Page 1 of 1 [ 5 posts ] 

dhardy27
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jan 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 1

18 Jan 2012, 2:09 pm

My son's PDD/NOS and his pediatrician prescribed him Focalin to help him with his impulsiveness. Has anyone else used this med? and if so how long did it take work??
I really at a loss at more to do for him and I don't want him to be labeled the bad kid in his class. The teacher does know but the other parents do not. I want him to succeed at what he does.



Nianya
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 29 Nov 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 7
Location: Atlanta

18 Jan 2012, 2:19 pm

We used Focalin extended release initially when our son was very young due to ADHD impulsivity; it worked for awhile. We now use Vyvanse a better longer acting med. What's really important is seeing a developmental ped. or specialist in ADHD. PDD etc...you might get a more specific diagnosis (my son is also HF ASD or Asperger's), and a specialist will be able to better determine which med. if any is necessary and will work best. We use the regular ped. to refill prescriptions but not the make decisions on which meds and the right dose.



bethaniej
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 9 Mar 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 162
Location: Charlotte, NC

18 Jan 2012, 2:36 pm

It really depends. My daughter takes adderol. You have to understand that meds aren't a "magic pill". For instance, adderol works great for focus and impulsive behavior and the effects can be seen within an hour. However, the meds cause an increase in anxiety. She has a real problem already with anxiety....and then in the afternoon when the meds are wearing off, I call that "the witching hour" because there's a moodiness increase, lots of sensitivity. She feels the meds are necessary, and probably I agree with her. But I see the bigger picture which is that they cause about as many problems as they fix. But for school, she feels they help her a lot. I would try....and don't be afraid to change meds up if the one you get doesn't work...because we tried several and they certainly don't all work the same way.

Bethanie



OliveOilMom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Age: 59
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,447
Location: About 50 miles past the middle of nowhere

18 Jan 2012, 3:11 pm

Focalin sucked for my son. The only one that seemed to help him was Vyvanse. Focalin and Concerta are both those long acting stimulants but they just didn't do it. Adderall XR gave him the speed buzz and geetered him and he hated it. I don't blame him. He was worried over his HR and blood pressure the entire time, even after a 10mg pill. He didn't feel the Vyvanse, (which has not only the regular amphetamine salts, but also the dexadrine ie; black beauties from yesteryear aka friends mothers diet pills) and it was so subtile that he felt nothing except focus. He could eat on it, he actually was able to get hungry and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner (it lasts 15 hours) and sleep at night with no help at all, and also sometimes nap after school.

I give it to him at 5am when I get up, let him go back to sleep for a while and in an hour when I wake him, the dexadrine part is kicking in. It takes about three hours for the rest of it to kick in. It lasts for 15 hours and has a very slow and mellow comedown as opposed to the other ones which have a sudden "kick off" feeling. It will be a gradual thing if he's studying or something as it wears off. Not so much a sudden "I hate this" thing.

It's not really abuseable either, unless you take a crapload of it. And even then it's not going to be like the IR adderall. So it's not something you have to worry about being pretended to be taken and sold at school, except to maybe kids who just don't know.

Overall, I'd say it's my favorite drug for actual ADHD and it really does work better than any of the others. It's got the good old school stimulant effect, but it's got a new way to deliver it. It kicks focalin and concerta out of the ring, easily.


_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA. ;-)

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com


bethaniej
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 9 Mar 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 162
Location: Charlotte, NC

19 Jan 2012, 2:03 pm

lol...to let you know how different people respond to different meds...we've had the most luck with adderol. I responded well to straterra, a non-stimulant add med, but it didn't work at all for my daughter, and vivance was a total nightmare (the worst episode my daughter had at school in years, happened while she was taking vivance). It really depends on the person, how they respond to the med.