Chasing my tail Adderall XR

[mom23boyz]

Well its been a little while since my last post. My 7.5 year old son was switched to short acting Adderall a while back, all was ok but the dose wasnt high enough. Then the dr put him on Adderall XR 10 mg in the morning. Well that only lasts my son until 2-3 pm. So we added 5mg short acting Adderall in the afternoon, well that gets him to 7pm but that wont be long enough in a few weeks when cub scouts start back up, they dont start until 6:30 and last until 8pm. So upon today's visit, because school starts in 2 days and we dont have this fixed yet, the dr is going to up it to 20mg Adderall XR in the am and then 10 mg XR around 1pm to last him until around 8 pm. He stated concerns about it effecting my son's sleep, and said if this doesnt work we can try Vyvanse.

I am so worn out. It seems that since we have switched from Concerta 54mg in May, due to school problems, not focusing, not getting work done, behavior issues, etc. It seems that the Adderall experience has been worse. Yeah, it lasts longer for him, he blows through short acting Ritalin in like 2.5 hours, but it seems he is fighting with his brother more, always getting in time out, etc. I dont know if its because the dose is too low, or his age, or the Adderall!! I really hate this not knowing. I am about ready to go back to Ritalin and just have him take it all the time! The doctor also said 40 mg of Adderall a day is the max dose for kiddos his age, and so I worry about him taking 30 mg a day. If anyone has any wisdom or help please tell me about it. I am really dreading school, last year he did so well until about March, this year I am afraid of the daily phone calls and daily punishments for him, I dont know who feels worse, me or him? Thanks again for letting me vent!!!!

[bugsmom]

First of all....many hugs to you.

The medication rollarcoaster ride is very hard, I know. My son also metabolizes very quickly. My heart goes out to you. What makes is worst is that when the meds goes through their systems so fast, you get the up and down behavoir that is very hard to deal with. Rebound is very hard.

It seems to me that your best bet would be a medication like Daytrana (the patch). I know it takes a few hours to kick in, but you would have the choice when to remove the patch. When he has evening events, like Boy Scouts, you could leave it on a little longer. Has your son ever tried the patch?

We've done all the meds and from our experience, Adderall was the worst for us, in terms of behavior. It made my son very angry, tense, and reactive. He couldn't handle it. The rebound was awful. We found that the high dosage we went with the stims, the worst the behavior got. All kids are different and react differently to meds. We now take Strattera, which is in his system for 24 hours. It's been wonderful for us, but many others have not had success with it.

I so understand your dreading the start of the new school year. Especially when you don't feel his meds are right. I hope that you and doctor can come up with a quick solution for your son. Good Luck and vent here all you want. That's what we're here for.

[squirrelgirl]

The Daytrana has worked very well for ds. The medication starts off gently and eases off gently, too. No rebound. After he takes the patch off, the med works for 2 more hours. The only drawback we've had is lack of appetite. No problems with growth stunt, however. He uses Melatonin for sleep.

(We are currently off patch/melatonin for the summer, but physician says we can cut the patch in half if we want to have some med in system with the hopes that only half won't mess up appetite.)

[stilledlife]

Adderal Has been a life/ college/ relationship saver for me. however in order for it to work its best I had to learn alot of self monitering skills.
When I was little I had to learn to put myself in the corner, no toys, no distractions, just me, my head, and a blank wall.
My mother started out by directing me to sit there infront of the blank wall for three minutes and think about what just heppened, i then was exprected to explain how my mother felt (this helped me become emotionaly aware), and what I will do next time this situation arizes (planning ahead/ self monitering) Also it gave just mom and me time where she was the parent and i was the child. At some point i stopped needing her intervention and I went through the steps solo (no more blank wall)

And still to this day at 22 years of age I’ll find myself putting myself in “time out” at least every other day. Some people call it “meditation”, “Time out”, “the corner”, “defuse time”, “ctrl+alt+delete”, “me time”, “pause and rewind” what ever you call it ‘time outs’ have to be a possative thing! (I call mine “reset”)
Make the experience of “Reset” a possative one because your son should continue with it for the rest of his life. Make timeout a reward- instead of thinking about it as taking away the action,-I had to learn that it was a “reset button” that allowed me to be even more involved, more excited, and happier- i just to “reset” my head so that i’ll have more room in my brain for more action!!

I find that I need to have a “reset” when ever I change from one activity to another, such as before and after each of my courses in college. All it may involve is lifting my arms above my head and opening my mouth real wide.

I’ve even been spotted leaving right in the middle of class and running around the building three times and returning to my seat.

I don’t think that adderal slows me down at all, i still have just as much energy but adderal allows me to direct my energy. I finally came into appriation of the ability to work with my adderal XR after a half a year of sessions with a psychologist where she taught me many thinking techniques for directing myself with friends and family and school.

My biggest suggestion is learn a healthy “Reset” technique, change it up so that he has a different one for each situation (or a favorite one for all the time)
Along with that, patt yourself on the back and take a few “resets” for yourself, you can even demonstrate it and pratice it a few times with son, all you need to start is a blank wall to stare at for two- three minutes, it will feel very good I promise.

[jfla]

my heart goes out to you mom23boyz. Figuring out the right medication and dose is not easy. I know it is hard; just try to hang in there until you find something that fits him.

My son, now almost 20, metabolizes medication quickly too and now after several years of a high dose of Ritalin LA, he recently started taking about half the dose with success. Go figure.

stilledlife,
I enjoyed reading your thoughtful response regarding reset time and how it started with the blankwall many years ago. It is great that you have a number of tools to use as needed. thanks!

[mom23boyz]

Thank you all for the replies. Thanks to you stilledlife for the outlook on "time out", its so easy to get mad and make it a punishment. I will definitely try and remember your post and hope my son too could use this as an effective tool instead of punishment.

As far as his new Rx, he is now on 20mg Adderall XR in the mornings, and 10 mg Adderall XR around 1pm. It has been almost a week for the rx, and school started on the same day we started this new Rx. So far so good!! He is doing very well, no loss of appetite, no insomnia, but very good behavior and school work so far. I also spoke with his new teacher and I am looking forward to a great year. I think this teacher is going to be more patient, understanding and fair!! I will let you know how it all goes!!

[bugsmom]

Oh, that is great news! I'm so glad your son is off to a great start. An understanding teacher can make such a difference. I'm glad that your son seems to have one this year.