User Reviews for Focalin oral

We started our 7 year old son on Focalin 4 months ago and noticed an immediate improvement in his focus and behavior. Now he has developed a tick where he flicks his fingers and goes into a zombie like state for about an hour. We are meeting with the doctor to discuss whether or not to switch meds. Our instincts tell us it's no longer the right med for him. He's taking 5mg XR in the am. We tried increasing to 10mg and he was out of it all day.

My 5 year old son has been taking Focalin 5mg.(ADHD) for about a month...It seems to be working, he is still agressive but it helps him in school and over all. His doctor recommened he take Melatonin for his insomnia, and that has helped him so much. He does'nt wake up crying anymore or wetting his bed.

My 13 yr old son has been taking this for a month. However the last two weeks he has been having major sleep issues. Pharmacist told me when I was looking for melatonin that while most a.d.d. meds "feel" like they are worn off they are still in your system and can cause sleep issues. Going to call pediatrician today. Maybe what some of these kids with high energy levels need are sports/excercise to calm their body down. Son does sports 3 days a week but middle school they stop running around outside like they used to when they were in elementary school. Not sure what it is. Def. meds have helped with grades and focus. 6th grade squeaking by with mostly Cs. 7th Grade with meds. all A's and one B. But sleep is definitely an issue.Read More Read Less

I am 10years old. I have been taking Focalin my grades improved to all A and one B+. the only thing that I have are those horribles ticks. I act like I have turret syndrome. What medications should I take to eliminate or at least decrease these horribles ticks. Thank-you

My son is 8 y/o has been taking Focalin 5mg for about a year. It makes him like a zombie he sits and stares out the door all day long until it wears off. The medication last 10-12 hours. I gave him the medication at 7am and it started wearing off at around 5 oclock pm. He would not eat or drink anything. He often complains of his stomach hurting and nausea. I feel like this is abuse to our children. That's all this country knows how to do is push and use drugs. This country should spend more money on research for curing diseases and behaviors without doping everybody up with drugs, especially our children, it's sad and pitiful. Read More Read Less

this medication in not for people with that have so call ADD and ADHD it made me the person am not i started cutting my self and i am not the type of person that in roud or mean at all but it made mt that way my family and dont realy talk i was a people person i loved my life and as soon at a stoped taking that i was back to the person i was befor so i hated it made my life a living hell

We tried many things to help my daughter with her inability to focus, her impulsiveness, and her learning disabilities. Special Education, good diet and exercise, and A LOT of homework help at home helped, but she still required a lot of redirection and one-on-one time at school from her teachers. We finally agreed with her doctor to try a medication. We tried Concerta and it was terrible. Too strong for her! She was tearful and suffered insomnia and nightmares. We asked the doctor what else we could try. He prescribed the lowest dose of Focalin... 10mg. It worked!!! The difference in her behavior was like night and day and it didn't affect her sweet personality at all. I didn't tell her teachers so I could really see if they noticed a difference, and they immediately saw a change in her school performance. She was less impulsive, she stayed on task, and she actually finished assignments! At home she was able to do more things like getting dressed on her own, cleaning her room, doing most her own homework without me prompting her every five minutes. We found that giving her half a pill in the morning and half at lunch (the school helps us with that) worked best for her (it seems to last 5 hours). After school homework time was a challenge since the Rx had worn off, but her Dr. prescribed a 2mg dose as needed for these days, and it works really well. She is still able to sleep by 8PM. She still has a good appetite too (which worried me). It is available in generic form so it's easily affordable. The only problem with this Rx is that it isn't long-acting so you need to give a booster dose mid day. But we haven't found this to be difficult for now. I hope this helps someone out there! It has been a life-saver for our sweet daughter!Read More Read Less

My son was dx at age 2 with ADHD. He was started on clonadine at night and tenex 2x a day. He was either a zombie or bouncing off the wall.As a parent it tore me apart. He was started on Ritalin and it helped but, Dr wanted us to try Focalin XL 10mg and it was a big help after a week or so of adjusting to it...He is now 7 yrs old he takes Foclain XL 15mg with tenex 2x aday and it has made a huge difference in his life.He still has to be reminded to focus but, teachers and I agree this med has helped turn his life around. last report card was 3 B's and all S's including great behaviour. Everyone is different so it will effect some negatively.Personally I'm glad I gave my son the chance to try it. Read More Read Less

My 12 yr old son was diagnosed when 6 tried many adhd drugs. Then in 4th grade (9yrs) switched doctors and she decided he metabolized things to quick for xr drugs and tried focolin 2 times a day. It worked,for a while then when starting middle school she decided to add Intunitiv which as helped alot. He made the honor roll for the first time ever!

This is like the fourth ADHD med we tried. Others made him a basket case, aggressive or too thin. This one seemed to be working well unitl he started pulling his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes out. Talks about voices in his head too. He is 10 years old and has been on 20mg for about 2 years. He was diagnosed when he was 5. After reading some of these reviews, I'm thinking of trying another med.

My daughter has been taking this medication for abut 6 months. There has been noticeable improvement, but it wears off as the day goes on. In the beginning she was extermemly moody and depressed, but this has tapered off. Now that she has been on it for awhile it does not seem to be working as well and will need to be increased periodically. The worst side affect is that she has began pulling out all of her eyelashes. She becomes hyperfocused and almost obsessed with some activities.

My 10 yr old son has taken this medicine for almost two yrs. In school grades has been very good and make study time easier and more effective. During this last yr. Ive been noticing a tick with his hands,like looking for small hairs, and has become very irritable,moody,extra sensitive,making relationships wuth his classmates difficult. He appears strange with the hand tick and has become sort of a loner. Im in the process of looking other alternatives or evaluating to not prescribe him at all.

My 8 yr old son has ADHD and has been on this since April 2011, we started out on 10mg and then went to 20mg as my son was still causing problems at school and not focusing, he has been on 30 mg once a day for almost 2 months now and is so much better, My only concern is he seems to be more paranoid, bugs bother him, he has no desire to ride his bike or play sports etc,., I do not know if i should lower his dosage or change med's. This has me very concerned. His dr. tells me I have to give him help with his confidenece...... Read More Read Less

Focalin XR (20mg) is the best stimulant I've tried thus far (diagnosed at age 28 with ADHD). It has had the least negative side effects and has no "afternoon crash" which I experienced with other medicines we tried first. It helps me listen when someone is speaking, be more productive at work, and has helped me feel calmer overall. I do think I will be upping to 30mg soon, as it is slowly becoming slightly less effective after several months, but overall I have been pleased with the results.Read More Read Less

i am 17 and have been taking focalin for almost six years and i have asked to be taken off of it about 12 times. it works to some extent and it is the first med i haven't grown a tolerance to. it slows down my thinking process and which makes those around me happy i guess. i dislike this med because it feels like i dont have control of what i do while on it. as a side note i am having a heart problem but it is still unknown if it is due to focalin xr or not.

My 8 year old daughter is on 20mg of Focalin XR and it is working quite well for her. We also have her on Abilify 5mg, Vistaril 35mg 3x day, and Trazadone 35mg at night. Bipolar, ADHD, and Opposition and Defiance Disorder. Parents and caregivers need to watch as the child grows and make sure that the meds are keeping up. We have found this out the hard way. Please heed this advice.

My son has been having a hard time focusing in school, he had been on another medication for past few years and we switched to Focalin, noted an immediate difference, then when we were prescribed to double it, thing got even better, his grades started coming up, and he is such a more pleasant child, also decreased fighting with his brothers.