Question for those with children who take Adderall XR (Or another ADHD Med)

[summerrluvv]

Does your child have trouble sleeping? DS's dosage was just increased and he has a lot of trouble falling asleep. Obviously this is a problem since he is tired in school. He's only been on the new dosage for a week so hopefully things get back to normal after his body adjusts, but if not, does your child take a sleeping aid? Any natural tips? Also, what time does your child take their medicine? I've been giving it around 8am since we are waking up later (since not falling asleep at night), but I'm thinking I need to get him up earlier and get it in his sytem by like 7 or so.

 

[luvsJack]

DS was on Adderall all through junior high and high school. Yes, he had a lot of trouble sleeping. It got better after he had been on the meds for awhile but he never did sleep 8 hours a night. Even as a teen when most seem to be sleeping their lives away, he didn't sleep much. It also kept him from having much of an appetite.

 

[barkley]

my ds uses daytrana patches. no problems sleeping but that's probably because with the patches we can choose when to get the meds out of his system (when the patch is removed it takes about 2 hours for the dosage to wear off so we can time it out with his bedtime, the other advantage is we can put his patch on a couple of hours before he wakes up so it's fully in his system when he wakes in the morning).

 

[chager]

I'll be honest I do not know much about ADHD meds, but I thought I would throw this bit of info we just learned out there. If your child did not exhibit ADHD tendencies and then suddenly has them after being sick, they may have had strept throat and the virus may have settled in one little section of their brain. It shows up on an MRI but the Dr has to look for it in one particular small area and most Dr's just overlook it. DS has been ill for some time and is exhibiting a mood disorder so we were referred to a behavorial specialist and he is having the MRI rechecked to see if possibly Nick is a first to develope a mood disorder instead of ADHD. He also started him on a strong round of antibiotics just in case. He appears to be getting better FINALLY!! (He is also on a mood disorder med due to headaches.) I know that this does not apply to most of the kids dx'd with ADHD, but it could apply to a few especially those with older kids that suddenly are dx'd with it.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Yes...both my kid are on ADHD meds..and had trouble sleeping. Our neuro put them on a very low dosage of Clonidine. This helps them sleep. DD has accidently in the past taken her night meds instead of her morning meds...and has fallen asleep!! She slept though our son's college graduation ceremony!! Man..I wish I could have...those things are LONG!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonidine

 

[summerrluvv]

Yes...both my kid are on ADHD meds..and had trouble sleeping. Our neuro put them on a very low dosage of Clonidine. This helps them sleep. DD has accidently in the past taken her night meds instead of her morning meds...and has fallen asleep!! She slept though our son's college graduation ceremony!! Man..I wish I could have...those things are LONG!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonidine

Uh oh!!

Thank you, I may speak to the doctor about prescribing something if it doesn't improve this week!! I'm just always worried about mixing medicines and any reactions, etc.

 

[summerrluvv]

I'll be honest I do not know much about ADHD meds, but I thought I would throw this bit of info we just learned out there. If your child did not exhibit ADHD tendencies and then suddenly has them after being sick, they may have had strept throat and the virus may have settled in one little section of their brain. It shows up on an MRI but the Dr has to look for it in one particular small area and most Dr's just overlook it. DS has been ill for some time and is exhibiting a mood disorder so we were referred to a behavorial specialist and he is having the MRI rechecked to see if possibly Nick is a first to develope a mood disorder instead of ADHD. He also started him on a strong round of antibiotics just in case. He appears to be getting better FINALLY!! (He is also on a mood disorder med due to headaches.) I know that this does not apply to most of the kids dx'd with ADHD, but it could apply to a few especially those with older kids that suddenly are dx'd with it.

Wow, I have never heard of that! I'm glad he is getting better!

Nicholas was diagnosed about 5 years ago, he is also on the Autism spectrum, so unfortunately I don't think his ADHD was the result of him being sick. That's so interesting though

 

[JoiseyMom]

Uh oh!!

Thank you, I may speak to the doctor about prescribing something if it doesn't improve this week!! I'm just always worried about mixing medicines and any reactions, etc.

