My son was on Concerta and then switched to adderall. It was as if he wasn't taking anything at all. We went bach to concerta. He's taking 54mg and then 10mg of short acting ritalin after school. We tried not giving him anything on the weekends but ended up fighting the whole weekend and monday into tuesday. Never do that again. We are finding that things don't work well after he's been on them for a couple of months. Any suggestions?
The medication is a DRUG. Our children do become dependant on them. When you take the off it for the weekend, they will have withdrawel symptoms. Their whole systems get messed are messed up for two days, and then they must readjust on Monday. yes, there may not be as much of a need for it on the weekends, but their systems need it. Have you even conferred with your doctor about this. I gaurentee he would strongly advise against this. I just wanted to add in my 2 cents regarding the weekends off. Both my son and I take Adderall XR and we both do weekends off. We find this way we don't need to increase meds like some other people do. Our bodies tolerate them just fine on Monday and there is no readjustment. Have you considered this may be him not liking the routine of Mondays and just the fact of school begining again? Even the "extra bouncyness" may not be extra at all. It may be the fact that you now have some peace and calm during the week and when he is off it, it just appears to be more rather than just the usual. In my opinion and experience if he were to be edgy and weepy it would from coming off the med not starting it. I personally have never heard of Adderall making anyone weepy. Shaky I would agree because it is a jolt each day. Hi my 11 year old son can't go without meds. on the weekend, he is just to out of control, and as he puts it i can't control my mind when the meds. are not in the system. Once in a blue moon I'll forget, but will pay the price later on that day!
Howdy,
My three kids sometimes go without meds on the weekends and other days off school. But I do not like their goofiness. It gets to me quickly and I want to make them take it if it isn't too late in the day. Usually anything before noon is okay and they still sleep okay. Un-medicated they are too silly.
piano4scott
The bottom line with meds is that it is an experiement to find what works best and in which way. They all work a little differently. I'm not at all against meds, my daughter has taken them all Aderall, Focalin, Concerta. She begged to stop taking it, saying the she couldn't sleep. During spring break we stopped. She had a couple of bad days - withdrawal? - and got a lot of sleep, then she was great, but needed something to help her focus at school. We started her on Straterra. Now she's getting the sleep she needs, eating well, and her grades and self-esteem have improved. I'm not at all promoting a specific med, it's just what worked for us.
If your child is old enough, ask him how he feels and really listen. Then talk to his doctors. If you don't have a psychiatrist, find one that specialized in pediatrics. This has been a tremendous help to us.
jmom wrote:
My 7-year old son is on Adderall. We just increased his dose to 15 mg. We don't give it to him on weekends, and find that every Monday he has a bad day in school. Weepy, edgy, shaky. I don't give it to him on weekends, cause he doesn't have homework, and doesn't really need to concentrate on anything
What your seeing on Monday is a return of the ADHD symptoms. The child is going from feeling in control of his choices back to total impulsivity and hyperactiveness. The medication doesnt make a child do anything. It gives the child the ability to make a choice and look before they leap. Concentration and having the ability to make a choice is crucial in all arena's of life and that goes way beyond school. However, every parent knows whats best for their child but for my child, to feel good about himself all week and see his talents and strenghts unleashed only to unravel all weekend wasnt an option. As far as the dose of medication, when the right dose and right med is found, it is not raised on weekends. More doesnt mean better or more effective as its all very individual. Again, its for parents to decide whats best for their child.
We but out approx 1/2 of my daughters meds on weekends. That way she eats way more and she has a chance to not be on so much. We will also do that over her whole summer and spring breaks.....Easy way to get her to eat more and gives her a break on the meds