dexadrine

My oldest developed a twitch or I suppose the only way to describe it was forceful blinking. He was on Ritalin and the Pedi kept saying it was the ritalin,it was that the ritalin brought out the twitch. All I can tell you,when he was taken off the Ritalin and placed on another med the blinking stopped. Ironicly enough he is now on Dexdrine and doing well.

How much dexadrine is he on? My son is on 10mg Spanules and he has done well with it. Concerta didn’t do a thing for him but Dexadrine has helped him focus and finally make honor roll.

Greetings pattim,

What is spanules? I’ve never heard of it!

We recently started our dd on Adderall. She indicates it helps her focus for the first two hours of classes but seems to be wearing off by third hour. Don’t know if that is genuinely the case or if it’s the free flow of her Art class combined with a very disruptive classmate.

Blessings, momo

You might ask your doctor about this, but when my son’s adderall seemed to wear off after 3-4 hours, our doctor recommended a slight increase in the dose (from 10 15 mg). That worked for us, but some kids metabolize medications more quickly and need a second dose of adderall at lunch time. With the increased dose, my son’s medication lasts for the whole school day, which was important to us because we didn’t want him to have to go to the nurse at lunch. Also, Concerta is supposed to last 12 hours, so maybe that would be a better choice for your daughter. It really does take a lot of tinkering and trying to come up with the right medication at the right dose, but it is worth it if you can find the right combination.

Andrea

My oldest is on two 5 mg spanules per day. He has an additional 5mg dextrostat he can take but seldom does he. He swears that it doesn’t help or hurt him. He thinks he should go off meds. This is my adolsecent I posted about below. We might be taking a vacation without it,don’t know yet. He does do well,he isn’t on task,he has never been on task with any medication he has ever been on. I probably should state for the record,he doesn’t “LOOK” like he is on task. He never looks directly at you,but it seems he is taking in information.If he is in class listening to a lecture for example,he draws,or doodles. His grades are average,in his current placement,grades don’t matter. So I honestly can’t use grades as an indication. There is absolutely no complaints regarding behavior. BELIEVE me there was,so I am anxious to go without completely.
Just as a side comment,Both of my boys are also dysgraphic.They will both be starting I.M. next week. O.T. really didn’t help my younger son with his legibility. So the O.T. wants to try I.M. for the motor skills,but it’s suppose to also effect on task behavior,so we’ll see.

Socks,

What is I.M? My son is also dysgraphic and OT hasn’t really helped.

We had this with our son, they upped his morning does and he gets an afternoon dose. The Adderall is supposed to last for 6 hours but with my son it makes it about 4 hours due to his metabolism. The higher dosages seem to last longer, but he still needs alunch dose.

Interactive Metronome. It’s a remediation program for Motor planning,and execution. They learn to be more in sync,more in rhymth with theirselves. It’s a principle of Dr. Stanely Geenspan,I believe it is. Anyway they go for three to four sessions of one hour,and learn a series of beats,they have to move a certin extremity in beat to the metronome.It’s done by an O.T.The therapy center is seeing a lot of improvement in kids with handwriting problems,and ADHD. We shall see. We start our first session on Thursday.

Hi Momo,

I have started grad school so I don’t frequent the BB as much as I used to. But the Spanules are the 12 hour form of Dexadrine. Believe me they last all day and with me on 10 mg they last about 14 hours. I have a hard time going to sleep at night if I take them after 9:00 am in the morning. What a Spanule is a tiny gelatin capsule that is filled with little round balls of the medication that come out in a timed release fashion. The Spanule capsule reminds me of a smaller contact pill that you would take for a cold.

There is a 12 hour form of Adderall out now too. Our insurance won’t cover the dexadrine, we pay about $46 a month for 30-31 pills but it is worth it to see my son successful in school.

Hi Socks,

One of the children I tutored this summer just went on meds about 2 weeks ago. The first thing the mom said, “He is talking too much!” I had to laugh becuase he was “finally tuned in” instead of being quiet and inattentive. His brain was “turned on” and working efficiently. So when she talked to the Dr. about the talking he told her to double the dose and the poor kid was quiet and couldn’t focus nor read as well as he could with the lower dose. I called her up and said, “You have to get used to the talking, he is just tuned in and you are used to a nice, quiet obedient ADD-Inattentive boy and now you have a talkative kid who is able to read fluently and write much neater and focus.” Even he notices that he does better on the lower dose. When he was on the higher dose he was so frustrated and his mom said he was like a zombie the rest of the day, she agreed with me. As I told her, “Sometimes meds can be TOO much of a good thing.”

Perhaps your son is going through a cut the cord stage with you and denial about his ADD. People who need meds like diabetics and others will go through this, My teen age son had a melt down the last week of summer school and was mad because he hadn’t taken his meds one day, was really inattentive and kids were teasing him about it. He said, “Why do I have to take meds, I am frustrated,why can’t I do this without meds…!!” But we talked about it and he is more comfortable with the meds and why he uses them. Ironically….a few days later he ended up getting an A+ in this class and was the top student…LOL

Your point about the language is right on the money.

