Horray For Daytrana!!!

[barkley]

ds started using the daytrana patch for adhd about 4 1/2 months ago. we have seen a real improvement using it over his oral meds of the past, and we though (realy hoped and prayed) that he seemed to have gained some weight since going on it. HE DID since starting the patch he has put on close to 5 pounds and shot up an inch. given that this a kid who is 10 1/2 and had never previously crack the 50 pound mark-this is a major accomplishment

just want to encourage anyone with an adhd child whose doctor mentions daytrana to seriously consider it. like us you can patch your child before he wakes so it's much easier for him to wake in the morning-and much easier to get started at school. the patch does'nt have the crash and burn effect many of the oral meds do-it slowly wears off over the course of about an hour after it is removed. and for those of us whose kid's appetities are killed by traditional adhd meds-this does'nt see to be the case-he eats much more on the patch-and is ravenous within 30 minutes of it's removal.

great advent in adhd meds.

 

[Hasil72]

Congrats!

DS has been on Daytrana (in addition to Strattera) for about 8 months now and there is a huge difference. I like the idea that we have just a little control with it; deciding when to put it on and take it off depending on the situation.

You're lucky, they've recently improved the sticky back of the patch. I can't tell you how many I ruined in the beginning because I couldn't get the back off. The only minor drawback we've had is that DS has extremely sensitive skin and it would leave an irritation for hours after we removed it. Apparently some doctor had extra time on his hands and did a study that concluded olive butter cream significantly improved this common side affect. Works like a charm, no rash, no "itchies".

Shows that every child reacts differently to meds. DS has always been low tone but gained over 10 pounds in the first 3 months on the Strattera. With the Daytrana he has lost over 14 pounds. He isn't real hungary while wearing it, but is starving within a half an hour of taking it off. If only I had a patch like that!

Good luck!

 

[mamaminnie]

We love Daytrana too.

Ds has been on it for about a year. I love that there is no afternoon/evening meltdown at all. Those tantrums can really wear you out.

It also removes the whole "pill swallowing/medicine tasting funny" from the equation.

If your doctor suggests, I agree you should give it a try.

 

[Ali]

Is anyone seeing any side effects like extreme anxiety, hand shaking, or paranoia?

Thanks

 

[freckles and boo]

Is anyone cutting the patch in half? I ask because my daughter will be starting it tomorrow morning and the doctor has prescribed a 10mg patch cut in half - at least for the first week. I even asked the pharmacist if this was okay and she said yes, but I am reading all over the internet (from seemingly reputable sites) that this isn't advisable. Also curious about the side effects... thanks!!!

 

[Hasil72]

Morning everyone. I'm by no means an expert, but here's my two cents...

Ali, we haven't experienced any more anxiety than usual although DS also takes Strattera which helps with that. We are starting to encounter headaches so they are thinking of taking DS off the Daytrana and trying something else. Focalin, maybe. Are you experiencing the effects you mentioned?

Freckles, I guess each doc is different, I was advised specifically not to cut the patch. Is the doctor's intent to ease her up to 10mg? Becuase they do make a 5mg patch. Maybe he doesn't want you to "waste" the $$ only for a few days.

Good luck! It's hard enough to make the decision to try meds, let alone finding one that works.

 

[freckles and boo]

Morning everyone. I'm by no means an expert, but here's my two cents...

Ali, we haven't experienced any more anxiety than usual although DS also takes Strattera which helps with that. We are starting to encounter headaches so they are thinking of taking DS off the Daytrana and trying something else. Focalin, maybe. Are you experiencing the effects you mentioned?

Freckles, I guess each doc is different, I was advised specifically not to cut the patch. Is the doctor's intent to ease her up to 10mg? Becuase they do make a 5mg patch. Maybe he doesn't want you to "waste" the $$ only for a few days.

Good luck! It's hard enough to make the decision to try meds, let alone finding one that works.

