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[momof7yoboy]

So my 7y/o son was recently diagnosed(although I've known for awhile) with ADHD. His symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity, ants in his pants, etc with some aggression. He has been seeing a psychologist for a few months now, and we are experimenting with Focalin XR 10mg. The 1st week everything seemed to be going well at school, but the few weeks since then have been back to rocky with ups and downs. When I see him on the medication, it seems like it's improving his focus, he can spend an hour or longer with one toy. He also seems more calm while he does this. BUT when it comes to homework, spelling words, anything he's not interested in, he still gets that irritability. We have reward systems at home and school, but in that moment he's definitely not thinking about that. The doctor said we could increase another 5mg, or add lutuniv but that just seems like a lot.... Thoughts??? similar situations with suggestions on what helped????

[Pennywink]

Are you seeing this during the day while the medication is active, or in the evening as it’s wearing off? My son (almost 8, been on Metadate CD 20 mg since he turned 7) typically pouts a lot about chores / homework / piano when the medication is wearing off. Or when he thinks it’s unfair - like he already did his time and now needs a break.

Here are something’s that help us:

1. Try to save the thing he can’t be torn away from until after the required items are done. Anything I ask him to do after letting him watch TV is a fight - so he doesn’t get to watch TV until homework / room cleaned / piano practice is done. He does get some unwind time after school - but nothing with screens (which he will get time for before / after dinner when needed items are finished.)

2. Evening booster - sometimes we give him a small dose of a short acting stimulant in the evening.

3. Switch some tasks to the morning. He’s not worn out by the day yet, so I try to fit in homework or piano before school. He usually fussed about, but is thankful after school to have one thing off his plate.

4. And just consistent early bedtimes - for my son, that is as vital as medication.

And yes - sometimes a medication adjustment is also needed.

Hope any of these ideas help you!

[Cjkchamp]

My son was on Focalin. Seemed to help for a little while then not so much and they added Guanfacine all the way up to 4 mg and he became a zombie. He lost his personality and it masked his aggression so we saw these sudden rages. Now, that was our experience. The psychiatrist recommended Broad spectrum micronutrients, and my son has done wonderful on them. There are two companies, Hardy Nutritionals and True Hope. She did not recommend one brand over the other. Wishing you the best.

[GoDukes]

My 10 yr old son has been on Foculin for over 3 yrs now. We have upped the dosage as he's grown. About 6 months in to the Foculin we noticed him being very irritable in the evenings and figured it was because his meds were wearing off. We started giving him 1mg of Guanfacine around dinner and it seems to help with the transition time. Guanfacine is not a stimulant which we didn't want to give him more of at night. He can still be kind of wound up and hard to focus on homework at night sometimes, but the irritability is gone. Hope this helps!

[Hidden]

Our 11 year old Christopher just spent Christmas break at school getting off Focalin (40mg) and Intuniv (9mg) and moving to something different. He weighs 107 lbs. Of course medication affects all differently, but my wife and I felt this was too much for him. There were bouts with depression and temper tantrums. After the move to Jornay (60mg), the biggest change was his moods. Much, much better attitude/ mood, but on the down side - lower grades in school. We are making progress, however the jury is still out.