What’s the name of the 12 hour Adderall?? I had not heard of it, only another 12 hour Ritalin other than Concerta (forget the name but it was an M).

Hi pattim,

Thanks for the reply. With school back in session, I don’t have as much time for the boards either.

Regarding Adderall, my dd takes 10mg at 7a.m. but says it’s wearing off at 3rd period. I thought I’d call her pediatrician about possibly increasing the dosage to 15mg. My concern though is her comments about how she feels. When she’s on Adderall, she is definitely much more focused, motivated, conscientious, organized, serious and determined to suceed. When it wears off, her so-called normal, “silly” personality emerges. It’s enough of a difference that she makes comments like “my real self is back”. I, however, have always thought her silly, ditzy behavior was more of an act to cover her problems so as to be accepted by her peers.

Any thoughts? How concerned should I be about this? Should we investigate using another medication?

Thanks for your help! Blessings, momo

I have heard of it through clients and from another friend in Nevada. From the search I did it seems like Spire or Richwood Pharmaceuticals are the ones that hawking the 12 hour form of Adderall. I do know that my son did ok on Adderall but Dexadrine was what really worked for him. He takes them in the morning during the week and not on the weekends…He knows they help him to focus.

Hi Momo,

When my daughter isn’t on her meds she is a first class space cadet and clown. Sometimes her ditzy behavior drives us nuts when she isn’t on meds. She is a great kid but her behavior can be very immature and accompanied by her deficient language it creates problems in communication and comprehension of language…When we are at our wits end…she laughs and says…”oh…am I am being really ADD today??!! I am in agreement with you that the silly behavior is a coping mechanism that they have used for years to hide the struggles that they go through. They don’t realize that these silly behaviors aren’t “normal”….yes… we can all be silly at one time or another but when the silliness stops us from reaching our potential, because we aren’t focusing and being a clown we have real problems in communicating and learning. My daughter knows that I expect her to focus and concentrate in school. She has worked really hard to get back into middle school and she wants to succeed and will be on her meds…. She needs to be surrounded by kids who are good role models and with patience they can help her succeed and overcome her shortcomings..

I think your idea of talking to the pediatrician is a good one and ask him about increasing the meds. Perhaps she can try dexadrine… From personal experience I know dexadrine works longer than the adderall, and it worked much better for my son than Adderall did. We had a problem with our son in the afternoon coming down off the Adderall and he just couldn’t pull it together to do his homework, he was all over the place… but on the Dexadrine we don’t have that problem…However, Dexadrine takes a little bit longer to kick in in the AM but overall a 10mg spansule will last all day which covers school and homework time and that is crucial for us. He has no problem with his appetite and sleeping habits either..

Okay can I tell you guys about the sunday dinner out from hell?? I went to the laundry mat early on sunday. This was after cleaning all day Saturday. My DH didn’t give meds after breakfast. By the time I got home it was 2pm,too late to give meds then.We planned a dinner out to a resturant in PUBLIC for that evening. This in order to see a clean kitchen at least one more day.Okay my youngest was soo loud we continually had to say,shhh lower your voice! Your being VERY loud. He would get annoyed and be very indignant. My oldest wanted something off the menu,anything over 15 bucks,seemed to be his priority in ordering,but when the waiter came,well he wasn’t sure anymore,what he wanted. It was a fiasco. Daddy was getting increasingly mad,I kept thinking,you should of given meds,and the kids were off the wall.I ordered a couple of Beers,and tried to ignore it. My husband took a kid outside for a little talk,and we all came home with heartburn. Silly? Absolutely.

Socks,

I just love your posts. Wish I had your sense of humor. Instead, I fly off the handle when my four year unpacks his lunch in the morning, inspecting each item. He then leaves the applesauce in the hall by his backpack and adds more cookies to his baggie of cookies.

Has your son started IM yet?

Beth

You got to keep a sense of humor. Just too many darn things to laugh at. Funny you would mention IM and Lunch! My kids are as we speak at IM,we’ll see how they liked it. My pediatrician got a copy of the initial eval. felt the need to have his nurse call and tell me he didn’t believe in IM,and would not agree to the program? I had to laugh at this,not like any insurance in the world would pay anyway,and frankly I could give a D***M whether he believes in it or not. And to think just two short weeks ago,I told him they would be involved in this program and he told me he knew nothing about it. So does this mean the tooth fairy exists if he believes in it? We all KNOW about her,right?

Now about lunch,one block away from home I turned to my boys and said”does everyone have their lunch?”“yes,MOMMM”,came the answer. A pitiful voice left a voice mail later that same day,”mom,I forgot my lunch,can you bring me something to eat?” The school,a 40 minute drive one way,NOT. “Bet you going to be hungry when school is over today.” Hasn’t forgotten lunch since.

