Hello. My five year old son is taking 5 mg of adderall xr. Originally he was on 10 mg, but constantly rubbed his hair and seem drugged. After a couple of weeks, dosage was lowered to 5mg. I am not sure I can tell a difference between him being on the 5mg or not on any meds at all. The last couple of weeks my son seems more hyper and very bossy/dominating. My question is this: have any of your children switched from adderall to concerta or vice versa? Has anyone taking adderall xr experienced that zonked look on their children? Did it ever go away? Thanks for any help.

My son too started with Adderall RX but a much higher dose when he almost 7. He was happy for three weeks but then became very angry. We switched him to Concerta for a few months, the Concerta made him angry all the time mostly because he could not sleep. Back to Adderall RX, first 5 mg, then 10, then 15mg now 20 mg. In addition he is taking 40 mg of Strattera. He is now almost 8 years old. This combination works great for him.

It's such a journey trying to find what works for your child. I have noticed that when I give my son a break on the weekends from Adderrall (before the Strattera) he would be extrememly hyperactive, more so than before drugs. Maybe this is why your son is acting this way on lower dose.

It sounds like you need to talk to the doctor. I will add my son has never looked zonked out on Adderall but did on Concerta.

Hope that helps in some way.

Vanessa

I would speak to your doctor about starting any med at a low dosage and working your way up. Many docs start at a medium dose and work their way up; but, at times even the medium dosage is too high.

I would also think about getting your son into counseling if he is not already. We started our son on Adderall XR 5 mg. worked our way up to 10mg. then 15 mg. and this seemed to be a very good dosage for him. We then started him in counseling with a counselor who specialized in ADD kid's. Thru counseling and behaviour modification he has been off any ADD med's for the last two year's.

Med's do not have to be forever in many instances. It seem's the younger you work with their behaviour's and teach them new outlet's for their energy burst's the better chance you have of getting them off med's. It is a lot of work YES...But, the benefit's far out weigh the cost. I find comfort in the knowledge that my children will be able to function without meds. Because, I cannot garantee myself that when they hit young adulthood they will take their meds.