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Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep?
[ Original Post ]
Hello all!! My 5yr old son was diagnosed ADHD at the middle of June and we started Ritalin then 10 mg at 8:00am 5Mg at noon, no problems to report. Then 2 weeks later 10mg at 8:00 am and 10mg at noon, still not bad except by 7:00 pm he is just miserable. Just recently 10mg at 8:00 am 10mg at noon and 5mg at 4:00pm and boom we no longer need sleep. My son was always in bed between 8-8:30 he would ask to go, but now at 1:00 am he thinks it is party time he is wide awake. What to do now?? The only other side affects are a decrease in appetite, he will eat well when meds wear off, a good breakfast and then he grazes all evening till we force him to bed!! Any ideas or similar stories to share??
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Name: mar22 | Date: Aug 12th, 2007 3:14 AM
sounds as though he needs to go back to the lower dose and skip the dose at 4pm, if hes manageable at home then dont give him the evening one, some kids only need it when there in school hours to help with concintration, hope he discovers sleep again, best of luck 

Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep? | Date: Aug 12th, 2007 10:46 PM
Hi Mar22 I would like to discontinue the 4:00 but he is on the rebound by then and with 2 other children we are gone to sporting events and other things like that after supper, and my son is just off the wall otherwise!! Can't win can I!!!! The other problem is I am gonna have to switch to a one a day I am thinking, as I need that dose in his body at 4pm as he will still be on the school bus when school starts. Last year that ride home on the bus was a disaster it finally got to the point I drove to pick him up after school in order to releive the driver however this year my work schedual will not allow that. Also having to give meds 3x a day will not work through the school. I am just unsure how the 1 a day will affect sleep and such. We see the child psyc next week so I guess I will learn more then. Thanks for your reply. 

Name: Jennifer | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 2:20 AM
Hi :) My son started off on a morning and then a noon dosage, but after about three weeks the doctor switched him to ritalin LA. It's longer lasting, but there is no 5 or 10 mg- it begins at 20. My son takes a 20mg ritalin LA first thing in the morning. This lasts until about 2/3 in the afternoon. At 3, he takes 10 mg of "regular" ritalin. This takes us through the late afternoon and wears off around 7. He goes to sleep around 8/8:30 and sleeps just fine. Maybe you need to cut out all of the dosages and go with a long-acting pill and just do another dose in the afternoon. And, your child CAN take meds at school, unlike one of the other responses suggested. Your school probably has a form in the clinic that your physician fills out and you send the meds to school. The clinician/nurse will administer the meds as directed. They do it all the time... I teach public school so I know for a fact that schools do this every day :)

Good luck! 

Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep? | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 5:15 AM
Hi Jennifer! Thanks for your reply. I will have to look into the school thing further I know when we decided to medicate school was already done for the kindergarten kids but I was back at the school for one of my other children' wind up and I was chatting with the principal about the med. policies and he said we have no one willing to be responsible for medicating children, I laughed when he said I should put it in his lunch pail and have one of my other children give him his dose!! Ya right lets all just send our ritalin to school with our children and let their friends all give it a try!! No our principal is not real bright!!! We live in a small town and our children are bussed to another town for school, I work in a different town again so It is not like I can just run over and give his meds when needed. I see the pysc. this friday so I will see what my options are. Thanks for the input!! 

Name: Nicky P | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 5:44 AM
My son was on Ritlan with the same dosage as 10 mg at 8am & 10mg at lunch watch for blinking eyes as my son developed from the ritlan. He was then put on DEX. We were prescribed Catapress only 1/2 tablet to help him sleep & to get his patten in. i have found that ADHD children require routine to help them funtion also a elimination diet on foods that set them off. Honey sets my son off & he is allergic to it. I have changed his diet and kept to a routine & found him easier to comply with at bedtimes & letting him snack after school like a main meal and then at dinner time a light dinner, big breakfast when my son was on DEX he lost his appitate. I have found after 2 years of trial and error you find the answer DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU & YOUR SON!!!!!! I can relate to your prolem well he is now 7 & not grey get help from school counseller & heath department. All children work to diffrent things I have found routine and firmness rewards when behaviour good if only for a few hours. They will learn what is acceplable & what is not and their boundries. 

Name: Jennifer | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 7:20 PM
Nicky P : what is DEX ? I had a topic on here several days ago about nervous habits that my son has... he picks his skin (fingers mostly) until they bleed, he constantly picks his nose, although this is better, he was on a clearing your throat thing, he went through a sniffing phase where I thought there would be no air left for anyone else to have, and now he is picking his "seat" if you know what I mean. It's not pinworms. I believe it's just an unfortunate nervous habit. Is DEX designed to help eliminate ticks, and so forth ?

