My 10 year old son is taking Focalin for ADHD. He's been taking it for a year and a half to two years now. It really helped with his focus at school. That was one of the main reasons we put him on this medication. His grades were falling and we talked to his doctor and they suggested going this route. The only problem is that when he wakes up in the mornings and in the evening after school, it has worn off and he is out of control. He doesn't listen, he's mean to his brother and sister and i have to repeat simple things (i.e. taking a shower, brushing teeth, etc) over and over. I hate this because he is such a sweet, big hearted, loving little boy and I know he can't help it when he acts this way. There has got to be something else that he can take that doesn't make him all zoned.spaced out during the day and wild in the evenings. There's got to be a happy medium. I love my sweet boy so much and just want to do what is best for him, but right now I"m not sure what that is. :(
Dr. Deborah Bain of Healthy Kids Pediatrics specializes in helping kids with ADHD. She is in Frisco and even helped her own son wean off of ADHD medication with the power of nutrition and a diet change.
http://healthykidspediatrics.com/
There are many things (alternative) to do for him.
~://brainworxcenters.com/cavazos.htm
~Classical Homeopathy
~Dr, Jonathan Walker in Dallas
~The Listening Therapy , Interactive metronome
~Brain Training
~diet interventions/supplements.
Dr. Cavazos can help!
My son is on Focalin - he is 14 and he sees the difference in his ability to stay on track during classes.We have had to adjust the dosage as he has grown - more weight = more med. Currently he takes one 10mg dose each morning. Since he is ADD only, I don't worry about an afternoon dose, but I do notice his attention span disappears.
Talk to your doctor, it may be that your son needs to add a dose in the afternoons.
Good Luck and God Bless
Have you asked the specialists what can be done about your concerns? It may be that Focalin isn't the right fit for him if he seems zoned/spaced out during the day (have never seen that with our son on these meds although I've heard it can happen when the dosage is too high). The mornings and evenings, unfortunately, are the way the are. The only hope I can give you as that you can get a booster dosage of plain Ritalin to give after school and that can give you a few more decent hours before all hell breaks loose.
I'm in the same boat suffering through horrible mornings and evenings. I would love to find a happy medium during those hours, but unfortunately, ADHD doesn't ever give you happy mediums.
Maybe this is one of sides effects?
http://adhd.emedtv.com/focalin/focalin-side-effects-p2.html
Have you considered having him tested for obstructive sleep apnea? I'm going to try to find the link from CNN, but I read that sleep apnea in children produces the same symptoms as ADHD.
Found it:
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/04/get-some-sleep-a...
My son is 16 and has been taking various ADHD medications since he was 7. We have the same issues. He is very reasonable when he is medicated, but is often difficult to deal with when it wears off. We have had less problems with Focalin than we had with Adderall. He does not take medicine on weekends or holidays/summer. I am not sure if the problems in the evening are a side effect of the medicine or just how he is when he is unmedicated. I do think there is an adjustment he goes through and a letting off steam period. You can give him an additional dose when he comes home from school, but if he is like my son, then it is hard to get him to eat and go to sleep at a reasonable time.
The only advice I can give you is to be firm with him. I am afraid that I have allowed my son to get away with some bad behavior, because I felt he could not control it. Still not sure what he can and cannot control, since some of his behaviors seem to bother him also. But it only gets worse as they become teenagers. Try to find logical consequences for his misbehavior, like isolation if he is mean to his brother. Take away privileges, whatever it takes to get his attention. Make a poster with a list of what he needs to do, ie. take a shower, brush teeth, etc.
I am sorry that I don't have any solutions for you, but if you find out something that works, please post it! I feel your pain, because I have been dealing with it for nearly 10 years.
You'll need to talk to the psychiatrist but you may need either a different med or a booster dose. My daughter was on adderalll xr and had similar timing issues. She switched to vyvance and that helped with the evening. We give her a small 5mg dose of adderal (not xr) as soon as she wakes up. The adder all kicks in very quickly to cover her since the vyvance takes an hour to kick in.
Different Mede work in different ways and the d is an expert in which mess have which effects.
Good luck!
