Very discouraged with meds...

[Jorgy]

Well, we have done meds with Jake for 4 years now and have had BIG problems with 2 different meds. We finally found one with no side effects for him but it isn't working! He was on Concerta 90mg. Yes, 90mg! It was doing nothing for him so I decided to cut the dose on my own. I now have him on 36 mg with no noticable changes except he seems more like a "normal kid" in school. The school was actually worried because he was ALWAYS wonderfully behaved at school (wish he was at home) and they considered this abnormal. His psych just says well it isn't working as well as we would like! DAH! I am at loss... I am taking him, hopefully to a nueropsych, if they accept him. I don't know what else to do anymore.
Sue

[mothercat]

I didn't even know concerta came in 90 for kids..Mine gets 36 concerta and behaves like a normal kid at school (with exception to his writing) . Our Dr told us that he is more concerned about behavior at school when medicating and we could just deal with it at home. He is just old fashioned that way..but it does seem to work most of the time. Does it make a difference what time he takes his meds? Mines wears off right around three( just in time to come home).
Isn't it weird how the same med affects kids differently?
Good luck with getting the new Dr.

[AnneM]

Jorgy !! This must be sooo frustrating!!

On 90 mg my son would have been absolutely SILENT - he was way 'too quiet' when he tried 54 mg let alone 90!! ... so I agree that you can honestly say that there is no way concerta is working for Jake! ... What were the other meds you mentioned that you had problems with?



mothercat I don't think Concerta DOES come in 90 ... I think this would be an addition of 36 + 36 + 18 ? (or another combination)....

[mothercat]

I knew when I looked it up in my med encyclopedia (when they put Jar on it) that I didn't remember seeing a 90.

[gabrielsmom]

Jorgy:

Have you tried a combination of Clonidine and Concerta?...My son is on that combo although it's due to his tics and not the Concerta not working. I ask you this because I know that sometimes Clonidine is used when stimulant meds don't work or can't be used. Clonidine also helps control hyperactivity as well as tantrums, low tolerance for frustration. As a side effect from the clonidine my son no longer throws his massive tantrums and also doesn't get as angry when something doesn't go his way. I don't know what issues you are having with your son but if it's any of the things I have described perphaps adding clonidine to his meds can help.

Let us know how things go. Hang in there.

Joshua

[Jorgy]

Thanks guys, he was on Concerta 36 mg and 54 mg plus Welbutrin 150mg for the boost.
He has tried Adderal which caused severe wt loss because of loss of appitite and also rebound violence and anger. Last summer we tried Strattera and it sent him into a full blown bipolar episode that lasted much of the summer.
I am refusing to try any other meds at this time until he gets reevaluated. When he isn't having side effect of the meds he has no behavior problems. He does have huge problems with focus, forgetfulness and impulse control but this seems to be better.
I have had it with meds at this point and as soon as I can I am tapering the Welbutrin too.

[Linda]

Sue...didn't you try a diet at some point with Jake? What happened?

I hope you figure it out..that has to be alful on everyone especially Jake.

[finnmom]

Sue sorry to hear about your struggle´s with med´s. You´ve done great by taking him off, it´s time to think about other alternative´s for him. Good luck

[Jorgy]

We did try diet suppliments such as anti oxidents and adding fish oils etc. Dh was even trying to market the stuff. Long story short... we DID see some short term improvement but this was all in the liquid form and the fight to have him drink it out weighted the slight benefits we saw. Then we lost our ### on the whole marketing thing and we are still trying to recover from that financially.
Actually with the decreased meds, he is dressing himself and doing all the daily self cares himself. He is still forgetful and inattentive which causes all the problems at school. He is also extremely hard to motive when it comes to homework!!!! And his fine motor skills are way behind.

[savvymom1]

OK, I know many of us have a med we think is super special... so I might as well mention ours. Both of my girls were up to 54 concerta 2 yrs ago. They weren't eating much of anything. We tried dropping them back down to 36mg and adding Focalin.

Both girls really like Focalin. They could tell a big difference right away. I guess it's newer than some of the other stim meds, and it's not out in a long acting dose (to my knowledge). They take 5mg in the am along with concerta and a boost in the afternoon of 5mg focalin.

You could do a search on Focalin here if you're interested. I seem to recall lots of positive feedback on Focalin and don't recall one negative post. It might be just the different thing to jump start your child's attention span again.

I think folks like it because there are rarely side effects and it kicks in quickly. The kids seem like themselves on it--just more aware. Good luck!