Hi Socks,

You’re so right that keeping a sense of humor is ESSENTIAL to life with (or as) a person with ADD/ADHD! I dealt with my ADHD son for many years before I returned to college and made it a point to look for the humor in his quirks. Once I was in school, it wasn’t long before I was in the office of a psychologist myself, being evaluated for the non-verbal LD and ADD that had dogged me all my life. Would you like to know what happened to me the first time I went to meet with the psychiatrist my psychologist sent me to, for possible medication for ADD? Well, I got to his office and the first thing I had to do was ask to use the phone to call my husband at work, so that he could come home and let the cat out of the house before it set of the burglar alarm I had so carefully set before leaving the house. I could swear I saw the psych smirk when he asked me to “tell him more” about myself” …haaaaaa! JJ

Hey JJ! I bet he had to stop himself from grabbing the script pad right then!

Bet it was short visit:-)

Actually, IM is designed for one hour sessions for a minimum 15 days. (Most kids will benefit from a couple additional sessions I have found.) The first part of the lessons are to learn the tasks, the last sessions are to really learn to focus and concentrate. IM has shown with research to help improve focus and sequencing skills but also helps to improve motor skills because of the different upper and lower extremity tasks. It makes me wonder why your doctor doesn’t believe in IM. The research has been published in the American Occupational Therapy Journal earlier this year! They don’t claim to “cure” ADHD. But significant improvements were proven.

Let us know how your child does with this program!
Donna in MO

My son was on dexedrine 5 mg in the morning and 2.5 (1/2 tablet) at noon. He had been on that dose for about 7 months. We upped his early morning dose to 7.5 to see if it would improve his concentration and he started to pull his hair at his crown and around the hair line. It took about 2 weeks for us to notice it. We pulled him off medication immediately and the hair pulling stopped within a few days.

My son’s ped. neurologist had told me that although he doesn’t believe Ritilan or dexedrine can cause tics or Tourette’s syndrome, he believes that the medication can bring out the underlying tendency to develop tics. Perhaps ADHD occurs more often in people who have a tendency to develop Tourettes. Our son’s doctor is very cautious about starting medication with any ADHD child before the age of 6 for this reason. Once the tics are brought out, it can be hard to make them go away. He did not recommend we try meds until our son was 7. We tried Ritilan and it turned him into a zombie even on the lowest dose. He had a bad reaction to Adderall. Our ped. neurologist sees hundreds of kids with ADHD. He expressed concern to us. I thought he would just suggest we go back to the lower dose. But, the doctor wanted him off meds. completely. I’d talk to your doctor about it more. I would listen to the doctor first and deal with the school stuff second.

It scared me BIG TIME when my son started pulling his hair. Hair pulling can also be triggered by stress or even repeated cases of Strep. But, my son’s situation seems pretty closely linked to our increased dose of dexedrine. It will take a lot of convincing for us to try medication with him again. We are doing PACE to help with concentration among other things. IM is next on my list if he still has troubles with attention at school. Although, PACE seems to already be helping him even though we are only hald-way through. His new teacher seems to think his attention problems are only mildly affecting him at school. Two years ago in 2nd grade, his teacher described him as always in a dazed and confused state. Of course, she wasn’t my favorite teacher either.

Good Luck.

Rosie

Forgetting lunch?? Been there, done that. The best is when the ADHD husband,who gets upset with the ADHD son for forgetting the lunch, locks himself out of the house for the 4th time. The first time he broke a window, The last time he somehow had his car keys and drove 30 miles to get my house keys from me since I threatened to break him if he broke another window. Solution-one of those nice little keypads for our garage. He doen’t even have to admit to doing it. But he did lock the keys in the acr last week!!!!! I got a letter from AAA about all the times they have had to open his car!!!!

Guess what, keep your humor becuase they feel bad enough without being reminded. Instead of harping I try to find ways to help them remember. After the “go back to school to get homework” thing, I laminated a “list” and had his teacher hand it to him each day at dismissal. Guess what?? I still have to go back occasionally but not as often as before. And I do charge $1 for having to drive back since the teacher did hand himthe “list”.

But it does not stop. My husband is living, loving proof of that.

Well I’m not a parent of a child with ADD, I am actualy a High school Senior with ADD. I’ve been on Dexidrine Spansuals since the 6th grade and never had any soreness or doublevision before. I’ve had eye twitches every once and a while but I never conected it with my meds. Oh and by the way Spansuals are not neccicarly 12 hour doses, I take 8 hour spansuals.

8^)

No it doesn’t stop. Remember my last sunday evening? No meds at dinner out?
Well guess what?? AGAIN this sunday, no meds. I am right now sitting here after packing for a week away from home,my kids are in their respective rooms,after Daddy refereed a fight between the two of them. He turns to me at 4pm when feverishly trying to watch the Tampa Bay Bucs play,and asked” is it too late to give them their meds?” Yes,honey it is… He looked at me with a sheepish grin. Hah! Wondeing if he’ll forget while I am away?? Probably not ,after not being able to watch football. Have a nice week ya’ll…