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Thread : Focalin XR 10mg and Rage/ODD  
6 Jan 2010 @ 12:12 PM
4normans Join Date: Fri 13th Nov 2009
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Focalin XR 10mg and Rage/ODD

My son began taking 10mg Focalin XR in the mornings before school exactly two months ago. He will be 6 in two weeks, and is in Kindergarten. The medication has made a drastic improvement on his school work and was making things run a little more smoothly at home as well.

Early mornings and evenings have been and will probably always be difficult for us, even with the medication. At first his psychologist and pediatrician both kept asking us how the "rebound" was in the evenings after the medicine left his system, and honestly, for the first six weeks, it wasn't that bad.

However, over the past three weeks, it has become completely unmanageable. We have always suspected he may also have ODD, but his fits of rage in the evenings are now completely out of control. He has a sibling who is almost 2, and we cannot leave them unattended at any time. He pushes his younger brother down, or does other 'mean' things to him, almost just to see if he can do it. Last week on two separate occasions he tried to choke his younger brother right in front of us. He is now throwing punches at me, my husband, my mother, really anyone, on a daily basis. A few nights ago he completely lost it when asked to put his pajamas on and hit his father, me, used profanity (that I didn't even know he knew!), destroyed his bedroom, and punched a hole in his bedroom door.

I am at my wit's end. I have read many books, we have tried reward charts and systems, positive reinforcement, all of the stuff that the books and doctors recommend. It no longer works. I am scared of my child. I don't know what to do with him.

Do any of you feel this could be a result of the medication (Focalin XR 10mg) that has just begun to present after over 6 weeks of positive results? Help!!

Thank you, Jamie

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7 Jan 2010 @ 5:54 PM Reply # 1
Goobiesmom Join Date: Thu 7th Jan 2010
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Evening Rage

My son is on Concerta XR and by evening time we have the same problem, howeverver we lowered his doesage and now he is not as difficult to deal with. You might want to give this a try.

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12 Jan 2010 @ 12:21 AM Reply # 2
bigal Join Date: Tue 12th Jan 2010
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focalin xr

my son was on the same medication with the same problems. Focalin xr was great, to start. We started to experience the same issues (fighting, running away, cursing etc). We had one night of extreme outburst of him endangering himself. We have switched to vyvanse, wow what a difference. This medication does not enter and exit the body as harshly as focalin xr. We believe it was the crash effect from the medication affecting our son. We still have our battles, but no where near the what it was on focalin xr. I hope this helps.

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12 Jan 2010 @ 12:22 AM Reply # 3
bigal Join Date: Tue 12th Jan 2010
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focalin xr

my son was on the same medication with the same problems. Focalin xr was great, to start. We started to experience the same issues (fighting, running away, cursing etc). We had one night of extreme outburst of him endangering himself. We have switched to vyvanse, wow what a difference. This medication does not enter and exit the body as harshly as focalin xr. We believe it was the crash effect from the medication affecting our son. We still have our battles, but no where near the what it was on focalin xr. I hope this helps.

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15 Jan 2010 @ 11:00 AM Reply # 4
aprilf Join Date: Fri 15th Jan 2010
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focalin/vyvnase help

My 9 yr old son was on Vyvanse -30mg- and it was the most successful med that we used. He went through a growth spurt and we had to increase to a 50 mg. That was too much. We then changed to focalin which was good for a few weeks. After that, he began having anxiety attacks, etc... We see a new Dr. in Feb. He is currently not taking anything. STRUGGLING!! Any advise?

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17 Jan 2010 @ 8:13 PM Reply # 5
DramaQueenLucy Join Date: Sun 17th Jan 2010
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focalin xr

My DS11 had a rebound problem I tried just about everything and then took him in for neuropsych testing and that showed a small amount of depression so I keep him on his meds all the time no med "vacations" and the doctor gave us a script for an SSRI and that made a world of difference for us. Have you taken your kiddo in for a NeuroPsych testing? Sometimes it can make a world of difference!

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20 Jan 2010 @ 10:33 AM Reply # 6
aprilf Join Date: Fri 15th Jan 2010
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neuro testing

Thank you for your words of encouragment. We see a neurologist in Feb. Looking forward to some answers/help then. I do have concerns about depression. Hanging on... :)

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