Focalin?

[ODDmommy]

Hello! My son Gabriel is 5 turning 6 in December. He has ADHD and ODD. We’re having a really hard time starting and getting into the school building. Constant cussing and screaming. His pediatrician prescribed his focalin that we will start this weekend. Has anyone used this medication? I’m so scared.

[Vickielee]

Our son is 8 with ADHD and ODD, he has been on Focalin since July, they started him on 5mg. At first we saw a good change and that quickly went down hill, they up'd it to 10 mg with a booster at 3 pm, it's the first week for it, so we are hopefully that it helps. Does your son take off on you, tell you his bored, that he wants to have fun?

[Cjkchamp]

Used it, and didn't work. Highly recommend you research broad spectrum micronutrients. There are two companies, True Hope and Hardy Nutritionals. My son went on them about 18 months ago after they were recommended by his psychiatrist. BEST DECISION for him EVER!!!

[GoDukes]

Hey there, I understand your fear. Hang in there! Just know that it is a process. There is no magic pill but I think medication in conjunction with other behavioral training can help. It is different for everyone though. My son is 11 and has been on Foculin for about 3 years now. It definitely helped in the beginning but he may be growing out of it. He has been off of it all summer and we are going to start him up again next week.

We noticed a big difference in focus and behavior in the beginning, After about 8 months we added Guanfacine (not a stimulant) in the evening to help him as he was coming down from the Foculin. We upped his Foculin dose after about 18 months or so. The main downside was it took away his appetite. He wouldn't eat much really until dinner or afterwords. Then all of a sudden he would eat everything.

You may have to try different things and research what has worked for others with similar symptoms. Again, the behavioral training is very important too. Another note, he had issues with anger when he was younger and we removed artificial colorings from his diet and that made a HUGE difference. That has been 5 yrs or so now.

I wish you the best! Good luck!