anyone son on Vivance for ADHD NEED HELP?

[LOLA2]

My 8 yo son just stARTED ON VIVANCE 2 DAYS AGO. HE WAS PREVIOUSLY ON FOCALIN XR 15MG BUT IT WAS WEARING OFF STARTING AFTER LUNCH AT SCHOOL WHEN HE GOT HOME WE WOULD GIVE HIM 5 MG TO GET HIM THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

TEACHERS WERE HAVING A HARD TIME SO I SAW PEDIATRICIAN AND SHE PRESCRIBED VIVANCE 20 MG. SHE SAID SHE COULD UP DOSE IF NEEDED.

WELL IT IS DAY 2 AND IT LASTS LONGER ABOUT 4:30 BUT HE SEEMS TO CRASH HARD MEANING HE THEN GOES CRAZY HYPER WORSE THAN BEFORE.

WILL ASKING THE DOCTOR TO INCREASE THE DOSE MAKE IT EVEN HEAVIER IN THE DAY (DONT WANT HE IS GREAT, DON'T WANT A ZOMBIE) OR DOES A HIGHER DOSE EXTEND IT LONGER (SOUNDS GOOD). DON'T WANT IT TOO CLOSE TO BEDTIME THOUGH BECAUSE I DON'T WANT HIM TO STAY UP WHICH I HAVE HEARD CAN BE A PROBLEM WITH SOME KIDS.

OR DO I SEE IF HE CAN TAKE HIS OLD FOCAILN MEDS JUST THE AFTERNOON DOSAGE? OR IS THIS BAD TO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT MEDICINES IN ONE DAY?

HELP

 

[jennb529]

I don't have any experience with Vyvanse, but I wouldn't go mixing up and changing meds without your doctors advice.

Honestly the best thing we did for our DS (9) who takes Concerta, was to take him to a Child Psychiatrist rather than getting the meds from his pediatrician. The pediatrician was prescribing Concerta + 5mg Ritalin, sort of what you described, and this caused massive meltdowns everyday. We felt a psychiatrist could better monitor his moods and we were right. If you have the ability to get him to a psychiatrist I would. It has been the number one best thing that we have done and that includes behavior modification programs and counseling (and I'm a counselor too!).

Good luck with whatever your decide to do. I know it can be super frustrating.

 

[wdwdreamingdcj]

See a child psych. Make sure you have the correct diagnosis - maybe its not ADHD. WHat is he doing that is so bad? Maybe they need to supply extra support to him in the classroom which can be decided in an IEP if he doesn't have one. I am definetly not against medications (psych nurse who also actually has ADHD and takes AdderallXR daily.) but kids should see a child psych. Medications carry alot of dangerous side effects. Also other things can look like ADHD and not be ADHD. May want to get some neuropsych testing. Obviously I don't know the exacts but I would hate to see something missed. Good Luck!! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[sorul82?]

Why, yes, I do have a son on Vyvanse (30MG). So far it is working great. We had previously tried Ritalin and Straterra.

 

[princessjane]

Vyvanse made my son sick. I'm talking vomiting sick, nausea, not able to sleep, very irritable. We tried 2 different different doses, still the same. He's now on focalin XR which is a great drug in the correct dose. focalin XR is a Drug that has to be adjusted from time to time. See a Child psychiatrist and get him a ADHD computer test and maybe a Psychological exam. sometimes Kids get Labeled ADHD when something else is going on. My son has Anxiety Disorder which is often mistaken for ADHD. when they are anxious (and they don't always tell you they are), they tend to fidget, feel uncomfortable, get defiant, become unfocused in school. It took three years to get a real diagnosis from a Shrink. Pediatricians are going to shove two drugs on kids because of the Pharm DX representatives give them coupons and samples. Vyvanse is one of the drugs they push, concerta the other one. Not every kid can take these drugs. Vyvanse is a time released version of ritalin (Formulated for less p and downs, but in my sons case this was not true). The Brain is a complicated thing and everyone's brain is different and reacts differently to different formulations. They do make a non-stimulant ADHD drug called Strattera. You don't get the ups and downs. the only thing is it takes up to a month to start working.

