8 yr Old Focalin = increased impulsivity

[EdTechDad]

Hi everyone, I finally got my wife to get our son on a stimulant, Focalin, but it increased his impulsivity; we noticed and so did his teacher. He was on Focalin for 2 weeks and then we noticed a large increase in impulsivity.

He has been off it for 3 weeks and the impulsivity is much less being off Focalin.

Have any of you experienced this?

What do you recommend doing next?

Any medication recommendations?

Thank you!

[Onthemove1971]

Great news you guys are trying medication!Hang in there, it first sounds the first one was not a good fit. When it works you will see the impulsive symtoms stop.

There are many choices that the doctor can recommend.

We had great success on Ritalin, the generic version is Methylphenidate. But each body is different.

There are many parts to medication working.

Type, dose and timing are all parts of trying to see if it can work for him.

If you find one that works then it can really be amazing. He also may do good with a non-stimulant.

Best of luck in trying different ones.

[Klmamma]

Sometimes medications can be activating instead of their intended purpose. I'd try something different, possibly even just try guanfacine alone. It helps more with impulsivity at our house. What's the focalin dosage? When my sons dose is too high he's an absolute terror and does horribly impulsive things he never would otherwise.

[EdTechDad in reply to Klmamma]

It was 10 mg, the lowest dose I believe.

[Elijah1]

Does he have anxiety? The response to Focalin seems to be an aggravation of that condition.

[EdTechDad in reply to Elijah1]

Yes he does have anxiety.

[Klmamma in reply to EdTechDad]

I'd definitely try something else. Ask about guanfacine. It works on anxiety too.

[EdTechDad in reply to Klmamma]

Thank you for the recommendation!

[Elleid]

We tried ALL of them and the only one that didn’t seem to affect him negatively was Methylphenidate (Biphentin®). The others seemed to increase his impulsivity and agression. It has been a long journey to say the least.

[EdTechDad in reply to Elleid]

Thank you Elleid

[Klmamma]

How are things?

[Shaylo45]

concerta

[EdTechDad in reply to Shaylo45]

Thank you! I'll have to wait as my wife wants to try the 'wholistic' approach...