Effectiveness of meds only lasting about a month!

[CJsMOM28]

We have Him in therapy for behaviour therapy but I may switch therapists, I don't see her helping him any,plus she is always cancelling appts and wanting o reschedule,which is getting real old.


yes, I am gonna take a look at differnent parts to this forum,glad I found you guys!


Cat I know how you feel ! You get to a point,you'll try just about anything to help your child, and my Son is one of those kids that has to have his sleep!So your lucky the lack of doesn't affect your SD! Melatonin has worked wonders for my DS, but I've recently stopped it due to some puberty issues I hear/read that Melatonin can affect. Which is coming up:(


Hope this makes sense, I am sleepy.


Good night all!

[AnneM]

Hello CJ'sMom ... I am so glad you saw the funny side of our "anniversary competition" ... oh and keep an eye open for other "strange things" happening around the board! ...

It sounds to me that your son shares your fast metabolism although I would have expected this to have meant that the meds would wear off much quicker during the DAY (i.e. per dose) than expected rather than decreasing over a period of weeks... However, never say never and it may be that this is causing the medication to be less effective in the longer term.

It is great to see you on the board ... Looking forward to seeing you around ....

[CJsMOM28]

Hi Anne!


I agree with you , I think it is so strange how these medications seem to go great for about a month then nothing. It is really hard to tell about the rebound at the end of the day,because there are days when I've picked him up from school that he is fine, then there are days he is not. Also I pick him up at different times,my work schedule is crazy! I've been keeping a journal,I just haven't been too consistant,starting today I am gonna have to be, to see whats going on with these meds!


I know I shouldn't have, but this morning I gave him 2-10 mgs of Adderall XR,instead of his 15mg to see if there would be any changes. Well I just picked him up from school at 5:30 (he loves afterschool,plus no homework to deal with*yeah*) and he was sooo tired,he even refused us going to see Shark tales tonight at the movies! Dang, I really wanted to see that movie! He has not been irritable at all since, he usually is when he is tired. The last few days he has been so hard to get along with,very argumentaive and disagreeable,he even got into a little argument with his teacher Wednesday!


I don't know where the tiredness comes in though,yesterday after school (around 4:30) I gave him a short acting adderall (10mg) for homework and for Karate (which we skipped) and at 11:30 he was still awake,it was hard getting him going this morning he was so sleepy. So it may have been the short acting adderall from yesterday, or the pill I gave him this morning. I just have to keep a track of this all,heck he may do better with the short acting aderall, I just hate him having to get meds at school,he gets embarrassed so easily!


Sorry about the novel,hope I have scared any one away! ;D

TJ

[rosyred45]

Oh TJ, with all of the kids I work with in our after school program, I only KNOW of a couple that take meds. That's only because the parents felt that we needed to know. The others are grapevine things Or even the kids themselves. There is nothing to be embarrassed about with the meds.

We had a boy that HAD to take them and we couldn't give them to him, so his mom wrote a note telling us they were in his back pack. He had anxiety, adhd, ocd, the works. Plus he was allergic to just abouteverythign under the sun. Needless to say when he came to SACC HE picked outhis own snacks becuase he knew what he coudl eat adn what he couldn't (life or death for him).

But we taught all of the kids that this kid of stuff happens. Every body deals with different things differently. We gave examples of a diebetic not getting their shots or heart patients not getting their meds and such.

Can I ask, is he embarrassed from a stigmatism that has been put around meds, or the fact that ONLY he has to take them?

[CJsMOM28]

well after looking for a very long time here on the internet, I got some information that alot of people develope tolerance to Adderall,other medications for that matter. Some Doctors will disagree, but I know that he had to have developed a tolerance,the reason is, is that Saturday was his last day taking Adderall,he didn't have it Sunday and Monday morning I gave him one of his Metadate CD's that he had left (nearly a whole bottle) from back mid July. When I picked him up from school,(wondering all day, if I did the right thing or not) he gets in the car and comes right out and says "I feel like a new person" I said ya do,like how? He said "I had a great day and just felt good" he also said he felt more focused.


I have noticed that every single medication for adhd that he has been on, that all of them stop working, and as soon as I introduce another type of med,he does great! I have also noticed raising the dosage does not really make a difference. I saw on another forum that taking holidays or a few days off will help,also that sometimes temporarily changing will.

