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Post by Charlotte on Oct 28, 2003 18:49:51 GMT -5
hi everyone... im sure everyone remembers me from the other board about my son refusing to take his strattera pills...well the doctor finally called me and gave him a prescription for adderal xr...can someone please give me some insight on this medication.? i know that i can sprinkle it in his food which is the reason for the medication change so im hoping this will work..id like to know the pros and cons on it and if anyones child is on this what i kinda behaviour should i expect..thanks in advanc  |
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Post by Jorgy on Oct 28, 2003 21:57:05 GMT -5
Yes, you can sprinkle it. It is a stimulant so it can have many side effects and notice I say CAN and not WILL. You can see a decrease in appitite, therefore a weight loss. You may see tics and you may see mood swings at the end of the day when the med is leaving his system. You also may see increased focusing and attention span. He may be able to follow multiple directions and accomplish tasks you didn't know he could do. You may see a change for the better in school both acedemically and socially. It is common to have to "play" with the dosage to get the right dose for your child. It is also common to have one stimulant not work for him and another will. It is all trial and error. Finding the right combo is the hard part but well worth it in the end. Good luck and God Bless, Sue
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Post by catseye on Oct 28, 2003 22:10:28 GMT -5
Sd8 has been on adderall xr for almost a year... Jorgy is right that you may have to play with the dosage, we started with 10 mg, and now we are at 30mg a day (well 50 if we do the 20 mg in the afternoon, but we usually use that for afterschool activities)... We have seen improvement with sd8, but I think it is the combination, not just the adderall xr... Sd8 is also on clonodine at night (an antipsychotic drug  )... Good luck in getting the right combo together!! cat |
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Post by graywolf2000 on Oct 28, 2003 22:31:37 GMT -5
im only 13 and I have ADD. I feel like your son. I dont want to take my meds but I do. I try to trow my meds in the trash but i always get cought. Although I take my medicine i dont fell a difference when i take my meds or if i dont. does any one see or hear that there kids dont feel a difference on there meds or not?  the one and only, greywolf2000 |
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Post by Honeysmom on Oct 29, 2003 7:33:00 GMT -5
Honey has been on Adderall XR for only about three weeks. Initially I saw a decrease in his appetite, but now it is back with a vengenance. I also put his on applesauce. We do have a problem with a let down at the end of the day and he gets emotional, but it is not uncontrollable. He gets bossy and moody. As of yet I have not seen any tics. I like the medication, he also seems to be able to do more for himself or at least tries to. Good Luck...Becky
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Post by lovemyson on Oct 29, 2003 8:35:52 GMT -5
My son has also been on Adderall RX for about 3 weeks. He is 6. While we have seen an improvement in his ability to remain in his seat at school and his focus, we have seen a decrease in his appetite. And boy can we tell when the meds wear off after about 10 hours, he starts bouncing off the walls. He stays up somewhat later at night also. The other thing we noticed was he gets very weepy very easily after the meds wear off or even before they kick in.
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Post by DanielsMom on Oct 29, 2003 8:46:31 GMT -5
:)My son was on Adderall XR for a while. Not a good experience. It was like he was on nothing at all. He was a complete mess on this med. And to top it off, he had horrible side effects that took forever to go away once he was taken off it.
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 29, 2003 12:35:36 GMT -5
thank you for everyones reply.. daniels mom~ you say he had horrible side effects..this has me rather concerned could you please tell me what side effects he had..? |
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Post by DanielsMom on Oct 29, 2003 13:44:21 GMT -5
Sure, he had horrible uncontrollable facial tics, and uncontrollable "rubbing his chin on his chest" ,I don't know exactly what to call it. Then he started to stutter which he had NEVER done on any other medication and does not do now that he is off all medication. His teacher called me on a daily basis. She kept telling me, "IT"S NOT RELEASING". It's like he was on nothing at all. We are doing a natural treatment. It turns out that not all kids can take a stimulant medication. And ADHD meds are stimulants. My son could not take them. When Strattera came out, it's a non-stimulant, I was thrilled. But that didn't work either. On Strattera he had the tics, not as bad as Adderall Xr, but definately there. And the worst part of it was the horrible aggression. That was totally not like him. I could give you a whole list of meds. my son was on. Quite long. I don't want to scare you away from Adderall XR, just want you to know what can happen. Im sure it works great for most kids but if it doesn't it's pure hell. Hope this helps. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. Good luck!
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 29, 2003 15:14:08 GMT -5
daniels mom~ thank you for letting me know...that's very scary...my son was on straterra as well but i couldn't get him to swallow the pill...so that's why we had to switch..but i will definately monitor him and see how he does.. how is your son doing now..have you found a medication that doesn't have as bad of side effects.?
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Post by babytay on Oct 29, 2003 16:13:13 GMT -5
I am sure adderall xr is working for someone out there. It worked for me at first. This was the first med we tried. I was very happy at first but like with other people the side effects were great. He would cry, and argue but he never stopped eating like some kids. So i guess you have to try it to see if it works for you. We had to stop the adderall and try concerta the concerta acted the same way for us.
Once again I think every situation is different and you have to try some of these meds to see if they will work for you. At one point I was willing to deal with the side effects if my son could behave and make friends. the outbursts just got to be to overwhelming and I think it may have been hurting his relationships more than the adhd.
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 29, 2003 17:54:45 GMT -5
babytay~ yea i'm sure what works for one child may not for another...trial and error...this will be the second medication we are going to try...we tried staterra but he wouldn't take his pills...the time i actually did get him to it was wonderful thou...too bad they don't make a liquid or some form of chewable...i'm just hoping he doesn't get too emotional..he has some friends at school and i would hate to jeopardize that if the medication makes him have outbursts and what not..we will just have to see....i'm going to take this one day at a time and just hope for the best.
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jwm
New Member
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Post by jwm on Oct 29, 2003 18:28:18 GMT -5
Hi Charlotte, I am in the same boat with Babytay. My son started last May on the Adderallxr and he did wonderful in school and home. As time went on however he became VERY emotional and aggressive. He cried over nothing. When he started hitting that did it for me. His pediatrician changed his medication to concerta which is much better for him. Like the others who replied, I am not trying to scare you about the adderall. These side effects are possible thats all. Your son may do great on it. I do know a few people I am good friends with who have had absolutely wonderful results from the adderall xr. Try to keep a journal and write down any concerns or side effects each day. Then you can compare from one day to another and if there is a problem you have everything in front of you. Goodluck and let me know how your son does ok. |
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Post by DanielsMom on Oct 29, 2003 23:21:45 GMT -5
:)I never have found a ADHD med. that he can take that doesn't have side effects. We had to quit taking stimulants because of side effects and his doctor moved him in to a higher class of med. Very expensive and didn't work and of course, side effects. The very last one he was on was Geodon. Anyway, right now he is on a natural treatment. I took him off all meds. in June, right after school ended. He is doing awesome. First time since being diag. ADHD. I am very happy with what we are doing. I hope it Adderall XR works for you, it is soooo frustrating trying to get them straightened out on meds. and dealing with the ADHD behavior. Good luck!
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 31, 2003 14:53:45 GMT -5
DanielsMom~i'm glad your son is doing better today was day one of the medication...i put it in some juice and he complained it tasted weird so i think next time i would put it in pudding or something else sweet....i'm just stressed out that he's not on the right dosage..i'm hoping this works for him until he can learn to take pills..then i would rather put him back on straterra. |
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