ADHD & Daytrana Patch

Hello! My son was on the daytrana patch at 10mg, then we tried 15mg and not only did it seem to make him overly tired it left red patchy marks on his skin. What could be happening is that the patch is making him tired and therefore seem bored. Now we are using a pill called concerta 27mg and it works much better for him in the classroom as well as at home. He is doing very well in school and is very focused on any task at hand, yet he still possesses his personality and doesnt seem "drugged" or overly tired. I know this doesnt help with the daytrana patch, but just wanted to share my experience with you.

We tried it, it works great, but she had some skin issues.

I think that this is a teacher issue.
Do you live in Barrow County?
If so, it is my advice that you go to this website
http://www.barrow.k12.ga.us/SE/html/staff.html
and call whoever is the coordinator for your son's school.
It sounds like you, the teacher, your son, and the Coordinator all need to sit down and talk about realistic expect ions for your son. Or it may be as simple as the coordinator needs to talk to the teacher.
If your son is doing well on the patch, don't change it to please this teacher. Call your coordinator and tell him/her whats going on. Your son has rights.

Now in a little response to the members that posted responses that have been MISINFORMED about ADHD:

No teacher in the world can diagnose ADHD. In order to receive the diagnosis, symptoms must be present before the age of 7, in 2 or more settings of the child's life, whether it be at home and at school, or at school and at church, AND the symptoms must be present for 6 months. No teacher should be attempting to have children medicated as ADHD is not a behavioral issue, it is a MEDICAL issue with research showing caused in the frontal cortex of the brain, neurotransmitters, genetics, and the Grey matter and brain density. There are 3 types of medications used. The most common is a stimulant (YES STIMULANT) that has been in use for over 50 years. The second is a non stimulate approved in 2003, and the third is anti depressents (but can cause higher risk of suicide)

If you in any way shape or form think that your child is ADHD, they must be examined by a doctor. And any teacher that tells you otherwise, needs to be fired for being dangerous.

There is a REASON effective ADHD medcications are perscription only, and there is a REASON that when a child is ADHD that a STIMULANT causes them to slow down and focus. And its NOT because ADHD isn't real, or is just a FAD.

Do the research.

M.,

My cousin is on a different ADHD medication which has helped him to concentrate in school. School's these days just don't seem to want a kid to be a kid. The school made my cousin take his son to the doctor cause they thought his dosage needed to be increased. The doctor refused and told the school because of his age he can't be on a higher dosage. The doctor also told him that he's a kid and kids have bad days. Now the school are trying to say he's artistic and he has to go get tested for it now. I would say it's most likey that he's bored cause he all ready knows how to do the work. My cousin has been labeled by the teachers and now he gets in trouble for everything he does, for being a kid, but the other kids don't get introuble even though they do the same thing and most of the time he's repeating what they say to him. So becareful that the school doesn't all ready have him labeled as a kid with mental problems and get on to him for things that they wouldn't get on to another child for doing. This may or may not help you but I just thought you should know so your child doesn't have to go through what my little cousin is going through and he's in kindergarden.

A.

Hi M., I have an 11 year old that has been diagnosed with ADHD since age 6. He has been on everything and nothing has worked. We put him on the Daytrana patch January of 2007. We have had wonderful results with it. My only complaint (along with his teacher's) has been that it does not kick in right away. We asked the Pediatrician about it and he has my son on Ridlin tablets (15 mg) along with the patch first thing when he wakes up and that helps him do better in the morning. I do not know what miligram your child's patch is but my son is on the 30mg. Like I said, it has been a blessing for my son. His grades are A's and B's. It has also helped with our daily family life.

