Please help!! Will focalin help my son?

Question

My 8 year old was diagnosed with adhd. I first caught wind of it when he was 4 but that was 2 young He is constantly on the go, can't sit still for more than 2-3mins, can't pay attention and it is affecting his school work (and some of his daily life) tremendously. He started his focalin today. I cried after giving it to him because I don't really believe in medicating children, and I didn't want to do it but I also know that he needs to calm down and focus in order to be able to do good in school. I tried everything from discipline, to buying him eyeglasses thinking maybe he had vision problems and couldn't see the board in school. I was basically trying to get around the truth, knowing what the real problem was. My question is has anybody had children or know anybody with children that have taken this med. Does it really help? Will his personality change? Does it actually calm kids down? Do they do better in school and home? Pls be nice. If u must be negative pls don't answer. Thanks

Answer 1

My son has taken focalin for about a year now and it has really improved his live and ours. Before he started his meds, he climbed the bookshelves, threw things, ran around the house screaming ALL DAY LONG, and hit other children. Now he is a very sweet boy who all his classmates and teachers love, and has stopped with the destructive, dangerous behavior.

Please don't feel guilty about giving him medication. He needs it, right? If he had a fever, you'd give him an aspirin. The meds should also come along with councilling so he can learn to control his impulses and learn to focus on his own. He may not have to take it the rest of his life, so take heart.

Things to watch for: loss of appetite, problems sleeping, nausea. Remember, sometimes it takes trying different dosage(s) or different medications to find something that really works. Be brave, and remember you are doing this to help improve the quality of his life. That's nothing to feel bad about.

Answer 2

Both my boys are ADHD they have been on Adderal and it did cause anger issues so did riddalyn. They are on Focalin now and it is great. My 10 year old made honor roll all year After failing the year before for incompleat work. I went through the same thing with my older boy, I didnt beleive he had ADHD. I must have been doing something wrong with my parenting. I fought it and he missed so much of his education in the first few years in school. he is 15 now and has to take special Ed. reading and math he has failed 2 grades. He has no learning disabilities he just got a late start because he could not focus on his work. It will help, for your childs sake dont fight it, It may take a med change a few times till they get him on the right one. It can be frustrating but hang in there it will get better.

Answer 3

I have been on meds like Focalin, Ritalin and Adderall since I was 8. I am currently on Focalin and I am 22. I CAN NOT concentrate with out it.. Yes it helps and yes it can change personalities... I would have talked to the doc about something not as addicting before giving it to your child... Focalin was just approved less then a year ago.. What I am trying to say is Adderall was also said to have NO SIDE effects and it has since to be one of the worst out.They have just not done enough research yet.. I would watch for anger problems... I wish you luck and as long as you know you have tried everything dont worry about it. I wish you luck...I will give you this when I started Ritalin at 8 years old I started reading and living a normal life... Hopefully that will happen for you... JUst make sure he takes it faithfully or it can be worse on your child...

Answer 4

I had the same problem with my son and cried each and everytime he had to take his meds. We never tried focalin so I don't know what the side effects are but I do know that with the other meds he was being given in regards to his adhd everything about him changed and I hated it. I finally gave up and decided to find out if there was an alternative method to treat his disorder. We found out the change in his personality was due to him being over medicated. We changed his diet significantly (since food allergies have been known to trigger adhd like symptoms) and switched doctors to one who would listen to our concerns. My son is now 14 and has been off his meds going on 5 yrs and he is functioning just fine.

Now I'm not telling you to go the same route I did but keep your options open, learn everything there is to learn and question everything and have your son tested every so often because although rare (about 30%) children can outgrow adhd to some extent and even outgrow the medication they are being given.

Answer 5

I had alot of problems with my son with school. He struggled so much. I didnt want to put him on any meds, I thought tutoring and doing extra credit work would help him but I ignored the fact that my son was possibly adhd and because of that my son fell behind in his reading by two grade levels. My son takes focalin after taking adderall. He does sooo much better with the focalin since he doesnt get the side affects he did with the adderall. Try it out and see if it helps your child and if it doesnt work for him try something else.

Answer 6

There are many offerings for treating ADHD. There are the stimulant medicines reminiscent of Ritalin, Focalin, Adderall, Concerta, Daytrana and others. Then there may be Staterra that is a nonstimulant in it is possess magnificence. Another suggestion for a nonstimulant is Guanfacine. This used to be frequently used to regard prime blood strain, but it surely used to be located someplace alongside find out how to aid with ADHD. The identify manufacturers are Tenex and the elevated unencumber is Inutiv. I could get a moment opinion on if he honestly has ADHD. Often instances formative years Bipolar is misdiagnosed as ADHD. When this occurs ADHD medicines could make a baby with BP worse.