You might want to ask your ped about Focalin. It is a relatively new drug, but it has been getting great reviews (and it definitely works for my 12-year-old DS). In very simple terms -- because I'm not a pharmacologist -- Focalin is a ritalin derivative stripped of the mirror-image isomer that can cause side effects. It can be given late in the afternoon without causing insomnia; it generally leaves the body in 3 to 4 hours. We give 5 mg Focalin to my DS at 5 or 6 pm to help with homework, but you could ask your ped about giving it to your son when he returns home from school. A long-acting Focalin is scheduled to be released this summer -- we're hoping to try it on my son in time for the new school year.
Another point to consider is that your son's behavior in the afternoons could be a result of "crashing," or withdrawing when the Adderall is leaving his body. It is pretty common and could be corrected by a higher dose of Adderall. The same behaviors occurred when my DS was on too low of a dose of Concerta. When we upped the Concerta dose, his afternoon irritability disappeared.
Good luck! Please post again if you have questions.
SmallMom38488.3387731481My son did great on Medadate (derivative of ritilin and time release) until he developed tics and now we are trying to figure out what will work for him.Thanks ! he was on 10 mg xr and when I told his ped what was happening in the afternoons he did up his dose to 15 mg ....but it got worse , AND he literally was up all night acting very strange ( only took 1 night of that and I cut him down ) Anyway , i spoke with my ped today and we are going to try generic adderall ...reg , XR , twice a day ....we''ll see !My 6 year old was on that dosage game of 10 mg of adderal xr, with the same crashing affects. They upped his meds to 15 mg and it too got worse. I am going to notify his Dr of this and hopefully they will take him off of it and put him back on the concerta he was originally put on but just up the dose, he had O side effects and his behavior was wonderfull!
I know thats a million dollar question ! But hoping for some advice ;)
I have a 6yr old son who is ADHD , on Adderall XR . He is very good on it during the day and does well in school ....but the afternoons are HORRIFIC ! He gets VERY emotional , has tantrums , gets hyper , defiant ...you name it . My Ped suggested Ritalin LA ??? Someone on a prev thread suggested maybe staying away from the extended releases ?? I am curious in hearing your experiences and opinions .My sanity depends on it !!!!! LOL
TIA !