I have only had a handful of my clients try this medication, but so far all of them have expressed the side effect of irritability and most did not feel that their focusing improved. Out of the stimulants I prefer Provigil, Adderall XR, and Vyvance in that order. For non-stimulants the only one that I have found that really works is ADD-care.

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Our son is on the 10 mg Focalin XR . . . it has been the best for us so far. The only problem (& its been the same for all the "all day" ones that we have tried) is that it completely wears off around 2PM (we give it to him around 7:30 AM). So, we're scheduling another appt with the Dr. to figure out what we need to do. We tried to bump him up to the 15 mg and that did not help at all, his behavior actually got worse.

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My son is 8 and has been on Focalin XR 10mg for about 8months. It seems to work really well for the most part. We decided on Focalin XR partly because of the ability to open the capsule and sprinkle it on food(he wouldn't swallow a pill). Towards the end of the school year he started to pick at the food with the medicine and wasn't getting the full amount. It did seem to wear off around 2:30 or three, he would take his dose at 7:30 am. This year he is swallowing a pill and taking 15mg. It seems to last until almost 5pm now. The problem now is that he has a hard time going to sleep at night. He also has lost weight and can't seem to gain any back. He is doing great in school and has even gotten remarks about how well behaved he is. Other than the weight loss and problem with sleep I think this medicine works well for him.

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its awesome!! My son started 10mg (7 years old) 6 weeks ago. It use to take him 2 hours to do homework and now its 15 minutes. We sprinkle it in pudding (he loves pudding) and he eats every bit of it. This was the 1st medication that we tried. It does have a side effect - appetite suppresant. So far, we haven''t had any problems. The teacher didn't even know he was adhd! Its suppose to wear off after 6-8 hours, our however does start to wear off after school, but we get through homwork without a poeblem. I think he still has some in him at that time, just not the whole dosage.

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My son has just started 5mg of Focalin (5 yrs old). I would like to give him the OmegaBrite fish oil and Attentive Child Wafer, is that too much?

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Totally opposite inour case, Our 15y started Focalin XR about a year ago started with 10mg now he is up to 40mg. If he doesnt take it let's say a day off on saturday, I can tell by 4pm he needs the medication he becomes more irritable and questions everything you tell him. It's been HARD very HARD to convince him to take it daily he complains that his friends say he always looks depressed but he isn't it's the medication helping him concentrate.

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Jef Gazley, LMFT said: I have only had a handful of my clients try this medication, but so far all of them have expressed the side effect of irritability and most did not feel that their focusing improved. Out of the stimulants I prefer Provigil, Adderall XR, and Vyvance in that order. For non-stimulants the only one that I have found that really works is ADD-care.

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My 9 y o son has been on 15mg Focalin XR for a year and 1/2 and has done great at school. When he got diagnosed w/ ADHD, we tried several medications and stuck w/ Vyvanse for about 6 months, but he had significant weight loss, so we switched to Focalin XR. He gained 11 pounds in 4 months!!! We still had problems in the afternoon w/ aggressiveness, impulsivity, back talk and generally bad behavior so we added a short acting dose of Focalin 2.5mg around 3 or 4pm. It seems to smooth things out in the afternoon and lets him focus to get his homework done.

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My 9 y o son has been on 15mg Focalin XR for a year and 1/2 and has done great at school. When he got diagnosed w/ ADHD, we tried several medications and stuck w/ Vyvanse for about 6 months, but he had significant weight loss, so we switched to Focalin XR. He gained 11 pounds in 4 months!!! We still had problems in the afternoon w/ aggressiveness, impulsivity, back talk and generally bad behavior so we added a short acting dose of Focalin 2.5mg around 3 or 4pm. It seems to smooth things out in the afternoon and lets him focus to get his homework done.

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My son is five and he takes 10mg of focalin a day. In the afternoon I have noticed he is hyper and impulsive. His behavior has been getting him into trouble in school and on the bus in the afternoons. The medication is suppose to last 8 hours but it is not. I am worried he will need more medication and it saddens me to keep him medicated. I made an appointment with my sons peditrician to have him re-evaluated I just don't know what to expect.

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Our son is now 13 and almost a freshman in HS. We started him on meds in second grade. Our pediatrician had us try several before settling on Adderall. This was a huge mistake as our son over the next two years only gained 5 pounds. This terrified us so we had him removed from the adderall and started him on Focalin XR. We found like most that he was coming out of it at around 8 hours so our Peds prescribed a booster of the short acting Dexylmethylphenidate to be taken in the afternoon which then allowed us to make it thru homework time. In the first six months on Focalin he gained a full five pounds and began to eat healthy again. Over the years we have of course had to periodically increase both meds to the current level of a 40 mg XR in the morning with two 10 mg of the short acting in the afternoon. With Parents that watch him for the signs and with a doctor who is a real partner in his care, we are able to make the adjustments before any problems. End result is an honor student. Hooray for Focalin. Hope this helps some of you make a choice. :)

PS. the son gets it honestly. I had as a child and am now being treated for ADD. We drive my wife nuts. :)

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The first day may 5yr old son to focalin xr 10mg. His school called me saying he was crying and blinking his eyes alot and rubbing his nose alot. Then they called me again and wanted me to get him for being to hyper. Talking off the wall and could not be still a few hours later after they called first time. Is the few days or weeks will be this way. Or will he come down after a couple of weeks. Because he has a seven days of school left.

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After 2 years of dealing with ADHD symptoms, I finally had my son ofiicially diagnosed. Before trying medications, I tried the Feingold Program. I often thought my sons ADHD was triggered by certain foods he ate. I discover that his ADHD was made worse by artifical colors, especially red and blue and artifical flavors. I was able to eliminate some of these from his diet, and his behavior was better, but he still had attention issues. I started him on Focalin XR 5mg then increase him to 10 mgs over a two week period. The slow introduction gave him time to get over the initial side effects, headache and loss of appetite. So far he's doing great. He made it through two weeks of school with no issues, and his teacher has nothing but praises for him. It wears off after about 6 hours, and he is extremely hunger, which is a good thing. It hasn't changed his personality, just made him level-headed. The only negative I've noticed, is that when the meds have worn off, he does seem more emotional if he gets upset.

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My son (13) started on Strattera , which seemed to help him with his behavior, he actually is a nicer more complient child on it but it didnt do too much for the focus and ability to do homework in a timely manner or at all! Now we added Focalin xr 10mg, its been about 2 weeks and i dont notice any difference in his behavior as far as getting better. His appetite has decreased and he hasnt felt great , but we could get through that, if it worked. This is getting really hard, as im seeing things arent improving. He is in therapy and im trying my best, but im a single widowed mom of 2 boys and its difficult . I get so jealous when i see that kids start a med and do their homework in 45 min rather than the 4 hours of torture, etc. That isnt happening here. Im just concerned b/c he is getting so frustrated and feels like its him, not ADHD, and that trying isnt worth it. Ugh. Thanks for the vent!!

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