User Reviews for Focalin XR oral

My 11 yr old son has been taking ADHD medication since he was in 2nd grade. It made a considerable difference in his school work and he gets in less trouble for talking when he shouldn't, getting up when he shouldn't etc. but it makes him somewhat dulled, crabby and distant especially when it starts to wear off. I don't usually give it to him on the weekends or in the summer and his sweet and bubbly personality comes back. I wish I didn't have to give it to him but he cannot control his impulses at school without it. I know alot of doctors say that there doesn't need to be a break but my advise is to only give it for school and let the body and mind be medication free whenever possible. Read More Read Less

my son isin 5th grade he has been taking this since 2nd grade and it has been great the doctor recently wanted to switch him to Vyvanse rather than upping the focalin dosage we are now switching back becaue the Vyvanse was horrible with horrible side effects and he was doing great originally with Focalin

frustrating

My 11 year old daughter has been on 5mg focalin xr and it works great for her without any troublesome side effects. Her performance and behavior in school improved immediately and her grades have been all A's and B's. She does have a little trouble falling asleep at night, so I give her a 3mg melatonin and that works very well. Her behavior at home is normal and appropriate for her age. We did try to go to the next dose up at one point, but then she had side effects and we had to go back to the 5 mg--and I won't change it. I hated to have to put her on anything, but she had been getting notes sent home since preschool almost daily and I think it was really effecting her self esteem. I always tell her the medicine can only do so much, you have to be aware of your actions and take control of yourself. If you're on the fence about using an ADHD med--then do a trial of this one in the lowest dose. My daughter only uses it during the school week and doesn't take it on weekends or vacations. It is not the type of med that has to build up in your system to be effective and you can easily go off of it without problems.Read More Read Less

My son started taking this medication bout 2 weeks ago right after Christmas Break and he has changed him to be better in school but he has been complaining that his stomach hurts almost every day. I know it works different on everyone. I pray we dont have to change back to addreall bc addreall starting to wear off and it make him get in trouble at school.

my son has been having bad problems with concentrating in school and behavior since he was 4. started in headstart and is ongoing into 1st grade. once he started this medication turned right around but now since he has been on for a while and on a 10mg it started wearing off mid day at school so added a 5mg ritilan.he is also on a 1 mg intuniv for the behavior/ anger. they all work great together and wears off soon after he gets home so he is not wired on it and sleeps at night. i would suggest for first time use in young kids. he still eats very good very normal but my nephew who is same age doesnt eat much but i think that is selective he only eats things he likes. like peanut butter and jelly. hope this helps!Read More Read Less

My 6 year old son started a week ago and it has revolutionized out lives. My son has debilitating ADHD. He has a spectrum disorder as well, and requires an aide in school. I did not want to medicate him, but I felt I had no choice if I wanted him to live a normal life with friends, learning, fun, etc. So we started 5mg once a day. I give it to him at 9 am and it lasts till about 9 pm. The hyper behavior is gone. Almost completely. His beligerance is also pretty much gone. He cries a lot easier, but we deal with that with our words. He is one of those kids who talks about his feelings with no problems so we are trying to battle the weepiness with talking.... which we could never do before. I don't think I've had a conversation lasting more than 8 seconds with my son since the day he was born and now we talk about everything. We play games, do puzzles, all things he couldn't do before. He does Soccer and listens to the coach and has fun instead of constant outbursts. Side effects have included lack of appetite, my suggestion is give tasty high calorie snacks all day long, our favorite are veggie chips, health shakes and yogurts. I also don't like that he focuses TOO MUCH on one activity, and will do it, quietly for hours if I don't intervene. Strange, but he seems happier. MUCH happier.Read More Read Less

My son is 6 and has ADHD ( predominantly Inattentive)- This medicine has worked great, with little or no side effects. Initially he had a decrease in appetite until his body adjusted, but now he is fine. There hasn't been any weight loss or sleep issues to date. His school work has dramatically improved, and he is able to retain information much better. He is even aware of the positive changes the medicine is giving him and feels happy and confident about the improvements he is able to make due to the improvements in his focus. Read More Read Less