Monday was great,he wasn't argumentative like he has been lately. Tuesday,another good day, Then today He said he had a good day,except for the teacher got irrtiated with him because he did not finish his Math,and made him finish it during lunch half of his lunch to eat! She wrote in his planner that he did 7 problems in 35 minutes,that he must speed up in his work,but thats a wole nother subject/gripe!education forum)

This Math was at the beginning of the day,and you'd think that the medication would help but this is the same exact medication that he took last year and his then teacher (which I love and miss dearly!) said she noticed him being more attentive around 12-1:00, but with the adderall it's different, it's stronger in the morning? I just thought I'd give him a break from the adderall and see if this little switch would help,I've noticed a pattern here. It just seems like we'll have to keep going back and forth with these meds.


Rosyred~ I believe it would be him having the attention brought onto him, that he is the only one having to leave the room to stand in line to get his medicine.I have already asked if any of the other kids leave the room during the day everyday, and he said no. I didn't know it till Sunday night, but there are a couple of kids who have been making fun of the way he walks,he walks on his toes sometimes and he just burst out crying Sunday night about it,he has already been to a doctor and occupational therapist,and they said he was fine,we beleive it's just habit. Also that a couple of girls from another class (same grade) said he talks like a girl,he has a very slight,slight lisp. He is senstive, so if any of the students were to pick up on him doing anything different, I think he'd be afraid of more abuse.


I hope this makes sense,I had some problems with my tabs

Tracy

[rosyred45]

Oh Tracy, I feel for you. Bring up the teasing to his teacher. This should NOT be tolerated.

I have tried to tell kids to ignore the teasing, but I know myself growing up teased, that only works so long and if I held it in, I would end up exploding and lashing out.

Let your son know that everyone walks different and talks different. Working with kids for the past 12 years, I can't quite rememeber ALL of them walking the same and talking the same. Maybe one day if he comes home after a rough day, you can sit and people watch somewhere. Make comments on how the people are all walking at different strides and paces and lengths.

Of course you can do this quietly, say at a mall or a store. Little things so he knows he doesn't have to be embarrassed.
(((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))for you and your boy

[shardstar]

Hi CJsMom,

I may be jumping in a little late here, but I just wanted to tell you that I totally understand what your son is going through. This is what happened to me in the past two weeks:

I take 80 mg. Strattera and 10 mg. ritalin LA every day now, and for a few months before that I took the Strattera with 10 mg. Focalin twice a day, since it lasts only about 4 hours. (I kept forgetting to take the second dose of the Focalin, so I asked the doc. if there was anything that lasted longer so I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting.) When I switched to the Ritalin, I noticed that all of a sudden I felt so much more focused, so I thought "great maybe this was what I should have been on all along!!!" After about a month or two, though, I noticed that things weren't as good anymore, so I figured that I would ride it out until my next doctor apt.

About a week and a half ago, I noticed that I only had two Ritalins left, so I called the doctor for a new prescription (same dosage), and they said they would call me when it was ready. Two days went by, and it was Saturday, so I figured what the heck, I still have about 20 Focalins left, I'll take them until I get the Ritalins - and wow, all of a sudden I had that focused feeling back! I took them for about 7 days and then I got the Ritalins, and after being off of them for about a week, they work well again!

Weird, huh? So I am wondering if it's bad to maybe have two different stimulant prescriptions and maybe switch up every two weeks or so??? I can't think of any reason why not, but I guess I'll look into that. If it turns out to be okay, and ofcourse you should discuss this with your son's doctor first, but I wonder if that would be a solution??? It seems weird, and I never heard of anyone doing this before, but it's an idea...

[CJsMOM28]

Thanks for all of your wonderful replies, I really appreciate them! I have been sick the last couple of days, thats why I haven't posted,thankgoodness school for my Son hasn't been too bad! Yesterday (Monday) was a week since he has been taking the Metadate CD (ritalin based) instead of the adderall XR, and we can tell a difference and so can he,even a smiley face was drawn on his planner,which never has been done,beside it was space for behaviour and work. Both checked excellent. This medication however was the one that he had previously been taking at the end of third grade which stpeed working. Then we started out with the Adderall Xr at the beginning of this schoolyear ,which of course was wonderful for a month....what a cycle!.

I do however like the Adderall XR,I think better than the Ritalin based meds, he seems so with drawn on the Metadate. Yesterday I asked him how his lunch was and if he is still sitting beside the same kids, (assigned seats) an he said no they got to sit where they wanted too because the teacher hasn't had a chance to change their seating. Well I asked him whom he sat with, he said no one,he was one of the first few students in his class to sit down and that no one sat beside or in front of him,he said one boy was like three seats away. Just broke my heart for him. I asked him if he didn't like it and he said no,but he didn't act like it was a big deal,I even asked him how his day was before hand and he said "good". Today he did sit with other students,or they with him,but he said he was drawing at most of the lunch. He isn't no where near as socialable on the Metadate,but with the Adderall XR he is talking non stop, almost too socialable! He just reminds me of being depressed when he wont talk to anyone, and doesn't interect and I don't like that.