I think the doctor was just starting conservatively. My daughter is five, has HF autism and ADHD. We only started with Adderall 10 mg. last week but the medication was out of her system within three and a half hours. They wanted to try XR but because she can't/won't swallow pills (she chews ANYTHING that goes into her mouth) the XR is out of the question. She also spits, cheeks, and otherwise hates any pills - just the six days she was on the Adderall were an enormous challenge. We are hoping the patch will help. Just this morning, though, we had a horrible problem getting the backing off. I called the pharmacist and will be calling Shire, too. Nothing is EVER easy. Thanks for the info.

 

[Hasil72]

I wonder if you had an old batch. We had horrible trouble the first few months with the backing but then Shire changed it. I was ruining more than I was using tring to get the back off. For the most part, no issue since then. DS8 also has HFA, ADHD, and a list that grows with each doctors appointment. Out of curiosity, where are you putting your DD's patch? They had us put Dalton's on his back where he couldn't take it off.

Just in case DD has skin irritation, as I mentioned earlier, that olive butter cream works wonders. (It's also great in winter when DS & DD get that nasty itchy dry skin.) Palmers makes it; $5 in Target or Walmart.

 

[freckles and boo]

I wonder if you had an old batch. We had horrible trouble the first few months with the backing but then Shire changed it. I was ruining more than I was using tring to get the back off. For the most part, no issue since then. DS8 also has HFA, ADHD, and a list that grows with each doctors appointment. Out of curiosity, where are you putting your DD's patch? They had us put Dalton's on his back where he couldn't take it off.

Just in case DD has skin irritation, as I mentioned earlier, that olive butter cream works wonders. (It's also great in winter when DS & DD get that nasty itchy dry skin.) Palmers makes it; $5 in Target or Walmart.

I just got off the phone with Shire. They are the older ones - Thanks Walgreens. Shire is sending me a card for more patches... of course I have to get another prescription from the doctor. They also gave me a locator number so I can find a pharmacy that isn't selling the older patches. Her teacher reported that she still had difficulty focusing, but it was just the first day on a low dose. Hopefully we will see results when we stop cutting the patch. I will pick up some olive butter cream! Thanks.

 

[Hasil72]

Tust me the newer backing is much easier. I know each child is different but, for some reason, it took DS almost 2 weeks for the Daytrana to kick in.

Good luck!

 

[Forevryoung]

Regarding placement of transdermal medications-

I'm an adult who has been using a patch med for over a year (a MAOI). I have found the best places to put the patches are the places where skin doesn't stretch/move as much. I feel the patch when I move if I put it in the wrong place or get skin iritations.

My favorite spot is actually on my rear end (a little higher up though) I try to get it so that my underwear completely covers it so nothing is going to rub against it.

I just switch cheeks every night works like a charm and I never think about it during the day.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[Caropooh]

Thanks for the olive butter cream hint! Will be going tomorrow to get some! DD13 has been on Daytrana for almost a year. I can't say that I see vast improvement, but I do see a difference. Her band teacher, who is the only teacher that she has had all 3 years in middle school says he sees much better focusing in class! We still have the eating and weight issues though. She is 5' 3 or 4" and just broke 100lbs.

 

[barkley]

for anyone with skin irritation with daytrana patches try 'unisolve'. it's like an alcohol swab that gets the adhesive off, but it contains aloe which seems to help with ds's 'pink cheeks'

does anyone else patch their kid while he/she is asleep? we do this in the mornings-about an hour before he needs to get up for school. makes a huge difference for us. by the time he wakes up the daytrana is working and he's much better suited to eat breakfast, get ready and get out the door. teacher said he's much more focused from the start of the school day (previously she knew it was going to be at least an hour before he was good for doing much work).

 

[freckles and boo]

I just got off the phone with Shire. They are the older ones - Thanks Walgreens. Shire is sending me a card for more patches... of course I have to get another prescription from the doctor. They also gave me a locator number so I can find a pharmacy that isn't selling the older patches. Her teacher reported that she still had difficulty focusing, but it was just the first day on a low dose. Hopefully we will see results when we stop cutting the patch. I will pick up some olive butter cream! Thanks.

I am quoting myself because the saga continues....

