Submitted by husbandlost on 09/13/2010.
I have been taking aderall xr for the past 4 months It has taken cared of my anger and fustration but I am hyper focusing all the time. No sleep and weight loss. I can hardly ever eat. Does anyone have experience with foacalin this is what I have now been subscribed never have taken it before kind of nervous. I don't want the anger to come back but I do want to have some type of emotions again this has taken a toll on my marriage. I would love to hear peoples experiences with foacalin.
focalin
Submitted by hockeymom11 on
I can't say I have knowledge of focalin in adults with ADD, but my son with ADHD and oppositional defiant behavior is on it. Our Doctor started on a very low dose and even at the low dose, my son's appetite was terrible. We had to force him to drink Boost/Ensure etc during the day and he lost a lot of weight. He never had trouble sleeping (sleeps like a log!), but sometimes had a hard time falling asleep I think due to other stimulation and his brain "running".
With the oppositional defiant behavior, he too has anger outbursts, but they lessened on the focalin. He still will have occasional "temper tantrums" (and he is NOT a toddler!!), but behavioral modification has helped a lot with those. Like: setting realistic goals, time limits, letting him know "five minutes left" instead of abruptly stopping an activity, having charts, lists, post-its everywhere. he does hyperfocus, mostly on video games so we make sure we set timers for things like that.
the good news is that after about 3 or 4 months and little dose adjustments, his appetite came back, his weight plateaud and overall his behavior has improved a lot!! In the morning, if I sleep in, I can tell IMMEDIATELY that he has not had his meds and will remind him. My ADD husband cannot tell if my son is medicated or not. I can also tell IMMEDIATELY when his meds are "out" of his system in the evening as all his hyperactivity, outbursts, lack of control etc come back.
I've been pleased with the meds and I know they will have to be adjusted based on growth etc, but it's worth hanging on for the first few months. Work closely with your doctor, ours checked our son's blood pressure, labwork and weights every 2 weeks initially.
glad to say things got better and at least with my ADHD son we are making steady progress. My ADHD husband is a whole other story and not such a good one.
keep trying. keep a journal of your side effects/problems so you can bring them up to your doctor. Supplementing with healthy snacks during the day seems to help bring your appetite back as opposed to going days without eating (then you have to almost choke down food). Try energy bars, milkshakes etc to jump start your appetite.
good luck. and I know children differ from adults, but from what I've researched and been told about stimulants, the side effects are often the same regardless of the person's size.