I absolutely love this medication. I had been on Ritalin and Concerta as a young kid to early teen, and had to stop taking concerta because of irregular heartbeat that was developed.Fortunately it did go away. Focalin XR has been life changing. I am a young model and I travel and fly all the time, so it's great for helping me stay organized. As from any ADHD stimulant medication, I do experience a lot of anxiety,sometimes. For this reason, my doctor also has me on Ativan 1mg which is a benzodiazepine anxiolytic/sedative/musclerelaxer similar to low dose Valium and Xanax. This combination IS safe in low doses and keeps my heart from beating too fast from Focalin XR. I would highly recommend that anyone with anxiety problems from Focalin XR talk to their DR about adding a small dose of Klonopin or Ativan. Yes, these can be addictive medications, but if they are taken as they were meant to be and under parental/doctor supervision, there is really nothing to worry about, but if you absolutely cannot go with the benzos and want something entirely non-addictive for FocalinXR anxiety you could also ask for gabapentin (generic Neurontin). The great thing about all 3 of the anti-anxiety drugs I listed is that all are available in generic forms, hence, much cheaper. That matters when you're buying FocalinXR every month...lol. I Hope this helps!Read More Read Less

My 4 year old son is taking focalin 5mg. He seems a bit calmer, but some nights he won't go to asleep. It's midnight; he shows no signs of drowsiness. I don't see how he can continue taking it. I need to sleep and so does he.

This worked for several months but than it no longer lasted the entire day (regardless of how many times we raised the dose). The suppressed appetite was extreme. My son would not eat anything for atleast 8 hours after taking the meds. Also my son talked uncomfortable slow while on this medication.

Last year I was prescribed Concerta for ADHD, the constant mental state I've been in since childhood (I'm 40). Over the years, I adapted to the scatter-brained, distracted feeling of ADHD -- don't like it but I've used it productively, successfully (juggling lots of work and activity at once). The more destructive symptom of ADHD is the constant chasing a rush (of dopamine) and the anxiety and depression that follows when rush is over. Taking the meds doesn't help me focus as much as give me a euphoric high, it is speed after all. I feel like I'm on a smaller dose of a street drug like speed or cocaine. Can't imagine giving it to kids. Read More Read Less

My 5 yr old son was just diagnosed with ADHD and this is his first drug he has been on. So far not sure how it is working. He is on the 5mg and I have to mix it into apple sauce since he can't swallow the capsule. The first day on it I thought it was working because I took him to a local fair and he was awesome. But that may have been because he was having fun riding rides. No different at summer camp that his teachers have said. Still having a few melt downs and being physical with peers. Going to give it one more week to see if it works.Read More Read Less

I don't think this drug really works for me.

i am a caregiver for focalin and am wondering how long until it fully takes effect .. it seems to be helping but seems to take a while to become effect ..

I started Sam on the focalin xr 10 mg he is now on 15mg. he started the 2nd week April so he has been on it 7 weeks. I like this medicine but he has been complaining about stomach pain,soft stool and blurred vision. He also is a bit agitated for about 40 mint when it wears off and then he is hyper for about 2 or 3 hr I send him to play basketball during that time. But I think I am going to wait it out a few more weeks and see if the symptoms go away..My main concern is the blurred vision.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 3rd grade. Before then I did poorly in school and had no ability to focus. After I started taking Concerta my school performance increased. However, Concerta had very severe side effects. Quite often I would forget to eat some days because I did not feel hungry although I should have been. I switched to Focalin XR a few years ago (currently at a 40mg dose, combined with 5mg-10mg of short acting depending on the day) the school performance has still been great but now I do not experience the same level of side effects. I noticed that someone asked if when taking the medication you experience nausea. Yes, if you have nothing on your stomach you will experience severe nausea and stomach pain for about 1-2 minutes when the medication is kicking in. One other thing to note, my hands and feat sweat an abnormal amount when I am on the medication. But other than that, I am currently in all honors and AP classes and have a 4.5 gpa. I would not have this without the medication. The benefits outweigh the downsides in my mind. I would recommend it to anyone struggling with ADHD.Read More Read Less