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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 10:52:50
He was a little shy about posting on the message board himself, so I told him I would try to get some information for him.
He is psychologically well adjusted, but has a severe case of ADHD. He was diagnosed at our local Cerebral Palsy Center at 2& 1/2 years of age. He's been on various medications throughout his life, but Ritalin gave him the most benefit. He started taking Adderal about 3 weeks ago. Prior to this, he had been on Ritalin (30mgs. per day - 15mgs./AM, 15mgs./PM.) The Dr. put him on 30 mgs. of Adderal, because he said that the dosage should be equivalent to the Ritalin dose. He was on vacation from school, went off the Ritalin, & began taking Adderal. Everything went exceptionally well; he had a much better attitude, didn't experience the rebound effect that he did on Ritalin, & felt good. It was the first time in his life that I'd ever seen him function so well. When he began to do school work again, he found he had a hard time attending. My husband spoke with the Dr. about this, & he said we could titrate the dose from 15mg./AM & 15mg./PM to 20mg./AM & 10mg/PM. However, he has become increasingly irritable. When I first noticed this I thought it might have been partly my fault, because the new natural supplement I'm taking for my ADHD seems to have made me a little bit grumpy (we've had a lot of "blow-ups" here during the past week!) I also thought it might be due to his age, & that I just hadn't recognized it when he was on Ritalin because of the extreme Ritalin "highs & lows" (Ritalin induced Jeckyl/Hyde type personality.)
Today he was much worse. Earlier this week, I was thinking about calling the Dr. regarding a possible dose increase; we had thought he might have needed an increase in the Ritalin dosage before he began taking the Adderal (as I already mentioned, the Dr. had stated that he would need the same mg. dose of Adderal as he'd taken of Ritalin.) He had been having some degree of difficulty concentrating on school work for a while. He was on 30 mgs. Ritalin for almost a year & a half, & has grown substantially during this time (he is now 5' 8" & weighs 183 lbs.) So 30 mgs. was not really much for a boy of his size & age, considering the severity of his ADHD.
I've been going through some of the prior posts, & in the January section I noticed some of the people with ADD/ADHD were taking Adderal (I think one person may have even mentioned irritablity.) Could someone please share with us if you know anything concerning this? My son's really upset, & could hardly do his school work this morning. He says he felt great during the first week of taking Adderal - better than he's ever felt in his entire life! I feel so bad for him.
I have posted a few times before regarding advice for myself, & only one person replied to these questions. That wasn't a big deal for me; but I'm the type of person who feels that it is more important when it comes to my kids (you parents may know what I mean.) After many years of prayers, tears, spending money on all kinds of doctors,supplements,medications, etc., we're just about at the end of the line! If you know anything about this, or have had a similar experience with Adderal, we would greatly appreciate your input!
Posted by dove on January 12, 2000, at 13:44:11
In reply to My son needs some support, posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 10:52:50
First, you're doing a great job explaining the details of the situation, that's important. Second, you're in a prickly situation meds-wise, the discrepencies between Ritalin and Adderall are hard for me to grasp. Adderall is so smooth for me compared to Ritalin, but I have days that wind me up real tight, very irritable. The last couple weeks I have cut my meds in half, which I thought would have a negative effect, but instead I have relaxed considerably. I know 30mgs of Adderall doesn't equal 60mgs of Ritalin, I was at the P-doc with my daughter yesterday afternoon and that is exactly what we were discussing.
At your son's weight I know the dosage could go higher. Does he have trouble sleeping? That could negatively impact his ability to stay on task and study during the day even with the Adderall. I have to take melatonin to feel rested, the Adderall has some impact on my sleep quality, negative I believe. My daughter weighs 45 pounds and her doc said she could go up to 21 mgs of Adderall.
I know I'm all over the place as I'm writing, but I really wanted to let you know that we're here, even if we don't have the answers, we hear you! Maybe cutting back the dose of Adderall would help, and then increasing it, for some reason this seems to work for me. Is your son on any other meds? Some interact with the Adderall a whole lot different than the way they interact with Ritalin. I take wellbutrin in the evening, and that has truly made a difference in my irritability and that edginess I get in the early evening.
If you have any more questions, answers, or anything, I will be on the look-out. I wish I had more to give in concrete answers, but I don't. My best wishes to you and your son. Keep us updated.
dove
Posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 16:07:55
In reply to Re: My son needs some support [long-rambling], posted by dove on January 12, 2000, at 13:44:11
Your information was very helpful, & I really appreciate your concern & support. Take care!
Posted by Renee N on January 13, 2000, at 0:09:46
In reply to Thanks dove, posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 16:07:55
> Your information was very helpful, & I really appreciate your concern & support. Take care!
Talk about ADD, I am a good speller, but never remember if it's i's or y's in R-ta-l-n!) I'm a 40 yr. old female who weighs 125(or so). I've tried both these stimulants as well as Dexadrine. I find ADDerall to help the most, but none help enough. I was up to 30 mg. twice a day, but had to cut back to 10 mg. twice a day when Effexor was added to the mix. I also take Wellbutrin. My pdoc felt cutiing back the ADDerall would help when my blood pressure went up with the Effexor. After taking the lower dose of ADDerall for about a week, I ran out when they had mix ups getting a new prescription to me. Now I'm on 10 mg 3 times a day, at my request, because I couldn't make it through the afternoon with out lying down, the Effexor had me so sleepy. ADDerall helps me focus evenn when something is boring. However, sometimes I hyperfocus on one thing to ther point of having a hard time moving on to something else which may be more worthy of my time and attemtion. My son Also has ADD. Niether of us is hyper, more the spacey forgetful type. I'm not sure how much his methylphenidate(generic rytalin) helps him. He says it makes him kind of shakey. Maybe ADDerall would better for him. He is 11 and weighs around 8o pounds. I am having trouble contacting the nurse at his pediatrician's office to get the doctor's advice on our nexxt move. Best of luck to you, your son, and the rest of your family. These things do not just affect one person, but the whole family , as I'm sure you well know.