Sleep : Wow- no one to administer meds at school, huh? I'm sure they rather your son be on the meds so maybe they can help find a solution to the dilemma. Could they hire someone just to come in during the lunchtime hours to give out Rx's ? I'm sure your child isn't the only one who takes meds. That has to be very frustrating. My son, Seth, takes his long acting at 6 am and then my mom, who gets him off the bus at 2:30, is able to give him his afternoon dose so I am lucky to have that situation. Maybe if your doc. gives your son a slow-release or long-acting you can have his afterschool daycare provider give him the afternoon dose ? 


Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep? | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 8:09 PM
Hi Nicky P I have suspected for a year that my son Clay had ADHD as there is history in my family.(my nephew has ADHD and Tourette's) Clay had been on ritalin about 1 month now, and the side affects I have seen is low appetite and change in sleep pattern. This weeks bedtime has been better we have went from midnight to 9:30 pm, I have cut his 4:00 dose from 5mg to 2.5mg and have been playing a relaxation tape in his room it seems to have helped. When Clay started displaying ADHD behavious I did a real diet clean up. It did help somewhat. (low dairy, no food dyes, limited sugar, low wheat, no aspartame, carmel colors etc.) Basically I was the worst Mom in the world for a while. He has adjusted wonderfully and even phones from friends houses to see if he can eat certain foods when he is unsure. Like you we try to keep a strict routine, and I am very consistent with discipline and such. I have been watching for tics and such as like I said my nephew has tourette's it surfaced 2 weeks after taking Ritalin for him. Both my nephews Psyc. and my Son's said usually 2 -4 weeks is the period that these things surface if the tourette's is going to. So far Clay seems okay I have had my fingers crossed as my nephew goes through hell with his tics the kids tease him like crazy. He is now 12 and had been dealing with this for 4 yrs. Thanks for listening!! 

Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep? | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 8:14 PM
Hi Jennifer
When you spoke of the Ritalin LA how long does that stay in their system? I know the regular is about 4 hrs. Clay gets on the bus at 8:15 in the mornings and home just after 4:00 so I was hoping it would last that long. 

Name: Jennifer | Date: Aug 14th, 2007 11:53 PM
the ritalin LA is suppose to give you 8 hrs. It lasts Seth from 6 am until about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, so it's pretty true to its word. 

Name: Mally | Date: Aug 15th, 2007 4:05 AM
Hi 

Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep? | Date: Aug 18th, 2007 4:43 PM
Hi Jennifer
The Ritalin LA iyou spoke of is that the same as concerta? We had our appointment yesterday and they switchewd Clay to concerta rather then the Ritalin 3x a day. We are hoping the slow release will help with some of the side affects. I was just wondering though if we are taking the same med?? 

Name: Jennifer | Date: Aug 19th, 2007 2:13 AM
Hi Sleep! My son did take Concerta once the doc decided to switch him toa slow release. He was on the lowest dose, 18 mg. He is not a pill taker though and every morning before school I was cramming a pill down his throat- not too pleasant at 6 am.... so we switched to Ritalin LA, 20 mg. Concerta is ritalin, only in a slow release form capsule. Seth's Rx is actually Ritalin (the LA stands for long acting)... so yes, technically we are on the same Rx. The main reason for us switching is due to the whole swallowing issue. Also, the Concerta was making Seth's stomach hurt really badly and he was throwing up every morning. Granted, we only took this for a week, that was long enough with such harsh side effects. Who wants to throw up every morning and then have terrible stomach pain ??? You may want to watch for that with your son. Keep me posted! 

Name: Sleep? Who needs sleep? | Date: Aug 19th, 2007 4:00 AM
Hi Jennifer Thanks for the info, I will watch for tummy troubles. Clay is awesome with taking meds, we have never had any trouble even with foul tasting antibiotics. We started the concerta today (18mg), and we didn't have the late afternoon meltdown that we usually had, boy life with ADHD is full of trial & error what works one day doesnt the next and so on!! I have read some real horror stories of what people have gone through with all these meds, then the next one just breezes through. Atleast there are lots of options out there. We do 18mg for 4 days then 27 for 4 days then we will see the Dr. again to discuss which dose I feel is better and how things are going with the med change. I will keep you posted on what develops. Thanks for listening 

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