Hi,

Does anyone have their kids off meds on the weekends? Is it working for you? My 10 y.o. only really needs meds for school and I've got him on short acting Focalin 2-3X day (depending on HW load). Our experience with this is extremely varied. Some Monday's are tough and some seem like any other day. I'd love some feedback on this.

Also, he started meds in the fall and had horrible emotional periods for about 4 weeks, then they lessened. Now he's on a stronger med and they've picked up again. I'm guessing (hoping) this will also calm down over time. Any opinions or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks so much.

Nor

For my oldest and youngest I don't give them the ADHD drugs on the weekend, unless there is some event they need it for. The oldest usually does fine, as he's primarily inattentive and we just structure things for him. The youngest is five and just runs wild and has fun. The oldest also takes an antidepressant, which he does get on the weekends. My girl in the middle has significant problems with being ODD and annoying others when she doesn't take her ADHD pills, so she gets them all the time.

It depends on the kid, if they're basically cheerful and friendly off the drug; and you can make the structure happen for them on the weekend, then I think it's harmless. I don't see any difference on Mondays when they've had their medication or not over the weekend, I think the ADHD drugs metabolize so fast that it doesn't make a lot of difference.

I tried not giving him meds on the weekends but I find that the consistency is better for everyone. As he gets older we might be able to be more selective as to when he gets his meds. I do think med holidays are a good thing however. We did it all last summer and though there were some trying times, I felt that he didn't build a tolerance to the meds because of it.

I have to say that since trying vyvanse in the last two months, he's done really, really well. At a low dose (my mantra is start low go slow) of only 15 mg for my 120 pound son, vyvanse seems really smooth and very effective with fewer rough edges/side effects than 7.5 mg of adderall. Because of this great effect, we just keep going on the weekends, and he gets through his weekend homework pretty well. Anxiety is down and mondays are just as good as any other day.

Thank you both (onlyme and canukie) for your feedback. We will continue for now and play it by ear. The vyvnase sounds like an interesting alternative, should we have to make a change.

Nor