I am concerned that we may be jerking my 11 year old son around by giving him stimulants for school days and then not on the weekends. He has been on just Effexor for several months, but when that wasn’t enough help for middle school, 5 mg. of Adderall was added and then increased to 10 mg. just three days ago. I really don’t want to give him the Adderall on weekends and school breaks because it affects his appetite, and school is his major problem. But, I worry that he is going to have to adjust to it over and over again each week. Any opinions?
weekends off meds
We have been giving our daughter med-free weekends for some time now it doesn’t seem to have a negative impact in terms of medicine rebound etc (we just have to deal with the impulsivity, hyperactivity..).
We’ve done this when she was taking Adderall, and now are doing this with Ritalin. The reason we do it is to give her some time away from the appetite suppression - and she does eat more on the weekends.
Kim
Re: jerking aroubd
Juliensc
How is she doing weight wise? My friends son needs to put on a few pounds. I’m trying to convince her to stop on weekends.
Re: jerking aroubd
I’m new here but hardly new to ADHD. This is the first year we’ve decided to continue medications through the summer. Quick rundown. I have two boys. They are going into 6th and 8th grade in the fall. They both have about 3 hours of acedemics scheduled for most of the summer so they don’t lose as much as they often have in the past.
They are both on Concerta. Any thoughts about the pros and cons of medicating all summer? With my older son I’ve almost decided that if he’s going to survive this summer he needs all the help he can get. He’d run wild at the drop of a hat and I want his peer-related decisions to be as thoughtful and attentive as possible.
Re: jerking aroubd
As with just about everything concerning our kids and ADHD, there is no one answer, just a lot of opinions!
We don’t do meds with my 12 year old son on weekends, summer vacation etc.. He’s inattentive, so his problems revolve around concentrating during school, homework, etc. He is not a behavior problem.
You have to decide what works best for your kids and your family. (DISCLAIMER: of course check with your doctor, too!) And with Concerta you can stop/start easily.
Concerning weight, we did have some problems during the mid to last semester of school. The homework, projects, etc were really coming fast, and we were giving him a homework dose plus sometimes a dose on weekends. The doctor was concerned that he wasn’t gaining weight, and we had to come back in 6 weeks instead of our normal 3 months. Fortunately, he did gain weight, plus the school work slacked off.
I can certainly see a difference appetite wise, however, when he’s on meds. This summer (non-meds) he is eating constantly! I also think he’s on a growth spurt, plus he’s swimming every day so he’s getting lots of excersise.
med breaks
I have two boys with adhd and taking concerta. My oldest has been on medicine since 1st grade, he is now a 14 yr old. I don’t usually give meds on weekends or holidays/summer, behavior isn’t a problem. It would depend on what his activity was though, if he had a school related activity or organized sports I would give him his medicine. Playing playstation, swimming in the pool and going to the movies/mall aren’t activities that the medicine is a necessity for and he does fine. The same for the younger son although he has been on meds for a shorter time than his brother. I haven’t seen any ill effects on their behavior or school success by giving breaks. Bearing in mind though that it is up to the individual and some folks may need their medicine all year, it depends on the symptoms being addressed. Hope this helps.
best wishes,
Amy
my two cents
since I am up at 5:30 Am I figured I would give my two cents.
I never appreciated the medication vacation concept. To me I felt like they were taking medication. If a diabetic needs medication daily,you wouldn’t put them on a “vacation” from their meds. If the adverse effects of the medication is such that they do not eat,or they do not gain enough weight, then to me,that warrants possible changes in medication. School is NOT everything. God knows our kids need to learn far more then just what they offer in school,like dealing with other kids. some times they can not do this without their medication.
I have two boys both are diagnosed with ADHD. It was hard finding the right medication,but once we found it,we gave it per prescribed. Now my oldest only takes the medication( dexedrine) when needed( Dr. prescribed) in other wrods he decides. If he feels he needs it to better focus on a task then he will take it,if not he doesn’t. He hasn’t taken any this summer. My youngest who is 13 needs to take his medication daily. ( concerta) as a matter of fact we had to increase the dosage this past school year. There is definite changes in impulsivity,frustration level,etc.
It is hard enough being a parent of our kids,why make it more complicated and difficult? Medication is only part of the treatment plan,why leave it out? :?:
Me Too.
In my son’s case, I agree, some of our kids are miserable off meds. Who would want that for their child? Some kids do OK and only really need the meds to get by in school. But my son’s social skills are dramatically improved by his medication, more so than grades. He isn’t on stims so I have no worries there, he eats sleeps and grows fine. The addiction thing isn’t a real factor, stims or not, as we all know. It depends on the individual circumstances of each child. If my son cannot concentrate or think in a straight line he cannot enjoy anything, what a lousey summer he’d have. If he could get by the summer without meds, I wouldn’t have him on them at all. This isn’t about school for us, it’s about life.
Re: jerking aroubd
I have to agree that my experience with taking my son off meds last summer was NOT GOOD. It was done due to lack of weight gain, but though he ate like a pig during the 2 months he was off the meds, he DID NOT gain any weight. Essentially he could not stay still long enough to stop metabolizing the calories. The same thing was threatened this summer since he had lost a pound since Christmas-though he had gained in the previous 6 months. His father is 6’4” and weighs about 180 (though he travels for business and eats fast food 24/7), his maternal great-grandfather is 6’, weighs 140 which is only 20 pounds more than he weighed when he graduated form high school in 1939!!! Genetics, duh!!!
I would say that it is every parent’s own decision to make, and I am sure that a child who has inattentive-only ADHD would not need meds during the summer. For my son (11) he has combined type ADHD and it is not really a viable option in myopinion. I did try the weekday only thing during second grade but discovered that he was useless on Mondays in school while he was “recovering” though it is claimed that the meds are immediate action and not cumulative.
In short, I am sure arguments can be made either way. For my son it is, as someone said, a life issue and not just a school issue.
What does your doctor say about this? How does your son feel about this? Does he notice a change if he takes the weekend off and then goes back to meds on Monday?
My understanding of most stimulant meds, such as Adderall, is that they are in/out of the body so fast that there really isn’t a problem with withdrawl as there can be with other meds, and there is no danger either. (However, when I expressed this on another board I was told that I was WRONG!!)
My 12 year old (ADHD-inattentive) has successfully been taking meds (Ritalin or Metadate CD) ONLY on school days. He has never had any kind of withdrawl/adjustment problems doing meds this way. We have done this, of course, with his doctor’s okay.