I say visit a shrink, get a full assessment and testing and find out if something else is going on too. since my son is ADHD-Impulsive/Hyperactive AND has Anxiety disorder, both Vyvanse and Concerta is a no-no. It can make them depressed. My son is also Asperger's which both ADHD/Anxiety disorder can play a role.

Talk to you kid, ask him how he feels when he has trouble focusing or when he can't sit still. Ask him what's going on in his brain. you might be surprised by the answers you get. My son will now tell people when he feel anxious or overwhelmed. Before training him, he never said a word.

I hope you get some help soon. i struggled for a long time to help my son. Our pediatrician tried, but just got it wrong. Look for a Pediatric Psychiatrist. Someone who only specializes in kids. It was the best move I made when I took him to see one.

 

[Order66]

My son was on focalin XR starting when he was 6. After 3 years (and several dosage changes) we had the same problem you are facing. Good symptom control, but only for about 6 hours. By the time school was over....so were the meds.

We tried a switch to Vyvanse. We had lasting symptom control for 10-12 hours but he was having trouble with other areas. Became very emotional or very angry, sometimes both. We upped his dose, which put him a bit over the mg per kg recommendation and went for a specialist evaluation.

Specialist suggested the Daytrana patch. Chemically it is dexmethlyphenidate, the same active ingredient as Focalin, in a time released dermal patch. He takes a Focalin 5mg (not XR) in the am because the patch takes 2 hours to work. We have symptom control for 12 hours now and he's doing well.

She also suggested if the patch didn't work, going back to Focalin XR with a regular Focalin in the afternoon after school to get him through homework. She suggested this isn't her favorite practice due to the appetite supression right at dinner time. My son doesn't really need any more help to not want to eat. So yes, it is OK to need 2 medications a day.

My son actually takes 3. He's always had difficulty sleeping. My doctor suggested that it's not always the medications fault. ADHD kids are often still "spinning" and can't relax themselves to sleep. My son has been taking a 0.1 mg clonidine tablet before bed for more than 4 years.

regards

 

[mikesdisneymom]

My son is on 30mg of vyvanse. For him it lasts all day and helps to keep him calm. He was taking Straterra before but it stopped working, the Vyvanse helps alot more. As far as sleeping at night he has to take a sleep aid called Melatonine, to help him sleep, he has been on it for years now, and seems to be the only way to get him to sleep, he has had trouble sleeping since he was an infant.

 

[LMC]

OMG! Your post could have been mine. DS8 was dx with "severe" ADHD in October. We was on focalin XR (15mg) in the morning. School said meds were wearing off by 1pm so he went to 5 or 10mg in the afternoon at school (we ended up on 5 mg as it got him thru til about 4pm). Dr decided to put him on vyvanse (30mg) and nothing else and it was a horrible 2 weeks. I told the teacher and after 8 school days I knew it wasn't working so I switched back to his old routine and after 10 days of school, the teacher told me the new meds were not working. I could tell by his conduct grade. So we are now back on focalin in the am and ritalin in the pm. When 3rd grade starts this fall, he will be on 3 doses of meds since the ritalin wears off by 4 or 5pm. I may have to pay for a second dose of focalin if the 3 doses don't work. Insurance will only pay for one dose of focalin per day

