ADHD Medications
Daytrana patch help
My four year old little boy has been on ADHD medication since he was 2. He is almost 5 now and his doctor decided to try the Daytrana patch. When I put it on in the morning he almost immediately complains that it is burning him. Throughout the day he is rubbing is and whining about it. I feel horrible to keep putting him through this, but the doctor started the patch on this last Wednesday and when I called him on Friday and told him what was going on he told me to just stick with it. Well the patch takes about 5 hours to really start to help him and no I am not exaggerating. When I take the patch off in the evenings there is a bright red rash where the patch was and it pulls at his skin really hard. I just found that you can use oils to make it come off easier, but after I take it off he will not let anyone touch that spot and he complains that it is hurting. I cannot stand to see him in pain, any suggestions. I am debating on just going back to the pill version that we were on. The only reason that the doctor switched was so that he could be more level throughout the day and not have the ups and downs.
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Replies
The adhesive is really abrasive and the reason my son stopped using it. Stop using it and call your dr.
Also, it’s the same med as ritilin or concerta, just a different delivery so we switched to Concerta.
He was on 15mg of ritalin three times a day before this patch. I think I am going to stop the patch and switch him back to the pills. I plan on calling the doctor in the morning and hopefully he will know if there is another long term medication to try. The current medication has to be given every four hours and we are hoping to only have to give him medication once a day maybe twice at the most. That might sound bad, but when it gets close to time for his next dose he starts to get out of control and then calms back down after the next dose has kicked in. It is just a roller coaster and I want him to experience a more normal life and enjoy his day. This whole situation just sucks.
He was on 15mg of ritalin three times a day before this patch. I think I am going to stop the patch and switch him back to the pills. I plan on calling the doctor in the morning and hopefully he will know if there is another long term medication to try. The current medication has to be given every four hours and we are hoping to only have to give him medication once a day maybe twice at the most. That might sound bad, but when it gets close to time for his next dose he starts to get out of control and then calms back down after the next dose has kicked in. It is just a roller coaster and I want him to experience a more normal life and enjoy his day. This whole situation just sucks.
Have you tried anything else besides medication? We have added therapy and it’s made a much bigger impact then meds ever did. That and modifying his diet. I didn’t know kids could be diagnosed so young. My son didn’t have a diagnosis until 2nd grade (age 7). Sadly Daytrona seemed to work well, it just didn’t work out due to the adhesive.
what does is the patch? when they tried to increase my sons dose, he had a similiar reaction. we went back to the lower dosage and the reaction stopped. your son could be allergic to the adhesive…..def talk with his dr
It does sound like your son is perhaps allergic to the adhesive; I tried Daytrana myself when I was originally diagnosed but I felt the dose wasn’t strong enough. The only perk seemed to be that you can administer the medication for as long or as short a period of time as you’d like, but it was also a nuisance to have to stick a patch on somewhere every day.
Concerta may be a good choice for you, since you mentioned wanting extended-released results. I have been using Concerta as a diagnosed adult for about 6 years and love it. It is historically prescribed for children, though, not adults. The therapeutic effects last me a maximum of 8 hours, but some people claim it lasts as long as 12 hours.
Best of luck to you and your son!
We live in an area where there is no help therapy wise for these type of children. the patch is 20mg. my husband uses concerta and i use adderall. our son is allergic to adderall, and the doctor says that he has to learn to swallow pills before he can use concerta. as for him being diagnosed so early, yes he has ADHD and Autism, and we noticed signs early and he did go to speech therapy for a while, but that was when we lived in California. Thank you all for your help, I just called the doctor to see what he wants to do.
My son had an allergic reaction to the patch as well. We had to stop using it as we ran out of body space! I guess there are only certain places that you can apply it. The poor kid was red and sensitive wherever the patch was placed.
As an aside, for your laugh of the day, apparently he was embarrased at camp to be seen with his patch on in the pool. He told the counselors that he was wearing a patch to help him quit smoking. He was 7 years old.
That is funny, it is amazing what kids can come up with!
The doctor just called me back and said that we should stop using the patch and that we will go back to the pills. He wants us to work on teaching him to swallow pills so that we can get him on concerta.
My adaughter uses the patch b/c she can not swallow pills well. We put on a little Cortizone when we remove the patch this has really helped.
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