My seven year old is also academically gifted and on the Daytrana patch. If you find that he does have a tendancy to "zone out" you may want to consider having his dosage lowered. I found that my daughter actually participates better, has a higher rate of alertness, and retains more with a lower dosage. Make sure that he is eating well also. Those medications will only stone you out of your mind if you aren't getting the proper amount of nutrition and rest. Remember, this is an amphetamine, and even though it produces opposite behavior, it still effects his body like taking the street drug "speed." So make sure he is getting plenty of sleep as well, no less than ten hours a night. If you have to get him an additional RX to help him sleep, so be it. My daughter takes a low dose of Trazodone at night, and it is on the list of four dollar generic prescriptions available. Getting that critical sleep had such a huge impact on my daughter that her teacher thought we had changed her medication again. She wanted to know what this new wonder drug was! LOL
If you already have all those things under control, time to turn your attention to his school. Have you talked in depth with the teacher about what she thinks the source of the problem could be? Is he really bored, or does he just have spring fever? And sadly, just because he's bored doesn't mean that he doesn't still have to do the work. I explained to my daughter that even if she already knows the material, the more she practices it, the better she will be at it. Maybe the teacher could give him an incentive like: if he finishes his work before everyone else and completes it correctly, he can be in charge of helping the other students with theirs (if they need the help). There is likely a simple solution if she's willing to be a little creative in her thinking.
If you suspect that he is just too advanced for the material, consider having him evaluated. Maybe he needs to be in a class for gifted children. Maybe he even needs to skip a grade, you never know.
The best advice I can give you is to trust your instincts. I could have saved myself a lot of wasted time over the years if I had just done that to begin with. Good luck!

I don't have my son on it but I've never heard of it. When you get the responce your looking for and find time please send me information on the patch. My son is 15 and I haven't found anything to make a difference. He is an A-B student but fights alot. The teachers do want the kids to just sit and I think that is unrealistic. My son says he is bored. He is testing 2 grade levels above where he is in school but because he gets into so much trouble they wont move him or give him more advanced work so he continues to be bored and gets into more trouble. Sometimes I think the system is setting these ADHD kids up to fail, and I feel lost. They took recess out of the schools so what do the expect the kids to do? How do they burn up all that pint-up energy?

My 10 yo son wears the daytrana patch. It does seem to help him focus although his grades aren't all A's and B's. You son does sound bored. He 's probably able to concentrate and finds the work easy. Does his school offer a gifted program? His teacher could also give him more advanced work to try at home. The medication appears to be working if he's not getting up during class. No one can expect a young boy to stay focused 100% of the time.

The patch never seemed to work for my son or nephew. We have
had great results with Focalin XR and now with Vyvanse. I am not sure what state you live in but if you contact your School's guidance councelor they can develop what we call here an IEP plan. You and your son have certain rights. The School or District office can advise you of those rights as well as his teacher. Some teachers are not educated very well about ADD/ADHD. In my experience if the dose is too high my son will what I call "zone out" at times especially when he is bored. He also has no tolerance for anything repetitive. I hope this helps. I would love to talk to you more about this but being new to Mamasource I am not sure how to navigate the site. I wish you and your son much success!

Had the same problem with this medication with my son - didn't work. I switched to VYVANSE - the teachers do not have to redirect him hardly at all anymore- he is now doing great with finishing his work and making A's and B in math. Ask your pediatrician about VYVANSE and hardly any side effects. (a pill not a patch)
Good LucK!

Dear M.,

I am a licensed professional counselor who was working with children at the time that the Daytrana Patch first came out a few years ago. From what I understand from my friend who is a psychiatrist as well as other mental health professionals the patch is good, particularly for those children who are young and don't know to swollow or cannot swollow a pill.

Some of the things that you are noticing is normal though. Usually a child with ADHD should not only be on meds to calm down the hyperactivity and to help focus but also have some individual therapy that will help them to learn how to focus now that they are able to. It is simple behavior modification approach really.