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I too have a son diagnosed with ADHD (and with ADD). Two very different children with very different symptoms. My DS9 (the one with ADHD) is currently taking Concerta with enough success to be managable. However, that wasn't always the case and we too found ourselves faced with some serious meltdowns when he was coming off of his medication. We did see a child psychologist that specializes in children under 6 (which he was at the time) AND an ADHD specialist. He offered some great insight into the meltdowns and we found that could adjust a few things that made all the difference. First he tried to explain coming off the medication like this; Imagine sitting in a quiet library with soothing music, quiet surroundings, nuetral colors and a comfy chair. Then imagine walking through the door into a loud, crowded, brightly lit rock concert. For a 6 yr old it was an overload he just couldn't handle and the meltdowns were terrible. When you think about what ADHD is and what the medication actually does, this makes sense. So, we did end up using a combination of behavior mod and a little "enviromental control". It made a huge difference. When I would pick DS up from school, he would come home, go straight to his room, lights off, blinds shut and I'd start a movie on the portable DVD player. I'd bring him a snack and then shut the door. Everyone knew this was his "quiet time". About 40 mins later he would emerge. He would feel pretty good at this point and ready to move on to the next activity. Believe it or not, no more meltdowns if we could follow this routine.

I won't propose that this would work for everyone, but it might be worth a try.

 

[campbellus]

My daughter is severely ADHD. She had been on ritilin for about 18 months when we tried the Daytrana Patch. That was working well but like previous posters had said-it was wearing off well before school was out and homework was impossible to tackle. So we were suggested to try Vyvanse. OMG...worst decision ever-we lasted a month and after terrible meltdowns, emotional outbursts like we had never seen before and a few other very aweful side effects, we switched back to the Daytrana Patch, had to "Play" with the dosage. We currently are on the 30mg but cut it in 1/2 (1/3's in the summertime) and we are very happy. NO more terrible meltdowns, outbursts and incredible mood swings in the evening.
IF you are truly happy with it, then I would advise seeing a child psych. as suggested, but otherwise I might try the new Daytrana patch or going back to some sort of Focalin regimen.
Good luck!

 

[LOLA2]

original poster here, I am so confused don't know what to do. He was good the first coupleof days on vyvanse nit zombie like with focalin. but he definately does not liten as well and is defiant, which on the focalin never happened ( until it wore off in afternoon). Well that was the first week, now week 2 definately not as good. The counselors at daycamp say hesays shut up alot, leave me alone, and does not want to participate in activites. He even spit on a counselor which I am truly shocked and horrified he has never done something like this in past. I asked the counselor if it was more later in the day when meds could be wearing off and he said no pretty much entire day, with later in the day just him acting more wild. The main reason for us going off of Focalin was his lack of appetite and trouble getting him to sleep at night. I am not sure if I should put him back on it and ask for a higher dosage or try the draytana patch. He has had a better appetite over all and does sleep better but I can't have him being defiant. I really need to get this under control before school starts.

 

[Order66]

I'm not a medical professional (in human medicine), just a parent who's dealing with the same kind of child. I understand the frustration of getting the right medication to help your child. We've had to play around with our son's medication and dosage several times, especially as he grows.

My experience with Vyvanse is "what you see is what you get." It was basically the day I started that I noticed differences in his behavior. Whenever we adjusted or changed his medication, if it didn't work I could also see right away. For my son we tended to do good on an adjustment for the first 30 days. It was the second that told me the story. By month 2 I know if it's working well. We were often back at the doctor in a little as 2 weeks to say, "nope not working." My son was quite nasty on Vyvanse as well. When under medicated on Focalin he cried all the time.

If Vyvanse has him too moody it's going to give you a couple of choices. He could be under-dosed or it could just not be the right medication for you. It wasn't for us, though it has helped a lot of others. If Focalin gave you good symptom control you could try going back to that "family" of drugs...Ritalin, Focalin, Daytrana and adjust the dose through trial and error until you get it right. You can address the appetite and sleep difficulty with other means/meds. My son just has to have extra calories every day and usually it's chocolate instant breakfast powder in a milkshake or a great big Oreo sundae. He takes a medication at night to help him sleep. Sleeping problems are not uncommon with ADHD kids regardless of the medication (or not).

