the meds, he tends to frustrate easily. We have had 2 outbursts of anger when he could not cope with the task at hand. I have decided homework comes first, we can eat dinner later. I wish you luck! Hang in there.
my son is on ritalin 10 twice daily,i am wanting to try to get him on adderall,from what i've read it seems like adderall would be better. the way life is now is unbearable, he yells and screams,all morning and evening,he drives the dog crazy,he tries to destroy the house from coloring on the walls to trying to break the kitchen chairs, today he almost got suspended from school for throwing snow, he knows that against the rules,i saw him doing this and i got out of the car to tell him to stop,whats he do,he sticks his tongue out at me,i again tell him to stop throwing snow,he goes to the corner of the building like i thought the flying snow was'nt him,again i told him to stop so starts kicking snow,i'm at my wits end,i've never had a normal live,i can't tell you when i've watched a tv show.sorry this is so long,but i'd like to know if there was a downside to adderall bfore i tell the dr thats what i want him on,he's 5 1/2.
Tiffany is on her second month of the Adderall XR 5mg. She takes one in the morning. It has helped her so much in school. She wasn't able to sit or focus on anything. Constant interruptions in attention. Home same thing, if she sat for several minutes at dinner that was great. We would constantly fight. Since she has been on the medication the focus has been threw the roof to me. I get good reports from her teachers. We keep a communication log. I write down messages for the teachers and they write back to me. It can be as simple as Tiff had a good day, or something that needs attention. I sent it in everyday for the first month. Now I send it in once a week.
The only downside I can see since we have lived threw all of the side effects, is that Tiffany's appetite is still up and down. If I don't feed her breakfast before the medication starts to work, she won't eat. And she needs to eat before school. I don't think she is eating a lot at school, because when she is coming off the medication at night she usually eats like ahorse at dinner. The other thing I still really watch is her personality. She still cries at the drop of the hat with this, I can't tell if or how the medication is making her feel inside. But she doesn't smile like she used to. She was a very happy, laughing all the time, and smiling all the time kind of child. The smiles have been less since the medication. And that hurts.
As flmom said, we do homework as soon as we get home too, while the concentration is still good.
Best of luck to you.
Laura
i am an adult that has taken adderall and adderral xr. likewise my 11 year old son. we now take concerta. much less anxiety and nervousness with concerta. are you seeing a specialist rather than a reg. md or pediatrition? child psychiatrist is much more specialized. can maybe even combine meds. to limit side affects.
good luck. keep trying. it can take awhile.
dross
[QUOTE=dross]i are you seeing a specialist rather than a reg. md or pediatrition? child psychiatrist is much more specialized.
[/QUOTE]
imo best advice i have ever seen...see a specialist...MAKE THE INS COMPANY GIVE YOU THE CARE YOU PAY FOR!
Canada banned adderall