I think that both of them is the same in effectivenes as far as the focusing and helping with the attention part, at least that has ben the case my Son.


Rosyred~ Thank you for the hugs, I needed them!
we are scheduled to have a conference a week from today, and you ought to see what I have to go over with her,a ton of stuff! I'll probably have to start off asking that we extend the time an extra thirty minutes or so! LOL
I am definetly gonna let her know about the teasing which is at the top of my list,boy I have so much to discuss with her,I'll sound like one of those auctioneers talking real fast to get it all in!

Report cards are this Thursday,so we thought that would be the best time to have it ,to go over what his grades were,which I am thinking will not be good,he has been bringing homes some D's and F's. He has Always been an honor student,since the first grade when he started at a private school ,but this year has been a totally different story! I am going to follow our conference with a request (in writting ) for an evaluation.


Okay getting of track here...back to the meds story.

Shardstar~ I swear I do believe that some people just metabolize things so differently that they may have to keep changing. I read so so much info at Amens clinic forums about building up a tolerence to medications,adderall XR in particular.There is this one man there, who has noticed this off and on thing for seven years,with Adderall. I can't remember his user name but his name is Scott,it's very informative,thats why I am giving my Son a break from the Adderall I just believe he has built up his tolerance to it alot quicker than most people.


Every medication he has been on has been wonderful at first,even the Metadte Cd which he was on last school year, then stopped,which he is taking now and doing great on! I know it's very weird,but what ever works! So we may just have to keep going back and forth,but if thats what it takes and to help him we'll do it. I am calling his Doctor tomorrow about all of this,he'll probably think I'm crazy! Good luck with your Meds,keep us posted!



TJ

[rosyred45]

Hey TJ, I hope things are going a bit better.

Just to give a little reassurance, I developed and intolerance to Ibuprofen. I can't take anything for pain that actually helps. I think that is why I usually try not to med---not trying to sound smart.

My body system reacts to outside influences and gets accustomed to them. My husband has gotten to be the same way. He treats everything with alka-seltzer, supposed to work for him, not sure, but he hasn't been complaining.

I know what you mean, though it took this long to click. In HS, I was prescribed a anti-inflammatory> asprin based, asprin no long helps with headaches even.

Then I was prescribed Advil and such. They no longer work. NOTHING.......oh it is such a pain.

And to let you know, the recommended dosages I was allowed to overstep from the doc. But still didn't work.

HUGS TO YOU. GOOD LUCK

[CJsMOM28]

Awww Rosyred,thanks for the hugs!

I haven't replied in a while,alot has gone on, I have been really sick and DH has been messing with our computers (he fixes builds,and repairs PC's) so I haven't had one to get on.
But a little update...,Ds has been doing well on the switch from Adderall XR to the metadate CD,which was his last years med,we have had this switch since October fourth,almost a month,the dreaded month mark!

I told DS's therapist about the meds,even though she is not a doctor I just thought I'd bring it up to her,to see if she has ever heard of it,plus she and her Daughter have ADHD. She then walked down the hall to ask a doctor what she thought about this,and this doctor said that she has never seen or heard of anyone developing a tolerance that quickly and is wondering if he really does have ADD or another diagnoses in with it.


When the therapist came back to me from talking with the doctor,she told me of course what the doctor had said, then told me that these well known physchiatrist are now with them in the same building,when I found out the doctors name I told my therapist that I'd love for DS to be able to see herand that I have heard how great she is, but she isn't taking any more patients,the therapist told us she'd get DS in, and she did! He see's her on Nov 3rd!


My Son has been going to a developmental doctor for nearly two years now and he has only seen my Son twice! He has his nurse see my Son, I believe he see's more severe cases like autistic children,which I understand,but heck I'd like for my Son to see a doctor once in a dang while too! I have heard many many great things about this Doctor, that we are going to see in November. So we will be able to tell more then,plus I am going to see if she can see me also for a diagnoses,I'm pretty pretty sure I have adhd!


I honestly truly with out a doubt believe my Son has ADD,he has soo soo many symptoms,he also has GAD. So she can do all the tests she wants,I just don't see him NOT having ADD! He may have some other hidden diagnoses though. But ya know I wonder if any of these doctors has ever seen,or even know if people can develope a tolerance to these stimulants or any other drug for that matter. I really believe it's very possible to develope a tolerance,some people just develope it quicker than others.

Gesh, what a mystery!

Hope this makes sense (I was in a hurry to get out the door to pick up DS)

TJ