Focalin XR & Growth

Yes, our 10-year-old son is on a similar med, Concerta, and he's not growing as tall as he'd normally be in our family (tall men on both sides). He's underweight, but that has more to do with an eating disorder (food neophobia) than the medication.

You're lucky you can even consider taking your son off of medication. Ours has severe ADHD-combined type and isn't functional without it. We tried taking him off of it and it was a total disaster. His ADHD is off the charts.

We figure it's more important for our son to have a good quality of life than to end up over 6 ft. tall.

Very common with long term use of the stimulant meds... the sooner he comes off, better chance of making up some growth... maybe see if there's some other options for him - talk to his pedi or prescribing doctor. Good luck :)

My son was on the same medication and we had the same problem. He wasn't eating lunch at school because the medicine zapped his appetite. We switched to the generic that isn't extended release. He takes one in the morning, goes to school and then it wears off and he's hungry by lunch time. He goes to the nurse and takes his afternoon dose after lunch then it wears off by the time schools out. That's made a huge difference (and the generic is a lot cheaper!). Hope this helps!

It's not that the Focalin stunts growth, it depresses the appetite, mostly with lunch since the medication is still largely in their system. We switched our daughter from the XR to the quick release when she didn't gain any weight in over 9 months (age 7). We love the quick release. Yes it's a pain to go take it at lunch (during school), but at this point the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. Because it cycles through her system in about 4 hours (she has a quick metabolism) she is hungry at lunch and at dinner. She's gained almost 3 pounds in the 6 months she's been on it. Her doctor has constantly said that if there isn't enough weight gain (with any of the medications), she would try another one. Try taking him off for a month or so this summer, it should defintely help, but maybe talk to his dr. about trying a different medication later this summer right before school starts (if you haven't already tried a bunch). Usually Focalin is one of the first ones doctors try. There might be another one out there that works equally well as the XR but doesn't suppress the appetite as much.

My son was on Adderall from 2nd grade until 5th Grade and switched to Focalin XR in 6th grade. He is now 18 years old and has been on a steady growth pattern. He only takes the medication on school days. Not weekends, holidays or summers. He is not 6 ft tall, but neither is my husband. I am only 5ft tall, so I couldn't expect him to be tall. You have to look at your family and your child's growth pattern to determine what is normal for him. Your doctor should be monitoring that. Also, how old is your son? If he is a late birthday, that would explain him being behind the others. My son had a huge growth spurt the summer after 6th grade. His birthday is in April. It was always a tough adjustment the first few weeks of summer when he was off his meds, but things got better. Focalin and other similar medicines are not cumulative. You take it, it works, it wears off. It is not necessary to take it every day for it to work. My son would also not take his medicine on Field trip days. Some of the best advice I got, was to not force the meds. As he is maturing, allow him to make some choices (on a day that would not be critical.) In 4th Grade, after all the TAKS tests, I gave him the option to try without medicine. He went three days and then came crying to me that he needed his medicine. It has been his decision ever since. Now his last year of high school, he only takes Focalin when he has a test.