Unfortunately teachers today want children to be little adults/computers which is totally unrealistic. However with all the educational legislation that has been past, some of the expectations that are on them as teachers are also unrealistic (I am doing my dissertation for my PhD on this very topic). You may be right in that he may actually be bored. Children with ADHD tend to be very bright children that are often overlooked particularly when not medicated and bouncing. So some of it may be the teacher who could possibly be overwhelmed herself and your child may be bored. Meaning there may be more than one issue going on here. I would recommend you talk with her and ask her specifically (don't accept generalizations which teachers are known to do....I worked as a school based therapist and that use to drive me up the wall when I didn't get a straight answer!)what is going on.

My daughter has a speech problem and the teacher at the last school wanted to say all kinds of negative stuff but when I put on my therapist hat and took off my mommy's hat and insisted that she get specific, she wasn't able to. At that point I knew it was more of her issue than my child's issue and sometimes we have to just let the teacher own his/her own issues and not accept them or allow them to be placed on the child (easier said than done but you are your child's best and only advocate in this circumstance). But talking with the teacher will help decrease some, maybe not all but some, of the frustration for all.

Good luck!

C.

Hi M.,

I know you wanted responses from Moms with boys on the patch and I know you haven't gotten that yet but I wanted to say that I think you are RIGHT ON! This is a teacher issue that doesn't want to challenge your son. Ask any clinician about boys under nine. They are active and they are not built to sit at a desk. He has good grades, he's not disrupting the class and he's not being challenged...Don't let the teacher put your son in a box!

Albert Einstein, Charles Schwab, the list goes on about their brillance. If a seven year old DOESN'T get bored at a desk, I would worry!

Regards,

M.

It sounds to me like a problem with the teacher.

Little boys are suppose to be up and active. Read Raising Cain it will help you become a better Ali and supporter of your child. Anyone with a son or a husband should read this book.

Hi M.. If you are really concerned that your child might be ADHD, then have him tested for it. You can take him to a child psychologist who can run a gammit of tests and determine if this is the case. I have four children, and three of them are ADHD. My baby is like the eye of a hurricane - so calm in the center of the storm created by the other three! LOL!

The school will try and pressure you to do something to make it easier for them, but that may not be what is in the best interest of your child. Before I would attempt medication, there are several things I would do. First, I would check and see if there are more advanced classes or more enriching classes that your son could be moved in to. He might just be bored. There may be some additional stuff that the teacher can do to help alleviate the boredom. All three of my children who are ADHD are also in the gifted programs at their schools - so I know that boredom was a contributor to their inattentiveness.

Personally, I think part of the problem and the rise of ADHD children is casued by No Child Left Behind. Placing so much emphasis on the results of standardized testing means that regurgitative learning has become the curriculum. This is not the best way to teach students if you want to keep them engaged and focuses, but it the new way.

The second thing is to talk to your pediatrician. There may be a medical problem linked to this new behavior, such as an undiagnosed vision or hearing problem.

If he is diagnosed as ADHD, then try the patch. We would love to use it with our children. We have heard good things about. Good overall control. No potential for misuse (not a controlled substance and cannot be abused)The reason why we don't is because our insurance company will not pay for it, and the patch for one of my children is over 130 a month so it is not an affordable option for us.

My daughter's teacher last year tried to get me to use this and I refused because I felt that my daughter was just bored and the teacher didn't want to deal with the students. After talking with other parents, I found out that 16 of the 27 students in her class were medicated for ADD. This year, new teacher, my daughter is doing great and still medication free. Best wishes.

First off, I do not have a child on this patch either and I am in total agreement with the previous girl. Your son needs to come off the medicine so he can thrive and be who he is supposed to be. You have to find what it is that will challanges him and do it. Otherwise, he will end up like my brother following the wrong crowd because he is BORED with no direction. Maybe get a homeschooling kit the next grade level and give him homework at home and then you can have him tested to go to a special class and teacher that will challenge him. But he really needs to come off the medication. Children do not need drugs unless they are sick.
Go to a website and watch a TV show that will explain a little about his personality and help you as well.

www.risetosuccess.com register as a free member and once in the members area, go to TV shows and watch the second show entitled "what gem are you?" You will be amazed at how much better you can communicate with all your children and motivate them the right way.