Guest guest Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 None of the drugs you mention below is an evidence-based autism treatment. All have extremely nasty side effects. -- Cheezem aspieperspective.blogspot.com We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 HELLO: WE HAVE USED FOCULIN XR WITH OUR SON WHO HAS AUTISM AND ADHD, BUT THE FOCLUIN WAS PRESCRIBED FOR THE ADHD AND IT DID NOTHING FOR HIM. IN FACT IT MADE HIM MORE HYPER. WE ARE USING THE DAYTRANA PATCH WHICH SEEMS TO BE WORKING FOR NOW. > > > > > > > We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one > > suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. > > The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, > > uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a > > stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this? > > > > Thank you. > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 We used Focalin (not XR) with good results. Noah took a mild dose after school and it kept him on focus long enough to do his homework. He also took Concerta, which although was extended release, had pretty much worn off by the time school was over. It worked well for us, but then we discontinued it when the school year was over, and just never re-instated it when school started again, as he doesn't seem to need it any more. Subject: Focalin XRTo: "List 's" <deniseslist >Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 9:55 PM We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this?Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Any suggestions as to what to do instead? We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 There are no psychiatric medications that are truly evidence-based autism treatments. I suggest reviewing the available literature on the subject of appropriate and inappropriate rationales for medication (I am personally fond of the guide at http://www.autistics.org/library/meds/ , although this is mostly for reasons of personal sentiment). The qualifications of the author of the guide I linked to are worth further discussion as well, although I should probably wait to explain why until after you've read them. -- Cheezem aspieperspective.blogspot.com Any suggestions as to what to do instead? We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 > > We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this? > > Thank you. > I don't know about Focalin, but my insurance company approved Strattera as an alternative, and I am hoping that if your doctor suggests it as an alternative that you will tell him absolutely no. My son ended up in the emergency room w/ seizures from it. I am not against prescription meds to get kids to focus, but have you asked your doctor about injectible B-12 or B-12 sublinguals twice a day? They seem to help my son with his ability to focul. It is just a suggestion because you seem reluctant to try the Focalin. A mild stimulant would be Benadryl, and some doctors suggest it, but it always seemed to make my son a little tense (could have been the coloring used in it). Whatever you do, I hope you will consult a doctor that you have confidence in about it. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2009 Report Share Posted September 17, 2009 Not sure about that. I know Risperdal was approved for autism a few years back for the irritability and other sysmptoms associated with autism last year. I think its the only one that has the FDA approval at this time although it is common to try other types of medications with our kids and see what works. Of course most of us do not like giving our kids any type of medication but keep in mind we parents have to live with our kids 24 7 and witness first hand all the nasty side effects autism alone without any medication does so if we find something that works that makes our kids function better and makes them happier than it is up to the parent to decide if medication is right for their kids.Reviewing all the 'appropriate' evidence out there sounds nice in theory but when your child gets out of control or and worse yet only sleeps a few hours a night than we need to look at all avenues for what works. No parent should be judged for making these tough decisions. Trust me its not easy to make the decision to medicate our children..I personally have no experience with Focalin but the only way you will know is to try it and start off small. Try to start over a long weekend. As with any stimulant you should know very quickly whether it works or not.Good luck!Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®From: Cheezem Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:19:39 -0400To: <sList >Subject: Re: Focalin XR There are no psychiatric medications that are truly evidence-based autism treatments. I suggest reviewing the available literature on the subject of appropriate and inappropriate rationales for medication (I am personally fond of the guide at http://www.autistics.org/library/meds/ , although this is mostly for reasons of personal sentiment). The qualifications of the author of the guide I linked to are worth further discussion as well, although I should probably wait to explain why until after you've read them. -- Cheezemaspieperspective.blogspot.com On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 2:17 PM, RM <tova1125> wrote:Any suggestions as to what to do instead?We went to another new doctor today for my son (autism) and this one suggested Focalin XR. The previous doctor suggested Tenex and then Zoloft. The tenex did nothing and the Zoloft turned him into a sleepless, uncontrollable 15 year old. I'm afraid to try the Focalin XR since it is a stimulant. Can anyone give me any feedback if their child has used this?Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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