Posted by ChrisK on January 13, 2000, at 5:43:12
In reply to My son needs some support, posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 10:52:50
I only started taking Adderal two weeks ago but I seem to be having the same reaction as your son. I was very calm and smooth for the first week but this week I seem to be getting some tension which borders on irritability. I only take 20mgs right now and I am a 250 pound man who usually needs to take max doses to get results. I think it is doing what it's supposed to do but I do feel a little jumpy. I'm going to give it some more time before making a descision and I think you should too. Sometimes things level out after your body adjusts to something new.
Good Luck with your son and let us know how it works out.
Chris
Posted by CarolAnn on January 13, 2000, at 9:36:45
In reply to My son needs some support, posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 10:52:50
Stacy, this may not help, but where is your son in relation to puberty? I've read that puberty can affect medications effectiveness, not to mention the fact that increased irritability can be attributed to it. Other then this, I would have to agree with Chris that you may want to give Adderall a little more time for adjustment.
CarolAnn
Posted by anna on January 13, 2000, at 20:53:47
In reply to My son needs some support, posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 10:52:50
> He was a little shy about posting on the message board himself, so I told him I would try to get some information for him.
> He is psychologically well adjusted, but has a severe case of ADHD. He was diagnosed at our local Cerebral Palsy Center at 2& 1/2 years of age. He's been on various medications throughout his life, but Ritalin gave him the most benefit. He started taking Adderal about 3 weeks ago. Prior to this, he had been on Ritalin (30mgs. per day - 15mgs./AM, 15mgs./PM.) The Dr. put him on 30 mgs. of Adderal, because he said that the dosage should be equivalent to the Ritalin dose. He was on vacation from school, went off the Ritalin, & began taking Adderal. Everything went exceptionally well; he had a much better attitude, didn't experience the rebound effect that he did on Ritalin, & felt good. It was the first time in his life that I'd ever seen him function so well. When he began to do school work again, he found he had a hard time attending. My husband spoke with the Dr. about this, & he said we could titrate the dose from 15mg./AM & 15mg./PM to 20mg./AM & 10mg/PM. However, he has become increasingly irritable. When I first noticed this I thought it might have been partly my fault, because the new natural supplement I'm taking for my ADHD seems to have made me a little bit grumpy (we've had a lot of "blow-ups" here during the past week!) I also thought it might be due to his age, & that I just hadn't recognized it when he was on Ritalin because of the extreme Ritalin "highs & lows" (Ritalin induced Jeckyl/Hyde type personality.)
> Today he was much worse. Earlier this week, I was thinking about calling the Dr. regarding a possible dose increase; we had thought he might have needed an increase in the Ritalin dosage before he began taking the Adderal (as I already mentioned, the Dr. had stated that he would need the same mg. dose of Adderal as he'd taken of Ritalin.) He had been having some degree of difficulty concentrating on school work for a while. He was on 30 mgs. Ritalin for almost a year & a half, & has grown substantially during this time (he is now 5' 8" & weighs 183 lbs.) So 30 mgs. was not really much for a boy of his size & age, considering the severity of his ADHD.
> I've been going through some of the prior posts, & in the January section I noticed some of the people with ADD/ADHD were taking Adderal (I think one person may have even mentioned irritablity.) Could someone please share with us if you know anything concerning this? My son's really upset, & could hardly do his school work this morning. He says he felt great during the first week of taking Adderal - better than he's ever felt in his entire life! I feel so bad for him.
> I have posted a few times before regarding advice for myself, & only one person replied to these questions. That wasn't a big deal for me; but I'm the type of person who feels that it is more important when it comes to my kids (you parents may know what I mean.) After many years of prayers, tears, spending money on all kinds of doctors,supplements,medications, etc., we're just about at the end of the line! If you know anything about this, or have had a similar experience with Adderal, we would greatly appreciate your input!I didn't read other posts--so may be repeating. I was very hyper when I started Aderall--was never on ritalin. It took a 2-3 weeks for me to loose that feeling of being very up and wired. As for irritable.....people say that's my normal temperment, so I can't tell! I take 20 mg 2 times a day...per my p-doc, first dose with brkfast--maybe 7-8 am, next dose no later than 1 pm. I don't know about your son--he likely needs to be sharp in eves for homework.
Posted by JohnB on January 20, 2000, at 3:23:18
In reply to My son needs some support, posted by Stacy on January 12, 2000, at 10:52:50
Stacy:
Here's an article from Time magazine that may interest you. http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,25407-1,00.html
Posted by Stacy on January 22, 2000, at 16:14:46
In reply to Re: My son needs some support, posted by JohnB on January 20, 2000, at 3:23:18
> Stacy:
> Here's an article from Time magazine that may interest you. http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,25407-1,00.htmlThanks so much! I hadn't seen your reply until just now, & am going to read the article tonight. Take care!
Stacy
This is the end of the thread.
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