possible adderall side effect? - ADD / ADHD Message Board

taralyn_em27 · 12-01-2006, 09:40 AM

Our 5 yo son is taking Adderall for ADHD. At first it seemed to be working very well, but now he is very physically/emotionally withdrawn and senitive. He does not want to interact at school and just wants to be by himself. Could this be a reaction to the medication? He takes 20mg/day. Any information would be helpful. We plan on taking him in for a follow up w/ his M.D. this week.

Thanks

addmotherof3 · 12-01-2006, 12:41 PM

My knowledge with this medication is only based on my own personal battle with ADHD and Adderall. It maybe that his Doc needs to go up on the amount he is taking throughout the day. I had this same effect after about a month and my Doc put me on a lower dose but more times a day. This made it so that I was not having so many ups and downs and It was in my system all through the day not just when I was a work or school. I would become really snappy, rude, angry and just was best left alone when the Adderall would ware off. Maybe he needs more doses to last all day so that he is not having down time. Some people say to take "Medication Vacations" but if you truely have ADHD you shouldnt have to take breaks. You dont just have ADHD when there is something important to do. ADHD doesnt give you vacations you have it every waking moment. He also maybe having to many ups and downs. Wouldnt you be crankie if you had to ride that rollercoaster all day for the rest of your life? Please speak with his Doc soon. It not only benifits him but everyone closely involved with him. If I can be anymore help please feel free to ask. Good Luck!

taralyn_em27 · 12-01-2006, 04:06 PM

Thank you so much for your response. It makes a lot of sense what you said. We will talk to his M.D. this week.

cstep · 12-20-2006, 11:59 PM

my seven year old takes 25mg of adderall xr in the morning and 25mg of strattera at night-which has some antidepresant and antianxiety qualities to it. I know dosages are usually measured by weight so make sure he's on the right dose-not too high or too low. my son was having very similar issues at that age-so at that time he took 20mg of adderall xr in the morning and then 10 mg of regular adderall at 3pm, it worked out great because that xr is extended release, and would last throughout the day-it would start to fade around three or four, and the regular adderall would only last about four hours,so taking at 3pm would help until around 7 or 8pm, so around the time it started wearing off it was time to start getting ready for bed! good luck