If you haven't done so yet, see a specialist. We went to a pediatric neurologist for a consult to rule out other issues. Others have sucess with a pediatric psychiatrist. Sometimes with your pediatritian you just hit a dead end and need more experienced support. We had no problems with our doc, it was his suggestion to go for more evaluation to make sure he wasn't missing something. We got our consult and our recommendations and went back to our pediatritian for maintanance of his condition.

regards

 

[LOLA2]

Just an update so this summer tried vyvance and he got mean, took him off,
tried I think straterrs. This was not a good situation we had. The pediatrician said it could be opened and mixed is soda or juice (son does not swallow pills) we did this and so spit it everywhere. Next day tried it and he started gagging and said we were trying to kill him. My husband took a little sip to show him was not that bad and dh had to run to sink and spit out. poor little guy. So we finally wnt to see psych and I told her about that Never open stratera capsule and mix with something, it can cause a skin irritant. I told her I was just following pediatrician orders. So now we are back on patch did not work at 15 so now we are trying 30. Seems to work alot longer which is good. The two things that stink are it takes two hours to kick in and mornings are not good now. I read somewhere on here that their child was given 5mg of Focalin in am. I mentioned this to psych and she said she would do research it. Not sure if it can be mixed.

second stinker is appetite he hardly eats at all. I don't know what to do, I feel as though he is slowly withering away

 

[Leajess99]

Just an update so this summer tried vyvance and he got mean, took him off,
tried I think straterrs. This was not a good situation we had. The pediatrician said it could be opened and mixed is soda or juice (son does not swallow pills) we did this and so spit it everywhere. Next day tried it and he started gagging and said we were trying to kill him. My husband took a little sip to show him was not that bad and dh had to run to sink and spit out. poor little guy. So we finally wnt to see psych and I told her about that Never open stratera capsule and mix with something, it can cause a skin irritant. I told her I was just following pediatrician orders. So now we are back on patch did not work at 15 so now we are trying 30. Seems to work alot longer which is good. The two things that stink are it takes two hours to kick in and mornings are not good now. I read somewhere on here that their child was given 5mg of Focalin in am. I mentioned this to psych and she said she would do research it. Not sure if it can be mixed.

second stinker is appetite he hardly eats at all. I don't know what to do, I feel as though he is slowly withering away

Can you up his nighttime food intake?? Also you originally said he was on Focaline XR which worked but was wearing off in the afternoon, what about adding an afternoon dose of a different med?? My son takes Vyvanse in the morning and at about 3 he will take Dexidrine to cover his late afternoon/night so he can get his homework done. I hope you can find something that works for your child and helps him throughout school. Unfortunately, it is a trial and error process. Have they tried Adderall on him??

 

[Order66]

It's my son that takes a 5mg Focalin in the am along with his Daytrana patch, basically for that very reason. The patch takes 2 hours to get into the child's system. He wouldn't be able to function in school for the first hour or so. However during the summer we mostly skipped the am meds unless we had an early appointment for something.

This was the protocol recommended by the neurologist that evaluated him. His regular peditritian manages his meds. So far we have been doing this for over six months and he's doing well. The other thing you will want to check into is if your insurance will pay for 2 meds. Ours does but I was told some do not so I had to verify it, or pay it ourselves.

My child never had an appetite anyway and he's a terribly picky eater. He has a lot of texture issues with food. I swear he metabolizes oxygen to live. We suppliment his meger meals with high fat snacks like ice cream. But this year what worked for him was football. He and his brother (twin) have been wating for years to be in the 4th grade so they can play football on the school team. The league has a minimum weight of 55lbs. So we constantly reminded him, don't gain weight....don't play football. He has gained over 5lbs in just about 5 weeks. He made the minimum with 2.5lbs to spare. Now we just have to keep it up, as he thinks they'll weigh him again and if he's too small he'll have to leave the team. They don't...but he doesn't know this. So having a goal he really wanted to make has helped make him a better eater. Perhaps there is something out there that will motivate your son to eat better too.


regards

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm moving this to the disABILITIES Community Board.