The doctors are really good about that. DD was on meds for her epilepsy and her ADD and her allergies. None of them interacted. She is now only on her ADD and allergy meds. She currently gets to sleep on her own..so she only takes the clonidine when she needs it. At one point she was on 2 pills of it. DS is on one...and at our next visit we will discuss upping it to 2.

It does work though!!

 

[beavismom]

My son takes Melatonin to help him get to sleep. Even if his meds have worn off he has trouble sleeping. It is actually one of the signs of ADD, he can't shut his brain down to fall asleep.

 

[geffric]

DS has no problem sleeping. He takes 30 mg of Adderell XR at 7 am and by the time he is ready for bed at 11 pm he sleeps.. not an issue on weekends either as he does the teen thing of sleeping until noon.. I do take him off for the summer and for 1 day on the weekend..

 

[lemondog]

My 7yo DD takes 10mg of Adderall XR in the mornings, usually around 7:30. She does often have trouble falling asleep, many nights not until around 10pm. But that seems to be for a couple of weeks after starting the meds, then her body gets used to it and her sleep patterns return to normal. Luckily we have not had any problems with her STAYING asleep. Once she is asleep for the night she rarely if ever wakes up.

 

[slk537]

Our DS is on Concerta. We've tried a few others and this is the one that works the best. He is on a split dose because of the amount prescribed...it only comes in a two pill combination. Therefore I wake him up and give him the smaller pill around 5:50 am so it gets in his system and he is doing well to get ready for school. Then DH gives him the larger pill around 7:45 right before he gets to school. On occasion he'll have a "booster" ritalin does after 5:00 pm if we go out somewhere.

He used to have a rough time sleeping, but even now he doesn't stay asleep more than the standard 8 hours.

 

[KirstenB]

Ask your doctor if Concerta would be an option. Our 10 yr old takes this. The doctor said it works like a bell curve, peaking around midday, then gradually tapering off into the evening. After trying different dose levels, it's working very well for her.

 

[ameraumi]

My son takes Melatonin to help him get to sleep. Even if his meds have worn off he has trouble sleeping. It is actually one of the signs of ADD, he can't shut his brain down to fall asleep.

Ditto with my DS. Our dr recommended trying Melatonin first. We had to play around with the right mg, but we found it. DS is on Concerta now and has not had too much of an issue going to sleep on his own.

 

[CharityLynn]

My son takes Tenex along with his Concerta. It helps him go to sleep and stay asleep. He was having night terrors for a while and the Tenex has stopped those. Thankfully!

 

[MsLeFever]

My kiddo is now on Vynase and sleeping continues to be a problem. He tries - he just isn't tired and it drives us all crazy. I haven't read the thread yet - hopefully someone can help us both!

The drug works well otherwise but I actually took him off of it this weekend so he could get some sleep - but he's driving me crazy!

 

[Kimmumum]

DS doesn't have any problems sleeping. He used to be on Concerta and now he is on Strattera. I really like Strattera because it is not a controlled substance. It works with your body's natural chemicals.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our son is on Vyvanse and has had sleeping issues since long before he was diagnosed with ADD.

As another poster said, he has a very hard time shutting down at bedtime.

Our Ped suggested Melatonin as well. Most nights it works great but, there are nights he still can't sleep. I have suffered with Insomnia for years so, the poor kid probably gets it from me.

HTH

 

[dismom9761]

My DS11 is on 10mg Adderall XR and he does have sleeping issues but always has.It takes him a while to calm himself to sleep but then usually sleeps well.

 

[deedee3]

My 14 year old son has taken 4 different medicines in the last 7 years to control his ADD. I have found that the Daytrana patch helped him out the best. The patch lasts afrom 10-12 hours and it was just so esy to use. He did not have any sleeping issues while using it. He could also go swimming etc. Now I know every child is different, but I believe that the patch has helped him to mature enough and become stabilized and now he currently is not taking any meds for it. He had more the inattentative type, not the hyperactivity. I hope as your children get older and mature, that they also do not have to depend on the medicine to become productive teenagers and adults.