Focalin

Have a 7and half year old boy on 10mg of focalin xr. Wears off in 8 hours, a little decrease in appetite, no behavior problems at school, still struggling with school work(being tested for a learning disability soon. He is delayed from past environment. He does not complain of any side affects. We can actually tell when it starts to work , you can actually have a two-way conversation with him. His behavior without it , is almost like dealing with a drunk. (he was exposed to alcohol, cocaine,smoking during his development. We have had him two years) My question is does anyone notice once the drug wears off , the child is exhasted and acts like a "dry drunk". HE has always needed a lot of sleep. Focalin does not seem to bother his sleeping pattern. He sleeps from 7 pm - 7am. The evenings are just so frustrating but I don't want to add another drug if it is going to bother his sleeping.

My 11 year old daughter has been on Focalin 20mg for about a week, she complaints alot of chest & stomach pain. My 6 year old is also on Focalin 10mg & she complaints alot about her arms hurting. has anyone experienced this with your child & what did you do? I', concern something else could develop with this medication. Please help

Hi Kasey-
My son is 10 and started taking Focalin this past summer.  He too plays with his hair.  He actually pulls it out sometimes. He says it calms him down and helps him focus.  He has a small bruise on his forehead from where he twists and "pets" and pulls!  The Doctor said it's a sign of OCD or just a self stimulating behavior.  There is a "disorder" called Tricotillomania (spelling??) where people actually pull out their own hair.  You might want to look under self stimulation, Tricotillomania or OCD.  You and your son are not alone!!!

Hi Kasey-
My son is 10 and started taking Focalin this past summer.  He too plays with his hair.  He actually pulls it out sometimes. He says it calms him down and helps him focus.  He has a small bruise on his forehead from where he twists and "pets" and pulls!  The Doctor said it's a sign of OCD or just a self stimulating behavior.  There is a "disorder" called Tricotillomania (spelling??) where people actually pull out their own hair.  You might want to look under self stimulation, Tricotillomania or OCD.  You and your son are not alone!!!

My son who is 12 and is 4'9 weights about 110 is on Focalin. He has been on it about a month now. And he keeps messing with his hair. Not picking at his head really but just almost like petting his head it looks like, he say he can feel little knots in his hair. Has anyone experienced this or heard of this before? He has been on several different meds this is just a different one they are trying to see which will work best. He has also become more winey and aggresive it like a never ending battle I swear lol.

thats not true, my daughter is taking this drug and she did the same nervous habit when she started this medicne. Children are different from adults. It took my daughter a few months before she stoped having these nervous habits. Now when she gets frustrated over something she will chew her lip or twirl her hair alot. So u cant sit there and tell someone that there child is getting slipped some other drug. that stupid. My daughter has been on several different medications and this one so has been better. She had nervous ticks real bad on one medicine and had a emotional problem on another. So what u just said is bull hucky. Dont be telling people that there kid is doing stuff on pupose.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE HISTORY OF THESE MEDS...
I REFUSE

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21121&name=CONCERTA&sort=dateAdded&order=0

Just because this drug works for you, an adult doesn't mean that it's impossible for the Posters daughter to be having these side effects. I've NEVER had this weird feeling with my tongue, heart racing, dizziness until I started these meds. Now I remember why I stopped taking them in the past. And to think that I thought getting back on them was going to change my life. Yes it has it's positives, but the negative health outcomes I can definitely do without. 

Today was my 1st day taking the Focalin and yes my tongue feels like it's constantly itching. My son is on Concerta and now complaining of stomach pain. In the beginning it was lack of sleep and appetite, but now that he's been on it for 7months his sleep isn't affected but appetite loss is still the same. I was reading many reviews on both meds and I'm ready to stop both ASAP. I thought this was the best decision for me and my son, but now I feel like the worst mother ever. I'm losing hope on anything. 

I have taken 10 focalin 20mg pills in the last 2 days and have a possible drug urine screening on Tuesday. Im about five feet nine inches tall and weigh about 165 pounds. Do you think that they will be out of my system and Ill be able to pee clean on Tuesday?

Chances are your daughter is not doing this because of the focalin, but because of some other reason.  there is no drug except possibly DMT or Halucinegenic drugs that cause anyone to physically change habbits.  you are just being way overprotective over your child and need to chil. i have met with my doctor many times to discuss this drug i have been takeing for 3 years now and it is impossible for your daughter to be doing this because of the drug.  if she has a brother though, he could be slipping her some different pill, causing these problems.  if you wish though you can step your daughter down a dose and see if she changes her attitude physically.  just let her stay on the drug a little longer and see if it still cases these simptoms. 

Well first of all, all you mothers are very smart to listen to your sons and daughters when they tell you about their experiances.  today i took for the first time a 20mg xr focalin and alot of crazy stuff happned.  first, fragments of my vison dissapeared and then, i saw a psychadelic colored spiral flow down my vision, constantly changeing colors.  suddenly, the letters on the paper i was reading, danced around a bit, making the reading imposable.  i figured out these effects were because of the huge amount of focalin i had ingested, for the highest amount of focalin legaly is 20mg, what i took.  the focalin seems to act like any psychadellic drug, the more, the worse, yet these simptoms are obviously minor compared to acid or heroin.  yet the focalin still caused some vision loss and a very bad headach.  so i your kid is takeing a 5mg capsul, chances are he or she is too young for the drug and you are grossly overreacting to their preformance in school or they are completely making this experiance up.  i'm not saying all of your kids are lying, im just saying, either you or they are overreacting to the drug.  it is not a bad drug, for it has improved my grades from b's to a's for the past 3 years, from 6th grade to now.  you should keep your children on the drug but lower the dosage.  if the dosage is too high for their body, these experiances may happen and it is not only a waste of money to buy extra unneded focalin but a waste of inteligence for the focalin in this case may distract your child.  anyway, thankyou for listening and remember, listen to your kids.

My daughter is 8 she just started taking Focalin today.. On the first day has anybody ever notices their child sucking on the inside of their mouths or rolling their tongue around ???  I also have noticed my daughter seems to not be able to keep moving her hands as if she were washing them.  Is this common or something I should be worried about? 

We have been to the er x2 this year.My 13 year old girl has been on focalin for awhile . She has alot of stomach pain I never knew focalin caused this. I will talk to her Dr. about it . Thanks for writting.

My son has been taking the drug Focalin for about 3 months now  His first side effects were insomnia, headaches and stomach pain.  He recently stated hallucinating, saying that bugs and spiders were crawling on him.  At first I thought he was just being dramatic, but I just had a visit with his pediatrician today who wants him to see a neurologist on Thursday.  He is 8 yrs old.  He was an honor roll student in 2nd grade all year, and then his grades dropped and he couldn't sit still in class for even 2 minutes.  I don't know what to do at this point but pray that he will be okay.  Just make sure you watch your kids very closely and don't ignore anything they tell you.