Getting the most out of medication - Part Two

onthemove posted this to begin with so I'm just following up. Went to the new pediatric psychiatrist last week to discuss a booster in the afternoon for my daughter. She agreed that the Concerta is probably only lasting for about 6 hours. So here is what we have been doing for a week now. I have been holding off on her 36 Mg concerta until the last minute in the a.m. I admit this has made the mornings a little harder than usual. Now she is getting a booster of ritalin at 2 p.m. at school. We were really having a problem with her in the afternoons with her focus and early evening trying to get things done, including getting her to be focused and involved in family therapy.

My daughter takes abilify for bipolar and she had been going to sleep at 7:00 pm. I didn't think she needed that much sleep and neither did the psychiatrist. Now she stays awake until 8:00 or 8:30 so we are able to get more things done at night! And she doesn't seem to be groggy or anything in the morning.

Just sharing!

[Onthemove1971]

Yeah it sounds like you might really get great results with this plan. I have set my timer so 2 min. Before he leaves for the bus my alarm goes off.

Also I am not sure if your AM drug is ER (extended release) but that ( I learned myself) will release in 3rds. So it is a total of 36 mg over 3 different times ( 12 mg 3x a day) of the day.

Our son needed a short acting on top to add more medication in the beginning of the day.

Thanks for sharing.

[Pennywink]

That is awesome! I think this sounds like a great plan - keep us posted.

Remind me again - how old is your daughter? We keep debating if it's time to push my 7 years old's bedtime back as well. We've been so locked in one schedule (and my son HAS to stay on schedule, or you pay for it for the next week), that it's hard to tell when we may need a change.

[Hidden in reply to Pennywink]

She is 12. She's always been a good sleeper, but not for 11 -12 hours a night! And honestly, on the weekends, I'd like to sometimes get a babysitter now and have a night out with my friends once in awhile. I know, crazy.

[anirush]

Good to hear that things seem to be working out with the new dosages.

My one grandson seemed to sleep all the time. We had a sleep study done at Christmas and it turned out he had sleep apnea. Recently had tonsils and adenoids out to see if that will help.

[Hidden in reply to anirush]

That is the next step if she seems to still be groggy. No problems with tonsils or adnoids - crossing my fingers.