My 10 yo son doesn't take either Vyvanse or Concerta, but I just wanted to add a comment because I have already spent 11 years managing my husband's medicine for an anyurism he had which left him missing part of his brain so he's a lot like my son in some ways.

First off, when my son gets sad, angry, etc for more than 3-4 days on a new med we call the doctor and so far it has been because the medicine was too strong. Second, I suggest reading the medical info on the product online or something because they work in different parts of the brain and I find I have to watch the symptoms and see if the medicine is really for my son's problems. For instance, my son is adhd, ocd, has tics, and is a couple of years behind developmentally. He takes tenex for tics and his adhd and though he still has tics they aren't anything like they were. A lot of the adhd meds cause tics, but also, tourette's syndrome can cause them and it gets worse as kids become teens and then gets somewhat better, so you might have to help diagnose what you think your child's tics are from -- adhd, tourette's syndrome, or maybe just the meds.

Then my son was doing real well with Lexapro for about a year and then he started have a lot of really angry outbursts, worse concentration problems, etc. The doctor suggested trying Wellbutrin and so we did but in less than a week he was having saddness, crying, and angry episodes. I could tell he was all mixed up and called the doctor and she had him cut back to half. Then he was doing better, but not enough and I thought about it and remembered that he had done really well when he was switching from the Lexapro to the Wellbutrin and I knew that they affected to different brain functions. I told the doctor at the office visit and now he takes some Lexapro and some Wellbutrin and is doing very well. He's happy and even has better concentration and his tics aren't any worse.

I don't like to give my son lots of medicine but I had a miserable childhood because no one knew I was adhd and I got in a lot of trouble trying to help myself. So learn about the medicines and how they work, it will help you help your child because you live with them and the doctor doesn't and needs your input even if they don't say it. (Also, I find keeping him active really helps but since he's on medicine it's more difficult to get him going.)

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I'm doing pretty good, I only slept 6 hours the last two nights, but my usual is only about 7. I'm new here just one month diagnosed at 41. I think it got approval for adults in April so the person who was saying her older child couldn't take it, may want to check with their doc.

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My daughter was taking Concerta for several years, but was not gaining weight. After careful evaluation and consideration was changed to Focolin XR. I definately think she did better on the Concerta and now that she is doing well with her weight and height we are discussing the posibility of putting her back on the Concerta. Has anyone had any experience with Concerta vs. Focalin? She is also on Zoloft 200 mgs and Lamictal 200 mgs.

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