I agree that 40mg seem too high for a six year old. My son is 6 and overweight, his doctor started him out on 10mg and after 3 weeks we moved him up to 15mg. I didn't ask, but his doctor acted like that was as high as we were going to go. I work at a pharmacy and I've looked up the dose in the Nursing drug handbook. It does say "Children age 6 and older It is rarely necessary to exceed 40mg/day." Does your son have severe ADHD? That could be the reason for the large dose, although that is probably the reason for the side effects. My son was diagnosied with mild ADHD, maybe that is why his dose is lower.
I've also noticed that his emotial outburst are worse since started Adderall, but the good outweighs the bad for us. I know that I am more understanding about his outburst, since I know it's the medication. Good luck !!
40mg a day is a massive dose. Absolutely huge.My son was on Adderall and although it worked well on his focus and hyperactivity, he was VERY, VERY emotional. He also has anxiety issues and this med exaggerated everything! The bad outweighed the good.
Is this the first med he's tried? We've had luck with Concerta. It's long acting and very smooth time release for about 10 hours.
Does the med affect his appetite? 42 lbs for 6 seems very light. Is your doctor concerned about his weight? My son is 6 1/2 and weighs 51 lbs. and the doctor wants us to really keep an eye out.
You may have to try several meds before finding the right fit. Good luck!!
I'd say try Strattera, that seems to be a good one for people with mood disorders/swings like it sound like your son is having. Remember, it may be a while before you find the right ADD med for your wonderful boy! My almost 6 yr. old son has recently been diagnosed with ADHD Combined, and has been on Adderall XR for about 2 months. We started off at 5mg and now we are at 40mg per day and even though I have seen a slight improvement with his focus I have also noticed some other issues. He seems to be way more emotional than ever before, he cries over the smallest things, I think that he is talking even more than he did before he started the meds, he has a VERY hard time sleeping and hardly ever eats (only weighs 42 lbs now). He compulsively picks things up from the ground, (which drives me insane). I don't know if this may be the wrong medicine for him, it is so hard to tell. The Dr. did give me a sleeping pill for him but I hate the fact that I have to give him any medicine at all and then to add a sleeping pill on top of the Addderall. I don't know if I need to give up on the Adderall and try a non-stimulant drug or if I need to give it even more time. Any advice with this is very much appreciated! I started on adderall xr and that was pretty bad. try switching ot regular adderall its a big difference i thnkWe had the same problems with ALL the stimulants. The Strattera is working very well for us, though it does take about 6 weeks to kick in. It seems to have made our dd much more even keeled. I have read before that it is more similar to an anti-depressant in the way it works.
Suzi
40 mg for a 48 pound six year old seems like a MASSIVE amount of Adderall XR to me. The most my nine year old was ever on was 15 mg, and the doctor said that was as high as she'd go for his weight (when he took the regular version, he was on 10mg 2 times a day). We've been through the ringer with medications, and after four years, 9 medications/13 changes, we're stopping and going "alternative." I suggest you check and make sure that dose is correct. I may be way off in my thinking, but it really does seem like an extremely high dose for a stimulant like that.
Leigh_GA_6638514.5114814815
I just did a search for a dose chart for Adderall XR. The typical dose a six year old begins with is 5-10mg. Did you start out that low? I also checked my son's med history list and see that in first grade he went from 5mg to 7.5 by the end of the school year.
I'm having to edit the post here because the link I put up to the site would not work for some reason. Do a web search for Adderall dose charts. You should see quite a few to select from. Good luck. :o)
Leigh_GA_6638514.5144444444I had tried Ritalin before Adderall and Adderall regular release before the Extended release. Now Ritalin...didn't do a darn thing but give me the shakes. Adderall...well...I had alot of improvement...but I found myself taking more than I was suppose to ... I'd pop an additional pill throughout the day to keep me "up" because...coming down is the worst! Like any other stimulant (aka Cocaine) it's hard to quit because it feels so good yet so bad to need it. So, I told my doc about my slight drug addiction issue...and my concerns...she was quite shocked at my maturity...but she put me on the XR and it gives me that boost in the morning...to kick off my night meds...but keeps me leveled through out the day. In the beginning expecially before switching to the xr...I ate very little and weighed less than ever...family members were worried...I hadn't noticed. But with time...my body adjusted and now I am at a normal weight and feel great. I do have the occasional shakes in my hands...I was told adderall is to blame...but mostly it's when I don't eat. But...I just wanted to say that Adderall helped me...but I can defenately see using stimulants in kids is a big concern. I'd try alternatives before switching to it or anyother in it's class.