Focalin XR And/or Concerta

How old is your son? I can't answer your question about those meds but I can tell you Vyvanse was NOT good for my daughter either. I am going to check your answers periodically because I was just wondering about new med choices too.
P.S. Just realized I should have sent you this in a private message. Sorry! My brain is currently in the shop.

Our son has been on both. He processed Focalin WAY too quickly (by lunch time), so we had to stop that one. It did work fine for him when it was active, but the short time frame wasn't acceptable. I don't think his experience is the norm ... just for whatever reason, he processes that medication quickly. He's been on Concerta about three years now and we love it. He's like a completely normal child when it's active. We do have to use a booster dose of Ritalin if he has activities later in the day, but otherwise it gets him through the entire school day (give it to him around 7 am and it lasts until around 3:30 pm).
ETA: One of the advantages of Focalin over Concerta is that it's supposed to boost appetite. We didn't see that, but our son also has a long history of not liking to eat anyway.

My daughter was given Concerta to start with, but it made her angry. When I called my doctor he stated that boys usually do better with Concerta, but that is the one they usually start with. Well, we changed to Vyvanse and now things are great. She is on the lowest dosage possible and we also will give her Focalin in the afternoon to get through homework. I hope Concerta works for your family.

Best of luck to you!!

Hey L.!

We have tried Concerta with good results. It is timed released, but there is a wide variety of how long it stays in the system. Our daughter metablolizes it quickly (which means she needs a smaller morning dose) and we still use a homework dose of ritalin (concerta is liquid methelphenadate-same as ritialin in a pattented delivery system.) I like it because we have no rebound and she seems to do quite well and ritalin is well tested and tolerated.

Never tried Focalin XR, if you try it for your son, send some feedback!

M.

My niece has been on Concerta for a few years. She's now 13 almost 14 and prefers to take it daily than how she feels when she doesn't. She's a completely different kid on medication vs. not on medication, and I personally prefer her off of it......not my choice, I'm the aunt.

She doesn't have much of an appetite because of the medication and is much less engaged (more withdrawn) socially. She prefers to be on it in school because it does help her focus better on the task at hand.

My sister chose this in conjunction with therapy after many years of trying to figure out what was going on with her.

Each medication will react differently with each child, so I'd also recommend asking a pharmacist to share feedback with their customers. In my experience, patients (parents of patients) tend to be much more candid with pharmacists than they are with physicians regarding medications, prescribed therapy, comfortability with medical advice.

My only other comment is that I'd recommend trying both brand and generic if available. Many people believe a generic is an identical equivalent, but it's simply not manufactured the same, has different inactive ingredients, delivery, etc. So, if you've tried some others, and haven't been happy with the results, don't discount the brand (or generic) version if available as it may simply interact with your son's body chemistry slightly differently.

Best wishes.