I took my daughter back to the doctor today. We are going to do the full 10mg patch. BUT after calling the phone number the manufacturer gave me to find a pharmacy that carries the newer patches I am STILL frustrated. The lady at the Daytrana Locator center gave me the name and number of a pharmacy that supposedly has the newer patches. I called the pharmacy just to double check and the pharmacist was "uh, those have been recalled... I think... let me check...I don't know...what do you want again???" I had to explain the whole voluntary recall situation and he is now trying to work with his wholesaler to try to find the newer ones. Why must it be so complicated??? Meanwhile my girl isn't responding consistently or well to the cut patch so I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will benefit from the larger dose. I HATE giving her medication but if she can sit still for more that 15 seconds it will be an improvement in her quality of life.

 

[Hasil72]

Freckles, any luck finding a new batch yet? And I know how you feel about the meds. Medicating was the hardest decision we've made. As if we didn't feel bad enough, in the beginning we had family members tell us we were "abusing" our DS by giving him meds.

 

[freckles and boo]

Freckles, any luck finding a new batch yet? And I know how you feel about the meds. Medicating was the hardest decision we've made. As if we didn't feel bad enough, in the beginning we had family members tell us we were "abusing" our DS by giving him meds.

Well, after a rough start with the pharmacist he turned out to be super nice and it appears that he is working on it. I went in yesterday to explain the situation in person. I was hoping to hear from him today but I so far no luck. I will be calling in the morning because at this point we are going through three or four patches a day just getting a full one that hasn't had all the medication pulled off with the backing. We will run out before too long! Thanks for asking!!!

It is SO FRUSTRATING fighting with the patch but after only two days she is showing some improvement. Yesterday afternoon she had her first ballet class (she washed out completely last year) and she did GREAT!!!!! I am so proud of her. At five she is probably the oldest in a class of three and four year olds, but she was enthralled. The only thing she didn't do as well as the other kids was stand in line. Because we are still sussing out the meds I figured it would be a rocky session but I am thrilled that I was wrong.

 

[momof5boys]

My DS 10 used Daytrana last year, 5th grade. The backing was terrible, try putting it in the freezer for a minute that helped. We did see a problem with increased anxiety. He is afraid of bees and when he was on the patch he would be in tears frequently because he SAW a bee! He wouldn't even go out and play. I took him off the patch the last 3 weeks of school and his anxiety decreased. Right now he is on nothing, still pretty hyper, I was gonna give him a month or two and see how he handles middle school without it. Oldest DS came off meds in middle school and did well(honor student) seems hormones and puberty helped(who would've thought) but he was 10 times worse then younger son! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[barkley]

My DS 10 used Daytrana last year, 5th grade. The backing was terrible, try putting it in the freezer for a minute that helped. We did see a problem with increased anxiety. He is afraid of bees and when he was on the patch he would be in tears frequently because he SAW a bee! He wouldn't even go out and play. I took him off the patch the last 3 weeks of school and his anxiety decreased. Right now he is on nothing, still pretty hyper, I was gonna give him a month or two and see how he handles middle school without it. Oldest DS came off meds in middle school and did well(honor student) seems hormones and puberty helped(who would've thought) but he was 10 times worse then younger son! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

you're post gives me lots of hope. ds's doctors have said all along that with kids who have displayed adhd very young (and ds def. did) they can have some drastic changes for the better with puberty. i'm keeping my fingers crossed for a few years from now.

 

[freckles and boo]

I just wanted to update... We finally got ahold of a newer batch of patches, but most importantly my daughter is doing really, really well at home and at school. She is able to sit and learn in school, to go to ballet and swimming lessons, to walk from point A to point B (instead of sprinting!!!), to enjoy playing with her sister and friends, to play with her toys... We have not seen any of her autistic behaviors get worse (which I feared) but the inattentiveness and impulsivity has definitely improved!!! The downside is the crash, lack of appetite, and it takes longer to get to sleep. We take the patch off at four o'clock and unfortunately she gets very fussy around 5:30 for about half an hour. We can live with that considering what a difference it has made for the rest of her day!

 

[packetminnie]

We had the sleep problem with Daytrana and the dr put him on a small dose of clonidine. It is a blood pressure medication that makes them drowsy. Apparently it is common side effect. The children across the street are also on clonidine (they have diff dr).